<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I am very interested in merit based scholarship programs that not only pay ALL expenses for four years, but also provide grooming care such as special internship, enrichment program, etc. </p>
<p>I know of two: university of VA's Jefferson Scholarship, and U. of North Carolina's Morehead. Maryland offers a full scholar also, but I am not sure if comes with an enrichment program.</p>
<p>What other programs are you aware of???</p>
<p>thanks for your input in advance.</p>
<p>The very highly qualified students who get full scholarships at Maryland are inevitably offered slots in the University Honors program and in most instances, in Gemstone as well. Participation is these programs is voluntary, though. Some people turn down Gemstone; it's not a good match for everyone's tastes.</p>
<p>You can look up these programs on the University of Maryland Web site to see what they're all about.</p>
<p>Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, Harrison scholarship. 25 are availble.</p>
<p>While the "full ride" is nice, imho it is far more important for students to search for schools based the full range of criteria. Our son qualified for a full ride to several state colleges which are well regarded but ultimately decided to attend RPI because of a unique dual major program in AI. This program ultimately morphed into a computer game simulation arts minor which he absolutely loves. He did get substantial merit aid at RPI so the cost to him and us was about $50,000 total. But it was money well worth spending because he could not have put together this academic program at any of our public colleges and would have procluded him from getting his summer internship in Pasadena last summer and acceptance into his graduate degree program at USC starting this fall.</p>
<p>So by all means consider finances in formulating a list of colleges to apply to but consider other criteria which are just as important in the long run.</p>
<p>If you are interested in a LAC, take a look at Goucher in MD-we know someone who turned down Stanford for a full ride and the special attention she would receive there.</p>
<p>The Park at NC State and National Scholars at Clemson are similar to the programs at UVA and UNC.</p>
<p>The McNair scholarship at the University of South Carolina</p>
<p>The University of Pittsburgh has the Chancellor's Scholarship, which includes full tuition, room and board, and a stipend for travel abroad. About 450 kids compete for it each, and about 10 to 12 are awarded. From what I have observed, winners are kids who have Ivy-level achievements and ECs.</p>
<p>Chancellor's</a> Scholarship</p>
<p>And other threads stickied to the top of the Financial Aid & Scholarship forum.</p>
<p>my son is primarily looking at two tracks. Ivy leagues & other small prestigious private schools and public schools with a full ride and enrichment programs.</p>
<p>though money is nice, we can afford the Ivy tuition (we don't qualify for any financial aids in the Ivies_. The reason why we are interested in the likes of Jefferson scholarship and Morehead scholarship is because of the prestige and the enrichment program that comes with it. So, if Ivy-like exeprience can be provided in these public schools (through the enrinchment program, and networking/connections) that also comes with the full scholarship, that will be very tempting. </p>
<p>are the enrichment aspect of these scholarship really as good as they make it out to be?</p>
<p>PS. my son's appl package will be a bit unorthodox. He does not have a conventional Ivy portfolio with uniform level of academics and ECs. His will have some very interesting angle from a personal story side with outstanding academic performance, but not the conventional EC porforlio that everybody can easily consider to be "Ivy" - ready. So, he is one of these cases that can be rejected by Duke but accepted by Harvard - it all depends on whether particular admission committee looks at his package, and sees he is interesting and unique enough to include in their student body for a variety sake.</p>
<p>Seconding the McNair Scholarship at University of South CArolina.Seems to fit most of your criteria in the "grooming " aspect..study abroad stipend, special mentoring,etiquette dinners,guest speakers,senior honors thesis,etc. Probably not as extensive as the Moorehead but then few opportunities are.
They take up to 40 per year,20 at full Scholar financial support level and 20 at finalist financial support level (slightly less per year).Competition is getting harder each year as application numbers are way up, and involves an interview weekend.The McNair committee values community involvement and service as much as the traditional Ivy level EC's ..like research,etc...
Nice thing about USCarolina is they allow the "stacking" of scholarships up to the full cost of attendance (COA) which is tuition,room board,travel,books,etc.In other words, you can win a McNair and get National Merit,departmental,outside money on top of it.</p>
<p>Take a look at the threads here on CC that list the best merit monies. Be aware that the chances of getting anything are very low. Having read about the journeys of many kids with very top #s who ended up getting into HPY and company, yet got very little in terms of full merit at schools that were no where near that level in terms of reputation, it really is not a sure thing. </p>
<p>Of course, he should go for it. Bear in mind that most of these fulls are a grueling process in themselves. In addition to some that require separate applications, many need the high school to nominate the student, separate interviews and visits need to be scheduled in addition to the normal application procedures. </p>
<p>There was an article in the NYTimes about a family whose two kids are on these type of scholarships, one an Emory Scholar and the other at UNC. The schedule that the daughter had in trying to get a spot was a whirlwind, and her stats were astounding. She did have safeties in place, as the family really could not afford to send her to a private college if she did not secure funds and they were ineligible for financial aid. She applied to UArizona and Pitt as back ups, and U Oklahoma is another good back up as it guarantees NMS a hefty package. In your case, since you can afford the costs, you can actually have the luxury of weighing the offers against the costs.</p>
<p>Fully agree with what cpt said. It's very important to note that these scholarships are not only competitive statistically, but also involve a lot more work on the students' part at interview weekends which may have group interviews, written responses, and informal observational activities in addition to the main interview. </p>
<p>That said, I think these opportunities are often underrated by both students and their parents, which provides an opportunity for students truly interested in what these amazing scholarships can offer to really shine. Make sure to do your homework on the school and the scholarship and you can definitely stand out. I would also caution you that some scholarships aren't as good as they sound on paper; always make sure to visit and see what happens in practice, since the opposite is true as well (i.e. there may be lots of unofficial perks in a seemingly full-ride-only scholarship). </p>
<p>All the options mentioned so far are good- I'd also recommend the Robertson at UNC in addition to the Morehead and the Academic Elite scholarships at Alabama- but in my (admittedly biased) view the one scholarship that stands out is the University of Georgia's Foundation Fellowship. In addition to the full-ride scholarship, all fellows are guaranteed a spring break trip each year to places like South Korea, the Galapagos, or Egypt for a travel-study trip with a professor. They also get $9,000 in grants for their own personal travel-study at any point in addition to a summer maymester at UGA's Oxford program. This is all in addition to a series of dinner seminars, retreats, and social activities that really help form friendships between the students and faculty. Finally- this may be the most important aspect - UGA also has a very strong honors program with excellent classes, teachers, and students, so the fellows are surrounded by plenty of academically outstanding students as well (thanks to Georgia's HOPE scholarship, many of the best students stay in-state for the free tuition). PM me if you want more details. </p>
<p>Also, I'll say that "stacking" is critically important in a scholarship too, as I know people at some schools who've had tons of scholarships eaten up by their university while others cruise around with piles of extra cash. Definitely important to check the financial details.</p>
<p>Please realize that the competition for the kind of scholarships you are looking for is extremely tough. My D had not only great academics & test scores, but she also had excellent EC's. She did not apply to publics, but her competition for full scholarships like you want at privates was incredible. They had not only the "full package" ... but so much more. Check out Curmudgeon's merit aid thread. It's a good one that tells it like it is. </p>
<p>Students can create their own "grooming" by getting to know profs at pretty much any school. It's wise to find schools with programs that interest him ... he will be much more motivated to find opportunities that way.</p>
<p>I second vig180's suggestion to explore the Robertson Scholars Program. It is a joint program of UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University. </p>
<p>Robertson</a> Scholars: Homepage</p>
<p>I'm currently a Robertson, and the financial security it provides is simply incredible. It pays for everything-- tuition, room and board, fees, travel, books, laptop, cultural/arts performances, dinners with professors, etc.</p>
<p>It also has the added aspects that you talked about, including $4,200-$6,000 in funding each summer to pursue internships, research, and travel, as well as personal advising and support to make the most of all of these resources.</p>
<p>Marshall University in West Virginia has a program that is loaded with extra benefits. It's called the Society of Yeager Scholars. Recipients receive a full payment of tuition and fees; full payment of room and board; a stipend; a book allowance; a summer study program at Exeter College, Oxford; $4000 for a further study abroad experience; and a personal computer. </p>
<p>That Yeager Scholars program warrants further investigation, thanks!</p>