<p>I'm starting senior year this fall and I've already started my college search. A really important factor in my search is how much merit based aid a school can provide for me. I live in Ohio and as of now am only looking at in state schools because I think they're probably cheaper (although I have heard from some people that that is not always the case.)</p>
<p>I have an weighted cum GPA of 3.95
My unweighted is around 3.6-3.7 but I don't know what it is exactly.
I'm ranked 35 in my class of 289 (top 12%)
My act is 28
Math: 24
Reading: 33
English: 28
Science: 26
I just took the June 8th test and am hoping for a 29 or 30</p>
<p>Back to my original question: what type of schools (ie: liberal arts, state schools, 100% acceptance rate schools), should I be looking at as I attempt to get the highest possible amount of merit aid? And are there any specific schools that offer generous aid that I should be looking into? Thanks in advance for any help.</p>
<p>Is there any more information I should include that would be helpful? I don’t want to annoy but I could really use some guidance.</p>
<p>There is not one type of school that gives more merit aid then others. The less selective the school the more likely you will get a lot of merit, your ACT will hurt you a bit. Find some schools that are less selective (or where your numbers are very high for said school) and go on their website to see what merit aid they offer.</p>
<p>You need to be at least above the 75% to have a chance to get some merit aid. With a 3.6 GPA and 28 ACT, your chance is not high. You should have no problem in admission into in state public school in Ohio though.</p>
<p>Look at miami university. Their merit aid program is very generous plus they have one of the nicest campuses in the nation</p>
<p>A 28 ACT puts me in the top 91% of students ([Score</a> Information | National Ranks for Test Scores and Composite Score | ACT Student](<a href=“ACT Test Scores | ACT Scoring | ACT”>ACT Test Scores | ACT Scoring | ACT))
I’m hoping to boost my GPA in the first semester of my senior year, what should I strive for unweighted to be more competitive?</p>
<p>For most good merit you need a 3.8+ uw, at this point it is too late to increase your GPA that much. Your best bet would be to earn several smaller outside scholarships.</p>
<p>It seems you don’t understand what 75% means. It is not 75% of the national, it is 75% of the admission stat of particular school that you want merit aid.</p>
<p>That’s helpful to know, so to qualify for the automatic merit scholarships I should look at schools in which I fall into the top 75%. </p>
<p>So a good goal for me would be to try to hit a 30 on my ACT, I think it’s possible that I could get a 30 on the ACT I just took, but If not I will probably retest in September. </p>
<p>I assure you I know what 75% means, your wording was a little unclear in your last post.
Thanks for the help.</p>
<p>^ The cut off for merit aid would vary from school to school. Some school (e.g Northwestern) would not even have merit aid as they expect only high quality students anyway. I just suggest to use the 75% admission stat as a reference. If you have some schools in mind, I can look up the percentage receiving merit (non-need based) aid for you. I have the 2013 Best 377 Colleges book with me right now. Basically, you need to cross reference your scores on admission stat and the non-need base aid percentage to find you chance. Remember, even if fall into the bracket, it does not mean you will get a large amount. In general, the best your stat, the higher chance and higher amount you may get.</p>
<p>My first choice would be Ohio Wesleyan, but I’m also looking at Wright State and Ohio University because I think I could get more merit aid at those schools. It would be awesome if you could look at those for me.</p>
<p>You will be going to college soon, try and take the initiative yourself. Go on the websites for the various colleges you are interested in, then go to the information on scholarships. Or google “______ college/university merit scholarships.”</p>