<p>My DD is a junior, 4.8 weighted gpa, #10 in class of 330, 32 on ACT (will retake), 2180 on SAT (is retaking in March), probably national merit based on PSAT score. She would like to be a teacher of spanish and/or latin. We have 5 children, won't qualify for financial aid with her, and really are looking for a college that will offer her a lot of merit aid. We live in Ohio and she doesn't want to have to travel too far. How do we go about finding schools that will be very generous with merit aid? I am at such a loss. DS is a high school senior but his college search was easy since he picked a very specific major that narrowed down the college choices.</p>
<p>While I know nothing about the language departments at either schools, it seems to me that your daughter would qualify for merit money at schools like Case Western, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Delaware and would likely qualify for their honors program. Is she interested in a large school, an urban school or does none of that matter?</p>
<p>What was your D’s PSAT score?</p>
<p>If she does make NMF, she’ll have some free ride (or near free ride) choices. </p>
<p>How far is too far? Fordham would give her free tuition if she makes NMF</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about the majors you are seeking for your daughter. If you are sure that you want to count FA out and only seek merit aid, then there are not a whole lot out there. If you are certain that your child is going to be a nmf, there are some very good options. What’s her score from the Oct PSAT? </p>
<p>I would go about doing the following steps.</p>
<p>First compile a list of ranked colleges for the intended major. You can start from a simple google search, or well-known publications such as US News or Kiplinger’s etc. </p>
<p>Then compare this list against who gives the best NMF Scholarships. </p>
<p>Based on these two cross references, select a few of the top 20 schools, then starting in Spring break do a college visit, if you can, to narrow it down further. </p>
<p>Having said that, I believe Ohio State, main campus, has a decent language department, no? They do offer a decent amount for NMF, I think. Check it out, since you are in the Midwest, all most all the state schools in the big ten are very very good schools. But I believe only Ohio State is very NMF friendly!</p>
<p>Good luck and great news on your child!</p>
<p>If she becomes NMF, the University of Southern Cali will guarantee her a 50% tuition scholarship for all 4 years if she maintains a B average. They also have a substantial number of further merit-based scholarships that could augment the 50% tuition, but she would need to apply by the Dec. 1 deadline.</p>
<p>DD scored a 215- not great, but her guidance counselor thought she might make the cutoff. I hope that is true. Cali is definitely too far and DD thinks Alabama is too. Within the next 6 years we will have 4 in college, so we are hoping that DD can find close to a full ride somewhere.</p>
<p>The OH NMF cutoffs for the last several years have ranged from 211 to 215, so your D is very likely to qualify. Congrats! (my OH junior D scored 211 so we will be holding our breath until April :eek:)</p>
<p>Look here for good merit aid for NMF: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-updated-compilation.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-updated-compilation.html</a> Denison offers a full tuition scholarship. Great school.</p>
<p>PRJ…Sorry to tell you, but you’ll be holding your breath for a longer time…you won’t find out until Aug/Sept. That’s when the semi-finalists are announced (and when cutoff is known).</p>
<p>Linny
215 …good chance will make NMSF…</p>
<p>Is Fordham too far?</p>
<p>With so many in college at the same time, what is your budget for each kid? Since it looks like you won’t get any aid once you get a merit scholarship, you’ll need to figure out how much you’ll pay.</p>
<p>For instance, at USC, unless your D gets very high stats in addition to NMF, she’ll probably only get half tuition. That leaves about $35k per year for you to pay. </p>
<p>Free rides in your area are not plentiful. So, if geography is too strict, you may find scholarships limited to tuition only.</p>
<p>Lots of Ohio kids at Pitt. Though not NMF based, the University of Pittsburgh offers nice merit (and my DD is quite happy there). The education progarm is a bit different there, though, if your daughter wants to teach.</p>
<p>There is a little school in Wisconsin (Beloit) that is known for its language programs, and it is about 90 minutes west of Chicago.</p>
<p>215 in OH is very good chance. Please look at the cutoff for the different states for the last few years…</p>
<p>[National</a> Merit Scholarships](<a href=“http://www.collegeplanningsimplified.com/NationalMerit.html]National”>http://www.collegeplanningsimplified.com/NationalMerit.html)</p>
<p>I’m guessing that Boston University is too far - but they do have a big classics merit scholarship.
<a href=“http://www.bu.edu/admissions/files/library/media/latin-scholarship.pdf[/url]”>http://www.bu.edu/admissions/files/library/media/latin-scholarship.pdf</a></p>
<p>Reading your description of her, St. Bonaventure comes to mind. They give lots of merit aid, and they are a very close knit, everyone gets to know everyone, kind of place.</p>
<p>Check out the Harrison Scholarship at Miami of Ohio.</p>
<p>If she makes NMF, check out Northeastern in Boston - they give a full tuition scholarship (but know that room/board is expensive). Not sure if it has the proper majors. Co-op program is their strength.</p>
<p>Apply early for Indiana - still has nice merit aid and is rolling admission. Bradley in Illinois has NMF scholarship that is not advertised. I had always heard that Denison and Kenyon can be generous with aid, but haven’t heard anything in the last couple of years.
I think it is critical that she not take on a lot of loans if her plans involve teaching.</p>
<p>Tulane University offers outstanding merit awards. It is a quite wonderful university.</p>
<p>Bowling Green State and the U. of Kentucky offer nice merit packages. Take a look at those two schools.</p>
<p>Just to expand a bit on idad’s post, Tulane has one of the strongest Latin American Studies programs in the country, so the entire Spanish studying and speaking experience is very good. I know it is farther than you probably were thinking, but you should really give it a look. With your D’s stats she would most likely qualify for their top merit scholarship ($25,000 per year this year) for which all accepted students are considered, and if she gets her ACT up a point or 2 or her SAT up to 2250 or thereabouts, she would have a decent chance at the Dean’s Honors Scholarship which awards full tuition for 4 years. Very strong study abroad also, with deep ties to various Latin American countries and Spain.</p>
<p>Denison [Academic</a> Scholarships - Denison University](<a href=“http://www.denison.edu/admissions/academic_scholarships.html]Academic”>Denison University | A top liberal arts college located in Ohio)
Miami U [MU</a> Honors Program](<a href=“Honors College | Miami University”>Honors College | Miami University)
Ohio U [The</a> Gateway Award Program: Ohio University Admissions](<a href=“http://www.ohio.edu/admissions/gateway/index.cfm]The”>http://www.ohio.edu/admissions/gateway/index.cfm)</p>