Recommend Some Schools Please

College Search & Selection
1

Hello everyone! I’ve spent a lot of time during this quarantine combing through colleges, trying to decide where to apply! I have a very specific vision in mind and am having a hard time finding schools that adhere to it. Anyways, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I’m specifically looking for match schools because I already have too many reaches on my list!

Things I’m looking for:

  • Good merit scholarships for students with a 1550 SAT and 3.99 Unweighted GPA
  • Walking distance from a nice town (not into urban schools or super rural schools).
  • Open to all states (except TN). I particularly like temperate coastal states such as the Carolinas/Virginia and California.
  • Mid-sized school
  • Want to live on campus all four years, but this isn’t a requirement
  • Not a “party school“ or a Greek-dominated school
  • Good academic reputation (I’m interested in Communications and Ecology)
  • Ability to double-major
  • Of course this is subjective, but campus beauty and food quality are factors too!

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

2

You may want to look at Jesuit schools (google for a list). Most are in the mid size range and a huge party culture and Greek life are usually not a large factor.

In order to get better responses you may want to clarify what you mean for mid sized…that can be a huge range.

3

Santa Clara University?

4

What is your budget? Home state?

Agree on define mid-size…Are you interested in LACs?

5

Forgot to mention this above, but I am looking for a school without a religious affiliation. The range for size is pretty broad. Anywhere from 2,000 to 20,000 students is good. I am open to non-tiny LACs (Furman is my favorite safety school).

6

You may have to compromise on some of these. For example, some of the best places to apply for merit aid (e.g. Bama) also have strong Greek life,. Catholic/Jesuit schools tend not to have Greek life but (in my own personal experience at least) are cheap with aid unless you go really far down the rankings. Merit aid will also tend to increase as academic reputation decreases, so "good’ academic reputation needs to be defined here, much like “mid-sized”.

7

Gonzaga? Creighton? Regis?

8

Home state is MA. In terms of budget, we are full pay, but my parents don’t have any money set aside, so that’s why merit scholarships are so important. My parents told me that we’re going to have to rely a lot on loans. See above for mid-size clarification.

9

Are you applying to UMass as a financial safety at least?

10

Wake Forrest.

Tulane.

U of Richmond.
George Washington.
USC

Based on your profile, merit potential and warmer climes.

11

Good clarifications. U Mass Amherst should be on your list…it’s just a bit over your desired size, and might be one of your more affordable options.

Are you a National Merit Semi-finalist?

What reaches are on your list?

Regarding budget…you are going to have to chat with your parents about a number…what can they pay and how much debt makes sense. Undergrads can take out $27K max in loans over the 4 years, anything over that is on the parents. Many posters will recommend not taking out more than the $27K direct student loans.

Run the Net Price Calculators…some schools may include merit.

Regarding Furman…pretty high proportion of greek life there. And, a safety is only a safety if it’s affordable. Their top, highly competitive merit award (Duke) is full tuition…you can’t count on getting that.

Adding to some of the suggestions above: Miami Ohio, Dickinson, U Richmond.

12

Yes

13

What about Miami of Ohio, Rhodes, and Davidson, all of which give good money from what I hear?

Look at Honors Colleges and Programs too. Clemson, ASU, UVA, Indiana, and Texas all have good colleges that offer a small school inside a large university. Several of these give out good merit aid. (Ignore some school reputations of being a party school. There are smart and motivated students at every large university.)

14

Skidmore?

15

@pigeon26 FL will pay you to attend since your stats are attractive. Look at the flagship in Gainsville if that’s your preference. UCF in Orlando has all of the amusement parks nearby.

If those are too large, a couple of honors colleges are options. Wilkes in Jupiter and Sarasota’s NCF are smaller public LACs. Could be full-rides if your PSAT qualifies.

16

In general the warm weather publics are promising sources of merit aid, even though they have Greek life. Bama, U South Carolina, Florida, Ole Miss, Arizona/Arizona State all give out varying amounts of merit money and have attractive honors college options. If you decide you can put up with Kappa Alpha This and Tau Sigma That for four years it would be worth researching them.

Also, if you can compromise on weather and to a certain extent size, some LACs are good sources of merit aid. Colleges That Change Lives is a collection of less competitive LACs that may jump at someone with your stats.

Also, for what it’s worth, back in the last Ice Age I got a full ride out of Providence College with stats slightly worse than yours.

EDIT: Basically there’s four well-worn paths to college affordability:

  1. Go public in your state
  2. Get need-based aid from a top Ivy or the like, if you qualify
  3. Get merit aid from an OOS public
  4. Get merit aid from a lower-ranked LAC

There are other ways, and other places to find merit sometimes, but those are the low-hanging fruit.

17

Unfortunately no on the NMF. MA has such a high cut-off! I’ve talked to my parents a lot about college finances. They have a small savings plan (around $30,000 total) and they hope to be able to contribute about 10,000 per year (if they keep their jobs; they will likely be laid off due to the coronavirus crisis). The bulk of payments will fall to my personal student loans with my parents co-signing. Can you please clarify the 27K max as our family was under the impression that the student can take as many private student loans as necessary with a parent co-sign as needed.

18

Undergrads can take out Federal Direct Student Loans of $27k in total…$5.5k frosh year then$6.5/$7.5/$7.5.

Some schools will offer students loans above that. After that parents have to take out Parent Plus loans, private loans, or co-sign student’s private loans. In all those scenarios parents are on the hook for payment. It’s tough for students to get private loans, even if a parent co-signs.

If you are getting a degree in communications and/or ecology, your salary after graduation will likely be pretty modest. $27k in loans at 4.5% (the current rate) would be $280/mo for 10 years. Seems doable. Loans above that amount will likely be at a higher rate of interest.

UMass Amherst COA is around $32k, in-state, before merit. If you can pay $10k per year, you are talking about $88k in debt coming out of undergrad (not counting annual cost increases)…payment on that debt is unlikely to be affordable based on your projected salary.

Talk with your parents about what makes sense, and think long and hard about what, if any, amount of loans beyond the $27k you would be comfortable with.

You can work in the summers and during the school year to contribute as well, maybe another $5k would be possible this way. So, rough numbers…your budget is $20k ish…$10k from your parents, $5k from you, and the $5,500 loan (which grows a bit larger the following years).

You might be able to get $10k or so in merit at UMass, which could bring it into an affordable range.

At private schools you would need substantial merit aid to bring the costs into an affordable range. Possible…but large merit awards are competitive, require essays, and make a target or safety school a reach.

Look at OOS public schools in New England states that offer in-state rates to MA residents too, as well as some of the publics that offer relatively high merit…as mentioned above, Alabama, Miami Ohio, etc.

Here is a debt calculator to use when running scenarios. https://mappingyourfuture.org/paying/standardcalculator.cfm

19

Rhodes?

20

Texas has some great schools that meet your criteria with merit aid. TCU and Baylor will very likely offer a tuition scholarship. Both are in areas that are neither urban or rural. UT-Dallas is a bit of a nerdy commuter school , but offer excellent scholarships for top students.

Also, you could try UTSA and Texas State. They offer generous scholarships which include out of state tuition waivers for top students. Texas State is a “Greek” school–be warned. Other schools that offer great scholarships are Univ of AZ and Alabama.