Schools that would offer me the most money...

Paying for College
1

<p>I have spent tons of time looking through college websites and different CollegeConfidential posts. I have a 3.95 unweighted GPA and 4.6 weighted GPA. I just got a 31 on the ACT. I live in ND and would really like to go to a different state, and would really like to go to a division 1 school. However, if you know of ANY schools that may offer may a lot of scholarship money, please list them and help me out. Thanks!</p>

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<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Sorry, but there are some 4000 institutions of higher learning in the US and you haven’t targeted enough for any meaningful input. </p>

<p>For instance, when you say “Division 1” is that because you play a sport? Which one? Or you are a fan? If you are swimmer, are you male or female? Do want a program in engineering or romantic poetry? </p>

<p>Instead of a “Shotgun” approach (trying to hit anything outside of ND) try going for the accuracy of a rifle, as in “I am looking for strong merit money for a female breaststroke swimmer who plans to compete at the Div 1 level while majoring in physics with an interest in lasers”. Now you would be starting to shop just a couple dozen schools. </p>

<p>If you aren’t clear of your interests, try to steer clear of the over packed majors (such as premed) or the struggling paths (journalism) and then spend some time thinking about locale. CA is sunny but the state is in a horrible economic slump. AZ or UT might be a better bet. If its city life you crave, skip (for the moment) the obvious NYC and Washington DC and examine the merit aid that is being offered in Cincinnati or some similar sized burg that has some charm. </p>

<p>You’ll have your best luck at a smaller college that is looking to “collect” students from all the states to brag about their diversity. You might look into Albertson’s in Idaho – or Pacific in Oregon. Good luck!</p>

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<p>Last year we were at a presentation for admitted students at SUNY Stony Brook. The admissions officer giving the presentation bragged that there were students from 49 states included in the admitted class. “If anyone knows someone from North Dakota who wants to come here, let me know,” he said. I think he was only kind of kidding.
Seriously, your ACT score and your geographic diversity will give you an edge in the admissions race.
As noted above, you need to narrow down your search. Decide what attributes are important in your college search, such as:

  • does the school have good programs in my field of study
  • do I want a rural school or an urban school
  • is the area of the country important to me (i.e. away from home, but not too far away)
    etc</p>
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<p>I think you could be competitive for scholarships at Iowa, specifically one of the presidential scholarships. You also will likely qualify for a honors scholarship worth about 4k for four years.</p>

6

<p>With a 32 on the ACT you’re guaranteed full tuition at University of Alabama. A 31 use to also qualify you for a good amount of money but I’m trying to search around for the information and the policy appears to have changed…</p>