<p>Given your interests, I would focus on the tech schools. My son got more merit at Caltech than other schools. don’t rule out GTech, CMU, RIT, and the like. I think you will need to cast a wide net. UMiami could be free for you; USC at least 3/4. No need to repeat other schools already mentioned.</p>
<p>Not many kids get a full ride from NMF. But there are some f half tuition and ull tuition and scholarships for NMF - you’d still need to pay room/board/fees (usuall $10K-$15K per year). When we looked a few years ago, Oklahoma had a good deal for NMF and drew very many of them nationwide.</p>
<p>I didn’t know that there was merit aid at Caltech. From what their website says, it seems that many of their scholarships are both merit and need based. I don’t qualify for need based aid, so no scholarships from there. </p>
<p>I think I want to study tech but I’m not so sure about some tech schools. RIT and GTech are certainly good, but I don’t know if I want that kind of social scene. Those schools are kinda imbalanced gender-wise and I’ve read that GTech is a pretty miserable place.</p>
<p>FWIW, I can sympathize with your family. You want to go to a good school but the full cost at many schools ($250k!!) is scary big. Yep, been there.</p>
<p>My advice: (1) Don’t count on any merit money from a top 30 school; very competitive, and many kids with strong credentials don’t get much/any. (2) Have a candid conversation with parents, get a family agreement on what the treasury can handle. (3) Then pick schools that you can afford without large debt (like some suggested here by others), don’t aspire to expensive schools for some illusory benefit they’ll give you for an extra $20-30k/year.</p>
<p>If you have to “settle” for UK or something like it, your life won’t be ruined, your success will depend on how hard you work. Graduate in the top 10%, go to a great grad school (with aid).</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>PS I don’t mean to discourage you from applying to top colleges with the hope of getting merit aid. Just be realistic, don’t make that your only plan.</p>
<p>“I’m not so sure about some tech schools. RIT and GTech are certainly good, but I don’t know if I want that kind of social scene. Those schools are kinda imbalanced gender-wise” </p>
<p>You are going to find gender imbalance at most STEM schools. Not as severe any more at MIT. Olin College of Engineering has more female freshman than males this year, but it’s a teeny niche-fit school.</p>
<p>@vandyman
OK, I won’t make it my back up to get merit from Vandy/Duke/etc. but I’ll still hope for it. </p>
<p>I asked my dad recently if I could go to Harvard if I was accepted (I didn’t pick H for any particular reason except that it’s a world-class uni and my parents know how expensive it will be for us). He said yes. I’m going to sit down and talk with them about it more seriously, but I get the impression that they are avoiding this particular topic of conversation. I’d still like to get some merit though, because the assets I would save my parents by getting full tuition paid for would eventually partially become mine anyway, and because I don’t want to create a ton of stress in my family and a situation in which my less academically inclined brother also feels entitled to $60k per year.</p>
<p>^ I know, that’s why I’m interested in MIT and Stanford. I like Caltech because it provides a very rigorous education, not because of any social reasons.</p>
<p>You sound like a responsible and thoughtful young man. You are definitely not alone in your predicament of having extremes in cost. I think the challenge is finding what I call “schools in the middle.” I think these are different than “matches.” For the most part for someone like you, the semantics of reach/match/safety don’t work. You are mostly safety and reach (though I do understand that things can vary by college - particularly those that value “demonstrated interest” - I don’t think those can be considered safeties). I also understand the concept of value that you seem to be alluding to. Some schools are probably worth full freight - Ivy, Stanford, MIT, etc. - but others are not. </p>
<p>You’ve received some excellent advice. It’s sounds like your parents may not be on the same page about what they are wiling/able to afford. I do think you should be able to find some schools that are somewhere in between free and $60K+ per year. Private schools where you would likely get merit aid and bring your cost down. I would try to find some of those. </p>
<p>Does the University of Rochester have what you are looking for? </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>^ Is my gender really that easy to tell from my writing voice? </p>
<p>I did not know that U Rochester was such a nice school. Thank you.</p>
<p>So are full tuition scholarships at places like UVA, Vandy, Michigan, Duke, and others really that competitive? Let’s say I have better EC’s than 7.5/10 people, 4.0, 36, and straight 800’s. I’m also a white male. Do I stand a fair chance, or will my EC’s kill me?</p>