<p>Sorry, I’m not up-to-date on Michigan. Won’t be recommending that as a safety again.</p>
<p>Cobrat, NYU has some very generous merit scholarships for top applicants. It is very stingy compared to similarly-ranked schools for need-based aid. Cornell and Brown are generous with need-based aid. For a student with top numbers like this student (SAT I: 2390 (Single sitting) SAT II: 780-800-800 UW GPA: 3.975r) targeting schools that reward those numbers (like BU and NYU) is a better strategy than it is for the average working-class student who was accepted at Cornell. That’s been NYU’s financial aid philosophy for 30 years. </p>
<p>And, as far as Hopkins, yup, I know what they offer-- I also know someone who received one of those scholarships with numbers similar to the OP. He was not accepted at any of the top ivies but did get into some excellent schools-- chose Hopkins because they gave him the most merit money. </p>
<p>I stick by my recommendations. Hopkins is NOT a safety-- but it’s a good choice for the OP’s son and does award some merit aid (as opposed to some of the schools on the current list). I think it’s just as good as some of the ivies, is urban, a smaller uni and offers some merit aid. The other schools I mentioned reward top students with meirt aid.</p>
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<p>If it existed, it wasn’t evident when my high school classmates and I were applying to colleges. What’s more sad is the ones who ended up going to the Ivies were the “top applicants” as they greatly exceeded NYU CAS’ 75th percentile of admitted applicants as NYU’s admissions standards were much lower compared to the last 5-8 years. NYU Stern/CAS admitted around 1/3 of my graduating class and for CAS, anyone with a B-/B average and 1000+/1600 was admitted back then (early-mid '90s). </p>
<p>In any event, the vast majority of HS classmates with Ivy offers in my graduating class would have never considered NYU’s admissions offer unless there was a substantial scholarship/FA attached because going into massive debt to attend college, especially one which was perceived as a great step down in prestige would have been considered quite foolhardy to them. </p>
<p>These were some of the reasons why NYU, especially CAS was known among high school classmates and many NYC locals as a “rich kid’s safety school” back then.</p>
<p>I don’t know about Michigan not being a safety, at least admissions-wise. How many out of state applicants with 2300+ SATs does it reject? I don’t have a scientific sample, but I have never met one. Merit scholarship, however, is another thing. Michigan has some to give, but it’s very competitive and I think late in the year to get into the running. (Four years ago they made the awards in February, I think, so people who hadn’t been accepted yet were not at the table for that. I don’t know how the new schedule affects this.)</p>
<p>Cobrat, you are lumping merit and financial aid together. Yes, for the vast majority of applicants, NYU is not a good option. For applicants looking for financial aid, it’s not a good option. But for a student with tippy-top stats who is competitive for a presidential scholarship, NYU (and BU for that matter) are good options. </p>
<p>It’s not for “the vast majority of HS classmates with Ivy offers” because, if those students had need, an ivy is a better choice than NYU (because the ivy’s need-based aid is more generous) but if they have no need, the two schools are going to be about the same price (and most people would choose the ivy). NYU only becomes an option for tip-top students without a great amount of need looking for merit aid. </p>
<p>The stats you mentioned (NYU CAS’ 75th percentile of admitted applicants) are not high enough. The 2390 SAT that the OP mentions is tippy-top. </p>
<p>(Fwiw, my own sister won one of those decades ago and chose to go to an ivy instead. It was by FAR the most generous award she received but her numbers were strong. It seemed to be purely a numbers award.)</p>
<p>^ If your son loved Swarthmore, I’d agree he’d probably really love Carleton as well but no merit at either beyond NMS. Both are very generous with financial aid, though.</p>
<p>If merit money is an issue and looking for “safer,” excellent schools in a similar personality category, suggest Grinnell, Rochester, and possibly Macalester and Oberlin.</p>
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<p>From Naviance, at least one from our HS got waitlisted, who also had both a weighted and unweighted GPA above 4.0. I know nothing about the individual in question, and speculate up the wazoo if you’re so inclined. Just FYI.</p>
<p>JHS, how many OOS 2300+ students who applied to UMich do you know?</p>
<p>Rice is a wonderful school. It is not a saftey but it is a good alternative to the top heavy ivy list.</p>
<p>ED: 9 off the top of my head in the past five years, including one of my kids. Three of whom went there, two with significant merit scholarships. Under the old rolling admission program, applying really early to Michigan was a popular choice for kids who were planning to apply SCEA to Yale or Stanford (or Harvard, when it had that).</p>
<p>The OP never said they were looking for a financial safety only an admittance safety. The OP also never listed all the colleges the student applied to and listed only the schools that are reachy for everyone. Michigan is not a financial safety unless you have very deep pockets. I would not call it an admissions safety this year as UofM has switched to an EA applications cycle after which it will be rolling. Every year there stories in the UofM forum of high stat kids that are rejected. UofM also stated they would like to reduce the incoming freshman class. The combination of high cost, uncertain admissions cycle, decreasing freshman class doesn’t sound “safety” to me either but not because UofM wouldn’t have been a “good choice” for the OPs student back in October, I just don’t think it’s a good safety now in December. It’s entirely possible it’s on the OPs list as one of the “other schools” as it’s a common go-to school for kids that have lists like the OPs especially from the NE.</p>
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<p>You can add my D to that list. UMich is a great school that just happens to be less competitive than HYP to get in to, even as an OOS applicant. I believe she did get offered a pretty good merit scholarship- around $10K/yr for 4 yrs.</p>
<p>“The OP never said they were looking for a financial safety only an admittance safety.”</p>
<p>That is about right. We should be okay with little bit of FA.</p>
<p>^^wouldn’t we all LOL!</p>
<p>One of mine had UMich on his list, but never got around to applying super-early back in the days when that was a useful strategy. Had pretty much come to the conclusion by November that because of the relationships he had developed at UMD, he could do just as well for himself there than at UMich, and likely get more merit $$, too (which proved to be the case).</p>
<p>We know a number of 2300+ kids who applied to UMich, and some who are attending.</p>
<p>Gummybearmom, I wouldn’t expect much OOS FA at UMich.</p>
<p>Wheaton College (MA)
Hobart & William Smith (NY) </p>
<p>Colgate (NY) No Merit aid
Hamilton (NY) No Merit aid</p>
<p>To the responses to my comment about the small number of Asian kids at Dickinson-- I don’t mean foreign students, I mean Asian-Americans. We live in SoCal, and my D’s high school is at least 40% Asian-American, which is common here. She was very much struck at every single LAC we toured in the northeast, including Dickinson, at the lack of students of color, especially Asian-Americans, since they are hugely represented in California. Dickinson has a lot of international students, but we sure didn’t see a lot of Asian-Americans-- there or at any northeast school.</p>
<p>I would presume an Asian-American boy would have a leg up at the many LACs that are heavily Angle and female.</p>
<p>For diversity, merit aid, and intellectual climate equal to a student with your son’s stats, Grinnell should definitely be on the list! It is among the most diverse LACs in the nation and continues to increase the percentages of different groups; check out the stats on the common data set to see this. It won’t be as diverse as a large university, but among the LACs it’s at or near the top.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry quite so much about being waitlisted because the schools think your son views them as a safety. Just be sure that he takes care with the supplement questions to answer them in a way that shows he’s done his homework and knows the schools.</p>
<p>In chances thread, people say you can’t tell by what they post, mostly stats. But then on the decision thread, people say that two thirds of them didn’t have a chance to get in. Is there certain threshold one needs to meet before considering a college? Is it the average stats posted on the college website? Above that, one has a chance below not much?</p>
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Agreed. And at least recently, Asian has been a reasonably sought-after “group” at Swarthmore as well (noticeably less so at Williams, Amherst, and Pomona, judging from admission to selective fall diversity visit programs). But for most top LACs–especially “match” schools in the Midwest, which also recruit Asians–showing interest is key. It’s too late for interviews at many places, unfortunately.</p>
<p>How much merit do you need? Oberlin and Grinnell might give you 10-20k, if he can prove that he’s serious about attending. Rochester does a ~20k merit scholarship, guaranteed, for NMFs (but policies have been changing, so get it in writing). I’d second Muhlenberg and F&M for safer merit LACs.</p>
<p>Macalester is a little bit opaque about merit (they seem to do merit-in-need primarily, or 5k merit) but is the rare combination of LAC size and urban locale.</p>
<p>Denison and St. Lawrence are low enough on the prestige ladder to a) desperately want Asians, and b) give you lots of money (in the full tuition range). Hence, they are NOT very diverse. I visited Denison because of they offer full tuition to NMFs and ALANA (URM+Asian) students, but was turned off by the lack of diversity.</p>
<p>I don’t think Dickinson offers full-ride/tuition merit any longer–their highest merit scholarship is $20k. But to intparent: Dickinson has historically recruited international students, and Asian foreign nationals are an different “category” of diversity than domestic Asians.</p>
<p>OP - We would be able to give you more targeted advice if you post a full list of colleges currently on the application list (in ranked preference order, NOT selectivity) AND how much you can afford to pay for college (not how much $$ you need as a discount, since college prices can vary 5-10k at the upper margins).</p>