Merit scholarships and selective admissions colleges

Paying for College
1

My son is interested in a few selective admission colleges. We are trying to weigh the likelihood of merit based aid and the risks of ED. I assume that since his biggest stretch is Vanderbilt, we should assume that he will get no aid. But what are chances of aid at W&L, Richmond or Wake Forest? His ACT is 35, he has a few subject tests above 750 and his GPA is about 4.1 (his freshman year was lower and the trend skyrocketed up), his EC are good depth and leadership in sports and deep interest shown in environmental issues with internships, etc.

We need advice on putting the puzzle together. If there is a good chance of real money from a second choice school like Wake or W&L, he will likely forego his reach, Vanderbilt.

2

This is the great crystal ball question. Alas, there’s no concrete way to answer it b/c merit awards are hard to predict – esp. at top colleges. The bottom line is that if you’re chasing merit, you’re better off doing RD so you can weigh your options. This means passing up on the admissions boost you get from ED.

You should take a look through the WF, Richmond, and Colleges Known for Good Merit discussion threads to see if anyone has posted their stats and merit awards. Might give at least a sense…

Good luck!

3

If you are looking for merit, better apply RD to Vanderbilt and perhaps another colleges with no bidding Early application.

4

How much money do you need?

There are a couple of threads on this topic in the Financial Aid Form. I’d encourage you to pop over there, and look for them.

5

Merit scholarships at above schools are few and hard to get. They are not just stats-based and difficult to predict if you have a good chance or not. If you need merit aid to be able to afford these schools, then do not apply ED. However, if you can afford Vandy at full pay and is a great fit+love, then by all means apply ED for a boost in admission.
Typically merit scholars are the tippy top applicants who also get into HYPSM level schools which don’t offer merit.
There are plenty of threads on CC for reference.

6

What is your limit in terms of cost? I’m sure you want the full Johnson, but where is the line for what?

There are some highly rated schools, name recognition schools that give merit money, but as a general rule, the higher the rating is in those areas, the smaller the chances for getting big money.

The most difficult part of putting together the college list for most students is getting the affordable schools that you know will take you. Get those nailed first. Don’t assume StateU is going to take you. Yeah, I’ve seen kids shot out of impacted programs because they were a bit late with that app. It’s simply not exciting getting those sure things out of the way, but if it turns out you need them, having them is very important. If you can do Rolling Admissions or EA with them, go to it.

Then you look for the schools that have the merit money you need but where things are chancier. Yes, W&L is a strong match for your son, but he’d better show some strong interest and the Johnson knock it up to a reach. Figure what you’ll pay for various schools. Maybe you’d go for broke with Princeton or Vanderbilt or Rice, but you need a $20k discount on Davidson or Wake or Richmond. When you need money, there are few matches.

Maybe pair W&L with Lynchburg or McDaniel in terms of merit availability. I’ve seen some good merit money from McDaniel . Gettysburg also a player here. Rhodes has some big money but very hard to get. How about some Florida schools like Eckerd, Stetson, Rollins? Some Catholic schools in the mix a good idea too. Some of them have generous scholarships. Tulane has EA and some money too. UTampa, UTulsa, UDenver, also in the mix.

If you can shed the regional bias, and get to know some well regarded schools in other parts of the country, you can find some schools in TX like Trinity, Austin, Southwest. How about the west coast, midwest where your son brings some geographical diversity to the table? I like Whitman Williamette, Lewis and Clark, Gonzaga.

Still not safeties for big money, but some high targets here when you go outside the box.

Let us know how it goes.

7

I have seen very different actual results with last years’ and this years’ classes. Rhodes has offered $30k per year for students without impeccable credentials. These are actual kids — 31-32 act and 3.9-.4.2 weighted gpas without any unique qualifications and not urms. The offerings were even more generous with Pepperdine, Smith, Elon, Furman, UGA, Alabama, Kenyon and Oberlin.

8

So you have some more schools on your list. Look at Common Data Sets for the schools to get some hard numbers. Like what % of the freshman got non need merit money. How many actual kid got that money. Then what the average amount was. Then go on web site to see what kind of awards they have.

I have noticed bigger awards this year from LACs —I’ve been away from this for 3 1/2 years. But I’m seeing some smaller accept rates and reading here of some high stat kids not getting accepted. It appears that the top schools are getting more apps these days.

9

Wake is extremely stingy on merit aid; less than 3% get any form of merit and some of the merit scholarships take need into consideration. W & L stats are better, about 10% get merit through the Johnson Scholarship program and it is very generous if you get it (tuition and room & board). Richmond gives 25 free rides and some other smaller merit. Look at Furman, Rhodes and Sewanne if you are interested in the geographical area of Vandy, Wake, etc. Great academic schools with generous merit similar in size to Richmond.

10

University of Maryland’s Banneker-Key (College Park) merit scholarship might be worthwhile for you to consider. About 150 scholarships are awarded yearly; a partial scholarship covers tuition (even for OOS) and book allowance, and a full pays for room-and-board in addition. All who apply by November 1st (note that this is earlier than many) and who are admitted to their Honors College are automatically considered for B-K; no additional application material is needed for B-K, but a good essay (Coalition) and answers to a few short questions (from UM) are vital to distinguish oneself among peers with equally fantastic stats.

11

Correction to my post above (#9): University of Maryland-College Park awards around 400 Banneker-Key merit scholarships each year, funding 150 and 250 students at partial and full levels, respectively. OOS are eligible.

12

We had never considered Maryland. This is great information. Thank you.

13

University of South Carolina, Clemson also have good scholarships. Closer to GA too. If big schools are not off the table

14

Washington and Lee University is just wonderful. It is not really “2nd tier” as it is highly competitive but there is a full ride scholarship that is given to a surprisingly large percentage to each entering class.

15

Keep in mind that University of Maryland has had serious problems with mold in dorms that it is working to correct.

https://dbknews.com/2019/02/01/umd-mold-dorm-cleaning-renovations-moisture-control-plan-dehumidifiers-hvac/

16

University of South Carolina, Clemson also have good scholarships. Closer to GA too. If big schools are not off the table

17

He would get great merit aid at University of Alabama. Is he a NMF?

18

Unfortunately, while he would be in the running, those big scholarships from Richmond/WFU/W&L are far from guaranteed.

However, LACs outside the very tippy-top or the Northeast are more prone to give merit scholarships now to be at least competitive with an in-state public. He would definitely get $20K/year (and probably more) from Kenyon and Oberlin, for instance.

19

What is unweighted gpa? The big merit scholarships at colleges like UR, Wake will go to 4.0/close to it U/W gpa students. The biggest scholarships are ultra competitive.

20

You might want to add HWS to the mix of colleges suggested on this thread.