<p>I know this is very last-minute, but I'm still trying to find schools to apply to.
I haven't decided yet if I want to major in biology (premed) or engineering.
I want to minor in a foreign language. This is likely to be Spanish, but bonus-points for a school that also offers Chinese.
I don't know where I want to be, but I definitely want to look into some schools on the West Coast as possibility.
I am a top student and need merit scholarships.
Advice?</p>
<p>What’s your home state? By top student I am assuming 4.0 Weighted and 2K SAT’s? Is money in issue? What kind of engineering?</p>
<p>Too late for the Cal Polys. How about Santa Clara and Gonzaga? Might get merit money. If you are THE top student, maybe Harvey Mudd.</p>
<p>What are your stats?</p>
<p>How much merit do you need? (This will depend on how much your family can contribute).</p>
<p>For instance…
At Santa Clara…the cost is about $50k per year, and SCU does sometimes give a half tuition scholarship for an ACT 33+ and a hgh GPA. That would leave about $31k for your family to pay.</p>
<p>Stats: in top 1% of class, 2260 SAT, 4.0 unweighted, National Merit Semifinalist
Aid: can’t pay more than $20k, tops
Home State: not west coast but is a WUE state</p>
<p>Harvey Mudd is my dream school, but I don’t think they’ll give enough need-based aid to be reasonable (and my stats aren’t good enough to get merit aid). </p>
<p>I look at Santa Clara and Gonzaga, and they look interesting, but I’d rather not go to a Catholic school.</p>
<p>Willamette has excellent merit aid, offers Chinese and has a 3-2 engineering program.</p>
<p>Not exactly west coast, but in the west-Trinity U in San Antonio. This year total COA~$42,600. Full tuition scholarship deadline has passed, but regular deadline is 2/1, and the largest remaining scholarships are $17,000. There may also be NM in addition. App. is free if you do it on line, and it is not a CSS/Profile school. </p>
<p>It is not a religious school. The name is misleading.</p>
<p>Adding: Has bio, engineering, lots of languages including Chinese.</p>
<p>Willamette told my son a 4+2 is the usual engineering path, but you get a BS and masters rater than two bachelors.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.willamette.edu/cla/physics/engineering/index.php[/url]”>http://www.willamette.edu/cla/physics/engineering/index.php</a></p>
<p>Santa Clara is Jesuit, and from what we can tell, doesn’t feel very Catholic OR religious for that matter.</p>
<p>Is Colorado school of the Mines WUE?</p>
<p>USC offers 1/2 tuition + $1,000 to NMF and has a minor in East Asian Languages <a href=“http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/ealc/undergraduate/ealcminor.html[/url]”>http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/ealc/undergraduate/ealcminor.html</a> . Regular deadline 1/10/11. (And NMF do not have to meet the 12/1 scholarship deadline to be awarded the NMF Presidential Scholarship.)</p>
<p>But the cost is higher than you have stated you can handle - COA is ~$55,000, so with 1/2 tuition NMF Presidential scholarship of ~$20,500, plus NMC $1,000 plus $5,500 Stafford loan, plus your $20,000 from parents, you would come up about $8,000 short.</p>
<p>Too bad you did not apply by the 12/1 scholarship deadline - you might have been considered for the Trustee scholarship.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>@quilah and Shrinkrap:
Do you know much about 4-2 and 3-2 engineering programs? They seem to me to be a very expensive round-about way to get an engineering degree. Does the extra degree really give you any advantages?
Also, I was told that the max scholarship at Willamette is (this may be slightly off, as it comes from memory) $16k/yr. Have you heard of any greater aid?
@alememom:
Thanks for the info. I discovered USC mid-December and was very disappointed to have missed the deadline. The NMF scholarship is unfortunately not enough for me. I should have posted this thread two months ago!</p>
<p>Have you done any financial aid calculators to see if you qualify for need-based aid? USC uses the CSS/Profile, so the “Institutional Method” calculator at the College Board site will give you a very rough estimate.</p>
<p>I recommend you do apply to USC in case your other options turn out to be even more expensive - being within $8,000 might look pretty good if that turns out to be the case.</p>
<p>
Because “you asked for it,” I’ll offer a bit more :)</p>
<p>USC sounds like a very good fit for you. So…</p>
<p>COA ~$55,000</p>
<p>Less:
NMF 1/2 tuition Presidential Scholarship ~$20,500
NMC Scholarship $1,000
Stafford Loan $5,500
Parent contribution $20,000
Summer job $2,500
School-year job $2,000
Buy all used books, save $500
Stay at school over Thanksgiving break, save $500 in transportation
With your stats, you MUST have received local scholarships… if you haven’t applied for any, get going! I’ll assume $1,000 :)</p>
<p>That leaves you only $1,500 to cover… USC seems like a do-able option for you, and it fits you - APPLY!</p>