Another thing, we knew nothing about PSAT & National Hispanic Scholar. Almost as a side note, the college counselor at the HS told D she would be named NHS in the fall, based on her PSAT score. She did well on the test, short of NMF in Illinois, but enough for NHS in Illinois.
The counselor told D that NHS was a nice recognition, but there was “no money associated with it”. I don’t know if D misunderstood, or if the counselor was being literal about it, but we almost missed something HUGE.
I did some digging around the web, found CC, and found links to colleges giving full tuition and full tuition plus not only for NMF but for NHS as well.
Keep on eye on that, in case she doesn’t make NMF in TX. The school counselor should be aware of the process.
One of my daughters got all tuition from ASU based on the PSAT of junior year (the National Hispanic Scholar recognition). The second daughter also was offered that award from ASU and full tuition from Fordham in the Bronx. UNM also offers great scholarships based on the recognition. The awards fluctuate each year among schools, so keep an eye on that, and also Google the program, because the process of it is different every year. Good luck!
Re: NHS
Texas A&M gives some money for it, but much less than for NMF or NMSF.
http://scholarships.tamu.edu/Scholarship-Programs/National-Scholars
Unlike some of the top ranked schools, Rice offers merit aid. Rice has some merit especially designated for diversity/underrepresented minorities. Rice is looking for talented Hispanic students. https://financialaid.rice.edu/current-undergraduates/merit-scholarships Here is a snapshot of Rice’s demographics. https://futureowls.rice.edu/futureowls/diversity.asp
@Houston1021 @ucbalumnus @COSpgsparent thank you all!! Our public high school does not use naviance nor have dedicated college counselors, so we can use all the help we can get. She will be a junior in fall, so just now beginning the process of adding schools to a list for her to research. Appreciate all the suggestions!
I messaged you and I never want to be the annoying parent on CC who automatically pipes in with their kids college on forums like this! But…University of Pittsburgh ticks off more than few of her boxes: urban, smaller but not too small, minimal Greek life emphasis and has the programs she is looking for. Specifically they have $$ set aside for diversity scholarships.
However, you should not make the mistake that lots of people make though and assume the stat requirements are not going to be as rigorous for these scholarships. There were quite a few disgruntled parents on the Pitt forum whose kids had stats below the Pitt average for merit $$ but who mistakenly assumed because they were diversity candidates that they would still get $$. She should be encouraged to re-test (which sounds like it was your plan anyway) and get up towards the 33-34 zone. If she does that, initiates contact with the Pitt recruiter in Texas and arranges a visit then she truly stands a chance for some solid $$.
My “no greek, no rah rah sports, give me the city life with museums,neighborhoods, etc.” kid is super happy there.
Thank you @carachel2 and @COSpgsparent We did not have schools like Pitt or Fordham on list. Are there many schools that offer diversity scholarships?
Check out Ohio State. They offer the Morrill Scholarship which provides free tuition to up to a full ride depending on the level awarded. It involves writing an essay in the Common App. I thought OSU would be too big a school to consider but they have Honors and Scholars programs (highly recommend Scholars) that really help make a large campus feel small.
Fordham’s scholarship is for a combination of good grades and the National Hispanic Scholar distinction. ASU’s is called the New American Scholarship, I believe. U of Arizona had a scholarship at one point. I’m not sure if they still do. I also believe there’s a Kentucky school that offers one. Somewhere on College Confidential a person was keeping a list of the schools. Here’s the link (but keep in mind the schools change what they offer each year, depending on a number of things). Good luck! http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/hispanic-students/2057685-national-hispanic-recognition-program-actual-scholarships-received.html
MAKE SURE she marks the Hispanic/Latino box when she takes the PSAT. And go to the National Hispanic Scholar official site to make sure you’re following whatever process is in place.
Also, look for the link to diversity fly-ins that is somewhere on College Confidential. Those schools are looking for minority students. And you would be surprised what you qualify for. Don’t leave out schools you think you can’t afford—have a tough talk with her and say something like, “Listen, you can apply for ABC school and see if you get in and how much aid you get, but we might not be able to afford it, so don’t get completely set on it.” We did that with our second daughter. We went in thinking her dream school would give us nothing, and they gave us about $20k the first year, which made it doable. We’re still waiting to hear what they’ll give the second year (not all schools make you wait like that), but my point is that as long as your daughter understands that tough choices will have to be made, I say go for the schools you think you can’t afford and see what you get (in addition to some financial safety schools). This is an opinion that conflicts with what most people say here, but I’m telling you that our daughter would’ve missed out on her dream school if we hadn’t taken this approach.
Another that doesn’t really get mentioned much and has a ton of Midwest school spirit- Nebraska State, home of the Cornhuskers. They offer National Hispanic Scholars another great scholarship of Full tuition and a stipend. I think that with a top PSAT score there will be no shortage of opportunities around the country.
Also, has your student had the opportunity to be involved with LDZ? https://www.nationalhispanicinstitute.org/ldz/
This is an excellent program and if I am not mistaken started right there in TX. It opens many doors to colleges and a nice scholarship. It is an excellent resource.
I’m a big proponent of not letting your kid fall in love with schools that you can’t afford or unwilling to shell out the big $$ for. Run the financial calculators on the school websites once she narrows down a list of wants and needs in a college education.Talk to admissions officers before visiting to see what scholarships are available and how interested and helpful they are to you. My early experience was that most schools were very helpful and responsive and a few were not. Those that were not, I was sure glad to know that about them since the shiny brochure was not indicative of that. I wish you the best as you begin this exciting journey!