Will a 2400 on the SAT help with merit scholarships?

Paying for College
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<p>I would like to go to a top school but I do not know whether I will be able to afford it. Will my SAT score affect whether I get scholarships?</p>

<p>I do have a lot of extracurriculars and leadership roles, but I'm not from a background that is given preference to these kinds of things.</p>

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<p>probably not at a top school but at “lesser” schools? i think so. usc might not be a top school, but of the schools that are keen on students who do exceptionally well on the SAT and hand out merit scholarships to them, its among the most selective. so it could really help you there. there’s others too. lesser doesn’t have to mean average state school, though there’s plenty of those that might give out generous scholarships to students like yourself where your (perfect) SAT score will really tilt the scale in your favor for getting one of those.</p>

<p>i’ve seen lists before where people group schools based on this criteria so you could try to find one of those. it will just tell you which ones do more for applicants on account of their super high scores. you should certainly try to use your score to your financial advantage, i’m just not sure any top schools will reward you in that way for it. it might help you get admitted, and they are generous with their need based assistance, but if your family is like middle class then you may have to pay a significant amount. to them the 2350+ kids are a dime a dozen, it may still be impressive, but it’s not going to get you out of paying what they think you can.</p>

<p><a href=“http://qr.ae/tHytZ”>http://qr.ae/tHytZ&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Look in the automatic and competitive merit scholarship list sticky threads at the top of this forum section. But note that many “top schools” do not have merit scholarships, or very few of them, because their students are all crammed up at the top of the academic credentials range.</p>

<p>For test scores, higher is better, but there is a point where the benefit of trying again is insignificant, though the threshold where it is no longer worth trying again depends on your goal.</p>

<p>For example, if Louisiana Tech is your first choice college, and you have a unweighted HS GPA >= 3.0 and score 1390 on the SAT CR+M, it really does make sense to try again for >= 1400 (or ACT >= 32) to get the full ride Presidential scholarship, but if you already have an SAT CR+M >= 1400, then retrying gives no added value to you at that school.</p>

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<p>Top schools often don’t give merit because all their students have top scores…many with perfect/near perfect scores. </p>

<p>You’d have to go down in rank to get better chances of large merit. How much merit do you need? How much will your family pay?</p>

<p>ECs and such don’t often make a lot of difference for merit scholarships.</p>

<p>What is your major and career goal?</p>

<p>Are you a domestic student?</p>

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<p>Duke, Vanderbilt, USC, WUSTL give merit aids. </p>

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<p>^^^
Yes, they do, but no one can count on getting one. Highly competitive amongst the other high stats applicants. Plus, stats aren’t the only consideration. Ethnic and regional diversity can come into play.</p>

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<p>Your SAT score will help you, but its not any sort of guarantee for a top school. What’s your definition of a top school? Have you reviewed the list of automatic scholarships for test scores?</p>

<p><a href=“Automatic Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - #286 by BobWallace - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-p20.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Also, what does this mean: I do have a lot of extracurriculars and leadership roles, but I’m not from a background that is given preference to these kinds of things. </p>

<p>Are you hinting that you might be competitive for a merit scholarship that looks at things besides test scores?</p>

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<p>@ScienceGirlMom Yes, my extracurriculars are top notch. Idk if they would merit a scholarship however.</p>

<p>Everyone: By getting scholarships for top schools, I didn’t expect to get a merit scholarship for say Stanford. I was asking if I would be eligible for merit scholarships outside of a specific college. I plan on majoring in Computer Science. Right now USC and Duke look promising.</p>

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<p>Your SAT is fine. You have confidence that your ECs are good too. What about your GPA, and course rigor. Your GPA and course rigor are important too.</p>

<p>Are you a NMS finalist? Are you a U.S. citizen or permanent resident?</p>

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<p>I have a 4.0 at a top CA school and a 4.67 unweighted and uncapped. I am a NMS finalist and I think I am a permanent resident not super sure.</p>

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<p>Here are your merit scholarship shopping lists:
<a href=“Automatic Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - #300 by BobWallace - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>Automatic Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - #300 by BobWallace - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums;
<a href=“Competitive Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - #50 by BobWallace - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>Competitive Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - #50 by BobWallace - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums;
<a href=“NMF Scholarships: An Updated Compilation - #833 by BobWallace - National Merit Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>NMF Scholarships: An Updated Compilation - #833 by BobWallace - National Merit Scholarships - College Confidential Forums;

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<p>You “think” you are a permanent resident? You need to find out FOR SURE what your immigration status is.</p>

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<p>In the Fall of 2012, of the 950 freshman who did not get financial aid at Duke, only 60 got merit scholarships:</p>

<p><a href=“http://ir.provost.duke.edu/facts/cds/CDS_2012-2013.pdf”>http://ir.provost.duke.edu/facts/cds/CDS_2012-2013.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;