Hi! I recently received a 1430 on my sat. What colleges would give me the highest merit scholarship? Thanks in advance!
What state are you in?
Alabama would give $26k per year to OOS
https://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out-of-state.php
What kind of school are you looking for? What part of the country?
What you want is the lowest cost of attendance (if one school gives you $20K but costs $65K, and another gives you $10K off a $40K cost - you’re better off financially in that case at the school with the lower merit award).
Here is a useful thread: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1678964-links-to-popular-threads-on-scholarships-and-lower-cost-colleges.html#latest
Look at your in-state public colleges, and any states with reciprocity or agreements like the WUE.
I am from Illinois. Thanks for the reply!
The type of school does not matter to me nor does the place. I am very open!
What do you want to major in? Are you eligible for need based aid (what is your financial situation)? What is your unweighted GPA?
I am undecided what to major in but I’m leaning towards mathematics as of right now! At the time I go to college, my family will have three kids in college however our financial situation isn’t bad enough to get any substantial amounts of money off. My unweighted gpa is a 3.7 weighted is a 4.7
Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. It has generous merit aid and strong students attend.
@chri55555 , any chance of NMF?
^^Trinity in San Antonio was one of my favorite visits! Ursinus College in PA is currently giving $35k/yr and smaller scholarships stack on top.
The bigger issue is to focus on what you want with Math. Many LACs will give big money for your score, but, if you want pure math, a large university with breadth and depth of math choices will be better.
If you are good in Math, but don’t wish to go into research, consider finance, actuarial or economics.
How much can your family actually pay?
Fla State might be real cheap (you’d prob pay in-state rate). Texas Tech would prob cover all tuition if you are in top 10% of your class. Oklahoma State & Nebraska would be reasonable.
No chance of NMF. My parents will not pay anything above 20,000 a year.
I would narrow down what you are looking for. I’m assuming you are a junior. You will start getting a ton of emails from schools. Once you pass 1400, email blows up. You have to decide in state/out of state, public/private, small/big, and other factors. Create a list of schools you would consider. Then research. then research some more.
Some out of state schools will give you out of state tuition waiver, some will do that plus merit.
Does your state have a tuition program like Fl and GA?
Private schools have been very generous to us, but not enough for my son to turn down an in state option. If your family can pay 20,000 a year for you then you will have options my son didn’t have!
One thing I learned as a first time parent going through this with my son…getting into some schools is hard enough…expecting substantial merit or merit is the next hurdle. It is painful when you get in somewhere amazing but can’t afford it (trust me son feels this way about duke). There are schools that you will meet the 75th percentile, but still not get in…I don’t know of any kid that didn’t get at least one rejection. I know some very high performing kids that got rejected from all schools since they only applied to Top20.
I’m thinking out of state, big public university. 20,000 is very lenient. I’d prefer to pay 15,000 however if I fell in love with a school around 20,000 a year i would consider it.
Look at Mizzou. Also Truman St.
Try UT-Dallas, Arizona State, or U of NM (where you would qualify for in-state rates under Amigo scholarship, with COA annually < 20K). Also both Alabama Tuscaloosa and Alabama-Huntsville.
@ufalumn1997 what are the colleges that offered you out of state waiver plus merit?
@Chri55555 - Do your parents actually have the money saved? If not, are they planning to take it out of their current income? Is this a realistic plan? I ask, because all too often we see folks on here who have been living in fairy land. They think they just have to make a few cuts to their expenses and they’ll be fine, but when the time comes, they cannot.
If they want to take it out of current income, I would ask them to start saving that amount now - right now - to show they can actually do it. Avoid future heartbreak.
That said - what areas are you interested in, when you say “out of state”? NJ (where I live and my kids are about the graduate college with zero debt) has some great public schools that offer merit. If you are interested in this area, check out Rowan, Ramapo and Stockton. All three offer merit in the $10,000 and up arena for your scores. I think Stockton would give you the most (in the 18K) - it is near the ocean/Jersey shore area. Ramapo is in northwestern NJ, about an hour from NYC, they also offer very nice merit. Neither of these schools is top of the top, but they are both solid.
Rowan has reduced the merit they are offering this year, my kids were lucky as they got in 3-4 years ago when the amounts were greater, but the money is still pretty decent and COA for out of state is 38K (pretty much the same for all NJ publics). Rowan is growing and thriving, has a solid reputation in Engineering, a new medical facility where nurse/doctor/other future medical professionals will have a chance to engage. They have a 7 year direct to med school program as well. It is 40 minutes from Philly, about 90 minutes from NYC.
TCNJ only offers top merit of 8K, Rutgers is much larger and offers similar merit from what I’ve seen. Both are better known schools locally and somewhat more known regionally. I am an alum of TCNJ and my foster son will be going to grad school at Rutgers - so I think good things about the schools, but am honest about the lower merit for your needs.
Again - talk with your folks about the finances - really sit down and put numbers on paper. It is uncomfortable for lots of folks to talk about money and budgets (I have no idea why) - talking now saves pain later!
Best to you!
@NJRoadie thanks for the response! I am the first child to go to college so my parents and I are very unknowledgeable about the situation. My parents have no money saved up (we hit some hard times) and they are hoping to take out a loan.