Merit Scholarships

<p>What schools are known for giving merit scholarships to academically strong students? I have heard that Tulane and Emory are good about that--I have heard about three people getting a free ride to Tulane for their honors program. It's a bit of a hard sell--she doesn't want to go that far south. We will consider Emory though I don't think we will get to visit until/unless she gets in...Her average is about 3.5/4.0 unweighted (in her school it is damn hard to get above a 3.5--you can only do that if you take AP or independent study classes where you get above a 4.0, otherwise an E is valued at 3.5) and 740 on each part of the SAT.</p>

<p>Just to be clear, the Dean’s Honor Scholarship at Tulane is full tuition, not all costs. It requires a separate application. Still going to run you about $14,000-15,000/year when it is all said and done. I don’t know so much about Emory as far as merit scholarships, but Tulane also gives a lot of merit scholarships based on only the admissions application. These range from $7,500-25,000/year, at least that’s the amounts they were this past cycle. People getting the $25K arealso in the Honors Program, as are some of the ones getting $22K/year. Your D might have a shot at the DHS, it really depends on her class rank since your school’s grading system seems a bit funky. Her SAT total is right at the edge of what they recommend for applying for the DHS. However, she most likely has an excellent shot at the $25K and Honors Program award, just make sure Tulane realizes how that 3.5 stacks up in her school.</p>

<p>SueMac— my daughter will be attending Tulane starting next week. She received a very generous merit offer, presumably based on a very strong, but not ridiculous, ACT score and the fact that she took highest level HS courses.</p>

<p>Thanks…any other schools with generous scholarships out there?</p>

<p>Tons. Is she likely to be NMF?</p>

<p>I think there is a very good chance.</p>

<p>Ohio State gave my son a great merit scholarship package. He got a Buckeye Scholarship for his SAT score which your DD would be eligible for based on her score. He also got an additional scholarship for National Merit status. Ohio State was originally on my DS’s radar but when they told him junior what they would award he started looking at it and really likes it. They invited him to compete for a 3rd merit scholarship which he ended up winning so our bill for his first quarter of college $279!!!</p>

<p>Ohio State is trying to attract more out of state smart students so they are being very generous with merit scholarships.</p>

<p>There are several threads already on CC about merit scholarships so I would look for those. Also there is a book called “The College Solution” that focuses on colleges and how to afford them. The author lists schools known for merit aid. The author writes for CBS Money so she also has a website and blog. I recommend looking at it.</p>

<p>son has NMSF, 34 ACT (36 math, 35 reading and english, 29 science), 2050 SAT(first attempt), 213 PSAT, great community service and extra curriculars. We realize that the SAT is high enough for NMF consideration but should he retake SAT for coca cola, axa, etc. Thought some of you past winners might be able to shed some light on this for us. Thanks</p>

<p>I wouldn’t worry about retaking the SAT for Coca cola etc. My daughter won the Coca Cola with lower stats than your son has now. The focus is much more on community service and ECs. Good luck.</p>

<p>American University offers up to full tuition scholarships to students with really high stats.</p>