*Iâm not sure if we qualify for need based or not - canât fill out financials until next year. We have income of about 100,000 before taxes. Iâm a stay at home mom. Everything we have is invested so my husband can retire in 5 years. It is a large sum, but untouchable for any other use. We also have inherited land that Iâm sure will make our numbers go up. It too, is untouchable.
My daughter has stock worth about 5k that she will liquidate for school. She knows we will help her out as much as possible, but is insistent on going for a full ride so she can do it all herself. Again, donât know how much we will qualify for based on savings and âworthâ so am asking about merit. Sorry so long. I appreciate any input
My daughter will be a hs senior next year and wants to be an engineer. She is top 10% at her school. ACT 33, SAT 2250, lots of CS, AP, 4.2 weighted gpa, works on projects with local engineering firm. Any suggestions on schools with great engineering programs that give full merit scholarships?
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With that income and savings/land, you wonât qualify for much/any need-based aid at most schools. If a good amount of savings/investments is in funds that is not âofficiallyâ considered to be retirement (like 401k), then that money will affect your EFC. Personal stock accts will also be considered. And, of course, that land will also affect your EFC.
Itâs very thoughtful for your D to consider a full-ride (or close to it), but since sheâs not a NMF, her choices will be narrowed.
Schools like Miss St could possibly offer her a free ride, however, schools ranked higher than that will probably offer far less. (BTWâŠI donât think UNC, which was mentioned above, even offers engineering). There are so many super stats kids in engineering, that an ACT 33 (which is very good 
), is often not a top score.
*You need to look at schools where your D is at the very top of the schoolâs stats.
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This is a very important point. While some will say that merit money is often give to those with stats in the upper 25%, typically the LARGER merit scholarships (such as full tuition) are given to those in the top 5%. And, to get the âfull ride,â the student needs stats in the top couple of percentsâŠand the student may also need some other kind of hookâŠsuch as from an unusual state, URM, etc.
To be a strong contender for a âfull rideâ at the schools that give them to non-NMFs, stats need to be in the upper 1-3% or so. At my kidsâ university, the 10 full-rides that are given to non-NMFs typically have ACT 35/36 or SAT equivalent.
The momfromtexas threads are a little outdatedâŠmany of those scholarships have either been changed or eliminated because of the economic downturn. Another issue with those threads is that the schools tend to be largely commuter/suitcase schoolsâŠwhich can be rather lonely for someone coming from out of the area. Of course, that is fine for someone who has no other means to pay for college.
DamselâŠit is very admirable that your D wants to cover all of her college costs with merit, but you need to have a âsit downâ with her to make sure that her goals arenât at cross-purposes. I know that she likes very good schools with excellent engineering programs. She may be thinking that she can get a free ride or close to a free ride from one of those. She might be lucky and snag one, but it canât be expected.
So, itâs important to help her âsort outâ what her priorities are.
Will she happily go to a school like Miss St on a free ride (which she might get)?
Or would she rather go to a âbetterâ school with engineering where she can get - say free tuition - and youâll pay the rest?
Or would she rather go to a âtopâ school with engineering where she may only get a modest portion of her college costs paid for and youâll pay the rest? (for instance, Georgia Tech).
Of course she should apply to some schools from all 3 groups just to see what âmightâ happen at those top schools.