@conpar39
National Merit Finalist
In case this is helpful to anyone, here are the merit awards this year for my D, with 30 ACT and 3.7 uw GPA:
Stetson U $26k
McDaniel College $25k
Whittier College $25k
Agnes Scott College $23k + 3k “grant”
Beloit College $23k + $2k summer award
Denison U $23k + $2k non-federal work study
Southwestern U $22k
Roanoke College $22k
Centre College $20k
U of Redlands $21k
Trinity University $19k
Hendrix College $19K
Eckerd College $19k
Guilford College $18K
Wofford College $18k
Sewanee $10k 
thanks!
@4kids4colleges, thank you for your helpful post.
Wow, that’s a lot of applications!
@lenny2, yes way too many apps.
We thought the merit awards would be more different - really they were very much alike. And then only after applying we realized she had way too many safeties on her list. Luckily, I think all the apps were free, maybe paid for one or two.
Next time, I will help my kids do a better job to narrow it down to 10 or less.
My D1 applied to 11 schools. #2 applied to 7. We all learn lessons from raising the oldest kids…
Especially when you realize it’s $100 per application, by the time you’ve sent AP, SAT and CSS Profile. Save half your money and use it for that big acceptance deposit!
This time we played it much smarter, looking for schools where he would get merit. Fascinating thing is, if you rank all my son’s schools by US News, the cost of attendance follows exactly.
Top 25 school $42,000
Top 35 school
Sorry, rest of post - these numbers include both merit and need grants
Top 25 school COA $42,000
Top 35 school $40,000
Top 55 3 schools $27-29,000
Top 80 school $23,000
And the COA for our state flagship - $28,500. I can’t help but think there’s a direct and intentional correlation.
Overall the schools were very generous and most of the surprises were good ones!
My daughter was also accepted at WashU and sounds very similar to yours - high GPA, good ACT and SAT scores, excellent AP scores and a well-recognized artistic ability- and yet no merit-based aid. I feel like we made a huge mistake when we started a college fund for her 17 years ago. It feels like we’re being punished for saving, and yet the high tuition cost isn’t nearly covered.
@Gardendog how are you being punished for saving? Merit aid has nothing to do with your financial situation, it’s based upon your daughter’s accomplishments vs everyone else in the pool. Plus, you are talking about a top-20 school, where everyone is going to have good everything, and it takes even more to stand out and be among the top few who receive merit.
Wash U is not known for merit aid. Unfortunately they don’t fill out the Common Data Set so it’s not easy to determine that info. But they are right in line with many top colleges in that regard. Look at Northwestern’s CDS, for example, and you’ll note just how little non need based aid they give (outside of athletic scholarships, which of course Wash U can’t do because it is a Div. III school).
I have to disagree with the statement that they are not known for merit aid. all over the internet they are mentioned as a prestigious school that does give merit aid. All over their website they mention their merit based scholarships. when you fill out the net price calculator and it comes up that you are full pay, a big message comes up saying something to the effect of “but we have merit based scholarships available so you may not have to pay this” . And just yesterday, my son who is 1 year younger than my daughter got a letter from wash u- with “information about honors scholarships” in big red letters on the envelope, and the letter stating with his academic record he would be eligible for merit aid so please apply. that was like a stab in the back, as my daughter who is accepted there got no merit aid and has a little better academic record than him -35 ACT, 5’s on all AP’s etc. my husband actually called them to complain about the " teasing" and false nature of the letter. My daughter really wants to go to that school but it is very much more expensive than our very highly ranked in state school. @gardendog- what are you going to do?
@conpar39, did she apply for specific scholarships? It looks like they require separate applications and competitive interviews for merit aid. Most of the top schools do it this way - there is very little merit awarded based solely on stats.
@4kids4colleges- she applied to every one she possibly could ( not the business school one as she is not going into business school) but all of the other ones. she wrote several essays. and followed all the rules to the letter. My husband called them yesterday to ask what happens if the people they award them to go to other schools-he was told those scholarships would be ‘redistributed’ to people who already received them- they would just get more money, rather than giving them to others. we are like you by the way. we have 4 kids as well , of which she is the first to go to college.
@conpar39, that really is a shame. It seems like they are using merit as a marketing tool, knowing full well most of their top students will get zero.
We are in a different position - our D wanted a LAC, not big u, and we absolutely needed merit. We applied only where we were sure she would get it, and she did. These schools were all (save one or two) completely transparent about what grades and scores would receive what merit. In the end, her private school will cost less than our state flagship.
However, early in the process, when she had the grades but we weren’t sure about how her test scores would turn out, a friend/college counselor told us, no matter how good her stats, she may not get in to a top 20-30 school, and if she does, she probably will not get merit anywhere. So we simply eliminated those top schools early on. - even before we knew she would get a 30 and not a higher ACT.
Does your D have other affordable choices she’s happy with?
she got into honors program of our very highly rated state public school. we have a state sponsored education trust account so her tuition is paid, we would only have to pay room and board. so it is a great monetary value. however, she is less than thrilled about going there- her heart is set on wash u. and i think she would fit in very well there and be happy there and probably do well there. I think she would do just fine at the public school too- but it will be less ‘personal’ and she will have to make more of an effort to get to know her professors, get recommendations, research opportunities etc than she would at wash u. I am torn about the decision. I hate to tell her no. I don;t want her to feel she missed an opportunity. my husband on the other hand thinks we should tell her no and that is it- she is going to the state school. he did not visit there with her like i did and see how much she liked it.
Full tuition at WashU v. Full scholarship in State Honors program, with 3 younger siblings following to go to college too? As a parent, I know what my vote would be!
The 529 can be shifted to the other children with no penalty.
If you wanted a private school, there are a ton that truly do offer merit scholarships, that are still in the “top 50”, whatever that really means. WashU offers a handful of scholarships only–a very poor candidate for merit aid.
Unfortunately, too late now. Your guidance counselor gave you good information, that none of the very top schools offer much, if any, merit aid. But the next piece was that there are still many terrific schools that DO offer merit aid. Keep this in mind for the rest of the siblings.
Good luck!
I agree with @ColdinMinny. No question, State Honors is the way to go with 3 more siblings to put through college. Unfortunately, as ColdinMinny pointed out, she would have gotten incredible merit at many smaller, excellent private schools with those stats.
Did she really only apply to 2 schools? Any others to consider?
Good luck to you.
@conpar – what I meant is that Wash U is not known for being liberal with merit aid. Just because they tout their scholarships doesn’t mean they give out a lot. My DS applied there and he has many friends that go there so I am familiar with their scholarship process and how difficult it can be to get one. Their scholarships are very competitive and it isn’t enough to just follow all the rules, unlike some schools like Alabama or Baylor where they give you clear benchmarks. That is all I meant.
thanks for all of your advice. this weekend is the weekend of decisions for us. !