D has 4.8 W/3.9 U GPA, 1 in class of 150. But her ACT 26, in process of retaking! Strong Community Service, Strong clubs, won state essay competitions, etc. About 8 AP classes. Ran out of math classes to take at HS. Looking for a school that will extend merit aid to her for math or computer science. Our EFC is high, but parent had a major operation a few years back and was out of work for a year. Not financially able to do more than 18k a year. That is a stretch and will require a few extra jobs. Please let me know what schools will match.
What state are you in? The first step would be to consider your in-state public universities.
Look into test optional universities.
Basically you need a full tuition scholarship.
An issue with merit is that it’s often related to test scores.
Is she a senior? Looking at big or small, urban or rural schools?
Yes, investigate your in-state public universities.
These may help with merit scholarships (but verify on school web sites since some may have changed):
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20798968/#Comment_20798968
http://competitivefulltuition.yolasite.com/
She may want to try both the ACT and SAT, since some students do better on one versus the other.
Many test optional schools do want test score for their larger merit scholarships.
Temple offers test optional merit.
UKentucky’s new honors college will admit students based on grades, curriculum rigor, essays, and recommendations. Worth trying since they’ll have honors scholarships too.
Some 100% need colleges take medical expenses/situations into account. Email the full need, test optional colleges (like Bowdoin) about it.
Where are you instate ? Can you afford any instate university?
In NJ, senior year, will consider any size school. I feel bad she has worked so hard her entire school career and it comes down to a test score. Her ACT is 26. Retook SAT, feels its close to 1300.
Any help is appreciated!
First build your fallback plan. That is likely an in-state public.
Your options from cheapest to most expensive
- Community college, banking leftover money towards junior and senior year
- A four year school she can commute to
- A four year school where she lives away
Figure out which plan is best for you and get the application and financial aid forms done, as in state options are often open until filled.
In addition to the 18K you can pay, your daughter will be eligible for the federal student loan program, which would give her an additional 5,500 for freshmen.
TCNJ should be a given. She can get on their mailing list in case interest matters. She should also email Honors to demonstrate interest there - she meets the minimum requirements but intellectual curiosity expressed clearly (what does she love learning about and how would Honors allow her to do that better than “regular” TCNJ) can beat a test score at a smaller program.
https://honors.tcnj.edu/
Drew would likely be a safety too, with good merit aid, but she’d need to express interest.
Other safeties within your prices would include Truman State and UMW.
Run the NPC on Earlham, Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan, Drake.
Email Bowdoin, Bates, Skidmore, Bryn Mawr, Smith, Wesleyan, F&M, WPI, Dickinson, St Lawrence, Lawrence, Connecticut College… to see if medical expenses and loss of job due to severe illness are taken into account when awarding financial aid.
She could apply to LEEP at Clark.
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thank you for your help, any suggestions are appreciated
If community service and leadership are her strong suits and she gets act up look at SMU Hunt scholarship. Gives you the equivalent of your own in state tuition - good specific program to look into that will fit your financial situation.
Rowan tends to give more aid than TCNJ and also has an honors college. Lebanon Valley in PA is expensive, but last I checked offered 1/2 off tuition if you’re in the top 10% of your class - they have a great actuarial major there if that’s of any interest. I remember seeing a couple schools that offered valedictorian’s free tuition when we looked. They wouldn’t be highly ranked schools though - maybe Elizabethtown or Lycoming?
@jamesk2014 SMU’s Hunt Scholars and Presidential Scholars programs are amazing and not discussed enough on CC. And, they are full ride, not full tuition. But, a 26 is nowhere close to competetive. I would say 33 is a minimum, maybe 32. Hunts requires a project as well.
@AroundHere had excellent suggestions.
1 in her class is fantastic. Out of 150 could be a bit of a drawback. The standardized tests are a leveler but, of course, don't tell the whole story and are a bit dehumanizing. She's not the first, and she won't be the last.
I didn’t really see a desired major (she might not have made her mind up yet, which is the majority) but has an interest in math and computer science. With those interests, grad school also enters the equation. So, to me, getting undergrad done within four years and grad within years is much more important than annual costs. And, if you pick the wrong college, that’s another financial kick-in-the-groin.
Somehow, someway, I’ve found a lot of folks like you who make it work. Kids, once away from home, are enterprising since so many of them are in the same boat and will help each other. So, as financially attractive as the CC or commuting college sounds, it might not be best in the big picture. There’s legal money out there - loans, jobs, work-studies, paid-internships, Americorps, National Guard, non-school scholarships, temp jobs. If a kid wants it and you taught them right, they’ll find a legal way.
In-state public: Add Richard Stockton to your list. Sticker prices on privates look really bad, but often will come up with a lot of money to bring that price down significantly - maybe to $25K, but not likely to $18K.
@collegeorbust1 - Has your daughter had any classes on ACT strategy? There is a lot of strategy to taking the ACT and with practice my son was able to raise his score 5 points. A low score can be shocking to kids who have always done well, but there are definitely resources that can help you. Our school provided his strategy courses, but I’m sure you can find classes in your area or on-line.
I’m in NJ and my D’s first SAT was a 1320. Her rank is top 3%. So when I first started looking we were in a VERY similar place.
I wanted total costs lower than $25K at first. Then I started hoping for below $20K.
(We have a lower income but can’t count on enough FA because we lived abroad and did not get a chance to put saving into retirement accounts like other US families.)
What I found was Lycoming, Baldwin Wallace, DeSales, and St. Vincent got us close to $20K, in terms of privates.
The non-flagship public colleges in Ohio also gave good results, close to $20K. (Look at U Toledo for their new scholarships.)
Stockton gives $9-11,000 automatically for those stats, which will get you close to $15K total. Stockton is growing and moving up, so don’t discount it. It’s very bio science oriented.
@NJRoadie said Ramapo also offered around $10K from what I remember. Maybe she will correct me.
Rowan seems to award merit much more holistically. So I think a #1 ranked student could do very well if she has some nice ECs, with leadership maybe? I’ll guess that the net price might get to $20Kish, maybe better. It’s a good bet for STEM and the honors college might be an option.
TCNJ is also very holistic for merit but they’d like to see a 1360, according to what an admission staff member told me.
Drew, in my opinion, will not get you enough merit. Nor will a lot of the other private colleges mentioned, though I got a good result from Beloit and Lawrence. Wooster unfortunately caps merit at $32K. I’m betting most privates will only get you to $27K or $28K.
I also called F&M to explain our circumstances and ask if we could get a break and the answer was no. But you should try.
And if you have a home with a lot of equity, that could hurt, too, if it’s a school that requires the CSS Profile.
I wish you the best! I really spent so much time running NPCs and calling colleges but I still think D will get the best deal at Rowan or Stockton.
^An issue is the student’s majors of interest: Rowan is terrific for STEM but if the student is interested in International Relations or Russian or Arabic or Anthropology… really not. Finding the affordable right fit for students not interested in STEM is much harder than for a student interested in STEM.
University of Toledo will come in under your budget:
CoA OOS 28,816 http://www.utoledo.edu/admission/freshman/tuition/2018-tuition.html
Auto Merit 12,500 http://www.utoledo.edu/admission/freshman/scholarships/2018/out-of-state.html
Net Price 16,316 or less, allows stacking of outside scholarships, offers additional competitive scholarships
Makes a good safety school for your finances.
Excellent career services office.
1st and 2nd year students living outside a 25 mile radius are required to live on campus.