I live in NC, and of course I’m hoping to be accepted to and attend UNC Chapel Hill, but I know that acceptance is never guaranteed and I need other options. Which public schools are generous with merit scholarships for OOS students? I’m not looking for full-rides, but schools that commonly offer enough merit money to OOS students to bring the cost of attendance closer to an in-state price (say up to $30,000 - $35,000 for tuition & fees + room & board, preferably lower). An example is Clemson, which automatically offers $7,500 to OOS students with at least a 1320 on the new SAT or 28 on the ACT and who are in the top 10% of their high school class, and students with higher test scores are considered for merit scholarships up to $15,000. With tuition & fees + room & board costing $42,380 yearly for OOS students, the automatic $7,500 brings the price to $34,880 and the maximum $15,000 scholarship brings the price to $27,380.
For reference, I have an ACT score of a 33 (superscored 34), weighted GPA of 5.1359, am part of the IB program, and hold many leadership positions in various clubs and band (school doesn’t rank).
Alabama and Miami of Ohio come to mind. Also I believe the University of South Carolina offers merit.
http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out-of-state.php
http://www.utdallas.edu/finaid/scholarships/
http://auburn.edu/scholarship/undergraduate/freshman.html
Other ones that have low enough OOS tuition to meet your price range (no promise of merit scholarships) are Cal Poly SLO, Trinity University, and the University of Minnesota.
Texas A&M will probably give you good scholarships because your stats are so high, but there is nothing automatic. If you were to receive at least a 4k a year scholarship, however, you’ll receive instate tuition minus your 4k+ per year scholarship.
The University of Minnesota is definitely a good option financially. Their oos coa is around 32,000, which is good in itself. I received a scholarship of 10k/year with a 30 ACT and 4.0 unweighted. I take all honors and AP’s. With your stats, you should get the same, if not more money. But you should consider the drastic weather change since you’re from NC.
@shortie17 Are you a high school senior? If so, you have missed the Early Action deadlines for priority consideration for merit aid at many OOS flagships. For best merit, other than U of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, the Ohio State University offers the best merit for OOS students like yourself. It is also the highest ranked (#54 in National Universities in UsNews World Report of 2016 edition) of the OOS flagships that offer merit aid. Your ACT would qualify your for the National Buckeye scholarship ($12,500 per year)–criteria is 29 ACT or higher and top quarter of class. Plus the Maximus ($5000 per year)–criteria is 32 ACT or higher and top 3% of class. They also offer the Provost ($2,500) for 30 ACT or higher and Trustee ($1,500) for 29 ACT or higher and slightly lower class rank. But if your school does not rank you likely will still get the Maximus if your estimated class rank is roughly equivalent of top 5% or even top 10%. Ohio State is able to guestimate your rank based on your gpa and their familiarity with your high school. The OOS cost of attendance would be between $25,000 and $30,000