I agree, Skyhawk–I’m pretty sure that some of the schools on this thread will be “featured” on the lists of my three D’s in the years to come . . .
lonestardad–I’m glad you mentioned Tulsa. We got mail from them last year and I thought it looked impressive, but you’re right, no one talks about it on this board. It’s another one of those schools that appears to be a relative bargain, even at its “full freight” price.
A few more plugs for Trinity U. My daughter’s high school has sent 2 or 3 kids to Trinity for the past several years, including the son of our head guidance counselor. They all seem very pleased with the school and received nice merit awards. From what I can tell from the Collegiatechoice video, it looks like an absolutely beautiful campus and the academics are excellent. I have had the opportunity to interview a few members of the faculty for various reasons and have come away impressed.
Unfortunately, the Princeton Review book says something about the students at Trinity being conservative. Do not immediately be turned off by that - the students I know who go there are just plain nice, clean cut kids, not some sort of holy rollers as the term “conservative” seems to mean in many minds. In fact, Arizonamom’s son was pretty torn between Trinity and Pomona because he liked the kids there so much.
Definitely worth a look, especially if you are looking for a solid LAC size school for engineering, business, psychology, and physics (they have an excellent program there). But other departments are also good as well. One more point: they have one of the largest undergraduate libraries of any school in the country. And, being in San Antonio seems like a nice plus as well.
(Sorry to go on, but this is one school I wish my daughter had visited but I expect that my son will find it to his liking in a few years 
)
Duke does have some attractive merit scholarships but the bulk are limited to residents of North Carolina (or South Carolina in one case) and they are awarded on a competitive basis, not just automatically.
Many of the schools we’ve mentioned (i.e., Grinnell) automatically give merit money to kids that fall into certain stat levels.
So, we really need to note this when we’re saying a school has “good merit aid” — Some schools like Duke have awesome merit money but only for a selected few students, others seem to throw merit money at nearly everyone. Just another thing to keep in mind when researching merit money opportunities. If you really want or need merit money, it is probably best to have a combination of both types of schools on your list. Anyone agree or disagree?
My S got great merit aid from Denison (3/4 tuition) American (full tuition) Clark
(Strassler Arts Scholarship) Chapman (22,000 per year) and Ithaca (13,000 per year). We didn’t apply for any scholarships he was just considered with his application. We were extremely lucky and very thankful. The rest he applied to and got accepted to did not give out merit aid. We really investigated and found good schools that had his major and gave merit aid. We are in that middle class void (no finaid). I wanted to have options. There are many good schools out there giving merit aid.
Carolyn, I agree. There can be a huge difference in merit money if the same person applies to a school like Duke or a school like Grinnel. If that person is a great quarterback or a genius, then Duke may offer more. Otherwise, Grinnel would probably offer more.
I agree also a great student at Duke is one of many. At a school like Grinnel or Beliot They are more attractive to the school. It’s the big fish small pond syndrome.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is an excellent thread - not just for the names of the programs (though that is fantastic) but for the “educational” asides that are coming along with all of this.
Great idea to stick it to the top, too. 
Sideways, I think a great student at Grinnell is also “one of many.” If you compare the stats of admitted students to both schools, they are not all that far apart. The main difference (aside, perhaps, from perceived prestige) is that great students at Grinnell are more likely to be “one of many getting merit aid.”
My daughter received merit aid from three schools: Grinnell (12,000 a year Trustee Scholarship); Wooster (15,000 a year); and St. Mary’s of Maryland (7,500 a year).
I’m with Carolyn on Grinnell’s selectivity. I’ve been doing a lot of digging into Grinnell’s numbers as my daughter is likely to enroll there, and it’s the definition of self-selecting. The average SAT score of ALL Grinnell applicants is over 1300, and the average SAT scores of enrolled students is close to 1380. That’s nothing to sneeze at.
I was simply saying that Duke can’t give its scholarships out to people who fall into a certain stat because most of their students have those stats to start with. At lower tiered schools there is a percentage of high achievers but there is also a good number of other achievers as compared to a school like Duke or Emory. That is why lower tiered schools give more money to those high achievers. Its to attract them. I was not insulting Grinnell or saying it was not selective or competitive. That is what will make it selective. I was giving my view after spending this year watching my son research where he wanted to go. While he applied and was accepted to Middlebury and Swarthmore he has decided prestige isn’t enough to attract him. Money is not even a deciding factor but what the school has to offer him for the next 4 years ( he wants a good fit). That is why he has narrowed his search to 2 (not the 2 most prestigest). The original thread asked where good merit aid was I was giving my opinion.
Sideways,
You have a commendable S with his values in the right places. The suspense is killing us—what are the two choices?
Carolyn:
I think if you look at sheer numbers, Duke had 18,000 applicants (for a 2008 class of around 1660) and Grinnel had around 3500 applicants (for a class of around 430). The “odds” of being an applicant who receives merit aid would automatically be higher at a school with fewer applicants if both schools offer the same number of scholarships per year.
He is hoping to double major in film and political science and is torn between his original wants of a small LAC (Denison) and the expansive opportunities offered at American U (being in Washington DC). American is twice the size of Denison which concerns him. He wants a school that challenges him intellectually but warms his heart as well. People to people is very important to him He loves what Denison is and what it offers but I think he dreams of a larger city. He loves independent films in old art houses. But he said Denison feels like home. He knows that this is a stepping stone in a path that leads to his future so he knows that a big city can happen later after college. He is really considering his options and I know he will make the decision that is right for him.
Wow. Both excellent schools with very different settings. The good news is that either can be a “right” decision. (note I didn’t say “the” right decision. )Our S also considered a variety of interests and school “types” and while there is always a question about the “road not taken” I like that you noted the college years are “stepping stones” not super highways.
Rhodes has good merit aid
Sewanee has good merit aid
Duke/UNC Robertson scholarships are fabulous
Look at the state schools with great honors programs; many of them have fabulous aid packages as well. UGA and Indiana come to mind. University of Oklahoma and Arizona State ( especially math, science )…
The hunt for aid requires expanding the list of possibilities beyond the reach, match, safety list. Students who are hunting for aid need to look at the match of the best possible program with the best money package. In reality the reach, match, and safety schools may accept the student and offer no aid. For many students, that puts them into a new category: impossible. Money needs to be a factor early in the hunt.
Goucher - excellent merit aid, up to full tuition for the right stats!
Do you have any idea what the stats are of those who receive the full tuition scholarships at Goucher? That is one of the schools my son is looking at. Thanks
sideways: Denison was the school I really wanted my daughter to go to. Ultimately, she decided it was too far away.
Two more merit schools: Wittenberg and Univ. of Dayton.
I don’t think IU gives merit aid to in-state students, by the way. My daughter was accepted last year into their Honors College and she didn’t receive anything. I guess they figure Hoosiers will pay a small enough amount if they go there anyway (the exception being Wells Scholars which are full rides but only given to about 25 kids a year, I think).
My D had a 3.2 GPA (and not so great class rank of 35%), 1370 SAT, solid EC’s (but nothing truly outstanding) and received merit offers of between $7000-$12,000/yr at DePauw, Wittenberg, Denison and Dayton.
Link to Goucher merit-based scholarships:
<a href=“http://www.goucher.edu/admissions/template.cfm?page_id=1377[/url]”>http://www.goucher.edu/admissions/template.cfm?page_id=1377</a>