Likelihood of Merit Based Scholarships [TX resident, top 2% rank, 34 ACT, 1460 SAT, <$40k, computer science]

Paying for College
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You might look at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. There are merit scholarship opportunities, here: Incoming Freshmen | Undergraduate Academic Scholarships | SIU. Also, OOS students pay the same rate as in-state students, here: In-state Tuition | Undergraduate Admissions | SIU; and the 2023-2024 cost estimates show that COA is a little less than $30K/year.

Northern Illinois University also does not differentiate between in-state and OOS students in terms of tuition; and the annual COA is also less than $30K/year: What Are My Costs? - NIU - Financial Aid and Scholarships Office. Here is a link to merit scholarships for first-year students at NIU: Merit Scholarships for Freshmen - NIU - Financial Aid and Scholarships Office

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Check out MeritMore.com. Also, for every college you’re considering, download their Common Data Set and look specifically at section H2A: It will tell you how many are receiving merit aid, and more crucially, the average amount.

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Look for Cost of Attendance calculators on each college website. If you are unlikely to get need based aid, look up the Common Data Set to see how much merit aid they give and the average amount. Also look on college website for college awarded scholarships that may require an additional application. If you are competitive for the scholarship, might be worth applying.

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Hi - congratulations on all your hard work! You’ll be an asset wherever you land.

I don’t see anyone mentioning that a lot of schools now meet 100% of “need,” defined as the gap between EFC and cost. It’s important to look at how they do it, for example Brown covers all of it with grants and work-study, so you leave with no debt. Duke now does it (reportedly to maintain diversity after the Supreme Court decision), though low-interest loans are part of their package, so there is debt still at graduation.

Good luck!!

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The OP indicated they don’t qualify for need-based aid. Hence the merit chase.