<p>My parents make a decent amount of money, so financial probably won't be very good for me. However, we're still worrying about finances, so it would be really nice to apply to a few colleges where I can get a decent amount of money based only (or at least mostly) on merit.</p>
<p>California schools would be best since I live there, but if you have any out of state suggestions, please tell those too. Thanks for your help!</p>
<p>Stats
White female
SAT: 2170 (will retake)
700 math 720 reading 750 writing
ACT 33 composite
35 Reading 35 Writing 34 Math 28 Science Essay 9
SAT II
800 Math II 780 Chem 710 Lit
4.0 GPA uw probably about 4.5 weighted
APs:
English Language: 5
Calc AB: 5
US History: 5</p>
<p>Ecs:
Academic Decathlon: 11th and 12th
Loads of medals, team captain next year, paid internship writing study material for it</p>
<p>Journalism: 10th - 12th
Writer, page editor, copy editor, couple of awards, summer internship at the local newspaper</p>
<p>I'm right at least year's cutoff score (218) for NMSF, so that may be a possibility, but I don't know yet</p>
<p>Couple other minor awards, community service, etc., but nothing big.</p>
<p>Hopefully I'll write decent essays, but I'm sure everyone says that.</p>
<p>Thanks for your help!</p>
<p>Santa Clara, Mills, maybe Scripps.</p>
<p>University of San Diego, Loyola Marymount perhaps. Maybe Occidental?</p>
<p>I have kids at USD and Loyola Marymount. Both give good merit aid. USC gives merit aid as well.</p>
<p>Chapman University</p>
<p>Pepperdine U</p>
<p>Univ of the Pacific</p>
<p>Pepperdine seems really… peculiar when it comes to predicting merit aid.</p>
<p>O.K., thanks! I’ll definitely look into all of these, though I probably should have mentioned before that I’d prefer not to got to a college with a specific religious affiliation. I’m also a bit iffy about all women colleges, though I may end up applying to one if it looks good.</p>
<p>Thank you for your help!</p>
<p>Pepperdine and Chapman have given merit aid with those stats - somewhere in the range of $20,000-$25,000 scholarships/grants per year, if I remember correctly.</p>
<p>Then, of course, there are the UC schools, which do give merit aid and would cost less for in-state.</p>
<p>University of Alabama gives you at least full tuition. If you end up as NMF, you will get a bigger merit package. You might want to check that school out by going to the University of Alabama thread.</p>
<p>In state I would suggest Cal Lutheran. Here is their Merit aid info: <a href=“http://www.callutheran.edu/financial_aid/grants_scholarships/undergraduate/clu_scholarships.php[/url]”>http://www.callutheran.edu/financial_aid/grants_scholarships/undergraduate/clu_scholarships.php</a></p>
<p>Out of State there is Linfield College in Oregon and Whitworth in Spokane Washington. </p>
<p>At Cal Lutheran and Whitworth you would have a good shot at full tuition as well. There no thread dedicated to Whitworth here, but just go to this link for information:</p>
<p>[Whitworth</a> University Financial Aid Office - Academic Scholarships for Incoming Undergraduate Students](<a href=“http://www.whitworth.edu/Administration/FinancialAid/ScholarshipOpportunities/AcademicScholarships.htm]Whitworth”>Page Not Found | Whitworth University)</p>
<p>Regarding the religious presence at USD and LMU, although the schools are Catholic, the campuses are not overly religious. Neither of my children are Catholic or particularly religious, yet they still feel comfortable on campus. The schools are as religious as you care to make them.</p>
<p>Chapman, USC, University of San Diego.</p>
<p>Maybe Pepperdine if you don’t mind the Christian affiliation. You may want to check it out.</p>
<p>St. Mary’s College.</p>
<p>USC offers very good merit packages.</p>
<p>Anybody know how LMU, Whitworth, USD, and Cal Lutheran calculate GPA? 9th,10th, 11th,1st semester 12th? Religion classes? Electives?</p>
<p>Whitworth says "at the time student applies: Would it make sense to hold application until after 1st semester senior year grades for a chance at the Presidential and Faculty scholarships?</p>
<p>NVM That would be too late.</p>
<p>The UCs are obviously worth applying to even if you find something better as well.</p>
<p>If you make NM[S]F, check out <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1065225574-post313.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1065225574-post313.html</a></p>
<p>UArizona might be worth a look. </p>
<p>Since you qualify for WUE tuition, check out [WICHE</a> - Student Exchange Programs](<a href=“http://wue.wiche.edu/search1.jsp]WICHE”>http://wue.wiche.edu/search1.jsp)</p>
<p>I wouldn’t count on merit aid from the UCs or CSUs because it’s very limited. On the other hand, the costs are relatively low compared to private schools, especially if you live at home or off campus (yeah I know, $20K/year isn’t cheap, but as I said, it’s relative).</p>
<p>Your grades & test scores are excellent and you’d probably be offered quite a bit of merit aid at a number of privates, including Chapman, University of the Pacific, Whittier, and University of Redlands, to name some that my sons have had personal experience with. However, that merit aid might not bring the cost down to lower than a UC or CSU.</p>
<p>I don’t think Scripps or the other Claremont colleges offer a lot of opportunities for merit aid as their aid is mostly need-based. I do know of one student who got a 50% tuition scholarship to Harvey Mudd, but even with that the cost is still higher than a UC.</p>
<p>Other out of state options: Whitman, University of Puget Sound, Pacific University (OR), Pacific Lutheran, Western Washington University (part of the WIE consortium). </p>
<p>[Western</a> Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) | Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education](<a href=“http://wiche.edu/wue]Western”>Save On Tuition | Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE))</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>To the OP:</p>
<p>Since you think you’ll need merit money, you should check out some of the postings in the FA forum and the Parents forum.</p>
<p>In particular <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1151-financial-aid-scholarship-resource-threads-start-here.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1151-financial-aid-scholarship-resource-threads-start-here.html</a> has a bunch of links to relevant postings concerning both need-based FA and merit aid.</p>