Hello! I’m currently a Senior in Florida, looking for good schools in New England that offer good merit or financial aid. My stats are:
3.5 UW GPA/4.4 W with a rigorous schedule
34 ACT (35 superscored)
1490 SAT (studying and retaking next month)
National Merit semifinalist (finalist pending)
good writer, good rec, decent EC’s
Any suggestions? Thank you so much!
What is your budget?
Pretty low!
^Pretty low as in 5k a year plus federal loans or worse than that? What is your EFC?
Pretty low because family is low income…or because they just can’t pay much even tho they’re not low income
The NE is not a great place to look for significant merit.
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I decide I’m willing to take on the debt, Boston College is my top choice. Right now I’m trying to find top options where I won’t have to take on that kind of debt for undergrad.
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And poly sci and/or journalism as your major…
Since you say that your parents would cosign as long as you’d pay, that suggests that your family is not low income, but they can’t pay much…is that correct?
How much can they pay each year
There is no way that BC or any similar school would be worth the debt, particularly for those majors, but really for no major would that debt be worth it.
Yeah, I’ve already decided that I’m unwilling to take on that kind of debt, especially because I’m planning on law school, as well. So that’s why I said pretty low. We’re medium income, but I do have four siblings so my parents can’t pay a ton for all of our college, and any debt I take on will be my own, so I’m looking to avoid it. I’m in Florida, so with Benacquisto and Bright Futures and stuff, UF/FSU/Alabama have been my top choices, but more recently I’ve been thinking it might be best for me to get out of the South for college. So I’m just looking into other options right now.
New England or the West or really anywhere outside of the SEC region where I could get good merit aid, I’m just trying to look into.
Thanks!
Run the NPC’s on St Lawrence, Wheaton MA, Dickinson, Denison, Macalester, St Olaf - not sure those will offer sufficient financial/merit aid but you can check.
Other possibilities: Fordham, Fairfield, Pitt, Miami Ohio: these have very few but very big scholarships for high stats.
Your 34 is very precious in terms of merit money. 
New England or the West or really anywhere outside of the SEC region where I could get good merit aid, I'm just trying to look into.
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The NE and west can be bad hunting grounds for merit IF you need net costs to be low. Sure, you may find some merit at a NE or west coast school, but if the net cost AFTER merit is still $30k per year or more, how will you cover that? That may be the problem.
Ask your parents exactly how much they’ll pay each year for college. You really need to know that, so you can know what your net costs will be.
Providence
St Michael’s
Fairfield
Hobart
St Lawrence
In the West, you would likely get generous merit from ASU (Barrett Honors) if you make NMF.
You’d get a full ride at U of New Mexico with NMF.
https://scholarship.unm.edu/scholarships/non-resident.html
However, I suspect that UF-Gainesville is higher rated than either of these.
Merit is scarce at New England schools in general.
Denison, Rhodes, Furman, Wooster, Dickinson, Trinity (Texas) are all solid options, but they are all going to net out at at least $30K with merit.
I agree about Denison. I think you’ll get a lot of merit aid there, though it still might be too expensive. It has a very nice New England-style campus. I like this chart for Miami of Ohio, which also has a very nice campus. If you’re unweighted GPA is a full 3.5 you’ll be in line for significant merit aid, maybe even full tuition. Note they super-score for admission AND aid.
http://miamioh.edu/admission/merit-grid/
http://miamioh.edu/about-miami/visiting-miami/index.html
The College of Wooster, also in OH, is another possibility, although I don’t know the details of financial aid as well there. Also a very good school.
Note that you need to apply to Miami of Ohio by December 1 to be eligible for financial aid. This is true of other schools as well so it would serve you well to be looking into this now (as you’re doing). I know it also true at Wake Forest and at least a few other schools we researched.
You can also google colleges that meet full financial need. This is not guaranteed, and your family and the school might disagree on what you can pay. Loans might be involved, though schools try hard to limit the total amount. You might look into Holy Cross in Worcester. Academics are really top-notch, absolutely similar to Boston College, though admissions is a little less competitive. Good luck!
What do you mean by “medium income”?
Median family income in the USA is about $55K/year. It would be somewhat higher for families with college age children. If your family income is $60K/year, with 4 siblings, then your net cost to attend so-called “full-need” colleges in the Northeast could be about $5K-$10K per year after need-based aid. Even if your family income is as much as double the national median, you may get more need-based than merit aid from those schools (though not necessarily enough to make them truly affordable in your case).
Run the online net price calculators for schools that interest you, then discuss results with your family.
Northeastern gives $30K merit for NMF, and I understand that their journalism program offers some pretty great co-op placements. USC (California) gives some big merit for NMF too and could be great for your interests.The full ride at UF is a pretty tough deal to beat, though! Or maybe New College of FL if you’re looking for a small LAC experience with the great in-state merit deal?