I have 99th percentile SAT scores, and am in the top 2% of my class. Besides applying to elite schools, I want to apply to safety schools that offer high chances of merit aid and/or full tuition/rides, since I won’t qualify for financial aid. Is there any good sources to research which colleges have a high likelyhood to award me sutch scholarships? Or any specific college suggestions? Preferably Northeast schools, but I’m open to others. My passion lies in political science and economics. Thanks in advance.
Several state schools (including OOS) have strong merit programs for outstanding students. National Merit Scholar candidates can get great offers based on grades and scores. That’s important because the merit at most highly selective schools is very competitive and holistic meaning your scores and grades won’t be the determining factor but rather the entry point for consideration.
I would google “state universities that offer merit scholarships based on stats” or something like that to get a feel for which schools would automatically provide meriti money. They’re out there.
Will you likely be a National Merit Finalist? Lots of scholarship opportunities if so. For example, Fordham has a full tuition scholarship for NMF. Otherwise, most schools that have large scholarships based on high grades and SATs are in the South: examples are Alabama, South Carolina and Florida State. Of course, many schools have competitive scholarship programs that are more holistic and limited in number, like the Jefferson at UVA or the Johnson at W&L.
The northeast typically is not the best place to look for big merit scholarships.
Focus instead on less selective universities in regions that are (rightly or wrongly) less popular than the NE or west coast.
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
http://money.com/money/4894643/best-colleges-merit-aid-scholarships/
I have found this list from Kiplinger helpful in assessing merit aid possibilities It is sortable. Focus on both the column showing percentage of students receiving non-need-based aid and the column showing average amount of that aid.