I need help in determining my best options for making college affordable.
My parents make approximately 250k per year, so my family will not qualify for any need-based aid. My parents have also told me that they can only pay about 30k per year (including tuition, room and board, books, and other expenses). My family lives in a high cost of living area (Hawaii), and I am not very interested in attending my in-state institution (University of Hawaii Manoa).
It seems like merit scholarships are what I should pursue, and I believe I would qualify for many of them. I have pretty good stats: 3.98 unweighted GPA, 32 ACT, and I have taken most of the honors and AP classes my school offers. I am also very involved in extracurriculars with leadership positions. I am interested in studying engineering in college, with perhaps electrical engineering as my specific branch.
Here are some of the colleges I currently plan on applying to this year.
University of British Columbia
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Colorado State University
Cornell University
Lehigh University
Northeastern University
Rice University
Santa Clara University
Stanford University
University of Utah
University of Washington
I realize that I will probably get no money from Cornell or Stanford. I will also get WUE at Colorado State and Utah.
Any suggestions for my current list, or where to find the best merit scholarships? I would greatly appreciate any advice on other schools to look into that have good merit scholarships. I would like many high value merit scholarships, but I still want the school to have a good reputation in engineering. I can also provide some additional information about my college search or myself, if necessary.
University of Alabama is popular on this website for its great merit scholarships. Had we learned about it earlier last year, our daughter might have gone there.
Alabama will give you free tuition plus 2500 per year. Very good eng’g, and excellent state of the art new STEM facilities.
I know Hawaii students who’ve gone or are going to Alabama and they love(d) it.
Punahou High School guidance counselors traveled to Alabama for a campus visit and they were so impressed that they encourage their students to apply. They have a UAlabama poster in the guidance counselors office.
However, Cal Poly SLO has an out-of-state list price of about $37,000, so your parents’ $30,000 plus a $5,500 federal direct loan plus some work earnings may be able to cover it even without scholarships.
Other California State Universities (not Universities of California) are in the same range of list price. Only a few offer WUE tuition rates, though. San Jose State University may be of interest due to location.
Other lower list price (for out-of-state students) schools include South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, and University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.
For merit scholarships, look in the following lists:
@AspiringStudent1 and @ucbalumnus: Sorry missed the statement that the family can contribute $30K/year for college. Cal Poly SLO then is a good option.
Yes, SUNYs cost ~$20k for state residents and ~$30k for out-of-state students. Binghamton and Stony Brook may be good options, but you have to like (or at least, tolerate) snow.
Note that some schools on your list do not offer merit scholarship. Check the admission stat of these schools to see if your test score is at least above the 75th percentile, otherwise, your chance for merit aid is very very slim.
We live in Hawaii too and are able to give our daughter $15k a year. She is interested in Mechanical or Biomedical Engineering and has stats very similar to yours.
She looked at Utah for merit/WUE but decided against it. University of Washington never made our list because we couldn’t find any indication they offered merit to out-of-state students. I wish we could afford Cal Poly SLO. We visited last fall, and it’s a great college. If you can afford it, definitely apply.
Most of the private schools on your list are better known for financial aid, not merit. Per collegedata.com:
Cornell: No merit aid reported
Lehigh: (4.9%) of freshmen had no financial need and received merit aid, average amount $13,876
Northeastern: (27.0%) of freshmen had no financial need and received merit aid, average amount $20,784 (but this includes their 1/2 tuition scholarship for National Merit Finalists)
Rice: (8.4%) of freshmen had no financial need and received merit aid, average amount $20,132
Santa Clara: (26.2%) of undergraduates had no financial need and received merit aid, average amount $12,496
Stanford: Merit received by 10 (1.2%) of aid recipients, no average amount listed, and all 10 had won a Nobel Prize by 17 (kidding on that last part)
Other ideas: Arizona State, with it’s highly regarded Barrett Honors College, has automatic merit scholarships (you would get $13k a year) and a great Engineering school. Temple in Philadelphia will automatically give you full tuition and two $4k summer / study abroad stipends. University of Alabama is truly unique in how much merit money they offer, but I can’t convince my D. Miami University in Ohio looks like a beautiful campus and lots of competitive scholarships.
“All U.S. students admitted as freshmen are automatically considered for this four-year scholarship. For autumn 2015, scholarship amounts range from $3,000 to $7,500 per year ($12,000 to $30,000 over four years) and were awarded to about one half of U.S. freshmen who are not residents of Washington State.”
Not huge merit aid for OOS, but every dollar helps, and something is better than nothing.
You need to look outside the top 50 schools and find private schools that need Hawaii students to check the box. Ask your guidance counselor which colleges have done so for past graduates at your high school.
Look at the Midwest and the Southeast, I’m guessing you’d be URM which, combined to your stats, may result in nicer packages than if you apply to the West Coast only.