Where can I reasonably hope for a full merit scholarship? 35 ACT

College Search & Selection
21

@hs2015mom Yes, I saw that on Richmond’s website, but I guess my question was whether a self-designed concentration in bioinformatics could even work considering Richmond’s limited course offerings. But whatever, I don’t think I’m interested in Richmond after all after thinking about it today. I’m a male, half Filipino and half white (just in case anyone knows if that could qualify me for any scholarships…?). Probably, I would consider liberal arts colleges only if they had majors in math and statistics available and were not in rural settings (which eliminates quite a few unfortunately).

@MYOS1634 You have a point. I guess right now I’m just trying to focus on debt-free options, but when my financial aid offers come in in the spring and I see exactly what I’m working with, I’ll give more consideration to loans and such.

22

Many LACs have good math/CS/statistics. The no-rural thing is a challenge, though - any flexibility there? Is a small town 45 minutes from a big city okay? Being male gives you a boost in LAC admissions, where the applicants skew female, particularly as you move down the selectivity scale. And yes, being half Filipino is a help - Asians are URMs at most LACs, even those in the Northeast. Though the most selective LACs offer, like the most selective universities, offer only need-based aid, there are merit opportunities at many others.

What you’re looking for isn’t exactly a needle in a haystack, but it’s not easy to find and get. If you want to have affordable private options in addition to the public ones you’ve already got, you might need to broaden your search criteria.

23

Here are a couple of good lists of full-tuition and full-ride scholarships:

http://thecollegematchmaker.com/111-ridiculously-awesome-full-tuition-schoarships/

http://www.thecollegiateblog.org/2013/01/03/national-liberal-arts-colleges-that-offer-full-ride-scholarships/

And I’d second the recommendation of this CC thread mentioned above in Post #4:

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-p1.html