I hope you are staying safe and healthy.
I’m a rising senior and am finishing up my college list. I don’t want to apply to more than 8 schools but would appreciate more or even better options than the ones I already have on my list. I have a limit of 15k per year on college, am open to any campus setting & population, and want financially safety schools, since I am most likely going to get an MBA. I want to major in Finance and possible co-major or minor in International Business.
My current list is: UofArizona, ASU, UNC Chapel Hill (not much merit?), University of South Carolina, Santa Clara (super competitive merit), IU Bloomington
Stats:
4.0 GPA
top 1% of class (on the road to valedictorian)
-National Hispanic Scholar (if everything goes as planned)
-HAVEN’T taken SAT/ACT! due to cancellations, though projected is 1400-1500
-college prep and rigorous high school
-all honors classes + took APWH, APUSH, AP Calc BC, AP Lang, AP Physics, and more APs next year
-4s & 5s on ALL APs
-300+ community service hours through projects, library, tutoring
-100+ hours of employment
various leadership positions + founded club
varsity tennis, top orchestra & part of regional symphony
took college Introduction to Business course over summer
-participated in 4 mildly competitive summer programs (including HSF YLI)
-awards from National Spanish Exam, varsity letters, community service, tennis, case competitions, orchestra
PLEASE let me know if it is not worth it to apply to some of the schools I have, though I would still like to take a chance at some. ALSO, let me know if there are any other INCREDIBLE finance/international business programs and colleges with merit aid that I could receive.
What is your home state? Are you low income? If not, UNC may not be a good choice since their merit aid is hyper competitive. They do meet need for admitted students.
Home state: Arizona
Not low income
Ok, I had looked into some of their merit and will be attending an info session soon, but, do you think that the total cost of attendance will be >20k?
To get bottom line cost less than $15,000 will be nearly impossible if you are not eligible for need based aid. At private universities even if you get a full tuition merit aid scholarship, which is very rare, room and board and travel would be $15,000/year.
Also it is much too early to be thinking about an MBA.
ASU and UArizona would be your financial safeties and both would provide a good business education.
Merit aid and need based aid do not stack. If you are eligible for say $40,000 in need based aid and $20,000 in merit aid the merit replaces that amount of need based aid. So you would get $20,000 in merit aid and $20,000 on need based aid.
Ok, got it! Thank you for the insight. I noticed that on my net price calculators for schools.
Do you have any recommendations of great merit scholarships or other top Finance programs?
Your status as a National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholar means a lot at both ASU and U of A. Both give a free tuition ride. (My OOS DD is also an NHRP Scholar). Then you have to pay for room and board, and any associated college fees. (At ASU, it’s $2000 for Barrett Honors if you go that route and $1800 for business school fees. But you can apply to get scholarships in these schools too).
If you are interested in International Business, I would also look at the ASU 4+1 program with Thunderbird, where you can get a Master’s Degree your 5th year and in your senior year, the New American University Scholarship from undergrad pays for this.
As for aid from the other schools, UNC is a crap shoot, although the Moorhead-Cain Scholarship is amazing. I suspect it’s hard to get a full OOS ride at IU. Miami of Ohio gives very good scholarships for high test scores and GPAs and their cost of living is likely not expensive.
I looked at Fordham; however, the NHRP scholarship itself is also competitive, for the top 1% of applicants. @Eeyore123 Texas A&M’s website, yes, was confusing and they only offer ~3,000 for NHRP.
@CollegeMamb0 Do you believe my stats give me a good chance for the Top Scholars? I know the essays also help you stand out.
@sbdad12 Yes, though I want to try and go OOS if there are better options. Is a 4+1 program smart to enroll in, or should I wait and take a work year after attaining my bachelor’s? Are 4+1 degrees still viewed the same in the workplace? I know experience is what helps to distinguish you from others. I think I will drop UNC from my list. Miami of Ohio would still be >20k because the merit scholarships aren’t super high.
Thank you all for your input and let me know if there are options that I have not looked at or if there are external scholarships that can help me reach this <20k cost of attendance for one year.
This thread is from a couple of years ago, but lists some potential scholarships that may still exist. You would need to check each college 's website to confirm:
@aixagca , I’m not sure I agree about Miami of Ohio. Being out of state and Hispanic, you would probably clean up there. You just have to want to attend. Small town from what I understand, but very good school. Here are some of the scholarships for merit: https://miamioh.edu/admission/merit-guarantee/
UNC is very hard OOS no matter who you are. But you can still apply. I would think merit aid is even more difficult.
As for the 4+1, good that you ask that. I asked the same thing and a number of their students are 4+1. This would be my daughter’s issue too.
Thunderbird has a solid alumni network which really helps with placement. Several friends I know graduated there, including one who went right in. I think if you have summer internships while at ASU, that would definitely help. If it means anything, I got my MBA and had 3-4 years work experience and I still struggled finding work, so there is that. After your first job, no one cares a) where you went to school and b) certainly not that you have a 4+1 degree, and may not care you have a Master’s either. They’re completing a $75M building in downtown Phoenix.
You can’t beat that deal…free tuition for undergrad, your 5th year costs $25K in tuition (and they have scholarships for this too), and you come out with a Master’s Degree. Little to no debt is key. I would check out the website and sit in on one of their webinars. https://thunderbird.asu.edu/degrees/graduate-degree/4-plus-1-master-global-management
You would be a strong candidate for the Business Honors Academy at U of Nebraska Lincoln. This is a top-notch, highly-regarded cohort program - about 40 students per class year. Within the program, you can choose any major in the college of business, including finance and international business.
It looks to me as if your baseline merit aid for UNL, as a Hispanic Scholar, would bring your annual costs down to about $18K; and I believe it’s possible to get additional merit that’s specific to the Business Honors Academy, so this may be workable for you.
Your resume is impressive but I really have no idea! Research what the programs are looking for and show how you best meet them in your application. That is all you can do.
Not Hispanic but S20 with similar stats went through the process last year looking for international business. It’s tough to get the cost down to the $15/k range but NHRP is the x-factor. I would apply to your in-state flagships, ASU and UA? They’ll most likely be lowest COA.
After locking-up in-state options, try to find a few other good schools as good or better than your in-state options that give a lot of aid/merit for NHRP. Fordham might be on that list?
Then I’d aim high and try a few top schools. They might be looking for diversity (and good students) and offer a lot of merit. It seems private schools can offer more merit than OOS public schools. Not sure I’d go after UNC. You might get in but not get any or enough merit $. OOS schools usually don’t offer too much merit.
Aim for a 1500 SAT. That opens a lot of doors for the full tuition scholarships. S20 really liked Fordham but couldn’t get the cost down enough. Also liked Miam FL. SMU was the most generous. Notre Dame has been very generous to my friend’s kids. Both go there. I can vouch for South Carolina. I did my MBA there many years ago. Excellent international business school.
Keeping the apps under 10 is smart. Applying is half the job. The other half is writing essays for honors colleges and scholarships. It takes up a lot of time. Do good research and you’ll be able to get your list down. Look at the required courses and teaching methods. Had my son investigated a little more he probably could have taken 2 or 3 schools off his list that he applied to…wasted time. Good luck.
Thank you @Rivers4 I have looked at some NHRP scholarships through other threads as well.
@sbdad12 As far as Miami of Ohio, I see a chance for full tuition but will look at the other costs and the quality of the school. I definitely should look into the 4+1 program and ask finance organizations about their opinion on that. Thunderbird would help with International Business but I am looking at getting an MBA in Finance and more of a double major or minor in International Business if possible, and ASU does have a 4+1 for that too, just not through Thunderbird. I also don’t want to think too far ahead but I may end up reaching higher for graduate school. I just feel that 4+1 programs would be more efficient.
@aquapt Oo, I searched that one up and it sounds great! Might add that to my list. However, how good is UNL’s business program? I don’t see a ranking. Also, do you know what life is like in Nebraska? I honestly have never visited.
@chmcnm Got it. I definitely am applying to my in-state flagships, though I want to also have great OOS options as well. I thought it was the opposite that private schools don’t offer scholarships (or at least many) but public schools do, because that’s the case for example with Santa Clara. Fordham still seems out of reach, Notre Dame has good merit but is competitive, and South Carolina is one of my top because I met with my admissions counselor and loved what the university has to offer. Exactly, I don’t want to overwhelm myself with all of the scholarship and honors college essays which is why I want to have a scholarship list with schools that I actually want to attend.
Would you suggest to prioritize the college scholarship applications and honors college essays and, after the Early Action deadlines, apply to external scholarships? Or should I balance them both?