Your advice is appreciated

[2013VAmom]

<p>

Do any of the private schools and OOS publics offer merit for your child’s stats? Throwing in a guaranteed merit school if possible would be a good option along with a few competitive merit schools. Also look into the merit possibilities at the in-state publics. JMU, for example, has some competitive merit awards (some of which require a separate application and/or Early Action), ranging from smaller amounts like $1500 to full in-state tuition. JMU may not be the best fit for merit aid for your child, but you never know since often merit aid is offered by the college in which the child will major. VCU, Christopher Newport, Radford, and others may be worth looking at.

</p>

<p>Thanks for your suggestions, I will look at those schools</p>

[2013VAmom]

<p>

Hi 2013VAmom,</p>

<p>I would recommend that you take a walk over t the parents forum and the following thread:</p>

<p>3.0 to 3.3 (GPA) Parents Thread (2013 HS Graduation)</p>

<p>you will find “your people”; parents who have children with profiles similar to your son. they may be able to put schools on your radar that you were not thinking about.</p>

<p>I would recommend that your son do some SAT/ACT prep and do a retake. Are there any schools where your son may be a good candidate to play his sport at the DIV II (partial scholarship)?

</p>

<p>yes, I have been going thru that thread as well, slowly… but making my way to the end. lol My child is adamant about not playing sports, well only club sports, but does not want the committment on the varisity college level. That really hurts me because of course, I was hoping for an athletic scholarship at least. I can’t go that route anymore.</p>

[2013VAmom]

<p>thanks sybbie719 and mom2collegekids!!</p>

[sybbie719]

<p>Here is another 3.0–3.3 thread frm the parents forum</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/707436-new-3-0-3-3-gpa-parents-thread.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/707436-new-3-0-3-3-gpa-parents-thread.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[Scribbulus]

<p>An OOS public that does offer engineering, has cheaper than our state (Texas) COA and offers guaranteed substantial merit to OOS students with average test scores and at least a 3.0 is Louisiana Tech. It was high on my son’s list because he needed substantial FA. </p>

<p>Outstanding Student Scholarship - Out-of-State
•
Must be an admitted incoming freshmen (all majors) from out-of-state.
•
Requires: GPA: overall 3.0 (on unweighted 4.0 scale), and
• ACT: 23-31 or SAT: 1050-1390 (CR+M)
•
Awards for $1,200-$4,100 per year for four academic years are available.
•
Student must remain full-time and maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 by the end
of each academic year.
Application Deadline: Apply for admission by priority deadline of Jan 5. Updated
ACT/SAT accepted through December test date.</p>

<p>They also offer an out-of-state fee scholarship, which brings tuition down to in-state levels for at least a 23 ACT/1050 (CR - M) SAT and a 2.5. </p>

<p>Plus if you apply early, get the scholarship and then test again with higher results before the final deadline they will up the dollar amount.</p>

<p>We visited, town is relatively small, campus is a mix of old and new buildings in a variety of styles, so it’s interesting looking. They have a new nanotechnology building, have one of the few nano-engineering programs we found. </p>

<p>We met several Texas students who where admitted into Texas A&M’s engineering program, but were attending there due to it being so much cheaper. </p>

<p>They have an, I’d guess you call it, honors engineering program, it’s not on their website, it’s based solely on math test scores, (I want to say at least a 28 on the math portion of the ACT and equivalent math section of the SAT). A couple of parents asked if you had a composite of 28 but lower on the math, could you qualify and the answer was no. There wasn’t really much financial benefit, priority registration, they got a different software package, (can’t recall the details) could skip some of the early math requirements, things like that.</p>

<p>The thing that appealed to my son was a freshman engineering curriculum that not only didn’t require you to decide what engineering field till 2nd year, but also included a class to express the freshman to all the engineering fields to help them choose. Basically unless you have the math score everyone starts at pre-cal, with cal 1 to follow. </p>

<p>They offer a wide variety of engineering fields, including a brand new cyber engineering degree. I don’t know much about it, my son told me about it and he found out through someone at his college. </p>

<p>I’m surprised it doesn’t attract more OOS students than it does, there may be a cap. I know Louisiana has some kind of guaranteed grant to LA students depending on high school grades.</p>

[sybbie719]

<p>here ius another thread that may be useful</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/700254-affordable-out-state-colleges.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/700254-affordable-out-state-colleges.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[2013VAmom]

<p>thank you @ scribbulus. Another boardie suggested Louisiana tech and it is on my list!
Looking at the website it is what we are looking for. Im excited about the options.</p>

[2013VAmom]

<p>thanks sybbie…going to read now.</p>

[yaksic13]

<p>Yes, Louisiana tech is an excellent college, especially for the price. Their engineering program is terrific, and I’m considering going there myself. Out of every OOS state university I’ve looked at in my college search, this college is certainly the least expensive. Also, it is one of the area’s only colleges ranked on a national scale.</p>

[WayOutWestMom]

<p>Another option might be New Mexico Tech. Small engineering college (less than 3,000 students) that perennially makes Kiplinger’s Best Value list.</p>

<p>There are several OOS competitive scholarships for students w/3.25 GPA and ACT 27 or SAT (CR &M) 1200.</p>

<p>[Tuition</a> Reduction Scholarships for Non-Residents](<a href=“http://www.nmt.edu/scholarships-financial-aid/50-financial-aid/financial-aid/183-scholarships-a-tuition-reduction-programs-for-non-residents]Tuition”>http://www.nmt.edu/scholarships-financial-aid/50-financial-aid/financial-aid/183-scholarships-a-tuition-reduction-programs-for-non-residents)</p>

<p>In state costs per year: tuition & fees $5488; room & board $7012.</p>