<p>Make a list of those schools that interest you. Eliminate the ones with no merit awards like the ivies and some of the LACs since you have a ZERO chance of getting merit from them. Then start looking at who has the money. Your stats are such that you stand a good chance though not a certainty for awards such as the UPitt Chancellor’s Award, Fordham’s full tuition awards, etc. Read up on what they pay out and the chance of getting tem. Full ride is tough, but there are some full tuition awards out there. </p>
<p>Your stats are up there so that you are in the running for some the nation’s most selective merit awards. They are more difficult to get than getting accepted to HPY, but you have the first step covered with excellence in academic with your classroom and test score numbers. SOme such schools:
Davidson<br>
Uof Chicago
CIT
Duke
Emory
Johns Hopkins (half tuition, I believe)
UNC Morehead
Rice,
Vanderbilt
Swarthmore
UVA Jefferson Scholars
Wake FOrest Rynoolds
Wash U in SL
Wash & Lee
Georgia Tech Presidential
Rhodes College Bellingrath
USC
Villanova</p>
<p>This list is just off the top of my head and not by any stretch comprehensive, but give you some idea that there are selective schools out there that have hefty awards. I think BC has limited half tution awards and GW has some heavy money in the merit game too.</p>
<p>If NYU is on your list, by all means, give it a go, but as BobWallace shows with the stats, it doesn’t look so good. Call any school that you like, call the admissions office and ask outright what full freight, pure merit awards they have and what their largest awards are, AFTER you look on the site and see what you can find. I would ask if those are the only ones and about how many are given out each year. When it comes to NYU, I know some pretty top notch kids going there, and I don’t know any with bragging rights to substantial merit money, and I’ve never seen any listed in 15 years worth of programs in the NY areas. So not saying they aren’t giving, but I’ve seen more kids get the JHU and BC awards and there are danged few of those given out, than any substantial merit from NYU. The only ones I know getting merit from NYU would get some as part of their fin aid package and it has not been substantial. Statistically, more kids do get merit of some sort from them that are not getting need too, but I sure haven’t seen them. And the numbers show that these pickings are meager. But the chances are not good at any school with name recognition in terms of getting substantial merit award, so if a school is on your interest list and there is merit there, go for it.</p>