Where could I qualify for half or full tuition merit aid?

Paying for College
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<p>My parents and I think it'd be best if I looked at schools were I could qualify for a good amount of merit aid. I'm looking at schools in the Northeast of the US, and am considering Canada. (I've looked at the UK as well, but I know they don't give a lot of aid to North American students). I also need something in an urban area. I've done a lot of research on my own, but can't find anything solid. And I'd really appreciate some help.</p>

<p>My stats:
Female, NJ, Caucasian.
Attend a private online high school.
GPA: 3.82
Tons of Honors and AP courses
National Honor Society, and Distinguished Scholar (School Award)
I didn't take the PSAT, because I was in online schooling and that test is sponsored by a school.
SAT: 1960; M: 580; CR: 680; W:700
SAT Subject Tests: M1: 510; Lit: 590</p>

<p>Extracurricular:
School Newspaper, 9-12, News Editor
Literary Magazine, 11-12, Editor-In-Chief, Created the Website
Student Government Founding Member</p>

<p>Volunteer:
Daycare Classroom Assistant, 10-11
Women's Health Organization Office Assistant, 12</p>

<p>Job:
Assistant/Secretary at Bookmaking company, 9-Present</p>

<p>Other:
Started an online magazine, 10-Present</p>

<p>I'm also currently on my gap year. Right now I'm working, in February or March I'll begin a 3-month volunteer period at a Buddhist retreat in Colorado, and after that I'll be backpacking through Europe for the summer. I think my SAT Math and Subject Tests are my big negatives.</p>

<p>Thank you so much in advance. I really appreciate the help.</p>

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<p>Because you went a non-traditional HS route, the evaluative attention shifts to your standardized tests. I am afraid they are deal breakers for merit aid at most schools. I have three recommendations:
study really hard for them and take them over
take the ACT; some people do better on it.
apply to schools that are “test optional;” they don’t require standardized tests.</p>

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<p>Just a consideration. . some schools that are test optional require testing for scholarships. Also, I know sometimes home schoolers need to supply testing that isn’t required for grads from traditional schools; since you chose a non-traditional hs route, I don’t know if schools would require testing from you even if they’re ‘test optional.’ You need to call each school you’re interested in and ask.</p>

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<p>Let me add this to my profile. I attended a very well known online school, from which many students were accepted to top schools like NYU, Brown, Berkeley, etc. We had honors classes, AP courses, extracurricular activities, counselors, everything you’d expect at a regular school but in an online environment.
I was not home schooled by any means.</p>

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<p>reddd - you seem like an interesting person and all you activities will be an asset for admissions. But, i don’t see a likely academic scholarship.</p>

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<p>I don’t think that a sub-2000 SAT student is going to qualify for a lot of merit aid. The best approach I know is to look at schools where a 2000 score puts the student at the top 10 - 25% of the incoming freshman class.</p>

<p>What state do you live in? Most middle-class income families, no matter how bright their children are, need to seriously look at affordable in-state public college options as part of their overall college strategies.</p>

<p>Colleges have been hit hard by the economy… their endowments are down as much as 30%… at a time when the same colleges are having to find more money to give in aid to students with lowered family resources. The merit or non-need based awards, at least what I have been able to glean, are not getting any easier to get.</p>

<p>Your online school is not a huge issue for admittance to a whole host of colleges in the “2000 SAT range” – just that your SAT scores (which will be weighed heavily even if the online high school is known by adcoms) are not highly competitive for scholarships unless you are at the tippy top of the incoming freshman class at the college AND the college is known to give that merit aid in the first place.</p>

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<p>Annika,</p>

<p>I live in NJ. But I’ve already decided not to apply to Rutgers or any in-state schools simply because I’ve been trying to get out of NJ for my entire life and honestly can’t bear the thought of staying here. That is probably quite immature of me, but it is something I’ve put a lot of thought into and, thankfully, a decision my parents agree with.</p>

<p>I know I qualify for merit aid at schools like Hollins (VA), which is why I posted this. I’m looking for similar schools that are in urban environments. I’m aware of the fact that I won’t qualify for merit aid at my reach and target schools. I’m looking for merit aid at safety schools.</p>

<p>My parents have looked at tuition prices and, since they have the ability, are willing to pay full tuition at schools I really love. We don’t qualify for much need-based aid. However, when it comes to my safety schools they feel that, if I decide on attending one, it wouldn’t be worth paying full tuition.</p>

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<p>Do a search for a thread by momfromtexas. She found excellent scholarships for her kiddos with varying stats. The thread is a bit old now but the advice is still good.</p>

<p>Look for schools where YOUR stats are above the 75%ile of accepted students. Those are the places where you will be most likely to get decent merit aid.</p>

<p>You need to know that full rides, and even half rides are not all that plentiful even for kids with TOP stats. There just aren’t all that many. </p>

<p>But do your research to maximize your options. Good luck.</p>

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<p>Take a look at these schools too and see if any of them look like options: </p>

<p>[Colleges</a> with most merit aid - Education - US News](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/most-merit-aid]Colleges”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/most-merit-aid)</p>

<p>This thread may also be helpful:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/985001-public-colleges-waive-out-state-residency.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/985001-public-colleges-waive-out-state-residency.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>If it’s a school that truly meets your needs, that you like, why wouldn’t they pay for it? A safety school shouldn’t just be about the money…it should be a school where you will be accepted, and would be happy to attend. When my kids crafted their college lists, we were willing to pay for any of them as they ALL met the needs of the kiddos. We didn’t put a price tag on prestige.</p>

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<p>reddd, I would also try the College Board site. They let you type in your criteria, including gpa, sat scores, school location, etc., and will then give you a list of colleges that “match”. You can even look at “how you stack up”, which will show you how your stats compare to others who have been accepted to that college.</p>

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<p>A lot of people think that “Safety” means “Crappy Schools That I Would Rather Contract Flesh-Necrotizing Fasciitis And Die Than Enroll”. They stack their reaches and matches with their favorite schools, then when it comes to a safety they throw in some random school that they don’t know anything about or regard as being worthy of the glory of their presence.</p>

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<p>thumper1 and Gardna,</p>

<p>My safety schools are not, and will not be, “Crappy Schools That I Would Rather Contract Flesh-Necrotizing Fasciitis And Die Than Enroll”. My parents just want me to get scholarships at the schools at which I am a top applicant. They came here as refugees and never went to college, so they see higher education very differently from most American parents. To them safety just means schools that I’m overqualified for. I actually love a lot of the schools that could qualify as safeties for me. But I also appreciate my parents’ opinion and take it into account when I make my decisions.</p>

<p>Also, thumper1, thank you so much for leading me to the thread by momfromtexas and the advice from your earlier reply. Both have definitely helped.</p>

<p>2collegewego, thank you for your post. I’ve already found two schools I really like and would be eligible for merit aid at. I really appreciate your help.</p>

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<p>Hi,</p>

<p>Are you going to test again? </p>

<p>Are you also going to take the ACT? Some kids do better on the ACT than the SAT and since you want good-sized merit scholarships, those often require a bit higher stats.</p>

<p>Your M+CR SAT score (which is sometimes a determining factor for merit scholarships) is a 1260. If you were to be able to raise that score or get a stronger ACT score, then you’d be in a better position for scholarships.</p>

<p>*I know I qualify for merit aid at schools like Hollins (VA), which is why I posted this. *</p>

<p>How do you know that you would get a merit scholarship from Hollins? How much would you get?</p>

<p>I may be wrong, but Hollins doesn’t seem to have any assured scholarships. It seems like they have competitive scholarships. However, maybe I missed something. </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.hollins.edu/admissions/firstyear/financial/excellence_scholarships.shtml[/url]”>http://www.hollins.edu/admissions/firstyear/financial/excellence_scholarships.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>*
My parents have looked at tuition prices and, since they have the ability, are willing to pay full tuition at schools I really love.*</p>

<p>When you say that your parents have “looked at tuition prices,” are you saying that they looked at the full cost (tuition, fees, room, board, books, misc) or just tuition? Tuition is only part of the costs. A school’s tuition and fees may be $30k per year, but the room, board, books, and misc may be another $15k+ per year. </p>

<p>And, when you ask for merit scholarships for half or full tuition, do you mean tuition or full cost of attendance?</p>

<p>What is your intended major?</p>

<p>Ask your parents how much they can spend each year. From that amount we’ll be able to come up with a better list for you. :)</p>

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<p>I didn’t mean you specifically, but it seems to be a common trend. People choose safeties that are really last resorts, then start hyperventilating when they find out, because of a lack of money or because of a lack of other admissions, that they actually have to go to Abomination U after all.</p>

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<p>red,</p>

<p>Please do take the ACT or at least take a practice one and see if you do better. Since you’re targeting schools that give $, a few additional points could translate to additional scholarship $-- you just don’t know.</p>

<p>Oh, and have fun backpacking through Europe. How cool!!!</p>

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<p>It can be hard to judge where your ACT or SAT grade will be from the practice tests. DS got around 28 on each of 2 practices in the 2 weeks prior to taking the ACT and got a 34 on the actual exam.</p>

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<p>^^^</p>

<p>True…and the other way around can happen as well. Many kids have high scores from practice tests, but score lower on actual tests fora variety of reasons.</p>

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<p>mom2collegekids,
I’m not sure I’ll test again because I don’t have the time. I’m holding down a full time job and helping my mother (she owns a small business). I also don’t know if I want to, since I’ve already graduated and am really kind of burned out. That’s the reason I chose to take a gap year from school.
Also, I don’t know that I would get it, I know I qualify to be considered. I’m sorry if it sounded the wrong way.
They’re well aware that the full cost of college is about $50,000 a year. And when I asked about scholarships, I mean only tuition. They told me not to worry about how much they can spend, that they’ll spend as much as I need.
I’m going to be an English major, with a minor in philosophy or history. Then, I intend on going to law school and becoming a corporate and criminal defense lawyer.
Thank you for you help and advice.</p>

<p>Gardna,
I know you didn’t, but I wanted to clarify. I’m sort of a perfectionist, so even my safety schools have to be amazing in my mind. Honestly, I’ll be happy with a big city and a good English program.</p>

<p>2collegewego,
Thank you for the advice. I’m considering it, but, as a mentioned before, I’m burned out from the test taking at this point.</p>

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<p>Lewis and Clark in Portland? Your essays will probably intrigue them.</p>