<p>I was wondering if anyone knows of any schools (top private universities Liberal Arts colleges) that offer merit aid and not just need-based aid. Although I will get a bunch of need-based, I am also looking for a National Merit Finalist-type scholarship. The only one I know of so far is the University of Rochester. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.</p>
<p>Check out the Emory Scholars program--you could win full-ride or full-tuition.</p>
<p>I'd suggest you do a search for "merit" in previous titles ... there have been some great discussions on this topic ... I'm sure you'll find infor for which you look</p>
<p>Most privates don't fund NMF. Rice is an exception, but not much money. Rice does have other good merits.</p>
<p>Robertson Scholars at Duke and UNC Chapel Hill</p>
<p>Tulane offers excellent merit aid scholarships - 1/2 tuition is the DSA (Distinguished Scholar Award)</p>
<p>To some extent, I would suggest Georgetown. I would discourage applying there soley for financial purposes because their scholarships are given out randomly. However, Georgetown University offers an excellent financial aid package (I was surprised) and they gave me a scholarship that replaced 12,000 in Stafford Loans which is a decent burden lifted off my shoulders. The plus in this would be that I got the "merit" Scholarship even though I am not the best student...I barely cracked 1300 on the SATs in a school where the SAT average is 100+ points above that.</p>
<p>Check out Denison and Depauw, two excellent LACs that are very generous with merit aid.</p>
<p>University of Florida, WashingtonUniversity, Emory, FSUWill all give close to full rides.</p>
<p>Tulane....................</p>
<p>The University of Oklahoma will give you a full ride as a National Merit Finalist and USC will give you a half-tuition scholarship for being a National Merit Finalist. Both those schools require that you name them as your first choice school, but you can do it pretty late, after you have been accepted.</p>
<p>I don't want to bash my school, but I was a little suprised with the merit scholarship DePauw gave me....2k a year. Not a whole lot, especially considering that I got a 32 on the ACT.....I guess my GPA had a little bit to do with that too.</p>
<p>Doesn't matter though, I love the school and I can't wait to move in on Aug. 20!</p>
<p>You should look into outside scholarships.</p>
<p>CMU has merit scholarships. I read somewhere that they offer them to about 8% of admitted students with awards ranging from a few thousand to half tuition. (More info: <a href="http://www.cmu.edu/enrollment/admission/know/scholar.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.cmu.edu/enrollment/admission/know/scholar.html</a> )</p>
<p>I somehow lucked out and got the half tuition (Andrew Carnegie) scholarship, which is awesome...no loans for me :-)</p>
<p>In my college application experience I found that outside merit scholarships tend to be relatively small and hard to get... For example, I applied scholarship programs of the National Italian American Foundation and the Society of Automotive Engineers and later found out that each awarded scholarships to less than 1% of the applicants.</p>
<p>The National Merit Scholarship is not very significant on its own (only $2500 for their main scholarship), but there is a long list of schools that automatically offer full tuition to National Merit scholars.</p>
<p>Certain national high school organizations such as FIRST Robotics also give out scholarships based on participation. If you're involved in any such organizations, look into their scholarship programs.</p>
<p>The biggest scholarships tend to come from the universities themselves. If your high school has a scholarship program, that can also be a big help. You should take look at state schools with honors programs that include merit aid such as Penn State and UMD. Within the top 25 universities, merit aid is generally scarce and hard to get.</p>
<p>Also: think about throwing a big graduation party...just buy cheap food and invite lots of people. The profits will be astounding if you plan it right ;-)</p>
<p>If you are a merit finalist, have 1400 on the new SATs(m&v), and a weighted 4.0 index (+.5 honors 1.00APs)you should really, and I mean really, look into to the University of Florida Honors program. As an out of stater should expect to pay or borrow 6000-7000 per year for everything. These people collect merit finalists like the Met collects Rembrants--and treats them about the same way. I just came back from a recruiting weekend and here's the lowdown.</p>
<p>Honors program students get luxury digs, small classes taught real profs., special advisors, generous extra stipends for research or study abroad, and the inside track for the highly desirable combined programs.Apply by Sept. 16th, and they give you your decision by Dec. 1--and you have May 1 to accept.</p>
<p>Good thinking sabertoothtiger. I've always dreamed of serving cut-up Hot Pocket, Costco sushi, and industrial-sized cans of punch and making college money at the same time. Florida, I will definitely look into the U of F Honors Program. Thanks everyone.</p>
<p>Here we are. Excellent thread that ran in the parents' forum a while back: "Schools known for good merit aid." <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=52133%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=52133</a></p>
<p>"As an out of stater should expect to pay or borrow 6000-7000 per year for everything." </p>
<p>I'm under the impression that if you are out-of-state, NMF, etc., that there isn't much (if any) you'll need to pay. Out-of-state tuition is waived plus you get $9500/year. The on-line info from UF shows estimated costs for an out-of-state undergraduate student as $24,677. Knock off the out-of-state tuition of $15,827 and you're down to costs of $8850. I realize that housing, meals, books & fees could vary so costs might actually be higher (or less). Where did you get the 6000-7000 per year figure? Right now UF is the top "potentially free" school we've visited (above Tulsa & Baylor, yet to visit Oklahoma). If there is really a multi-thousand dollar/year gap, I'm keen to hear about it.</p>
<p>Out of state tution gets waived down to the in-state level of about $3200. I add on a thou or so for computer, extras and trans. I added on another thou or so, based on the fact that campus housing is limited, and unless you apply within the next couple of months, you'll have to go off campus into slightly more expensive digs. Just trying to paint a realistic out the door conclusive picture.</p>
<p>FloridaToNYC,</p>
<p>Disheartening news, but better to hear it now than months from now. Thanks for the enlightenment.</p>