Looking for budget friendly OOS schools for bright student

College Search & Selection
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<p>Hi, this is my first post after weeks of reading through threads. I am so grateful for all of the amazing information I've already gleaned from this site! Anyway...</p>

<p>Son is currently a sophomore, but has recently decided to graduate after his junior year, which we have discussed in depth with his counselor and I have come to peace with. His curriculum has been accelerated since middle school, and he will have completed 11 or 12 AP classes by the end of next year with no gaps in his knowledge base. He is happy enough in high school and does well socially (mostly hanging with current juniors and seniors), but his main extra-curricular activities (music and sport) are not school-related, so he won't have to give them up, and he is fine with missing out on the whole senior thing. The ball is rolling for early graduation and I do think it is the right choice for DS, but I am now feeling the pressure to really start a college search sooner rather than later.</p>

<p>Son's stats should be strong: 3.91 uw/ 4.67w. October PSAT was 219 with zero prep, and we are shooting for a 2200+ when he takes the SAT later this month. Also, we are hoping he can
raise next year's PSAT by the couple of points needed for NMSF. He has lots of volunteer hours with special needs kids, a part-time seasonal job for the last two years, plus the non-school related ECs above. </p>

<p>He does not want to go to school in California (although I intend to have him apply to at least a couple of UCs). He wants to experience weather and seasons and something other than our beach culture. He is interested in research, but has not really narrowed down a career path, but probably something in science. He loves music, but not in a traditional band/orchestra/jazz vein, so not sure what to do there? He is not at all into cut-throat competition, and it actually drives him nuts, so a highly competitive school would probably not be a good fit, although high quality instruction in an engaging environment would be crucial. I'd also venture to say that a vibrant college town or city would appeal to him much more than a relatively isolated campus, and a student body of 3,000+ would be preferred. Also to consider: he is a Christian but moderate, so extremely right- or left- leaning campuses would be out. He is not interested in Greek life or a party scene, but enjoys going to concerts and outdoor activities, and is really into fitness. Finally, the big hiccup is that while we have an EFC close to $40,000, we realistically can't do much more than $25,000 a year, so we need schools that would be extremely generous with merit aid. I know if anyone can help with this tall order, it's the CC community!</p>

<p>We are planning our first college search mission for April, and will be looking at Southern schools. So far, we are planning to see Alabama (so excited by their honors programs and merit aid), Rhodes College (looks and sounds amazing but might be too small), and Tulane (love, it is a financial stretch but it will be our first time in the south and we can't skip New Orleans). Would love to see a couple other schools that might work, so any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>Sorry for the wordy initial post! Thanks in advance for your help!</p>

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<p>Totally going to plug here, but your son should consider the Wells Scholars program in Indiana University Bloomington. It is probably colder than he may want (I’m a southern girl, so I’m definitely not sure what to expect with the snow). The scholarship program has an early deadline for OOS students (Sept 20th), but is a full-ride for approx 20 students (tuition, generous living stipend, study abroad and summer grants).</p>

<p>The program tries to create a community experience among the scholars (first year seminars, personal attention), and the scholars come from all different majors (Business to Public Policy to Neuroscience and Music). Lots of great shows come through Bloomington, and the program staff (and IU staff in general) has been doing a really great job with answering my questions (I rec’d the scholarship in December).</p>

<p>(Edited to add: I’m sorry I’m not more helpful. I only applied to one OOS public, but I figured the information might help you, limited as it is.)</p>

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<p>For a few more ideas, this may be helpful…
[Best</a> Values in Public Colleges, 2013](<a href=“http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges/]Best”>Best College Values, 2019 | Kiplinger)</p>

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<p>If Alabama appeals to you, which it sounds like it should, considering adding Auburn, Clemson, NC State, and Virginia Tech during your Southern swing. All are relatively budget-friendly, likely to give your kid merit aid, and are strong in the sciences. U of Alabama at Birmingham would also probably be generous to him.</p>

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<p>A couple of suggestions come to mind
The kids screams University of Rochester (science, music, not too greek, not too much party, not too competitive, very supportive)
<a href=“http://enrollment.rochester.edu/financial/estimator/merit.aspx[/url]”>http://enrollment.rochester.edu/financial/estimator/merit.aspx&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>That might be too cold and gray for him though. If you want him to come home when he’s done, he’ll be definitely longing for the California beaches, LOL. </p>

<p>Many public university honors colleges/programs have great merit scholarships. Some that look really good to me are University of Washington, University of Pittsburgh, Penn State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan. (I see you already have Alabama). University of Delaware seems really underrated. There are probably more. </p>

<p>All of these honors programs will attract top students, even from out of state.</p>

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<p>Take a look here (#180):</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-12.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-12.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>And here if he gets NMF (Texas A&M would be particularly attractive):</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-updated-compilation.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-updated-compilation.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>A few schools have list prices of $25,000 or less, such as:</p>

<p>South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
Truman State University
University of Minnesota - Morris
California State Universities (in-state, including the Cal Polys)</p>

<p>For competitive large merit scholarships, consider:</p>

<p>North Carolina State (Park)
UNC Chapel Hill (Morehead-Cain and Robertson)
Duke (Robertson)
Georgia Tech (President’s)</p>

<p>There are also reduced tuition deals at Western University Exchange schools, although most of them are less selective less popular schools.</p>

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<p>*Son’s stats should be strong: 3.91 uw/ 4.67w. October PSAT was 219 with zero prep, and we are shooting for a 2200+ when he takes the SAT later this month. Also, we are hoping he can
raise next year’s PSAT by the couple of points needed for NMSF. He has lots of volunteer hours with special needs kids, a part-time seasonal job for the last two years, plus the non-school related ECs above. *</p>

<p>There are some issues surrounding graduating early and becomin a NMSF and then getting SCHOLARSHIPS. A student is NAMED a NMSF and NMF during the SENIOR year, therefore he wouldn’t have the merit scholarship opportunities if he graduates at the end of junior year…because at that point, he hasn’t been named anything.</p>

<p>If your son graduates early, then he’d be applying to colleges this next fall/winter…and he won’t be a NMSF/NMF at that point…so no offers.</p>

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<p>^ he cannot get the national merit scholarships unless he does four years.</p>

<p>I highly reccoment he stay for three reasons:
1:maturity a lot of kids who graduate early cannot handle being on their own. Social life at college will be difficult too.
2. Ap classes/ dual enrollment ect. Why waste a year of FREE college classes that the school pays for instead of you.
3:senior year is awesome and graduating early sort of ruins your junior year too</p>

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<p>I myself wanted to graduate early but I decided the cons didnt outweighthe pros</p>

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<p>Add University of South Carolina…top rated honors program and all honors students get some scholarship, many of which reduce tuition to instate levels (COA around $20,000). If NMF there is automatic scholarship that will reduce it even further. Honors students get lots of support and there is a option to design own curriculum (honors baccalaureate).</p>

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<p>Yoskis, per National Merit guidelines, students who graduate in 3 years can still qualify for scholarships. However, if son qualifies, he wouldn’t be officially named a finalist until he is in college. Alabama (the only school I have checked with so far) will apply benefits from that point…</p>

<p>I absolutely appreciate your points about the disadvantages of graduating early, but my son is very mature and, due to his November birthday, will be 18 soon after starting college. He will have taken 1 year of Honors and 3 years of AP sciences, 5 years of foreign language, and completed math through AP Calc BC (took Algebra II/Trig in 7th grade at the high
school). Everybody who meets him is absolutely shocked to learn he is only 16. All of his “peers” are graduating this year or next year (he is attending winter formal with a senior). I would never let him graduate early if I wasn’t absolutely certain it was right for him.</p>

<p>That being said, thanks to everyone for their replies so far! So many generous schools to choose from…</p>

12

<p>

NC State is pretty unpredictable when it comes to merit aid. I received a full ride from Wake Forest and smaller scholarships from places like Hopkins but didn’t get a single penny from NC State. </p>

<p>UGA might be a better suggestion, I think. Given his GPA and test scores, I think they’d waive the OOS tuition at the least.</p>

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<p>Id look into Case Western Reserve, great academics and they give lots of money!</p>

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<p>Okay, most people on CC will think this is a substandard suggestion but you should check out the University of Idaho. The only downfall is it is in a small town which is rather isolated but my daughter (who prefers large cities) said she could live in Moscow after visiting. </p>

<p>They have an honors program and your son will get directly into whatever major he is interested in. My daughter is interested in computer science and business and they have both of them listed as her majors. Here is the link to the Honors Program: [University</a> Honors Program](<a href=“http://www.uidaho.edu/honors]University”>University Honors Program)</p>

<p>They also seem to be fairly generous with OOS financial aid. They participate in the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) program so you would only pay 150% of the in-state tuition which is cheaper than the UW or WSU (our largest in-state universities). In addition, National Merit Finalists get a free ride. [National</a> Merit Scholarship Program-Financial Aid & Scholarships-University of Idaho](<a href=“Student Financial Aid Services | University of Idaho”>Student Financial Aid Services | University of Idaho)
[Discover</a> Idaho Scholarship Program for Out of State Residents](<a href=“Student Financial Aid Services | University of Idaho”>Student Financial Aid Services | University of Idaho)
[Western</a> Undergraduate Exchange-Financial Aid & Scholarships-University of Idaho<a href=“I%20think%20you%20have%20to%20be%20in%20the%20Honors%20Program%20to%20get%20the%20WUE”>/url</a></p>

<p>They are extremely generous with AP credits and my daughter is already listed as being in sophomore standing and she still has her senior AP credits to add. Here is a link to their AP credit information: [url=&lt;a href=“http://www.uidaho.edu/registrar/transfer/ap]AP”&gt;AP, CLEP & IB Credit | University of Idaho]AP</a> & CLEP Credit-Office of the Registrar-University of Idaho](<a href=“Student Financial Aid Services | University of Idaho”>Student Financial Aid Services | University of Idaho)</p>

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<p>^^^</p>

<p>Does Idaho allow you to get BOTH WUE and merit scholarships? Many WUE schools will not allow that. you can have one or the other.</p>

<p>I realize that if you get the NMF full ride, it won’t make a difference, but others reading this might not qualify for NMF, and it could be a problem getting both WUE and merit.</p>

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<p>[2012-2013</a> Cost of Attendance | Financial Aid | West Virginia University](<a href=“http://financialaid.wvu.edu/tuition-cost-information/cost-of-attendance/2012-2013-cost-of-attendance]2012-2013”>http://financialaid.wvu.edu/tuition-cost-information/cost-of-attendance/2012-2013-cost-of-attendance) Cost of Attendance at West Viriginia University </p>

<p>[Scholarships</a> for Nonresidents | Financial Aid | West Virginia University](<a href=“http://financialaid.wvu.edu/aid-and-scholarships/scholarships/freshman-scholarships/scholarships-for-nonresidents]Scholarships”>http://financialaid.wvu.edu/aid-and-scholarships/scholarships/freshman-scholarships/scholarships-for-nonresidents) Merit Aid for Non Residents </p>

<p>[West</a> Virginia University Honors College](<a href=“http://www.honors.wvu.edu/]West”>http://www.honors.wvu.edu/) Honors College at WVU</p>

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<p>The son of a family friend got full tuition for his perfect SATs at both U of Alabama and U of Arizona. Would Zona work for you/him - a lot of Cali people attend.</p>

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<p>You really need to spend a trip to William & Mary. You couldnt have described it better in your initial post. The whole school is an honors program. There is no other public school like it in America.</p>

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<p>Swish14, William and Mary does seem like it would indeed be a great fit, but they specifically recommend against graduating early in the FAQ portion of their admissions page, so I figured son’s chances would be diminished.</p>

<p>dudedad, Alabama is probably at the top of my son’s list. He is excited about their CBH program (though admission to the program is very competitive), suite-style dorms, and study abroad opportunities, not to mention extremely generous aid. I think in his mind, this is where he is going, but I want to present some other options “just in case”; there have been many posts about kids hating schools once they actually visit. As for Arizona, I will run it by him but I don’t think he’ll bite. His cousin goes to NAU in Flagstaff and loves it, but when I suggested it to my son, he flat out rejected the notion.</p>

<p>Everyone else, I showed my son your suggestions and I think for our April trip we will add Auburn and UGA for sure, and a couple others if time permits. West Virginia, Indiana, New York, Ohio, etc. will have to wait for later. If I’m being completely honest, I have somewhat of a mental block against areas where the winters are brutally cold, but then again, my son’s biggest concern about the southern schools is the summer heat. </p>

<p>Some of you posters are quite prolific! It is very generous of you to give so much of your time helping parents through what can definitely seem like an overwhelming process :)</p>

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<p>, my son’s biggest concern about the southern schools is the summer heat. </p>

<p>Thankfully, kids aren’t in school for most of the summer. It will be hot for the first couple of weeks, but then the weather changes and Fall is quite beautiful with sunny blue skies and fluffy white clouds.</p>

<p>Do try to visit Bama…I think you’ll be very impressed by all the new facilities and its gorgeous campus.</p>

<p>If you do visit, first set up the campus tour online…try for an early morning time! Don’t bother with the “info session”, you’ll get that info here pretty much on the Alabama forum on College Confidential which is VERY active.*</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-alabama/[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-alabama/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>In the email include:</p>

<p>Student’s name and contact info</p>

<p>Date and time of the Campus tour that you’ve reserved.</p>

<p>GPA and test scores (include NMSF status)</p>

<p>Likely majors*</p>

<p>Career interests (including med, law, etc)</p>

<p>Anything particular that you want to see. *If you have an interest in seeing the new Science and Engineering Complex, let them know.</p>

<p>Honors Recruitment
Allison Verhine
Coordinator
269 Nott Hall
205-348-5534
<a href=“mailto:allison.verhine@ua.edu”>allison.verhine@ua.edu</a></p>

<p>Susan Alley
Assistant Coordinator
270 Nott Hall
205-348-5599
<a href=“mailto:susan.alley@ua.edu”>susan.alley@ua.edu</a></p>

<p>Allison and her assistant will arrange the rest of the day…meeting with faculty related to major, honors college faculty, touring honors dorms, etc.</p>

<p>Sometimes mail goes to their SPAM folders, so call them if you haven’t heard back within a few business days. These ladies do an excellent job and work very hard</p>