Actually, for top students OOS, SUNY is definitely awarding merit scholarships, in particular Binghamton and Stony Brook. Top in state students can still receive merit awards. Different topic of course.
OP, what are your thoughts after having plenty of replies on this thread?
With a 2.8 gpa, merit is unlikely for this student
Yes. I mentioned in-state, and the OP is in-state.
Right. I was clarifying an earlier post.
Have you been able to calculate GPA in percentages and weighted with +.5/+1?
Does your child qualify for Eop/HEOP?
You could always look into West Chester and Bloosmburg; theyāre PASSHE schools (PA publics).
She would definitely get a 2+2 offer from Penn State (Penn State branch for 2 years, 2 years on Main campus, typically for weighted 3-3.6 depending on major) but the price would be way above 20k 
WCU and Bloomsburg are not gonna come in at $20k for OOS. Theyāre not even $20k for in-state. (This is why we went elsewhere with our kids.)
I saw that they used weighted GPA to determine scholarships -a 2.8 unweighted will necessarily be 3.0 or higher, so OP would get 10.5k off the OOS of 33k at Bloomsburg and 22.5k is close enough to 20k ā¦ West Chester is more opaque so itās hard to know whether itād be close enough to 20k and they have no reciprocity with NYS.
Nowadays the threshold tends to be 25k, itās hard to find a residential college for 20k even instate.
TC3-> SUNY could also be a solution within budget.
Yes - I was thinking more of kids who qualify for state-funded need-based aid. That doesnāt translate to a flagship-match option. But tbh Iām still confused about whether need-based aid is part of the picture for the OP.
My personal experience is more with the western statesā WUE schools. Great deals for families who are able to full-pay for their own flagship; not so much if state-funded grants are needed.
Hi @OceanAir I canāt message you directly.
Would love to hear about your experience at U of Maine.
Not sure a 2.8 unweighted would be more than 3 weighted - weāve not got info about honors or AP, have we? I mightāve missed it, 'tis true. 
We did not take out loans and neither did our kids. We are not high income but did we save and save for many years, prioritizing saving for college over other things.
Kids can go to community colleges, live at home, work year round, go to school part time and work part or full time - there are many options out there.
When I suggested Rhode Island College at a $29,000 per year cost earlier, you said that was affordable for you. Is that still the case?
I messaged you seperately!
Check out Johnson & Wales University in Providence RI. Easy train from NYC. Not selective. Known for hospitality but they offer a lot of other majors and have a great internship program. A good place for a kid who likes to do. Providence is a cool little city! The only school that mentioned working with kids IEPās in their admissions presentation - D23 liked that. She had a 3.3, applied SAT optional and their merit package made JWU cost less than in-state Rutgers. They seemed like they spent the pandemic really investing in the school & their programs.
Also - you will find your eye-rolling brethren on the 3.0-3.4 threads in the parents forum, they are fun & less stressy to read. Good luck!
Do you think Johnson and Wales would come in at under $20k? Cost is an important parameter for the OP.
I have experience with this. Not my kids(the oldest just started high school), but me.
I was a terrible student in high school(like so terrible I almost didnāt graduate), but I ended up at Berkeley.
Taking time off after high school made me really WANT to go to school when I started community college. Because I really wanted to be there it made it easier for a teacher to spot, and the school to diagnose, a learning disability. Between the stuff I already excelled at and Ritalin helping my math brain, I completed my gen ed classes are in with close to a 4.0 and was able to transfer to UCB.
Iām Californian so itās one of my state schools, but the price has gone up so much since I graduated that I want to cry. I was incredibly lucky to be able to live at home while I was in community college, and have my dad pay for those two years at UCB. I was unique in that regard as all of my friends who were transfer students worked at least one job and also took out student loans.
I had always resented missing those first two years of college and told myself my kids wouldnāt have to start out in community college like I did, but honestly, itās so expensive now that Iām not as against it as I used to be.
I totally get community college not being on your radar, but I definitely think it deserves to be considered.
The OP has not been on this site since the end of Septemberā¦
Californians are incredibly lucky to have so many topnotch public universities, state grants to supplement federal aid, CC thatās free for Pell students, and most importantly seamless transfer to all public universities based on GPA.
Donāt dismiss 4-year colleges due to cost: always run the Net Price Calculator first.
If your child is a very strong student, one who could legitimately apply to a UC or to Cal poly Slo or SDSU, run the NPC on Occidental, Pitzer, Pomona, HarveyMudd, Stanford, USC. Depending on income, some may be more affordable than UCs.
For the OPā¦.This student has a 2.8 GPAā¦.with some extenuating circumstancesā¦so Iām not sure the colleges on this list will be attainable for this student.
Alsoā¦<$20,000 a year which would put the CA publics out of reach financiallyā¦I believe.
Shootā¦ I was replying to @CalgradHistorygirl and didnāt realize this was derailing the thread.