Someone sell me on attending one of the big merit schools

Paying for College National Merit Aid
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I’m in the Northeast at a competitive public high school. I never really knew much about national merit, but my school gives everyone the PSAT. I got 1480 with a selection index of 224 (in pa), so I should be set for qualification.

I am very lucky in that my parents have been saving for my college ever since I was born. I could attend anywhere and not have to take out loans (I would have to if I wanted additional schooling). However, in my college tours, I started to realize that the cost would be something in the ballpark of $300k for a campus that I like and potential career opportunities. I am a firm believer in the saying that a driven student will thrive wherever they end up, so I feel like I would be able to make the most of wherever I end up - and then the tuition will essentially be just for a campus that I happen to like.

The thing is, most of the schools that offer scholarships would have been very high on my list of schools I did not want to attend until very recently. I love to ski, and I don’t like hot weather very much. I also never thought I would end up at a big school, much less one that is known for parties. Of the schools I’ve toured right now, Dartmouth, Boston College, and Williams have been my favorites, so it also feels so weird to think that I could end up at a school that is the polar opposite of the ones I have liked so far.

But I keep thinking about what the extra money would mean, and I’ve scrolled through the parent replies in the other threads and seen the tremendous amount of good things to say people have about these programs. So, does anyone have any advice? Any words from people who have been in my situation?
Thanks!

*And also, I don’t think my chances of getting in to one of my top schools is all that high. My ECs are on the weaker side, and I am completely unhooked.

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My advice, given what you said, is why not apply to keep the option open? Then sort of sit with it a bit after you get your actual admissions. I think these things can, at least sometimes, get a lot more clear once they are actual and not hypothetical decisions.

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I also think it’s good to apply and see how things shake out. My son’s first acceptance last year was a full ride scholarship. He wouldn’t have picked as a first choice, but it was great to have in his back pocket. He ended up being accepted to what we considered a super reach and that made the cost worth it. Had he only been accepted to mid tier schools, that full scholarship offer would have looked much more attractive.

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There are a huge range of colleges and universities, and a number of tradeoffs to be considered.

As one straightforward example of a tradeoff: Large schools usually have a wider range of possible majors to choose from and a larger range of courses offered. Smaller schools often have smaller classes and more opportunities to get to know your professors. While there may be more research opportunities at a larger school, there are also more students competing for these opportunities and getting to know your professors can in some cases open up research opportunities. There are advantages both ways, and different people make different choices.

With a 1480 on the PSAT, I am going to guess that you are a very strong student. Some very strong students (but not all) end up getting a graduate degree. PhD’s are usually fully funded (so that the student does not need to pay tuition and fees, and gets a check that just barely pays enough to cover books and living expenses). Master’s degrees, MD’s, DVM’s, law degrees, and some other graduate degrees are usually not funded. If you are likely to want to get a graduate degree, it might not be a bad idea to have some money left in the bank after you get your bachelor’s degree (or at least have as little debt as possible). Saving money for a sibling to use later can also be helpful (we have some experience with a younger sibling saving money by attending a very good and very affordable university, with this helping an older sibling pay for graduate school – usually you might expect savings to be used the other way).

I believe this also – particularly for any driven student who is academically strong enough to get a 1480 on the PSAT. The experience of people I know also agrees with this. If you look at graduate students at highly ranked programs, they tend to have come from a very, very wide range of undergraduate schools. Also, graduates from Harvard, MIT, and Stanford routinely find themselves working alongside graduates from UNH and U.Mass and Rutgers and San Jose State and a very wide range of other schools and on the most part no one cares where anyone got their degrees. I have had exceptional coworkers who graduated from any one of a very long list of universities (definitely including MIT, Stanford, U.Mass Amherst, Rutgers, Michigan, universities in India and Canada, and a wide range of other schools). I have seen at least one really, really tough problem completely stump two MIT graduates and then get solved by a U.Mass graduate (who would have been excellent regardless of which university he had graduated from).

This tends to suggest applying to a range of schools, and do not apply ED anywhere (which may be too late now anyway). Then see what acceptances come in and go from there.

You probably will also want to visit several schools and see what you think. In some cases while visiting you can get guided tours, sit in a class, and/or arrange to talk to a professor. When you visit after already getting an affordable acceptance it feels very real – you know that you really can be a student here next September if you want to do so.

If you like to ski, then UVM and U.Mass Amherst come to mind (as would Dartmouth College and Williams).

Perhaps my standard advice might be to visit schools, look for a good fit, and make sure that you apply to safeties. Also, if undecided then apply to a range of schools, and see what sort of offers you get before you make up your mind where to go.

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As you did, I’d also emphasize the potential cost of professional degrees. Aside from just the direct financial consequences (which can essentially be lifelong if you start compounding savings significantly later), it can also make people feel limited in the jobs they can take if they need to service large loan payments.

They can still be worth it, but to the extent saved college costs lead to much lower professional degree debt, that is a very big deal to me. And if it turns out you follow a great career path without needing a professional degree, that point about compounding savings earlier still applies!

None of which to say everyone should always choose the lowest-cost college, but it is certainly not a decision to take lightly.

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You might check out the Honors College at University of Utah. The skiing is unmatched (both quality-wise and access-wise), and the academic opportunities are excellent. The Honors College has its own housing, with lots of serious students and robust programming of its own, so it offers a bit of a “smaller school within a large school” experience. Merit wise, it isn’t a guaranteed full ride for NMF like some of the schools you’re looking at, but you’d definitely get merit plus a waiver of the OOS differential, so it could be worth applying and seeing how the costs end up looking. (Even if it’s not free, it would still save a huge pile of money compared with the no-merit elite privates you’re considering.) A lot of “outdoorsy” students find that it provides a great blend of academic rigor and outdoor recreation opportunities. https://www.honors.utah.edu/

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Please talk to your parents about the costs. We parents in the thumper family were very happy to pay the full cost of attendance at colleges our kids wanted to attend…and we did. It’s very possible your parents will tell you to choose college based on what you actually want, without consideration of the costs…because they have the costs covered.

My only caveat is that if you anticipate heading to medical, dental, law or other professional school after undergrad, it might be nice to be able to use your college savings for that.

But really…I agree with others…apply broadly…and make up your mind in April. You don’t have to make a commitment until then…and you might change your mind.

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Do you have any idea what you want to study?

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I would say take the full ride! Money in a 529 that doesn’t get used for education can be used to buy a house, or it can be converted into a Roth IRA. You can take a fantastic ski vacation every winter and spring break, all through college, for less than one semester of what it would have cost you at a private college.

If for some reason you’re unhappy, you can always transfer.

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This.

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Are there particular high merit schools that you have in mind? If you named a few, we might be able to give better advice.

I agree with aqua that you may want to explore honors colleges within larger universities. Attending one of these programs you would get preference for class registration, better access to research opportunities, classes taught to a higher level, and in most cases acceptance comes with a healthy merit award. Honors colleges also generally have a better reputation among hiring managers and grad school admissions officers than their host universities. Finally, at an honors college you can get access the resources of a major university, but feel like you belong to a smaller community.

DadTwo has a point about saving money for graduate or professional degrees.

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As I said, they would cover my college, and I am very grateful for it, but I would be on my own if I wanted to pursue anything after that. In addition, if I chose to take the full ride and roll the money into an IRA, I could expect to retire with millions in the bank. And our income level makes it unlikely I would get anything in financial aid, and lots of the schools I am looking at would cost upwards of $300k for 4 years, which I am having a hard time justifying.

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Nothing set in stone. I could definitely see myself going into law, and I think if you asked me today I would say that is my most likely career path. I am also interested in computer science and engineering.

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I’m not the financial expert on this forum, but I believe there is a limit of $35K that can be rolled over from a 529 to an IRA.

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Alabama, University of Tulsa, and UT Dallas have the most generous offers from what I have seen. Honestly, the parent testimonials on here about Alabama have been overwhelmingly positive about all the opportunities there, so I think its the one I am most interested in.

U Maine is also high on my list, but it seems they have taken away the full ride (not a deal breaker by any means)

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Ah, it appears you are right. Regardless, $300,000 could go a long way towards future education or other savings

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Well there’s your answer. Take the full NMF ride, save the money for law school (for which there is little to no merit money available, I think). Take some nice ski vacations. For that much saved, you could even go ski in New Zealand in the summers! Travel in the summers, maybe take a foreign language in college and spend your summers in a country that speaks that language. And you’d STILL probably have a lot left for law school.

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Looks as if Alabama will even pay for your first year of law school. They’ll cover TEN semesters, if you’re doing grad or law school there too. https://afford.ua.edu/scholarships/national-merit/

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We have a friend who sent to kids to Ohio State’s honors program due to the generous financial awards (unlike your family, they did not save for their childrens’ education, but that is a whole other thread). Both liked the school and have been successful.

Wait, didn’t you say at the beginning of the thread that you didn’t want to go someplace hot?

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You really have some exceptional advice here from the group. I have only two things to add: One, apply to at least 10 schools, a balanced portfolio of state universities (honors colleges, especially, as @JackH2021 & @aquapt mentioned above) and elite Top 30 colleges; and 2) take a long look at CU Boulder’s Honors College for the top 10% of their applicants. It’s a pretty special place for those who love skiing.

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