Hey @jazzymomof7. I have 3 specific HBCUs and a PWI to recommend and a couple of suggestions as they may fit the parameters that you are looking for out of a Pre-Med student looking for a lot of merit aid. My 1st recommendation is Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA) in New Orleans, LA which is unmatched at producing African American doctors for the size of the school (~3,200 students) and was very generous to my daughter when she applied (she received 2 scholarships that added up to a full ride). The school has a tight-knit family like atmosphere and they will take care of your young adult. The biggest con for some is that the school is in a very urban area of New Orleans (very close to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome) and the school is a little less ârah rahâ (no football team or marching band) than most schools.
Next on my list is Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, AL which is another small school (~3000 students) that was very generous with my family (full ride offered to son). They have a beautiful rural campus and are very good in preparing their STEM graduates and the school oozes with history and school spirit. The biggest con from my kids came in the form of the school literally being in the middle of nowhere (they both wanted to go to school in a large metropolitan area)
I hope your daughter considers Howard University in Washington D.C. There is no school that produces more African-American applicants to medical school each year and they have been very generous with my kids and several other members of my family. I would specifically ask if your daughter is interested in more than just medicine, because the scholarship program that my kids are a part of at Howard (Karsh STEM Scholars Program) provides full tuition, room & board, mandatory fees, and $1,500 a year for books for students whose families make below 150K a year (they charge 1/4 tuition or about $7,000 a year for those who make above 150K) for students interested in going for PhDs or MD/PhDs (Physician Scientists). The great part about getting into a Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) for a MD/PhD is that those programs are fully funded (can you say free medical degree?) and provide a stipend for the students while they work on their joint MD and PhD. So if your daughter is interested in doing research and being a medical doctor, this competitive scholarship program could be a fit for your daughter. The 1st cohort of the Karsh STEM Scholars program has just graduated from Howard and the students grad school acceptance results where nothing short of amazing (especially the young scholars who are doing MD/PhD programs in the fall). The biggest cons for some are the urban campus and being so close to the White House (2 miles away).
Tulane University in New Orleans has been a school that was very generous with both of my kids (My S20 could have gone for about 4.5K out of pocket in year 1) and was among the best campuses that my family encountered while visiting schools.
I have not spent much time looking at your home stateâs big HBCUs Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) and Texas Southern University (TSU), but I would have a hard time believing that they would not do everything in their power to keep a student like your daughter in-state. I donât know much about their academic programs, but I would ask your daughter to take a look and see if they are feasible options.
Also, I would tell you to shoot your shot at a school like Spelman, because although they are very competitive, your daughter is a competitive applicant from what I have seen (this year, I have talked to a couple of parents whose kids have âsecured the bagâ at Spelman). Your daughter has an unique story growing up in such a large family and I believe she can craft an application that helps her get money from schools not known for being as generous with merit aid.
14 Likes
OPâs daughter most likely would receive more than one scholarship from the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss).
OPâs daughter also would likely be invited to the Univ. of Mississippi Honors College = an additional scholarship award of $8,000 per year on top of the roughly $24,000 per year for SAT of 1440. Total scholarship = at least $32,000.
Also, $2,000 per year for STEM majors.
Total COA including non-resident tuition & fees plus books, room & board = $37,000.
(Does not include personal expenses or travel expenses.)
OPâs daughter likely would receive scholarships totaling $34,000 per yearâpossibly more.
3 Likes
My daughter received merit from UD with a 3.9 UGPA and 34 ACT, but wasnât even a distinguished scholar, 100 applicants that are in the running for a full ride. Before this year, scholarships were mostly based on test scores. OOS tuition is high.
1 Like
You could take a shot at Wisconsin. They have a full tuition scholarship that I think has a diversity component.
Add U of Az which youâll get almost all tuition, Washington and Lee Johnson Scholarship and American University Frederick Douglas Scholars.
2 Likes
Thanks, all! We are looking at all of the suggestions and whittling things down.
And if she were to take the sat once more, 1450 would open many more opportunities (some thresholds for merit are 1400 or 1430, but 1450 seems to âunlockâ way more scholarships).
Look into Miami Ohio and tOSU (Both have specofoc scholarships foe high achieving URM students). Perhaps FSU and FIU. Georgia Southern has a full tuition scholarship. UMaine Orono
2 Likes
We spent the weekend pouring over everything and after having previously said she wants to be far from home, she decided to stick to schools close to home (Texas) and family (Alabama and Mississippi).
Safeties:
-UT Dallas (local)
-U of Alabama
-Ole Miss (Auto merit and honors college should make this VERY affordable!)
Reaches (competitive full tuition or full ride):
-UT San Antonio
-Abilene Christian U
-U of Houston (already range with auto merit)
-U of Arkansas (already in range with auto merit)
High Reaches (competitive full-tuition):
-Trinity U
-Baylor U
-Texas Christian U
UT Austin (Because dh wants this on the list!)
I really liked Tulane, but she wasnât interested. Haha!
Good news is she already has 5 choices that should be around $15K or less. The lower we can get that, the better. And hopefully, we get a big surprise!
Will update when we get results. Thanks for all the ideas!
18 Likes
Good luck to both of you!
2 Likes
I would recommend replacing Trinity with another school that is more holistic in their award of top scholarships. Trinity is very focused on super high stats.
1 Like
Thatâs good to know. I had concerns about it being a good fit for dd because itâs so small that it has very few black students - only 25 or so black freshman.
If you think of any more holistic schools in or near Texas that we should consider, please let me know.
If you want a financial/admissions safety in TX, take a look at Prairie View A&M, a HBCU.
She might be competitive for a Regents Scholarship at UNM, which is a full ride, if NM is close enough to TX for you.
1 Like
Howâs her community service and leadership activities? If strong, SMU Hunt would be a good reach.
1 Like
I knew she wouldnât have a shot at Presidential, but I didnât think about Hunt. Good idea!
1 Like
If youâre from the Dallas area and are looking for options closer to home, thereâs also the University of Tulsa - they have a full tuition merit scholarship program.
2 Likes
While itâs not close to home, add Washington & Lee to your list - since youâre going to do Common App anyway. If you get on their email list, theyâll send you a fee waiver (as will Wash U St. Louis).
W&L has the Johnson Scholarship - 10% or 44 students a year win it. Itâs a program, not stated to but really to help increase URMs on campus. Itâs tuition, room & board, and a one time $7K stipend. Since you are applying anyway, you write one essay - free is free and you will find great stories (and maybe not so great) for URMs. Itâs worth investigating given the large amount they offer thanks to a $100 million gift.
2 Likes
My neighbor was a white female with a 32 ACT, daughter of two doctors. She spent 6 years with E&Y and is now going to attend the Vandy MBA Program.
The OP is an African American student so if it gives her a nod to receiving, for her, all the better.
My daughter was a finalist there for the Weinstein - had to be Jewish to earn. She didnât get - was an alternate but the person chosen accepted. Had she won it, weâd have gladly accepted even if there were non-Jews that might be better. The person who endowed it desired a Jewish student. They also had scholarships for people from Columbia SC and Dallas (those are full tuition).
These are businesses - they are targeting a certain audience. If that helps the OP, I see it as a bonus. You will find an agenda for every program out there.
5 Likes
I suggested that OPâs daughter consider Wash & Leeâs Johnson Scholarship in the first response in this thread in addition to Ole Miss and several other schools.
Yes, W&L is using the full ride Johnson Scholarship as a way to increase diversity. In my view, this is the right thing to do as the entire campus should benefit from increased diversity.
@jazzymomof7: Thank you for considering Ole Miss as the cost could be as low as zero for a well respected Honors College experience. I wish your daughter the best !
4 Likes
Interesting developmentâŠ
We pulled dd from club soccer after 5th grade, and since then, sheâs been playing for our cityâs homeschool team.
She isnât ready to stop playing soccer and thought maybe she could get onto a D3 team, like UTD. I wasnât optimistic since she hasnât been playing club, but she wanted to try.
She went to a college camp this weekend, and they were interested in her and also said she could play at a D1 level and mentioned some of the conferences.
This is new for us and wasnât anywhere on our radar. I am not even sure how to begin to go about helping her.
How do we consider schools and make adjustments to her list based on soccer?
Would this help with scholarships?
Academics and finances will remain the priority.