<p>I am looking for schools in the midwest that have good merit aid for math and physics. My son ranks 41/571 (top 8%), gpa of 4.15 (weighted), AP of 5 in calculus BC and chemistry, first ACT of 32 (36 in math), second ACT of 33 (34 in math) and lots of advanced courses.</p>
<p>Any suggestions?</p>
<p>His dream school is University of Chicago, but not sure if he will get it. If he does, I seriously doubt any merit aid. Also, not sure if he will qualify for financial aid. At best, I understand any aid package is made up of loans and I am uncertain if he wants to be that much in debt when he graduates.</p>
<p>Also looking at Univ. of Illinois, which will not give out much of anything, but can afford without aid. </p>
<p>Also looking at Illinois Institute of Tech.</p>
<p>Are there other schools in the midwest that are below Chicago as far as reputation and admissions standards which might be willing to offer merit aid to someone with his background?</p>
<p>Is your son a junior or senior? If he wants a good shot at merit aid at Michigan, he should apply very early (now, in other words). </p>
<p>What is he interested in a school? The three schools you've listed don't have all that much in common. What sort of atmosphere does he want? Size? It's strange to have Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Chicago on the same list. A student at the University of Chicago will take twelve demanding courses in the liberal arts and humanities as a part of the core. I can't think of any UChicago students who would be satisfied with the humanities courses or requirements at Illinois Institute of Technology. </p>
<p>Can you give us any information besides his GPA and test scores?</p>
<p>A friend of my son is studying physics at the Univ. of Minnesota-Twin Cities. He has a lot of merit aid, as an out of state student. However, he was val (4.0 uw, many AP and univ. courses), and his ACT may have been higher.</p>
<p>As corranged (a Univ. of Chicago student) mentioned, the curriculum at UChicago is quite a bit different than that at tech. schools. </p>
<p>Vanderbilt's very large merit awards are getter tougher to get every year. However, they have quite a few partial merit based awards. </p>
<p>It would be helpful to know if your son has any preferences related to size of college, urban vs rural, etc.</p>
<p>Right off the bat I can think of several LAC's with what I consider great merit aid at his stats that might love to have him. But would he love them back? ;)</p>
<p>Apply to Michigan yesterday. That's a no-brainer.</p>
<p>I would think about looking at liberal arts colleges. All of them have physics and math departments; all of them are hard-up for top-notch physics or math students. The ones that give merit aid might be willing to use some of it to bring in a dedicated science kid.</p>
<p>(cross-posted with curmudgeon, who really knows stuff that I only guess at)</p>
<p>JHS , thanks for the plug but I'm going to have hard time beating U of Illinois, as highly ranked as it is, with this (I'm presuming) in-state kid. Since the OP says that U of Ill is doable without merit, I'm making the assumption that they'd need 1/2 COA to play at a private school. Few schools that will have that are comparable to what a math/physics kid might find at U of Ill.</p>
<p>For someone like my kid who wouldn't set foot on a campus that big, we didn't have that to worry us. LOL. But if this kid is not turned off by big state schools then he could do a lot worse than U of Ill. If OTOH he would be less than happy the whole time there then he might well want to consider an LAC or lower ranked private uni. We don't know till they tell us. And , if he is in-state , it doesn't seem he has a rule similar to my D's "not In Texas, not in any state that touches Texas" rule. </p>
<p>As far as uni's right below Chicago, in the Midwest with great easier to get merit and about the same size and doctorate granting institutions -uhhhhh....there are none. WashU, maybe but merit isn't any easier. Michigan , what only 15 times larger? CMU (is that even midwest)? The aforementioned Case (really the best bet)? Other than that we are moving to maybe SLU. Other big midwest schools would be Michigan , Minnesota, Purdue, Wisconsin, and Indiana U. And that Buckeye place. ;) (The big schools are not my forte but I like what I know of Wisconsin and IU.)</p>
<p>Don't be fooled by the fact a school grants merit aid, even to a good many kids. Many merit schools cap that aid at 1/2 tuition leaving $25K to be paid OOP (out of pocket).</p>
<p>OTOH, the kid could choose to look at schools like Valparaiso, Drake, Creighton, Marquette, Loyola of Chicago, Xavier, Dayton, Miami of Ohio, Ohio U and see if any of those hold any allure.</p>
<p>(If I had my druthers I'd be suggesting Rice, Emory, Tulane, BU, Brandeis, Rochester, UMiami but hey- they ain't very midwest. LOL.)</p>
<p>Regarding merit aid, it seems to me that there are a number of variables. I got a merit scholarship to Chicago but not Michigan, for example. (My #s were probably similar to your son's, but Chicago scholarships are chosen by a faculty committee, so who knows what they look at?) I think first your son needs to look at what he both wants and needs in a school so that he can define some parameters for his search. Take both into consideration when applying for merit aid. Right now the only connection I'm seeing between the three schools is that they have math/physics and are in Illinois. Well, basically all schools have math/physics majors, so that's not really much of a factor. Go from there.</p>
<p>Merit awards start at half-tuition, and I would think he is in the ballpark for that level. That still leaves $30K per year, though.</p>
<p>Non-binding Early Action must apply with Common Application by November 1, with notification by January 1. No application fee if submitted online.</p>
<p>What about Oberlin. I know someone who did receive merit aid from them, I don't know how much they give. But it's a school that might like more males and his scores are good. Another school to consider with great merit aid opportunities is Kalamazoo.</p>
<p>kcsman,
have you run financial aid estimators so that you know about what your estimated family contribution (EFC) amount is going to be? you can find financial aid estimators at the collegeboard website and others. some school websites have financial aid estimators at their websites and some schools have merit aid calculators at their websites......... see the baylor and southwestern (in texas) websites to get an idea of possible merit aid. </p>
<p>if i'm remembering correctly, st. olaf, valparaiso, grinnell, trinity, and case western, all offered merit aid.</p>
<p>others you might want to check into are...........univ. of tulsa, texas a & m, texas tech, oklahoma, and oklahoma state as they showed interest in our midwestern student. </p>
<p>also......check iowa, iowa state, univ. of nebraska-lincoln.</p>
<p>Look at the schools more than the chances of merit aid- a math/physics student can major it the fields at LACs, but would he be happy there? Mine wouldn't. Do have your son make a list of midwest schools (including those in Ohio) and do a best fit ranking, then consider the costs. Do not fall for a lesser school because of all the merit aid- they want to upgrade their school with your son. Do not be upset if your son ends up at the instate public school- remember that in the midwest these are some of the strongest schools, often having many IVY caliber students in their Honors programs who didn't get into their dream school or who couldn't afford the price tag. Consider the math and physics programs at the schools your son likes the overall "flavor" of when doing the final ranking. Do not delay with schools like Michigan. Remember, you can decline a school, but they can't give you aid if others took their offers before you applied.</p>
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Do not fall for a lesser school because of all the merit aid- they want to upgrade their school with your son.
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<p>This is a very important point. In the Midwest, many of the low-list-price state universities end up being better value deals in math and physics than some obscure regional LAC with a pile of "merit" money.</p>
<p>and simply MUST apply widely and look at actual offers before assuming you will or will not get financial aid or that the financial aid package will or will mostly consist of loans. Some financial aid offers include grants (= discounts from list price). </p>
<p>for some research-based warnings on how some parents misinterpret value comparisons between colleges, and how colleges package financial aid offers to exploit parental misunderstandings.</p>
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Do not fall for a lesser school because of all the merit aid- they want to upgrade their school with your son.
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<p>Aside from the fact that this statement wreaks of elitism, don't rule out the possibility that your son will sit in math and physics classes with hundreds of kids for years at the so-called "higher ranked" publics, whereas at the readily dismissed "lesser schools" he may be working one on one with a prof, including nice paid summer research jobs and internships - with nary a TA or grad student in sight. :)</p>