I’m not sure if this has been mentioned, but HBCUs usually do not award much merit aid. The private ones do not have the endowments that allow widespread large merit gifts, and the public ones are public universities which will not offer much aid to OOS applicants.
I’ll hazard a guess and assume your brother applied to the “name brand” private HBCUs like Howard, Florida A&M, Morehouse, etc? Families are often surprised by the lack of aid for students at those schools, outside of some applicants with excellent stats.
There are a few public HBCUs that award significant aid. Some in Mississippi and Alabama will be generous and have explicit charts on their websites that outline the stats needed and the amount of the aid. Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville NC has a few good merit scholarships - and FSU has an arrangement with NC State University to allow Engineering students to take classes on both campuses.
Also, Elizabeth City State University in NC has a low-cost guarantee for in-state students, but the price point for OOS students is often much lower than in-state costs at some other states, especially PA.
There are more options, but it will take some hunting and research for you and your brother.
@dc2013 , here is a response I posted in another thread a few months ago:
The stats comments may not match your brother’s stats, but these schools have generous merit available for various stat levels.
Speaking of great Scholarship opportunities at HBCUs for students with GPA/SAT/ACT stats like yours, here are others:
Scholarships - Alabama A&M University 4
Alabama A&M Univ
It looks like you fall a little short on the SAT for the full-ride (tuition+R&B+$1K/semester for books) Presidential Scholarship. However, you qualify for the Merit Scholarship with covers the full price of tuition.
Mississippi Valley State Univ
With your GPA and your 26 ACT, you qualify for the Presidential Academic Scholarship which is cover Tuition+R&B+AllFees+$500ForBooks.
Scholarships | Financial Aid | Scholarships Available 2
Fayetteville State University
With your GPA and your 26 ACT, you qualify for the Dr Valeria Fleming STEM Scholarship, labeled as a “Debt-Free Scholarship” meaning it does not include any loans. It includes Tuition+Fees+R&B. Students will be provided a faculty mentor in your major who will guide your student research and be of assistance in many ways. It is worth noting that FSU has a 3+2 agreements with NC State University (1hr away) for students majoring in Engineering. The Scholarship deadline is Feb 21, 2021
Any student who is in dire financial need to attend college should visit various HBCU websites to see what is available. HBCUs are open to all students, no matter your race, religion, sexual orientation, or whatever. It is a mistake to think that today’s HBCUs are for only one kind of student.
For instance, Fayetteville State U is 58% Afr-Am, 20% White, 8% Hispanic, 2% Asian, 2% Native American, 1% International. There is a place for everyone at these schools.
“The public four-year and two-year institutions have the 30-Credit Transfer Framework which allows students to transfer up to 30 credits of foundation courses to any participating PA TRAC colleges. All of the public institution are PA TRAC institutions so this is considered statewide.”
Penn State’s is a downloadable pdf. First year transfers must apply to a regional campus first.
The PA core classes are organized the same way Ohio’s OTM are. PA grants can be used in Ohio and several other states. A couple private Ohio schools with good credit transfer and need based aid schools to consider are Case Western and College of Wooster.
Thumper, I already posted upthread that this is incorrect and absolutely misleading. You do not need to amend your returns! A gift is not a charitable donation…
No, sorry thumper can’t be done to an individual. We usually give directly to educational institutions, but goes through the company S corp can write off donations. I confused the fact you don’t have to file for the 14k with it being a deduction. Good thing the Cpa is doing all the heavy lifting for us.
@dc2013 Can you please let us know what his intended major might be? If Engineering, CS or business, going straight to a 4-year institution will be the best route. The road to transfer is full of big potholes, and as @MYOS1634 pointed out, PA does not have a robust transfer articulation policy. I was reading somewhere that Pitt is setting aside more money for need-based financial aid. Is there any need based aid he will be receiving?
It would also be helpful if you could let us know what his highest level math course was in high school. I am a math professor and math is the subject that washes out a lot of STEM students - through no fault of their own, if the high school did not prepare them well. Pitt and Temple may be a bit more “kinder and gentler” in providing more support, compared to Penn State.
I think it’s great that you’re doing this for your younger brother! If you give us more information, we can help you optimize your generosity.
I think it’s great too that the OP is considering being generous to his younger brother. I see no downside to helping him out some given what has been presented.