<p>We are helping son find some colleges to apply to that with a 1440 CR/M SAT score he is likely to get great merit aid, plus some schools where it is not as likely but a possibility - sort of like financial reaches. There are a few schools that have a chart where he is guaranteed so much for his SAT score/GPA combination, but not many. Other than those, how do I know which schools are financial safeties? </p>
<pre><code>Also, how do I know if a school will be challenging enough for him? He doesn't need a Harvard, but I don't think going to a 4 year school on the level of the average community college will be in his best interests either. On one website, I noticed the listing of how many first year students live on campus - that seems like a good indicator of whether the student body is active on campus. Are there any other not so obvious factors to research and consider?
</code></pre>
<p>I suggest Grinnell. But there are many threads on this issue. One veteran poster’s D was accepted at Yale but got a great package at Rhodes, in Memphis and is now going to Yale Med School I believe.</p>
<p>You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Many posters have been this way before. Maybe someone will chime in with the exact thread titles or links, but you might find them if you looked yourself.</p>
<p>I can’t be helpful because our aid was need based.</p>
<p>No National Merit - his scores fell 4 points short of the usual National Merit score in our state. If we lived in some other states, he would be National Merit. He will get Commended but that doesn’t usually get much merit money.</p>
<p>NMF is nice, but not nearly as nice as I thought it would be. Your research path is just a bit different with or without.</p>
<p>The schools where NMF has the biggest impact is often not of interest to kids with top scores. At the most challenging schools, it is usually worth $0 or $1000/yr or $2000/yr. A combination of high SATs and great GPA can get more than that… scrub CC for hints based on what kind of school/major is a good fit for your son. </p>
<p>One of the schools that gets repeated kudos for merit $ (but not financial aid) is Case in Cleveland. My son got what I think is their top merit scholarship $27,500/yr. They no longer publish a grid, but I think it depends on super high SATs and/or ACT=35+</p>
<p>There are literally hundreds of schools to choose from. Your son needs to figure out which part of the country to search, which type of school- public/private/religious, small/large, liberal… Consider the costs of travel. Once he has a list of his priorities you and he can look for best fit schools and then narrow his list to those likely to be affordable. Most state flagship schools will have honors programs/colleges to challenge their best students. He has to have an idea of what he wants to major in- at least math/science or social science/humanities to determine which schools will have good programs for him. More data would be helpful for getting useful college suggestions. Possible major and geographic areas help- is he a California would be engineer or a budding northeast poet, for example. </p>
<p>Looking at college rankings can be useful. You want to look at the 25-50% ACT/SAT scores for colleges- think in broad general terms, do not nitpick small differences. GPA and class ranks can be of some help in weeding out schools. If the numbers seem far below his then he is less likely to find his academic peer group at the school. US News and World Reports is often maligned but reading the annual issue about colleges provides a wealth of information, using last August’s issue is still useful. Rankings help organize things- does he want a nationally known or a regionally known college- info will be there. Use it as a starting point to discover colleges you never knew existed.</p>
<p>Tulane University may be just such a school. It is known for great merit aid, has a talented student body (2009 SAT CR Middle 50%: 620-720, Math Middle 50%: 630-710), and has some great undergrad programs.</p>
<p>If your son is a junior, he might consider taking the SAT again in the fall unless he has already taken it multiple times with intensive prepping. This is because some schools might have cut-offs for different levels of aid, such as 1400, 1450, 1500, etc. In these cases a very modest increase might lead to thousands of dollars in merit aid.</p>
<p>But, he should certainly start with his current scores and not count on an increase.</p>
<p>I agree with mythmom. Grinnell is a top-rated LAC that provides excellent merit aid. They have a huge endowment which they use to bring top students, domestically and internationally, to their rural campus. S is a sophmore and loves everything about the place-and we are grateful for Grinnell’s generosity.</p>
<p>Lovesthe heat, it is hard to tell without more detail about his GPA and his preferred region, major, type and size of school, etc.</p>
<p>In general, if you look at the B+ students thread; the schools with great merit aid thread; and the 3.0-3.3 parents threads; you will find high caliber schools shich would offer him good packages.</p>
<p>As a guideline, if heis at the 75th percentile of incoming freshmen for that school, he will get a lot of aid.</p>
<p>Look for schools with high 4 year (not 6) graduation rates. Among good northeastern options are Susquehanna, AAlfred and Juniata.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. He has a 4.0 unweighted and is not sure about his major., He wants to be a camp director and there are several roads to get there. It would be nice if the school had a recreation major, although he may or may not major in it. A school that’s well known is a plus but that’s a minor factor. Other possible majors are business and English. Right now he is looking at state colleges in the South, Midwest, and some Western states - Montana, Colorado, Idaho, and Wyoming. It is unlikely he will take the SAT again.</p>
<p>Auburn University in Alabama: 1440 SAT with a 3.5 GPA has the automatic Presidential Scholarship (Full tuition, $1500 technology allowance freshman year, $4000 after sophomore year for study abroad) In addition he may receive a departmental scholarship for $2500 per year (based on current seniors being offer this). This year Auburn had a Rhodes scholar in microbiology and a Goldwater scholarship winner in biomed. Your child will also receive automatic admission into the honors college.</p>
<p>Grinnell gave a full ride to one of my high school friends, who didn’t have many impressive ECs, averages grades, scores and not much of an intellectual either. So I guess they qualify as pretty generous.</p>
<p>Grinnell is $47000 a year. I find it hard to believe that this would be a consideration unless the scholarship is very substantial for a recreation major.</p>