Merit Aid for Average Student

Paying for College
1

<p>I hate starting a thread like this because it is talked about to death, but I am looking for some advice. I am looking for some 1st, 2nd tier schools in which I could possible get merit aid ($15k-20k). My parents can almost afford a private school with that kind of discount. My mom was just laid off so our financials are a bit out of wack. </p>

<p>My stats are:
4.03WGPA
30 ACT (31 superscored)
very, very competitive NE high school, no ranks
taking SAT in January for regular decision schools/scholarships (studying a ton!)
Interesting extracurrics
Moved twice in high school
Planning on majoring in public health or economics, depending on where I end up</p>

<p>So far I have gotten into Tulane, UConn OOS, and Rutgers OOS. I am hoping that Tulane gives me some merit money... </p>

<p>So far I have applied to UMich, Wisconsin, URichmond, GWU, McGill, Boston College, USC, but I am looking for some less competitive schools that may give me money.</p>

<p>Advice?</p>

2

<p>How about one with low costs: BYU? There are some in the white-north midwest that have low costs (the public Us in the Dakotas).</p>

3

<p>Queens Univ Charlotte (NC)</p>

<p>Also, there’s a merit $$ thread in the Parents Forum.</p>

4

<p>Certainly a WGPA of 4.03 and an ACT score of 30 are not tippy-top, but it takes a huge stretch of the imagination to consider them to be “average”. There is money out there for a student in that range, whereas only an athletic, talent-based, or need-based scholarship would provide significant money for a truly average student.</p>

<p>Take a look at this thread. You may be in the range for some of the scholarships listed:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

5

<p>Baylor would likely give you $14k a year, Arizona State $13K a year (it’s relatively less expensive OOS as well), $9-10K a year at Ole Miss, and $12,284 a year at Nebraska.</p>

6

<p>[Undergraduate</a> Scholarship Office | Scholarships for Nonresidents | West Virginia University](<a href=“Scholarships | Financial Aid | West Virginia University”>Scholarships | Financial Aid | West Virginia University)</p>

<p>[Tuition</a> and Cost of Attendance](<a href=“How to Apply - Undergraduate Admissions at WVU”>How to Apply - Undergraduate Admissions at WVU)</p>

<p>West Virginia University, COA for OOS is about $26,000/year, with merit aid would reduce it, check out the link above for non-resident scholarships.</p>