Just curious if there are colleges that might be more generous than you thought based on net price calculator, etc.
If a college gives merit aid and doesn’t ask for academic stats/test scores on their NPC, the NPC may not include merit aid…so could be potential for more depending on the student’s stats as compared to other admitted/enrolled students.
The higher a student’s stats as compared to a give college’s student averages, the higher the chance for greater merit $/discounting.
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College of Charleston…not on the NPC but merit. We got $3k more than tuition and $5k for the second year. Unfortunately most came after we accepted so there’s be no way to know up front. You have to be a Charleston Scholar. Up front we knew of $12k and $25k more came later.
My son got 10k for Purdue engineering. Not expected.
UTampa is low cost and gave $17k (listed $18k max). My kid had strong #s so we expected but she dumped it the minute she got on the student chat and it was all about partying.
Both my kids got the FSU OOS waiver - expected but not assured. Same with 1/2 OOS at UGA.
I think in the case of merit, they are typically known in advance but the first two (Charleston and Purdue) were a surprise. There are some schools like Hofstra and Bradley plus Ms State and ASU that will give u the merit estimate. And then there’s those with merit tables.
Hope it helps.
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Iowa State. Ultimately, my son did not go there (he is a NMF at Alabama). But, Iowa State was very competitive. Now, we did qualify for the Generations Scholarship as his grandfather is an alumnus, and we did have to stay on top of the multiple applications and deadlines (and there were quite a few), but the final price OOS for us on campus at Iowa State was around $16K, which was quite impressive and much better than our in-state option.
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My son was offered $100K in merit from CWRW and he showed no demonstrated interest.
He was offered a year tuition free at Utah, followed by 3 instate.
He didn’t end up at either, but seriously considered both.
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I assume that was $25,000/year over 4 years.
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RPI. But only a surprise because he never applied or showed interest. It was not given as “merit” but as an RPI Medal . It’s presented as a book award would be at the end of junior year to the top math/science student and comes with a $120,000 scholarship for those that then attend RPI.
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Yes, in 2014. It brought their COA down close to our state flagship.
They’ve doubled the base value from when my son was a Medalist!
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Going into the college application cycle with D21 we we’re not aware of some of the scholarships she would be invited to apply for after apply EA. It was extra work, so those should be limited.
RIT had a few, but she did not pursue those.
UNH has several tied to their major/college on top of the posted merit. Those opportunities come as they accept EA applicants in January.
College of Charleston has several additional opportunities mentioned above.
WPI came back and offered a little more after she had made a decision.
UMiami was slightly more generous than expected - the combo of merit and need based was still close to EFC - within $2000 or so.
Furman is more generous that the NPC many times for families.
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This is all good info. I’ve heard stories of people getting less than NPC, was just curious if people were ever surprised in a good way.
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UT and Rice. We didnt apply for aid, was surprised to get it
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And yet was the most expensive by far (33K annually more) than every other school my medical lad applied to, so was the first to hit the circular file. Many on here know that he ended up at U Rochester (least expensive option beating U Alabama and Pitt financially, though both came very close). And for others on this forum, U Rochester ends up their most expensive school even though they might have similar high stats to my guy.
Working in a ps for 20 years, one thing I can say is sometimes I’m really surprised by what kids get - or don’t - by schools. It just seems to depend upon how much a school wants a student - or doesn’t.
If a student likes a school and it offers merit aid, there’s no harm in trying an app to see what shakes out. Just don’t fall in love until all financial offers are on the table if aid is a consideration. Significant merit aid comes most often when a student is in the Top 10% of applicants, but even then, I’ve seen exceptions when a kid has a remarkable background of some sort.
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Lafayette and Case Western.
Denison
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Notre Dame $25,000 per year x 4 $100,000.
Admissions in March sent my son an email saying he was a finalist for a merit award and needs to fill out an application for further consideration. Up until this point he didn’t know he had been accepted so a total shock. Great type of likely letter. Applied and sent video.
Was invited to campus right around Ivy day. Found out he was given the award the following Monday if my memory is correct.
Similar story with Duke and Robertson Scholarship program. Didn’t apply until contacted that based on his general application he was nominated and a semi finalist. He wound up making it to the final round. Once again this served as a likely letter and he got to tour the school during the Robertson finals weekend.
Ultimately choose a different path but both came entirely out of the blue.
Another great opportunity is BCs Gabelli Presidential Scholarship for students with a track record of community service and leadership. This is a separate application process and is a full ride. I provide this just for awareness as my kid pulled his application so not sure exactly how the ultimate decision process works.
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Tulane…. Both kids got great FA packages and one got 67.5K a year in scholarships and grants.
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Beloit College. My daughter got the Presidential Scholarship as a transferring Junior so like over 1/2 Scholarship. Not expecting anything so yep. Nice surprise.
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Yes I think that is true that there seems to be some variation. I think this is true that if something interests him he should put in an application as well as have some financial safeties.
Good to know. I wouldn’t have expected that one.
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Both Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and Case Western Reserve offered merit aid equal to 50% of tuition (around $26k/year) to our son who applied for MechE. Based on historical data, our son’s stats were high for both schools, and he was accepted to much higher ranked programs. My wife did the math, and the merit offers brought the cost for each school in line with our flagship state university, UofM.
Our son chose CWRU because of the fit, and flexibility choosing majors. The merit aid, however, certainly didn’t hurt.
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