Late to the party - playing catch-up on merit aid for a solid, if unspectacular student.

Paying for College
21

Ohio State has pretty lousy merit aid for most, as residents only kids with super high scores and top 3% rank seem to get much of anything. Miami U in Ohio will likely offer her more (1/2 tuition almost a minimum). Certainly not in a city but a decent town and very pretty campus.

Temple would probably be full tuition plus stipends if the GPA is over 3.8 weighted with academic core courses only (art, gym etc are taken out). Temple’s honors program/classes/dorms impressed us, D seriously considered going. Neighborhood is a bit rough around the edges (this SO depends on your perspective - we felt it was just fine, others find it terrifying, a lot will depend on how comfy your kid is around lot of people who aren’t white) but the campus itself is very safe.

U Alabama offers full tuition for that gpa/score level also (shocked we got to two pages without someone mentioning that) :slight_smile:

22

ASU has a beautiful new Journalism building and they give merit aid. Check the website. She may also be interested in Barrett Honors College. But, obviously, our weather is a lot like yours.

23

Cost is definitely not the only consideration. We’re not looking to get out of paying for school. It’s all about finding value, and we really appreciate everyone here who’s helping that effort.

24

Trinity is a good school in San Antonio but it is a bit pricey but I have heard they have financial aid. Baylor says she would get about 68k. This would still make you pay about 35k per year or so. I think she would get a lot of money at Texas Tech which is not very far from you. They have good financial aid for kids with her scores. Alabama gives lots of money for 32 or higher. OU and OSU give lots of money for 32 and higher too. I would not have her attend UNM. As for Texas A&M, she is an automatic admit and it is 24k a year. If she wants a smaller school, you could always look into Concordia Lutheran or Mary-Hardin Baylor. A 32 is in the upper percentage of kids that take the test and her grades are good. I do not think she can get into UT due to the top 8% rule for them but they have a great journalism program and she could attend UTSA and transfer most likely.

25

It might be too close to home, your D would qualify for in-state rates at NMSU because you live within the 135 mile radius of Las Cruces.

Annual COA (including books, R &B, tuition, fees) under $18K.

NMSU awards merit to OOS applicants:

http://admissions.nmsu.edu/scholarships/

NMF will get her full tuition, full R&B plus $2500/semester stipend. NMSF will get her full tuition, full R&B plus $1250/semester stipend.

NMSUhas a journalism and mass communications degree.

http://journalism.nmsu.edu

26

You may want to look at U of South Carolina. I don’t know how strong it is for her potential majors, but she would likely get merit that would bring her cost to about $22,000/yr. I know that is a bit more than you mentioned, but here is another factor: The SC Honors College is a top ranked public honors college. She would have to apply to get in and it is competitive, but she has a shot. App is due 11/15 I think. Columbia is a small but attractive city. Just something to consider…

27

I am from NJ so I only know about some of the schools in my area, but she would (with those stats- double check on the weighted GPA though) qualify for full tuition at Fairleigh Dickinson, Widner, WestChester, Montclair, Stockton, Ramapo, and Rider I think… All NJ or PA

28

Syracuse? Fordham? University of Richmond? Syracuse excellent journalism. Fordham and Richmond can be generous and excellent liberal arts.

29

<<<
Seton Hall, which wasn’t really on our radar. They offered a free application and indicated a high likelihood of admission and receiving far more merit aid than anyone else has so far even hinted at.


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What was the dollar amount offered?

Keep in mind that it’s not the dollar amount, it’s the end price. Some schools have lower costs so a lower offer can still mean a lower net cost.

30

I hear that she’s ready to go out of state for college, but I’ll second the Trinity U suggestion. It’s a great little school, with a huge endowment that translates into outstanding facilities, and while she would be among the top tier of students there in terms of academic qualifications, she wouldn’t be an outlier by any means. It’s not going to be as cheap as big, public schools, but for a high caliber private liberal arts college, it’s about as good a value as you’re likely to find. Full price is about $52K, which is already a good $10K cheaper than many private LACs, and it looks like your D would qualify for $21K/yr in merit aid according to their published table:
https://new.trinity.edu/sites/default/files/file_attachments/2016-17-scholarship-grid-august-2015-other-scholarships.pdf

That would bring your COA down to about $31K. Expensive in an objective sense, but a fine deal in the universe of high-quality private LACs when you’re not getting any need-based aid. Up to you whether or not that fits your budget.

31

To be fair, however, there are a good number of fine LACs that would probably be willing to throw ~$20K/yr of merit money to someone with your D’s stats (which would still leave your COA in the 30’s, however). The Colleges that Change Lives list is frequently referenced on these boards for good reason – they’re great schools for kids without great stats and often great values for kids like your D who do have great stats. And don’t sell her short with this “unspectacular” business. 2150 and 32 are top 2-3% nationwide numbers. Only on CC does that qualify as “solid, if unspectacular”.

32

<<<
She’s now up to a 3.66 unweighted/4.00 weighted GPA.
High rigor. She’s taken the maximum number of AP courses.

Grades have improved as workload has toughened.

2150 SAT, 660 math is the weak link. She retook last week after prepping heavily for math. We’ll see.

32 ACT, same story, the math is the relatively low number. Probably won’t retake.
She’s at a competitive public high school. Her class rank is only top 15 to 20%.

On target so far for an excellent senior year, so it’s possible she could squeak into the top 10%, but can’t count on it.


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It’s too late for her to get into the top 10% for admission purposes. She’s applying now. When her transcripts are sent, that’s when her rank or decile would be declared. Senior grades often have little/no affect because of when transcripts are sent.

Her scores are fine. Even if her M+CR isn’t 1400+, her ACT 32 would be higher.

Her UW GPA is an issue for merit at some schools. Some will only award to higher GPAs, but there are schools that will. Don’t waste apps on schools that typically use 3.75 UW as a threshold.

Which schools are her financial safeties? These would be schools that your know FOR SURE will give her enough merit to make them affordable? I would suggest that she apply to at least THREE schools that you know FOR SURE that she would get enough merit that your “net cost” will be about $12-15k.

Since “dollar amount” merit awards don’t increase each year, but a school’s tuition, housing, etc will increase, you should be aiming for a “net cost” of $12-15k for frosh year so that the school’s net cost doesn’t become too high after tuition, room, board costs jump each year.

It sounds like your other children commuted. If so, then you’re familiar with tuition increases, but may not be thinking about how room and board rates also increase each year.

In fact, the rates that you are seeing right now are the rates for current students. Those rates will be higher when your child is a freshman. So, don’t aim for $20k using today’s numbers…aim for about $12-15k

33

One question – have you actually run net price calculators at any schools? People with income well over $100k do get need-based aid, and sometimes a solid chunk of it, depending on where they go. Pick a few random schools that meet 100% of need (or close to it) and plug in your numbers. Clark, in MA, would be a safety for your daughter, has some great programs, and has great financial aid and a “fifth year free” program. Also maybe a place like Bryn Mawr or Mount Holyoke? Both give merit and meet full need.

34

Have you considered looking into the Top Scholar program at UTSA? It’s a full ride and primarily chooses students in the top 5% of their class, but your daughter seems to be a fantastic, well-rounded student otherwise . Selection is based on a holistic review of each candidate, so even if her rank is not as good as other students’, she can make up for it in different areas! I think applying would definitely be worth it!

35

Thanks to everyone who took the time to send us suggestions when we didn’t realize until very close to the initial deadlines that our D might be in line for some pretty decent merit aid.

Temple’s offer wasn’t quite what we hoped for, but their standards were a bit ambiguous to us (we weren’t entirely sure how to convert her school’s 100 point scale to a 4.0 + AP weighting) plus the Owl football team had a fantastic season, which no doubt drove a high number applications there.

But - she has received full tuition offers from Alabama and Ole Miss, and something pretty close from Ohio U. with a few others still to come as we navigate some honors programs and special situations. We really appreciate that so many people patiently helped to get us up to speed to find her some really good options. This is a fantastic community and we hope to be able to share what we’ve learned as we complete the process and finish up our visits.

Thank you!

36

Sounds like good options so far from UA, Miss and OU!

37

I found the College the Change Lives list to be very helpful. Southwestern University offered a merit aid scholarship that was substantial. My daughter is applying to several of these colleges this year and quite a few have offered merit aid that reduce the cost of attendance to below the UC/CSU (California) costs. The advice to run the Net Price Calculators is spot on!

38

Her SMU and Southwestern offers were nice, but not really close enough to affordability. But we knew going in that her comparatively low (top 16%) class rank was going to be a barrier to getting top offers at a lot of places. We’re really grateful that we got a lot of great suggestions that led to some excellent options.

39

@Hoppyness congrats to you, your daughter and family on all of your D’s acceptances, merit offers etc. I just discovered this thread and read through it but very helpful and informative.

It’s nice to have a few offers to consider.

Please keep us posted on her ultimate decision.

40

A big thank you to everyone who helped us get pointed in the right direction just in the nick of time, and here’s an update. Richmond is the only school we haven’t heard from. I expect that will be this week. She interviewed for and was accepted by the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio U. Other finalists we’ll be visiting over the next three weeks are Kentucky, Ole Miss, Alabama and UT Dallas. Those last four all offered full tuition scholarships or even a little better in some cases. Ohio U is full tuition minus $3k, Right now she’s pretty gung ho on Ohio U, but that’s the only place she’s gotten the official dog and pony show, so we’ll see what the other places and programs look like up close.