<p>Hello, </p>
<p>I was reading a post on College Confidential and came across a reference to the website <a href="http://www.collegedata.com/cs/main/main_choose_tmpl.jhtml">http://www.collegedata.com/cs/main/main_choose_tmpl.jhtml</a>. This website is awesome!! Are there any other websites that provide the same type of information about merit aid at colleges? The collegedata website provides tons of other information about colleges and it does so in a very succinct and user-friendly way. Since I did not know about the collegedate website, I'm guessing that there are other very helpful websites out there that I know nothing about. I am particularly interested in whether there is a website that identifies the colleges which students who get into the top graduate schools attended. For example, the students who were accepted into a graduate psychology program this year at Stanford -- what schools did those students attend? Thanks!</p>
<p>I get the feeling that you’re not going to find what you want. </p>
<p>You want top schools that give substantial merit for your child because you can’t/won’t pay full-freight and you won’t qualify for aid.</p>
<p>We already have probably the best lists of merit scholarships here on CC, but they don’t seem to satisfy your desire for all-smart-student-bodies. You don’t seem to want to believe that if your child chooses a challenging major and the school has a good number of students with strong stats that your D’s dept will have a large number of smart kids. (If I remember correctly, your D is considering premed, but not sure…keeping options open.)</p>
<p>I’m not sure that there is an entity that collects data from each university’s depts recording where their grads go to grad school. Depts may not even keep a record that is truly complete (probably some hits and misses). Yes, the student does ask the registrar to send a final transcript to X school, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that a student is going to school there, and it doesn’t mean that the student’s dept is told anything.</p>
<p>Students aren’t obligated to let their undergrads know where they go to grad school (and some don’t go immediately after graduating). Sure, a student gets his LORs, and he may later thank his recommenders, but a student isn’t required to tell his dept where he got accepted or where he decided to matriculate. </p>
<p>And just because a student was accepted to X grad school, it doesn’t mean that they enrolled there.</p>
<p>So, I doubt that there is a trusted entity that gathers data that records who got accepted (and may have declined to attend) Stanford’s psych PhD program and where they went to undergrad.</p>
<p>Also, there are many highly or well-ranked grad programs that are at campuses where the undergrad is not similarly highly ranked. We found that out when our son was applying to PhD programs. </p>
<p>also, keep in mind that when top schools are handing out decent-sized merit, the pool of students who are considered for these highly competitive awards are usually:</p>
<p>1) tippy-top amazing students who would likely get accepted to ivies so these other top schools are trying to poach.
2) top students who offer ethnic diversity.
3) top students who offer some other kind of hook…talent, regional diversity, etc.</p>
<p>I agree with mom2. </p>
<p>I’m not sure what else you are looking for.</p>
<p>There are thousands of colleges that offer degrees on psychology both on the undergrad and grad levels. Thousands. Cross referencing these would be a huge endeavor. </p>
<p>You do know that many, if not most, college students switch majors multiple times in undergrad school. Also, many students follow career paths that are not directly related to their undergrad degrees.</p>
<p>Honestly…what do you want? You have what sounds like a great kid. You can afford to help her with college costs, but just not at the level of full pay at a $60,000 a year school. You know, there are lots of options for you out there…if you just open your mind to them.</p>
<p>Yes, it also depends on how much merit you are looking for. It seems that getting enough merit to make a private as about as affordable as a state school isn’t extremely hard to get at schools that aren’t at the tippy-top. Getting something like full-tuition is a bit harder.
For instance, USC hands out many times more half-tuition awards than full-tuition awards. I believe that Case also has a distribution like that.</p>
<p>Finally, some schools that hand out merit are willing to negotiate if they really want you and you have a cheaper option.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of the advice!! Based on the experiences which you have shared with me (some publicly and some privately through messages), I’ve learned that there is merit aid out and how to find it. Since my d doesn’t need a full ride, I think we’ll be good. :)</p>