Looking for similar to Morehead-Cain

Looking at schools with D. Loves Morehead Cain and it would be awesome fit but, honestly the acceptance rate is so low that she probably should look for something similar with higher rate. Any suggestions?

What is the most attractive about the scholarship? Is it the the full ride, the experiences, the prestige? Are you an NC resident? Is location important? Only interested in flagships or open to other college options?

I’m not clear on the question here. Are you looking for other scholarships that cover full tuition, room and board, books, and summer experiences? If that’s the case they are all going to have very low acceptance rates and be incredibly competitive. Just getting in to UNC-CH is extremely difficult, especially if out of state.

What is she looking for in a school, and what are her stats? NC State has the Park scholarship, Duke has the Robertson - both also incredibly competitive. There are schools with less “prestige” that offer similar programs, for example the Brown Fellows program at Centre in Kentucky.

Thank you for responding. This programs appeal is the experience ( didn’t even know it was scholarship until after loving it). The appeal is that it is all inclusive in regards to helping her develop as a whole person by offering meaningful summers in conjunction with a rigorous academic program. Sadly, 3.4 acceptance rate makes me want to tell her to move on because rejection is almost certain.

Stats: 3.85 ( unweighted) 12 ap. (5). Act 34

Open to all colleges, prestige doesn’t matter. Frankly, I didn’t even know this was prestigious until I dug further. The programs appeal is that it encompasses school year with summers. The development of a whole person is important. Scholarship is nice but, not necessary. Location not very important but prefers mild climate.

Any advice on si,liar programs helpful. I’m not good at this And frankly don’t even know what key words to use or how to describe this program. I simply know when I read its description it fit her to a tee.

3.95 unweighted. 12 Aps (5s). Act 34.

I think all such programs are, as InigoMontoya mentioned above, likely to be exceedingly difficult to get into at schools that are well-known, and probably reasonably difficult for even less well-known programs like that at Centre.

I got into a few tippy-tops applying to colleges many years ago (including an Ivy League), but went to UNC-CH for financial reasons. Despite my solid academic experience, the Morehead Scholars I knew were a level above me in terms of polish and achievements. I can only imagine that the level of competition and preparedness has only increased in the past 25+ years.

I know this won’t help you, but the Flinn Foundation in Arizona offers something similar for Arizona students who are committed to attending Arizona’s public universities. (https://www.flinn.org/flinn-scholars/) With 20 scholars chosen yearly out of more than 700 applicants, their admission rate is less than 3%.

Also note that Morehead-Cain isn’t open to everyone – NC students need to be nominated by their high school, and outside of NC, only selected schools can nominate students.

I agree that you’ll need to think more about the goals of the program and whether there are schools that might offer similar type of programs. Perhaps using Google to search on “programs like [Morehead-Cain or Flinn]” may yield something.

D18 received an Eccles scholarship at the University of Utah (https://honors.utah.edu/admissions/eccles-distinguished-scholarship/) which is a similar cohort-based scholarship program (that’s what I’d search on). Its pretty competitive but less so than some of the programs mentioned above (30 spots vs several hundred applicants) and I don’t think a high proportion of students would necessarily be choosing between that and Ivy admission offers (we are in CA, D18 got into Berkeley, UCLA, also Regents at UCSB and UCI, etc.).

My advice, for what it is worth, would be to research the type of college that seems to be the best fit for your DD. Basic considerations include location, setting (urban vs. rural), size, research university vs. liberal arts college and selectivity. Once she has a better idea of those factors, it would be easier to develop a list of colleges that may offer the type of program you are looking for. I would take a look at the Bonner Scholars Program http://www.bonner.org/apply/. Bonner is offered at a number of colleges at varying levels of selectivity. At many colleges, the Bonner program has a required element of financial need, but some reserve space for merit applicants too. Bonner is a four year scholarship (not full ride) that is very holistic and includes a summer internship element.

There are a number of universities that have similar programs such as the Jefferson Scholars at the University of Virginia. The one I’m most familiar with is National Scholars at Clemson (my son went there and had friends in the program). All of these programs are very selective but worth a shot if they interest your kid.

With those stats I’d say look at Centre. Since you say you aren’t necessarily needing the scholarship, then look at the study abroad programs the schools offer. Some schools do summer study abroad, which would give a similar experience.

Also, there will be many more opportunities once your student starts school. D and many of her friends won research grants that allowed them to study and work overseas the summers before Junior and Senior year.

Most of the structured programs are tied to incredibly competitive scholarships. But there are any number of ways to create a similar experience yourself.

Foundation Fellows at Georgia and Johnson at Washington and Lee are two more.

Brown Fellows was already mentioned. Note that there are 20 Brown Fellows each year, and 10 are at Louisville in addition to the 10 at Centre.

Seconding that all of these are going to have really long odds. For the 10 spots at Louisville this cycle, they received 370 applications (qualifying ACT of 31 and above, so to some extent the 370 was already self selective). Nothing wrong with taking a shot though. Just have a back up plan.

McDermott Scholars at UTDallas.

Has she considered LACs? Because they are small there’s a lot of attention and focus on creating opportunities for all students and a lot of focus on supporting the whole person. My D is attending Davidson College (also in NC like UNC) and they focus on high caliber academics but also personal development and character (in fact Davidson even has character on its application review rubric). For example, the do small group outdoors trips this summer before orientation, there’s a lot of summer programs, very tailored career development, etc. I think other top LACs are similar in the ‘whole person’ and more boutique approach because they are small – so she might want to consider! We also found Davidson’s need based aid more generous than other privates.

Davidson also has the Belk scholarship which is like Morehead Cain but it is super duper competitive.

Good luck in the process!

I will look into Clemson for her. Hopefully it’s an option

I second @Cargo54 's suggestion: figure out what your daughter wants in a college first and then look at the possible merit scholarship programs available. There are lots of opportunities at multiple schools so focus on the fit first.

If she wants a large university, then go for it understanding that all of the named scholarships are highly competitive and there are hundreds vying for each spot . You don’t note your daughter’s class year but if she is a rising Senior and not from NC or a currently eligible nominating school, the Morehead is almost impossible. If you can get her high school to apply as a nominating school and then get her nominated, there is a better shot. Otherwise, she has to apply early decision to UNC and cross her fingers. You may want to research the Robertson Scholarship, available for Duke and UNC applicants. The Jefferson at UVA is similar to the Morehead. The National Scholar at Clemson does not require a nomination but to compete, she would have to do their Honors school application. The competition for all is fierce.

A good LAC, however, might provide more of what she seeks and a less difficult road. Many LACs have great merit and also, because of smaller class size, provide a more individualized experience that can consist of research, internships and study abroad experiences that are just as rewarding as a Morehead. As noted above, look at Centre but also look at the other members of the Associated Colleges of the South (Davidson, Furman, Sewanee,etc)- they all have great merit and opportunity. My daughter competed for the Robertson, Jefferson and for Clemson’s National. She ended up with a fabulous named scholarship at an LAC and has never looked back.

I recall a parent on the 2018 parents thread this year. D had a 35 ACT and 4.0 and was rejected at UVA and UNC.