Help! Midwest school with intellectuality, diversity, scholarships?

College Search & Selection
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<p>Hi there!</p>

<p>This is (one of) my first times posting...but I have been browing cc on and off for about a year. I'm a junior at a small private prep school in the midwest, and I have a bit of a dilemma about college. I have 4 basic requirements for my future college, and possible matches seem difficult to come by!...</p>

<p>If anyone has suggestions, that would be amazing!</p>

<p>1.) I am at the top of my class and love learning and the atmosphere my "academically rigorous" school. I want a school (or program within a school - honors progarm?) where the students are intellectually intense (while being kind), the teachers are dedicated and love what they do (and can get to know students and help them), and the overall quality of education is awesome if one takes advantage of it. I'd like to do pre-med, maybe neuroscience or biochemistry, but also international studies.</p>

<p>2.) My dad sent himself to a state university and is now a corporate executive. Because this proves that you can do well in life without going to an ivy-league, he refuses to pay more for my education than he would for an in-state college ($12,000 he says). I know that I could get some scholarships, being the top of my class and (hopefully!) a National Merit Semi or Finalist. However, my chances at scholarships at the school's I've loved so far seems slim. I LOVED Wash U (St Louis) and Grinnell (I know they're different...but they have that intensity!), so I've been looking at schools like U of Chicago, Oberlin, Carleton, Emory, Lawrence U, Macalester, etc. They just don't give much merit scholarship money b/c I'd be in an applicant pool with heaps of people like me.</p>

<p>3.) You'll notice someting about the above colleges...my dad also requires that I stay in the Midwest. I think Texas and the west and southwest are ok...just not the coasts. </p>

<p>4.) The fourth thing I really really want is some DIVERSITY. Jesuit colleges would be a good deal for good academics (if you take advantage of them) and scholarships. However, it seems like the student populations are pretty homogenous there. I'm kind of artsy in the way I dress and things...its my way of being creative. I'd really really like to find people who are both intellectual and alternative at college. Grinnell is the only major LAC I've been to so far, and I definately found it there (I liked the school a lot in general!). However, I'm looking for more non-need money than they can give :-( So I'm trying to find a compromise school that I might fall in love with...</p>

<p>Oh wow, sorry about the length of this post. Any suggestions would be awesome though! What I'm looking for in summary: Midwest school with diversity, an intellectua atmospher, and awesome merit scholarships, if possible. Thanks!</p>

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<p>Case Western Reserve? Hanover? Hendrix? </p>

<p>I am not an expert here but I bet if you PM the question to curmudgeon he can help you.</p>

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<p>Def. Wash U. They give awsome financial aid. Just call their fin aid people or look at their website and you'll see. I lived in STL before I left for college and it's a beautiful campus, STL is a good city if you know where to go and it has lots of diversity, intellectual people, and great resources.</p>

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<p>MACALESTER for sure.</p>

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<p>Hendrix College in Conway, AR fits most of your descriptors. :-)</p>

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<p>Try Rice in Texas.</p>

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<p>you also might want to check out Beloit College.</p>

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<p>From what I've heard, Macalester and Carelton would be what you are looking for. But I have no knowledge about their merit aid.</p>

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<p>I just got into grinnell this year, and will attend. they give great merit aid and it looks like you would qualify for it based on your academics.</p>

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<p>University of Chicago........meets all of your criteria.</p>

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<p>your dad came from the same criteria my dad had little money paid himself thru CUny hunter and another public school in the city for grad...It cost him little but he paid that and money to live at his house..by working now he owns a party rental business in NYC and makes 200,000+ a year</p>

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<p>knox college gives good aid, and would be a safety for you i'm pretty sure.</p>

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<p>Illinois Wesleyan gives out good financial aid, and is a pretty good school.</p>

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<p>Lovelearning?1 - First, congratulations on being so insightful about your own well-considered criteria for colleges that may work for you. Second, As was mentioned earlier, definitely PM Curmudgeon as he and his senior daughter are reaping the benefits of his careful investigation of colleges/universities that are excellent and also give substantial merit awards. Second, PM Carolyn - the always helpful and vastly knowledgeable maven of the college admissions process. Her senior daughter is also reaping the benefits of their joint exploration of colleges around the country. Third, you are so smart to explore beyond the "brand name" list - Washington U. St. Louis, Carleton, Macalester, Grinnell, Oberlin, Kenyon, etc. - which as you noted will be glutted with excellent candidates like yourself competing for the same limited pool of merit dollars. Now for a few colleges/universities that meet your "intellectual" criteria, room for artsy, etc. with some merit dollars available. Earlham College in Indiana and Beloit College (two Carolyn favorites) meet this criteria. Excellent liberal arts colleges in or close to the Midwest to consider as well are Colorado College, Knox College, Illinois Wesleyan, College of Wooster (Ohio), Kalamazoo College (Michigan), St. Olaf College (Minnesota), Centre College (Kentucky), Ohio Wesleyan, and Hanover College (Indiana). Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland is a winner with superb libera arts, sciences, and top notch medical school along with merit dollars. Though outside the Midwest, University of Rochester in New York state is also superb in the Case Western vein with lots of merit dollars.</p>

<p>Please be careful not to immediately right off colleges because of funny sounding names like the College of Wooster and Kalamazoo, for instance, becuase a number of these schools are genuinely diamonds in the rough. As an example, Kalamazoo is proud of its extensive overseas studies programs and the College of Wooster is proud that many professors at other colleges/universities send their kids to Wooster. Also, don't automatically write off (or tell your Dad not to) certain states such as Arkansas (with Hendrix College) and Kentucky (with Centre College). These colleges also often have large merit dollars for students just like you.</p>

<p>Finally, I also recommend Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. It's a wonderful (and somewhat preppy) liberal arts college with some strong professional programs in engineering and business. It's oozing with merit dollars from its hefty endowment (though it is "preppy" and somewhat homogeneous), but what a great city to go to college in.</p>

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<p>If you are top of your class and have strong SAT scores (over 1500 in the Verbal and Math sections of the SAT), apply to Michigan before October 1st and there is a chance you could get one of the $20,000 scholarships. The University of Michigan-Ann Arbor definitely meets most of your criteria.</p>

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<p>Our daughter applied to Grinnell, Earlham, and Macalester several years ago. Although total grant aid was the about the same at all three schools, Grinnell's aid was almost all merit aid guaranteed for four years, while the grant aid at Earlham and Macalester was almost all need-based.</p>

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<p>University of Chicago sounds perfect. I'm surprised only one person has mentioned it so far.</p>

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<p>O my goodness, thank you EVERYONE for so much help! I'm a bit busy right now (ACT next weekend!), but I'll definately be looking into all the colleges you have suggested. I'm not sure that I have quite the stats to get merit aid at U of Chicago or Wash U :-( I got a 220 on the psat...so maybe around a 2200 on SAT? this is such an amazing community of knowledgeable people and I really appreciate your ideas. if you think of anything else, let me know! i'll be back once i've looked into some of these, probably with more specific questions.</p>

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<p>If you make National Merit semi-finalist, and you are admitted, you'll get a college-sponsored National Merit award and possibly some decent merit aide, from Macalester, and Carleton, and Oberlin (to a lesser extent in our case). This probably will not be enough to make you totally even with a state school though. Macalester will probably be the best shot.</p>

<p>I've heard Grinnell gives $$ too.</p>

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<p>northwestern, uchicago, macalester, grinnell, rice</p>