What Midwest Schools offer best Merit money?

Parent Cafe
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<p>My junior son has a ACT 30, takes very challenging classes, in top 1% of class. He is considering actuarial and psycology majors. We are hoping for good merit money. What schools in the Midwest (Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana) should he be considering?
Thankyou!</p>

2

<p>Would you be willing to consider St. Louis, MO?</p>

<p>Saint Louis University offers a full tuition scholarship called Presidential Scholars that requires a 30 ACT and a 3.85 gpa (I believe). Deadline is December 1st. </p>

<p>[Presidential</a> Scholarship : Saint Louis University : SLU](<a href=“http://www.slu.edu/x14444.xml]Presidential”>http://www.slu.edu/x14444.xml)</p>

3

<p>Is he a National Merit Semifinalist? That will open up another tier of schools with merit aid.</p>

4

<p>When you are looking at colleges, also check out the majors they offer. Psychology is a common major, but many schools we looked at do not offer actuarial majors.</p>

5

<p>Two other things: You don’t have to major in actuarial science to get certified or an actuary job, look at Math Stats. Also, look at this thread on merit aid for schools that have good merit offers:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/63770-best-schools-give-most-merit-based-aid.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/63770-best-schools-give-most-merit-based-aid.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

6

<p>Grinnell, a top LAC, gives excellent merit aid-but you have to be okay with rural Iowa. Not sure if a 30 will do it though.</p>

7

<p>From what I hear, Loyola Chicago gives good merit aid.</p>

8

<p>Beloit, Lawrence, Earlham, Cornell in Iowa (tiny), Kalamazoo, St. Olaf. Actuarial science might be less than easy to find at any of these sorts of schools however. </p>

<p>A 30 was not sufficient for my D at Grinnell.</p>

9

<p>Gustavus Adolphus (MN) and Knox (IL) each offered $17,000/year for my daughter and one of her friends with same ACT. Lawrence offered $10,000. Didn’t apply to St Olaf or Beloit.
Grinnell does have the most generous merit aid of the top LAC’s regardless of EFC, but higher test scores are necessary. Macalester and Carleton have no significant merit aid (small NMF scholarships only) for those with a high EFC–but they do give excellent financial aid.</p>

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<p>Obligatory link about becoming an actuary: </p>

<p>[Be</a> An Actuary](<a href=“http://www.beanactuary.org/]Be”>http://www.beanactuary.org/) </p>

<p>Good luck in your college search.</p>

11

<p>In talking with a professor at Centre College about Actuarial Science, he said that the field has changed over the past 5 or so years, and Economics is being a more important addition to the math/statistics areas of study. Just FYI, assuming this is true.</p>

12

<p>Michigan is famous for not paying Merit $$. D (ACT=33, #1) did not apply there. Case Western is known for paying very good Merit $$. D got over $20,000 / year there, she has chosen to go to a different school, but her friends at Case are very happy with their school choice. However, it depends on major. Case is very Research pre-med / engineering oriented.</p>

13

<p>SLU and Marquette give out sooo much aid to top students. I highly suggest you look into both of them.</p>

14

<p>

I’d amend that and say they’re famous for giving merit aid only to HYP-quality kids who apply super early. Naturally I got nothing from UMich with my 33 ACT and 3.6 GPA, but my friend, who turned down Harvard and Princeton, received nearly a 3/4 ride with a 35 ACT and 3.9 GPA.</p>

15

<p>Indiana University is generous with their merit aid for top applicants.</p>

16

<p>UIOWA +5 :slight_smile: I got a ton of money from them in merit alone AND it is a strenuous Public Ivy AND it is beautiful!!!</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>Says who…?</p>

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<p>Caillebotte, "Naturally I got nothing from UMich with my 33 ACT and 3.6 GPA, but my friend, who turned down Harvard and Princeton, received nearly a 3/4 ride with a 35 ACT and 3.9 GPA. "

  • I was under impression that kid in question on this thread had ACT=30, not 35.</p>
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<p>Have your DS spend some time poking around that beanactuary web site, particularly the list of colleges with relevant majors ([SOA</a> - Actuarial College Listings – Academic Relations](<a href=“http://www.soa.org/education/resources/actuarial-colleges/actuarial-college-listings-details.aspx]SOA”>Universities & Colleges with Actuarial Programs (UCAP) | SOA)). Back in the day, it was easy to get started in the field without having passed any of the exams. Most entry-level jobs nowadays expect an exam or two. Also, some of the early material is no longer being tested by the Society of Actuaries, but is “Validated by Education Experience,” i.e., must be learned through college courses. It would help to at least take these courses in college (economics, finance, statistics). It’s true that there is an increasing emphasis on economics/finance.</p>

<p>All that said, I can’t recommend the profession highly enough. I’m sure you’ve seen where it comes in on all of those “Jobs Rated” surveys (usually 1 or 2; never out of the top 5). Plus I’d put actuaries’ ethics up against anybody’s. It is truly a fine group of people.</p>

20

<p>

There’s nothing wrong with giving an example of what it does take to get merit aid at school which you brought up. Oh and let’s lose the attitude, k?</p>