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. The more aid I receive the farther away from MD I would be willing to go. Thanks!!
Here’s one that I think meets all your criteria. It’s a great little chart and will look good to you. Note that it’s good to apply early.
You’ll qualify for at least in state tuition from South Carolina, and you’ll be competitive for some of their full ride merit scholarships!
here ya go!
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com/
https://publicuniversityhonors.com/2016/04/04/best-major-universities-for-national-merit-scholarships-part-two/
the last 2 are if you qualify for NMF status.
did you take the PSAT this year and did you score at or above MD’s cutoff score?
Be SURE to check with the above college websites, since merit award criteria may have changed.
And be SURE to note ANY EARLY application deadlines for scholarship consideration .
Miss them by one day and you will be out of luck.
If you share some other factors/criteria that attract you to a college, people may be able to recommend merit-giving colleges that match your other criteria as well.
Significant aid for many top students:
Clark University (Massachusetts)
Denison (Ohio)
Lafayette (Pennsylvania)- maybe a bit smaller population than you like, but check it out
Fewer students get merit aid, and they have to be at the tippy top (which you are), but it is available:
Brandeis University (Massachusetts)
Miami U of Ohio and Ohio University are both great options. Not only do they offer great merit aid, both lock in tuition for all 4 years, which helps manage costs. Depending on where you live in MD, Ohio Univ is only about 5 hours from Baltimore, while Miami U is more like 8. Good luck!
@person89 Putting yourself in position to get significant merit aid takes work and is a process. Here’s my advice: Start by looking at the College rankings posted in the USNews&World Report (2019 edition) (at Barnes and Noble or online) to get an idea of the colleges you want and then do research on those that have the academic programs and demographics that interest you. Look also at Fiskes Guide to Colleges and Princeton Review’s Beat 384 Colleges book (2019 edition) as they will help you get a target list of schools. Then go into the specific college/university website and write down the criteria for merit aid scholarships and the amount and quantity of merit aid scholarships offered for that particular school. Some schools are very specific while others hide behind “holistic review.”
Once you have a target list of schools you should register on their website as a way to show interest and show interest throughout the application cycle as many schools give merit aid to those students who show them serious interest. Visit as many colleges of interest as you can or at least go to local events they hold in your high school or geographic area.
If you want a top 20 or 40 liberal arts college, you may get at most $20,000 or $25,000 (but that’s not at all easy to get) which would being your cost of attendance down per year from $72,000 to $52,000 or maybe the high $40,000 range.
For HYPS and the top 20 national universities you won’t likely get any merit aid, because every accepted student has top stats—however Duke and Vamderbilt and a few others offer some full tuition scholarships, but again, not at all easy. As you move down to the top 40 to 100 ranked national universities, including both out-of-state public’s and private universities, you are looking at more and higher merit aid…including full tuition scholarships, so you should research each school and see what is needed —some require separate applications for the scholarships.
And keep in mind that many of the outofstate public’s have tuition for out-of-state students in the $25,000 to 40,000 range (as opppsed to the much higher private college tuition range of $50,000 to $58,000 range), so merit aid will go a lot further in reducing the total cost of attendance at those out-of-state public universities making them comparable to your in-state Maryland options. You will need to know what cost of attendance your family could afford in order to help you select your target list of schools.
Finally check out this thread on schools that offer large merit aid. http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/2133763-schools-with-merit-aid-full-rides.html There are also many other threads about merit aid like this on Cc so check them out in the search bar under latest posts.
If you will be NMF you may get full tuition at Fordham in NYC. They also have other large merit scholarships. Apply early (EA).
That theme through these posts is very important–apply early, waiting for the regular admissions deadline very often has a negative impact on securing merit aid. Good luck!
Northeastern has really good merit aid
Have you checked out opportunities at UMCP?
I don’t know if you’d be competitive for one of the Banneker-Key scholarships.
https://www.bannekerkey.umd.edu/
Case Western Reserve U in Ohio has good merit, usually 2/3 of tuition. so its going to cost more than many on the list of National Merit schools and other lower cost options with lower ranks like U of Tulsa, U of Oklahoma, Ohio University, Miami U Ohio, U of Alabama and others that have fantastic merit, possible full rides, for a student like you.
You need to ask yourself what sort of school do you want to attend, are you interested in being academically challenged and having very smart peers, or are you OK to be at the very top of the pack?
U of Maryland College Park is excellent for many majors and a good price for you. Many very accomplished students go to U of Maryland, from PA, NJ, VA, MD and other states now.
Compare the drop out rates at U of Maryland College Park, and Case Western, much higher ranked universities that will probably accept you, to the lower ranked colleges like Ohio University.
What are your academic interests? College Park is strongest in the sciences, statistics, and engineering, but other good departments. Look for in state scholarships to Maryland College Park, then branch out from there.
U of Pittsburgh, is close by and known for merit as well. It has some cross registration with Carnegie Mellon.
What do you want to study?
What is your budget? How much will your parents pay per year?
Note, you can borrow a maximum of $27,000 over 4 years.
You are smart to be thinking of your budget now.
Thanks! I have looked at UMD but I really don’t want a school that big. I would prefer a school no bigger than 25,000 (I’m also not much of a partyer and I know UMD is somewhat of a party school). I’m not completely sure of a major but I know it will either be something with business or something with chemistry/ biology. Unfortunately based on last years selection index for Maryland I was only one question away from being a national merit scholar. I would love to be “academically challenged and have smart peers” but I recognize that merit aid is hard to come by at top tier schools, and I probably won’t get enough need based aid.
University of Richmond meets your size and distance criteria and has good merit aid (not tied to NMF status).
What about UMBC?
Miami of OH, UTK, USC, FSU, Alabama,
A school where you’re likely to get “big merit” automatically (like Alabama) won’t necessarily be smaller than UMCP. It might be just as much (or more) of a “party school”.
Richmond is a good suggestion, but if I’m not mistaken, their merit grants are competitive (not automatic for qualifying stats). At private schools like that, the average award might be in the $15K - $$25K range. That would be coming off sticker prices of $50K - $70K per year. Could your family afford the net price? At those schools, would your qualifications be above average among students competing for merit awards?
In addition to UMBC, you might want to consider St. Mary’s College of Maryland, if you want a smaller school at in-state public prices.
When I read the OP, the first two schools I thought to recommend were Miami (Ohio) and South Carolina (before seeing that they were the first two recommended). My daughter, a current senior from Maryland, received significant merit aid packages from both schools. Either would have been much less expensive than UMD in state. She has chosen to attend the University of Florida, but, if cost had been the determining factor, she would probably have chosen one of Miami or SC.
Would you consider Catholic colleges? You might look at St. Joe’s in Philadelphia and U Scranton, which both offer some competitive full tuition awards. Scranton is strong in the sciences and business is also good; St. Joe’s is quite good in business and has traditionally also been good for pre-med. Both would be on the smaller side of what you’re looking for (3,800 at Scranton, 5,100 at St. Joe’s). Loyola MD is another good school that offers merit (but not full tuition, IIRC).