need help finding northeast schools from the pros here

College Search & Selection
1

I have actually been looking and learning from this site for quite a while but just now jumping in with my dilemma. It does seem like a classic scenario but I could really use some guidance.

We have a rising senior, A student, 1540 SAT (770/770), strong academic and non-academic EC’s. Household income $200k. Want New England college/university but would consider as far south as PA, MD. The Ivy’s are so attractive from the standpoint of being around similarly strong academic students and the generosity of financial aid but you can’t hang your hat on getting in. We did tour a lower ranked school with an honors program but this is where it hit me. Even the honors program did not feel like a similar academic fit. So many higher academic schools just don’t pay out the merit and/or financial aid at this income level.

What are some schools in this greater northeast area that will put a higher academic kid amongst similar students that will not break the bank or put us all into major debt?

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I think – generally – your two goals are kind of incompatible. If I understand correctly, you want merit aid and you also want your student surrounded by kids with similar stats.

Merit aid is given to entice kids with higher stats than the average admitted student to attend. So where your student is likely to get merit aid they are unlikely to be surrounded by kids with similar/higher stats. There will be high stats kids at these merit-awarding schools, but they won’t be the majority.

3

Completely agree with cinnamon. Household income takes need-based aid pretty much off the table which means paying what it costs and merit aid will be used at schools with fewer high achieving students. D20’s had a slightly lower SAT but was still a competitive applicant. We required financial aid so our desired outcome was a it different (and we happily ended up with a school that met our full demonstrated need). The more match/safe schools felt less academic but fit the bill with the generous merit aid. We were able to find great things about every school she ended up applying to (top rated study abroad programs, internship opportunities offered by unique alum, majors that had a slightly different focus).

It is a choice about whether or not to pay the price but also look for things to love about schools that offer merit. You shouldn’t feel like she is settling if the merit aid is really important.

4

I agree with above posters.
Also consider the major, too. STEM, comp sci, pre-med majors at state universities will have students with similar stats as your D20. Or specialty majors in fine arts, humanities, with few seats, portfolio or audition requirements, will have talented bright students. Admission can be very competitive to certain majors.
Take a closer look at your instate options, including opportunities for research, internships.

1 Like
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@nosrednadarb Did your student take the PSAT? Will he qualify for National Merit? Many schools offer full-tuition or full-ride scholarships to NMScholars, though very few (if any,) are located in the NE.

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To get a true picture of your FA possibilities, you really need to do the calculators at a few schools. It isn’t just a matter of salary, there are other considerations such as whether you own or rent, etc. There are a number of schools that claim to meet full need, both Ivies and near Ivies (NESCAC, JHU, etc.)

7

Your state flagship.

If you’re in New England, other New England state schools may give a tuition break. It depends on the major and the two states involved though. https://nebhe.org/tuitionbreak/

8

The United States Military Academy at West Point. (New York)

US Naval Academy–Annapolis, Maryland.

Lots of smart students at these two service academies. Cost is free.

9

We sort of had a similar situation, and live in the northeast of the US.

One option is honors colleges at big public universities. Both U.Mass Amherst and UVM have good honors colleges. The honors college dorm at UVM might be the nicest dorm I have seen. UVM also has some merit aid for out of state students, but is expensive out of state unless you qualify for merit aid. I thought that both Amherst and Burlington were very attractive locations (as is Durham NH, home of UNH).

The various highly ranked LACs come to mind. However, I do not think that the top ranked ones (Williams, Bowdoin, Colby, Wellesley, …) have merit aid. They are very expensive unless you qualify for need based aid, which seems unlikely with a $200,000 income. They are not safeties either for a strong student.

We felt that we could not afford $75,000+ per year per child. This took out the “no merit aid” top universities and LACs. One child ended up at an honors college at a large public university (with merit aid), and one ended up at a very good small “primarily undergraduate” university in Canada (which are very affordable for international students). The small universities in Canada are almost completely unknown in the US. The other downside of going there is that we are not sure at this point whether she is going to return after graduation.

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What can you afford to pay? Big difference between $25k per year and $40-50k per year.

Ideas for NE:

  • Honors College at State Flagship
  • Honors College at other NE flagships that may offer tuition breaks or merit aid (Maine, UVM, NH)
  • Some less well known LACS/smaller unis Susquehanna, Ursinus, Juniata, St Lawrence, Clark U, Clarkson
  • Some of the less well known Catholic schools may also give merit: St Michaels, St Anselm, Stonehill, Fairfield, Iona, Marist, Sacred Heart, Salve Regina
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Your son is a great student, but he is far from unique. I think you are assuming that there aren’t smart kids at the schools where he is likely to get merit aid. That just isn’t true. He can find his peers at all kinds of colleges, even the ones that give merit aid. And remember that a lot of very smart kids attend all kinds of colleges, and many of them have followed the money.

I hope this doesn’t sound mean-spirited, but your son, while exceptional in your eyes, is what many here would term average-excellent. As the parent of a new college grad (three post-grad job offers in hand) who was the template for the average-excellent student, it’s a great position to be in. It means he will probably do well in college and he has the tools to succeed in life.

The financial constraints of your budget are not going to dictate that he is doomed to attend a second rate school. Ultimately, it’s on him to take advantage of the opportunities offered at whatever school he attends.

You need merit aid. I suggest he check out Connecticut College, Trinity College, Clark University, maybe WPI or RIT? What are his academic interests? U Rochester has excellent academics and really smart students, but I’m not sure where they are with merit aid these days. And if he is willing to compromise on location (which he should do if getting merit aid is the goal) he will have a lot more choice.

There are many excellent schools in the Midwest and West that are overlooked simply due to geography. If he needs money, look at U Denver, Whitman, St. Olaf, Earlham, Gonzaga, Lewis and Clark, and many others.

Give us a better idea of:
-potential major
-vibe (intellectual, sporty, liberal, conservative, tree-hugger, etc…)
-size
-must haves (orchestra, anime club, types of campus food…)
-deal breakers (but remember, he has to be able to compromise because money is an issue. Geography is often the first thing out the window.)

And you are paying, so throw in your parents’ choice. I did that for both of mine, and for one of them, the college became a final contender, with a very nice merit award.

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If the school is in the northeast, chances are, it’ll break the bank…even if you actually live in the northeast. That’s a very overrepresented area of the country, and schools are very expensive and competitive to get into. Even if you could muster the tuition now, that might not be true in 4 years. It’s not uncommon for kids to start at an exotic college, then be forced to transfer back home because of a layoff or business failure…especially with COVID-19. I recommend staying put and going for your home state school, and for goodness sake…apply for a scholarship! That’s guaranteed money for 4 years.

13

What about McGill or Toronto?

Need more info like major and preferences. Also, come-up with a hard budget and discuss now vs next spring.

I get being surrounded by other high caliber students but you will find a lot of smart, motivated kids at public schools, especially the Honors programs. Depending on major there could be more research opportunities as well. Don’t just look at the caliber of students but the programs and professors. Surrounding yourself with top cohorts doesn’t mean much if the program isn’t great or the professors can’t teach.

We were in a similar situation last year. No FA. S20 got good merit from several schools but cost was still $40-50k/year. That’s about normal. There are some larger scholarships out there but they’re very competitive and shouldn’t be counted on.

His two low cost options were both in-state flagships. Merit and Honors colleges included. Excellent schools and he would’ve done well at either. He ended-up at Georgia Tech. It’s $50k/year OOS but he’s walking in with 51 credits so 3 years is doable plus internship money. It was a no-brainer plus he’s in a environment that’s challenging which is what we all wanted.

14

Some of the schools that have decent merit aid include Union, Dickinson, Denison, Oberlin, Gettysburg, Earlham. At all, there’ll be plenty to keep a high-achieving student engaged as well as plenty of company.

Don’t be mislead into believing your kid will be without peers at schools that aren’t hhypersensitive. It’s just not true.

15

Some small LACs that I applied to in the NE that offer merit scholarships are Juniata College and Allegheny College (both in PA.)

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To research which schools offer merit and how much on average, use the site called COLLEGE DATA and click on the MONEY MATTERS tab. It will tell you how much merit a school gives.

I won’t join the echo chamber about merit scholarships attracting high performers to lower-ranked schools. But I will offer some other fine colleges for your consideration, all of which offer merit:

  • Muhlenberg -- very happy student body!
  • Lehigh-- breathtakingly beautiful campus, very high-level academics
  • Lafayette -- very high level academics
  • Davidson -- if this were in the Northeast, it would be impossible to get in
  • Rhodes -- average merit award $26K -- considered a top LAC by top grad schools
  • Kenyon
  • Bard (1% had no financial need and received $33K)
  • University of Puget Sound
  • Southwestern University -- outside of Austin, founded 1850s, river running through campus,
  • Sewanee--13,000 acre campus, great academics, more traditional, Harry Potter robes for top perfomers, cheap, great writing
  • Haverford--a top school, 43% receive some form of merit of undisclosed amount, part of a consortium that includes Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr and U of Pennsylvania, low-key amount of stress and very friendly

There are several more.

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For those considering Haverford – a great school (I"m a proud BiCo college alum) – but be forewarned, it does not give merit. Common Data Set shows 0 students getting non-need based aid.

Agree with those posters who have said that, at plenty of schools offering merit aid, a high stats, high achieving kid will have plenty of academic peers.

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Lehigh is also going to be tough for merit.

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Lafayette, Kenyon and Davidson have a limited number of scholarships for tippy top applicants that they hope to entice away from tippy top ultra selective schools. Those scholarships can’t be counted on.