I am a current junior from MD. Im looking for a medium school (3,000-20,000) that is not too far away. I have a 4.0 unweighted GPA and around 4.3 weighted and am also enrolled in many AP classes. I am also top 10 in my class of 300 with an SAT score of 1550. Im also in most of the honors societies, a community service club, mock trial, model UN, and SGA. I was wondering what schools I could be competitive for significant merit based aid, since I probably won’t qualify for that much need-based aid. Thanks!
What can you actually afford? Asking about schools that you would be likely to get your net price below $x per year will be more useful.
Here’s a nice, helpful merit aid chart for Miami of Ohio, which seems to fit your criteria. Note that it helps to get your application in early. Good luck!
U of South Carolina, FSU, Alabama
In addition to what Eeyore said, what interests you? Potential major? 3,000 to 20,000 is fairly broad. Do you prefer smaller or larger range of that or not a big preference? (My D applied to schools ranging from 1,500 to almost 20k so can understand if you see pros and cons to both). Is not too far away East of the Mississippi or within a three hour drive?
University of Vermont fits a wide range of needs and is a rare out of state school that gives merit. It is still not super cheap if you are relying on just merit (probably $30k Coa in your case).
Also be aware that typically financial aid does not get stacked on top of merit. If your EFC is $50k and the school costs $70k with a $20k scholarship then you are not going to receive any further financial aid.