We are starting to look a colleges with my daughter who is a junior. Our EFC is $18K to $22K depending on which college calculator we use, but we can only afford $13K per year which includes max loan for my daughter. We are not able to take out parent loans.
Undecided STEM major (Pre-Med, Engineering, and Biology are considerations right now)
White female from PA
UW GPA 4.0 / W GPA ~4.5
Rank: School doesn’t rank, but we know she is in top 25 in her class of 600+
AP: 4 this year and 4 next year (Chem, Psych, CalcA/B and B/C, English, Stats, Bio, Physics) - all other classes have been honors
SAT: 1330 (will be taking again in May)
ACT: taking in April
EC (through her senior year)
Varsity Athlete - 4 years
NHS - 4 years
Girl Scout Gold Award Recipient
Two part time jobs plus 50+ volunteer hour per year
Science Club - 4 years
Band - 4 years
Her ideal preference is mid-size college (3000-10000 enrollment) in small city/suburb or outskirts of a larger city, but she will consider any type of college. She has no interest in any PA state school (Penn State, Pitt, Temple). I have told her to pick one PSSHE as a safety since we know we can probably afford it. She doesn’t have a regional preference either, but ideally if it is far from PA it would be near train or major airport.
Suggestions for places we should look into that will offer her good merit aid are greatly appreciated!
@beachorbust - Great job starting this early. Your D will have a lot of options. There are many schools where a full ride is very possible. I know that she wants smaller but 2 schools that my S18 is going to look at due to large merit aid (Big MAC around here). is Miami University in Oxford, OH and University of Alabama. There are loads more out there.
I would have her prep to get those SAT scores or ACT scores way up. Big merit - like at Miami of Ohio - will require higher standardized test scores. Here is the link to Miami’s scholarships (note these are not guaranteed): http://miamioh.edu/admission/merit-grid/
Don’t forget to factor the cost of travel into your budget if your D wants to go far away.
My D17 has a 30 ACT and the rest of her stats/preferences are similar to your D. You might want to read a few of my threads. Our EFC is closer to $12K and we are having a hard time getting under $20K (after grants and merit) before any loans. If your D can get that ACT to 32+ then your merit offers will be better.
You might want to look into Truman State in Missouri, Drury University in Missouri, and Rhodes College in Memphis.
BTW - That mid size school preference is going to make things hard…we just couldn’t find that many schools out there that would work financially for us in that size.
Does she want to continue her sport in college? That could help with admission in more selective schools, or FA in less selective schools (or some combination of both)
While it is obvious that higher test scores are better, the reality is only 2% of all test takers achieve a 32 or higher ACT. When I first joined CC, I felt like 99% of test takers got the 32 and my kid was a misfit. I was disappointed with his 90th percentile score - shame on me. I should have hugged and congratulated him. His score did not get him the highest merit offers, but his essays and holistic application earned him many coveted admission spots and scholarships.
Encourage your D to do her best, but don’t harp on specific scores. Your D’s 1330 is already in the 93rd percentile. Whatever her final score is, embrace it, celebrate it, and work with it.
she has 2/3 tuition already as long as she keeps the 4.0. if she can hit 30 or 1390 on ACT or SAT, it becomes full-tuition and then the COA fits comfortably in your budget. she can add free housing for a 34/1520
Miami Ohio, Nebraska, UT-Dallas might be worth a look too.
prioritizing ACT/SAT study and preparation is the most important think right now. IMO it’s more important than APs and ECs. the reason is that she’s got the grades but she needs higher ACT/SAT scores to unlock the big money merit scholarships at these and other schools.
By now you’ve seen Miami University mentioned enough to probably consider it. It’s a great school but the town is tiny and about 30 minutes from Cincinnati. I think their merit aid is listed on their website.
Scranton, St. Joe’s and LaSalle offer some full tuition awards. No special application/essays needed for consideration. But while they are relatively generous with merit, without one of these competitive awards, you won’t get the cost down to what you need. Don’t think any of them have engineering but other STEM offerings are available. Scranton is a small city; La Salle and St. Joe’s are technically in Philadelphia but not in Center City.