<p>^^^</p>
<p>Good suggestion that the dad may not realize that those schools don’t give merit scholarships.</p>
<p>However, if the dad has remarried or is thinking about remarrying, his reluctance to pay $50k+ per year may have something to do with his decision. Or, perhaps he has to pay his ex (or had to pay his ex) a lot of money and that is affecting his decision.</p>
<p>I do think a “heart to heart” with the dad is a good idea. He needs to know that the top, top, elite schools don’t give merit scholarships because (nearly) all their students have super, super stats.</p>
<p>However, I do think that you need to ask your dad exactly how much he will pay each year. If he says something like, $25k per year, at least you’'ll know what you’re dealing with so you can find schools that will supplement that with merit scholarships so that you can still have some good choices.</p>
<p>You do need to apply to schools like Vanderbilt, Santa Clara, Emory, and USC (calif) because they might give you a big merit scholarship and then your dad’s contribution will make up the difference. :)</p>
<p>Then, you also need to apply to some schools that will give you big assured merit scholarships. With your stats, there are schools that will automatically give you big merit scholarships - those can be your financial safety schools. You should apply to 2-3 of these.</p>