Merit based aid: how much can i get?

Paying for College
1

<p>I'm a high school junior(about to become a senior, once school starts), and I don't know that much about scholarships. My dad is telling me that if I don't get a full tuition scholarship, I'm going to have to pay for college myself(which will be hard), or attend the school he is teaching at(UT(Texas)) and live at home(not considering). What I'm wondering is if there are any schools offering a lot of merit aid.</p>

<p>Stats:
My grades are pretty good, all 90s and above freshman and sophomore years. Junior year, my grades fell a bit(I got a 2B's a 81 and a 84 in AP English and PAP Spanish).
AP classes:
Taken: World(got a 5), English(junior), US history, Computer Science
Taking: PhysicsBC, Calc BC, Chem, Bio, pych, English, gov/econ (8 AP classes)</p>

<p>SAT scores
took it two times, got 800 math, 680 cr, 720W, and 780M, 720 CR, 630W (Another questions: should i send both or send my first one? I did better in CR my second time, but worse overall)</p>

<p>Other:
Texas UIL Computer science competition, 1st team district, 4th place individual, and 3rd team regionals
Marching band(3 years), played flute and trombone
PSAT: 226 (i think i'm getting finalist, or at least semi)
NHS, NTHS, more than 100 hours of community service
Pretty good with Java, ok at C and C++ (these are programing languages)
Parents income: $90,000</p>

<p>What I'm planning on right now is hopefully getting National Merit Finalist, and getting a guaranteed full tuition scholarship from Baylor or some other school. If i don't get Finalist, hopefully get a full-almost full tuition.If i don't get a decent scholarship offer, then I look at student loans, or ROTC(the problem with this is that i might not get accepted/have other problems even though I'm a citizen, since I'm Asian and especially since I'm Chinese)</p>

<p>Dose anyone know any schools that give out lots of merit aid to people with my stats? Also, i don't know how likely I'm going to get Finalist, and I don't know that much about student loans or ROTC. Any help would be appreciated.</p>

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<p>I’d prolly submit both SAT scores.</p>

<p>With that PSAT score, you’ll definitely be a National Merit Finalist.</p>

<p>Full rides aren’t easy, especially for top-tier schools. I think it’s possible for you to get one from Baylor, though. Not positive.</p>

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<p>Look at these two threads:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html?highlight=guaranteed[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html?highlight=guaranteed&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-updated-compilation.html?highlight=national+merit[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-updated-compilation.html?highlight=national+merit&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Ok…</p>

<p>Thank goodness you’ll make NMSF and likely NMF. You’ll be notified in Sept (or late Aug).</p>

<p>As long as you do the following, you are nearly certain to make NMF…</p>

<p>1) keep your nose clean at school - you need the rec from GC or principal</p>

<p>2) Take the SAT by Dec and have score sent to NMCorp - code 0085
(Typically a score over 2000 is considered good enough - altho some with scores of 1950 have reported making NMF.)</p>

<p>3) Receive the NMSF paperwork in September. Follow all the directions, write a nice essay, and return paperwork to school before the due date.</p>

<p>4) Check with school to make sure paperwork is submitted on time to NMCorp. Some schools forget, so a nice reminder email a couple of days before submittal is due is a good idea.</p>

<p>5) Keep your GPA strong at school; the school sends your transcript to NMCorp with your paperwork.</p>

<p>6) Don’t fret about picking #1 choice for college. That can be decided in late winter/early spring - depending on school’s deadline.</p>

<hr>

<p>Since we’re rather certain that you’ll make NMF, you will have lots of choices. :)</p>

<p>Don’t worry about money…in your case, you can get all/nearly all of your costs covered if you choose wisely. Believe me. :)</p>