signing on as a cosigner shows that you “have a dog in the race”, as it were. I had two clients this year that were audited and lost because their children received full financial aid and made too much in work study. Because even the student loans were student only (no parental signatures), the parents could not claim that they provided over 50% of the child’s support. That is all that I am saying.
I point families in the direction of MeritAid.com (where you can plug in a school and get its merit scholarship information) and Kiplinger’s Letter which has best college values (for public univs, private univs, and liberal arts colleges).
I know your post is from 2005, but I am curious where your son ended up going, how much aid he got and if he was happy? My D is a 4.0 (4.75 weighted) GPA, she will have 9 AP classes, all honors Math, and Spanish 4 by graduation, a 35 ACT 1490 math/reading 2280 total SAT 11 on the essay and probably a National Merit finalist. She has some EC but nothing outstanding, some service hours, again…nothing outstanding. We too are in that lost middle class that will get no government $. I am hoping we can get merit $ but D really wants to go to a school with a really tough curriculum, which means she will be up against a lot of well qualified people.
Right now she knows we can not afford an ivy, but has no idea where she wants to go (she is a junior.) Any advice or words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated!
I haven’t looked at this thread for ages, nicollec, but we were in the same situation last year (financial purgatory, I call it). DD is at Pitt (on a full tuition scholarship) and loves it. Pitt has a great endowment and gives good scholarships to top kids; my D had similar numbers to your D.
Many state schools do offer aid to NMF and some are full tuition, room and board. DD was not interested in any of the schools that sent her information. Your daughter will find that if she chooses a challenging major, she will have many schools from which to choose. There are many, many fine programs nestled into large state universities; the trick is finding them.
I notice that often when people ask on this site about programs, the most famous (and most expensive and elite) schools are often mentioned. What we did, which really helped my daughter, was to visit schools and have DD talk to professors directly. For example, she visited with professor of slavic languages at Georgetown, and she was given all kinds of information that a tour guide or admissions rep would not know.
University of Chicago used to offer a full tuition (to about 20-25 students) and a $10k award (to about 100 students). This for a class of around 1300. This year we noticed that in addition to those awards they started to offer $5k awards too. For NM they offer $1k/year for the people that do not qualify for FA and $2k/year for those that do. Awards to students that decide not to attend are not recycled to other students.
I think Chicago gives about 10 of the full tuition scholarships.
Research question: I looked at Peterson’s ‘How to Get Money For College 2010’ at my library. For pretty much every school, it lists more detail than on the website - for merit aid, for example, it tells how many kids got $, and the average they received. It is nice to see that 100 vs 10 students got $, and the average they were awarded. You can rat out schools that tell you in the info sessions ‘we award up to a gazillion $’ - and they don’t tell you that only five get that, and the rest, scraps.
Comments? Any other sources than Petersons? Wish we could ‘search’ this kind of stuff online instead of hunting and pecking.
I’d also suggest looking at two other components of cost: 1) % of need met with GIFT AID and 2) Average years to graduate with an undergraduate degree. There are some schools that are generous with gift money, but who have a less than stellar 4 year graduation rate…the extra year can certainly negate percieved annual savings.
Thanks DoDAH. I remember asking at one or two college visits if the ‘all four years’ can be extended if kids dont graduate w/in four years and they said yes. At least I know to ask!
I did not read the entire thread - still, something for students and parents to consider. my s received a full ride to nyu abu dhabi - he is a theater major and will (as part of his scholarship) also be studying in NY at NYU acting for two semesters. He is part of the first year selection, but I’m pretty sure they will give good scholarships next year too.
this is his view on it given to the local, really local paper:
For SAHS grad, college halfway around world
Trapman-O’Brien tapped for elite program in Abu Dhabi
Posted: May 30, 2010 - 12:08am
Yannick Trapman-O’Brien
By TRACEY McMANUS
He was only meaning to apply to New York University’s performing arts school in Manhattan. He wanted to study with the greats and one day perform on Broadway with America’s best actors.
But he checked the little box hidden on the bottom of the NYU application anyway, which asked if he’d like information about NYU’s new liberal arts campus in Abu Dhabi. He thought he would be mailed a few brochures, which he could have trashed when he got NYU’s acceptance letter.
Yannick Trapman-O’Brien didn’t expect that application would take him halfway around the world.
After flipping through the brochures, Trapman-O’Brien, 17, eventually found himself on a plane to Dubai to meet with the NYU Abu Dhabi admissions board. He’s now one of 188 incoming freshman from 21 countries handpicked to attend the school in the United Arab Emirates in its first year of operation.
“I was immediately blown away,” Trapman-O’Brien said of his visit to the campus. “The whole area takes your breath away. There’s so much grandeur about the whole place.”
After graduating from St. Augustine High School Friday, Trapman-O’Brien will study theater on a full scholarship overseas, totaling close to $250,000. The scholarship includes two plane tickets home each year, which will add to the Skype communication he is planning on keeping with this family.
NYU Abu Dhabi is an international research university with focus on liberal arts and sciences. Students in the four year undergraduate program receive the equivalent of an NYU degree.
Trapman-O’Brien has been acting since age 11 and has performed in nearly 24 plays in high school.
“Acting is very different from any other art,” he said. “There’s just something incredibly spontaneous, and it’s out of your control.”
But before heading to college, Trapman-O’Brien left his mark on the local art world as well. He founded the Student Artist Festival of St. Augustine last year, which was an obligation he carried out after attending the Aspen Ideas Festival in 2009.
His festival took 24 student artists and matched them with professionals at performing art and visual art institutions. Some sat in on dress rehearsals at the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, and others observed senior art presentations at Flagler College.
It ended with a showcase in April where two students were each awarded with a $1,500 scholarship. St. Augustine’s science teacher Brian Braddock, who helped Trapman-O’Brien plan the festival, said the festival will grow into an annual event.
“He did all the leg work,” Braddock said of Trapman-O’Brien. “He’s a hard worker.”
The festival stemmed from Trapman-O’Brien’s and Braddock’s trip to Aspen for the ideas festival last year. Trapman-O’Brien thinks it also boosted his application to Abu Dhabi, for which thousands of others applied.
He and 12 other high school students from the U.S. received the Bezos Scholarship to attend the Aspen festival, where he had lunch with world leaders and discussed global issues. He said it prepared him for a college life abroad, which is full of unknowns and excitement.
“I know I’m not ready, but I’m ready to not be ready,” he said. “It’s just what I want. I want to do this wide open thing that could go anywhere.”
Yannick Trapman-O’Brien
Headed to: New York University’s Abu Dhabi campus
Hidden Talent: Making people laugh
Dream Job: Actor
Coffee and conversation with which icon? (Dead or alive): John Lennon
Top destination spot: London
University of Delaware has a program within the Honors Program for especially talented students known as “Distinguished Scholars.” The top ~100 applicants are invited to spend a night on campus for a competition involving meals with faculty, a formal interview, an essay, etc. Everyone gets a scholarship, ranging from full tuition to full ride.
For parents of students looking for a LAC with a decent ranking, a beautiful campus and great merit aid, I think you need to think about Denison. Based solely on merit, my son received a half tuition four year scholarship. His ACT score was a respectable 33 but his GPA was no great shakes at a hair under 3.7 though he did have a very good total application package so to speak. We are not any sort of URM or first gen college family either.
Denison consistently ranks in the low 50’s on USNWR lists. My son will be entering his sophomore year there and found challenge in his classes and a diverse array of social opportunities. His only minor complaint regards a little overkill in the Greek sector of campus life but it certainly shouldn’t be a deal breaker for anyone.
He was offered merit aid from University of Rochester, Muhlenberg, Montana State and some other small no name local LACs but aside from the in state, state colleges and universities, this was by far the best financial deal.
Since this is a long thread, the link below may have been mentioned before several times, but for commenters like me who are fairly new to the forum, or for those interested or qualified, check out the compilation of schools offering good National Merit Scholarships:
[National</a> Merit Scholarships - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/]National”>National Merit Scholarships - College Confidential Forums)
This list has been faithfully updated by poster Keilexandra.
the updated list is very helpful, and there are a number of schools offering either full tuition, or tuition, room and board. Several also offer laptop/technology stipends and stipends for study abroad. If you are eligible, these are very valuable indeed.
University of Michigan will give some need or non-need merit aid to high academic folks that are also URM or from URS…for example I know that admitted students from Nebraska got $10K/year. A Kentucky boy got $20K/year. They love diversity and also have to back up their claim that all 50 states are represented at the school. So if you are looking for a great school and do not mind the distance from home…apply early…(by Oct)…that helps too especially since they are moving to the common app this Fall.
^^Michigan is not particularly generous as a rule. I was shocked that my daugther was not offered anything at Michigan. She is not minority, but was a NMS with tippy-top stats and ECs.
MD Mom…I really was shocked when U MI gave my s $$ in April…I believe I did a huge victory dance. The letter stated that it was due to his academic merit and diverse background highlighted in his diversity essay. Well…we are white, middle class…but do live in NE, have lived in many locations prior to that including Germany, he also spoke about having a sibbling with a developmental disability and being raised in a family with diverse religious background…he also then tied it all to Engineering in the end. You see diversity is not always thought of in the most traditional way and it seemed to be the unique factors that they were looking for. I also think they get a lot of applicants from the East Coast…Nebraska, not so much although we know of three from our school district. You are right…it is hit or miss with them…no one can count on it going in.
Oh, mabye someone already mentioned Purdue…but they give $$ right away based solely ACT, GPA. It was 10K for OOS.
littlefalls–I think you should be very proud. My daughter ended up taking a full tuition scholarship somewhere else and is very happy. She is in no way diverse–quirky academic does not count anywhere! And you are correct about the East Coast being overrepresented. Mine stayed a bit closer to home, so I am not disappointed either.
and we’re wondering why (other than sometimes his school’s college placement office is lax with forwarding info).
since he’s PSAT score was 231 and SAT scores are “golden”.
I’m wondering if he should contact someone about it.
At first he didn’t think he’d qualify since his school is lumped together w/other n.e. boarding prep schools (thus higher PSAT to qualify for round one).
TIA
231 will qualify you anywhere, regardless of school. It’s based on state scores anyway, and the highest avg. is around 224. Was your son a soph. when he took it? If so, we wouldn’t be eligible simply because he was too young. (score will have an asterisk* next to it if this is the case).
That is a HUGE score – if that was his Junior yr. score, then call NMSC and find out what happened.
Cmjaffe–the boarding schools’ scores for NMSF are the same as the top state in the country, so as audellmom says, your son’s scores are high enough.
The application is available in late August/early September if I remember correctly and it has a fairly short turnaround, so you want to be looking for it. I agree that you should make a couple of calls.