Did anyone get more than $30K in merit aid at private college?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We make more than 180K and our kids both got merit aid at decent LAC's. There's some formula you can find on College confidential.com that has to do with the size of the school's endowment, and it involves looking up the school's tax records, rather than going by what's on their websites. We're grateful that both of our children go to schools with really large endowment where there is extra money 'floating around' to finance summer internships in other cities, study abroad, etc. in addition to the merit aid.

The poster above is incorrect when she says not to even bother. There are some schools where something like 80 percent of the students receive some financial aid. That includes people at the upper ends as well as the lower ends. Particularly people with multiple kids in college at the same time.

You are conflating merit and (not need-based) and financial aid (purely need-based). If your HHI is >$180,000, then at some schools, it doesn't matter how fabulous a student you are - you will not get any need-based aid. These are the schools at the top of the USNWR rankings. Therefore the PP who says "don't even bother" is correct, because these schools will not give you any aid. None. Zilch. Zip.

If you go down those USNWR rankings, however, to lower-ranked schools that do give merit aid - not need-based; merit-based - then yes, you should look closely at your options. You could be a billionaire, but if your child is a high-performer who scored well on SATs/ACT, then those schools will give your child significant scholarship money.

By using the Net Price Calculator (NPC) for each of these schools, you can guesstimate what kind of merit aid your child is likely to get, and what the bottom line will be for you to pay for tuition, room and board.

It is true some top tier schools (Ivy schools mostly) do not offer merit aids but most schools DO have merit aids.

Please list top schools that give lots of merit. We all want our kids to apply there.

Obviously, only the top grades and test scorers in an applicant pool are going to receive merit aid. The likelihood of receiving merit aid at a "top" school is much lower than at a school like The College of Wooster. Top schools may have a lot of merit aid, but that ain't gonna help someone who doesn't have a 4.0-- which is most people.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:08:42 Please know recruiting is done at D3 and Ivies for sports. Students are told (by coach) they will be accepted and will receive XX in aid. For instance, "You have a 3.0 GPA and we give you $12,000 on top of any FA."

Absolutely not how Ivy recruiting is done. First they have to use the Academic Index that combines GPA and scores. Second, they cannot give aid above family need. For the Ivies that still require loans as part of the aid package, they will substitute grants for recruited athletes.

You've just contradicted yourself, pp. have you taken out loans? A grant is a GIFT vs a LOAN.

I have a recruited athlete. Ivies do NOT give out any money to athletes- it's all need based, and you get in based on the Ivy Academic Index. And D3 most definitely recruits as well and does not give athletic scholarships. Some D3 schools only give out need based FA. Others give merit, so your athlete will receive "merit" money.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:08:42 Please know recruiting is done at D3 and Ivies for sports. Students are told (by coach) they will be accepted and will receive XX in aid. For instance, "You have a 3.0 GPA and we give you $12,000 on top of any FA."

Absolutely not how Ivy recruiting is done. First they have to use the Academic Index that combines GPA and scores. Second, they cannot give aid above family need. For the Ivies that still require loans as part of the aid package, they will substitute grants for recruited athletes.

You've just contradicted yourself, pp. have you taken out loans? A grant is a GIFT vs a LOAN.

I have a recruited athlete. Ivies do NOT give out any money to athletes- it's all need based, and you get in based on the Ivy Academic Index. And D3 most definitely recruits as well and does not give athletic scholarships. Some D3 schools only give out need based FA. Others give merit, so your athlete will receive "merit" money.

Same experience with my football player who received some good merit scholarships from D3 schools. Playing a hard to recruit position allowed him to attend a school that would have been a far reach for him had the coach not supported his application.

[Anonymous]

What are the hard to recruit positions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What are the hard to recruit positions?

For D3 it seems that big guys for the line are hard to find. DS coach talked to several big boys but not very many had the grades and scores to get the "likely" nod from admissions. DS is huge and can play line on both sides of the ball.

[Anonymous]

Thanks. I though that was the answer.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Op, you ask a very reasonable question. With the same uw GPA and 710 math as a STEM major, DD got 1/2 OOS tuition at a flagship public and 1/3 off at a STEM focused private. Those were 2 very good (money) results out of 10. We would never have been able to anticipate the end results, so I'd advise to apply widely. Just make sure DC has financial safeties from which to choose. A problem your DC will have is Theatre is such a competitive major, students are lucky to get into the major at all.

Hmmm. Thank you. Good to know. DS is thinking of coming up with something different than a straight theater major to differentiate himself. But it's good to know there may be some OOS options. The problem for us is our budget is capped at $25K per year, so 1/3 off a private is not going to be enough. sigh.

Why is your budget capped at 25K per year? Will your child take out loans to move the 25K max? Will you get any FA?

Not eligible for FA. Won't take out loans or let our kids take out loans. So our kids go in-state or OOS with merit aid. Just trying to find OOS options, should there be any, for DC#2.

Everyone takes out loans...I still have 60K! That's the reality of being a millennial.

OP here. We are not "everyone." We will not take out loans. I do not want my kids saddled with huge debt when they graduate. DC#1 was admitted to several prestigious colleges, but since we're not eligible for FA, DC#1 did not go to any of them. In-state is the most affordable option, but not the only one. A friend's child got a free ride at an OOS flagship, so I know it's possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Expand your search to include Midwest SLACs. They offer more merit aid and are often cheaper to start with. Read the book Colleges that Change Lives.

A boy has an advantage at SLACs, and especially one interested in humanities/arts. Much will depend on his scores. Have him take practice SAT and ACT tests to see what is better for him. You will want to focus on schools that give generous merit aid and at which his scores would place him above the 75th percentile for the school.

Take great care with essays, demonstrate interest in the school. If your DS interviews reasonably well, definitely make sure he interviews.

That said, $30k is a big ask. If a SLAC is desired, I would strongly consider allowing him to take Stafford loans for college. The borrowing limits are very reasonable, even for an English major. You could work full-time at Starbucks and still not have trouble paying off a $20k Stafford loan.

My DS with similar GPA, 7 AP classes, good (but not great extracurriculars), very good essays & recs, SAT CR= 760, M= 580 got $20k-$25k merit offers from Kalamazoo, Denison, Ohio Wesleyan, Juniata, Clark, and Lawrence. The only one that topped $25k was Earlham with $30k. I have no idea whether any of these schools have good theater programs.

OP again. Thanks, this is very helpful, about what I was expecting. With DS's stats, it sounds like he's not likely to get any big $$ anywhere, not enough to match our in-state options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS was offered over $30k in "merit based" $$ from several schools. I was dismayed because he was recruited for crew and we were told these prestigious schools don't give boys $$ for crew. I put merit in quotes because he had a 2.6 gpa in high school.

Wow. Where? I've heard of this happening, but the stories get a little hazy. I know a kid who got some sort of merit scholarship to attend Cornell. The kid is a superior athlete and a good student, but the scholarship seemed a bit fishy to me. It made me think he got a scholarship for one thing, but the real reason Cornell gave it to him was because of his athletic ability. (He was not eligible for FA.)

I've also noticed when looking at the Common Data Set for various colleges, that some colleges that claim to not offer merit aid, actually do have some merit scholarships, Sarah Lawrence comes to mind as one example.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Almost all of the smaller liberal arts colleges (think Beloit, Denison, Wheaton, Hope, Eckard, etc.) offer substantial merit aid once you get below Williams and Amherst. Among larger universities, Washington Univ in St Louis and GWU are known to spread the merit aid pretty widely to boost their yields. These merit awards don't often require super stellar grades and scores. It's really just a way to fill the freshman class.

Does Washington University have trouble filling the freshman class? I find that hard to believe.

I don't think Wash U is doing much merit aid now - maybe 20 years ago.

And OPs kid isn't likely to get in with low scores. They are very score conscious. My DC was recruited for sports and the coach wanted her to take the SATs again because her scores were only 2180.

Division 3 schools don't recruit for sports. Wash U. is a Division 3 school.

So you think all Division 3 teams are composed solely of walk-ons? The coaches just cross their fingers and hope a few athletes turn up in the freshmen class?

DD was heavily recruited by the coach at a top D3 SLAC. She was accepted, but didn't go because there was no merit $$.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know a voice/theatre student who got a full ride at a midwestern SLAC. She really clicked with the head of the department. Also many schools need students who can run the stage and equipment, so have him get back stage too.

Which school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op, you ask a very reasonable question. With the same uw GPA and 710 math as a STEM major, DD got 1/2 OOS tuition at a flagship public and 1/3 off at a STEM focused private. Those were 2 very good (money) results out of 10. We would never have been able to anticipate the end results, so I'd advise to apply widely. Just make sure DC has financial safeties from which to choose. A problem your DC will have is Theatre is such a competitive major, students are lucky to get into the major at all.

Hmmm. Thank you. Good to know. DS is thinking of coming up with something different than a straight theater major to differentiate himself. But it's good to know there may be some OOS options. The problem for us is our budget is capped at $25K per year, so 1/3 off a private is not going to be enough. sigh.

Why is your budget capped at 25K per year? Will your child take out loans to move the 25K max? Will you get any FA?

Not eligible for FA. Won't take out loans or let our kids take out loans. So our kids go in-state or OOS with merit aid. Just trying to find OOS options, should there be any, for DC#2.

Everyone takes out loans...I still have 60K! That's the reality of being a millennial.

OP here. We are not "everyone." We will not take out loans. I do not want my kids saddled with huge debt when they graduate. DC#1 was admitted to several prestigious colleges, but since we're not eligible for FA, DC#1 did not go to any of them. In-state is the most affordable option, but not the only one. A friend's child got a free ride at an OOS flagship, so I know it's possible.

Well, then, you are limiting your child to community college - which can be a fine choice in VA if they meet the standards to go to UVA after two years. You seem very inflexible in your thinking about the college process. Start reading college confidential and some books on scholarships and financial aid.

[Anonymous]

^I agree with the PP. If you need 30K in order to go to a private school, you should probably not be looking at private schools (unless your child has incredible test scores and/or some huge talent). If the number was closer to 20K, you could probably find quite a few schools. But 30K is pushing it.

In our case, we thought about the kind of environment that our son would do well in and that turned out to be a smaller one. Those schools, for the most part, are private. So we bit the bullet on the cost and found a way to cough up some money. Not sorry. We'll be working a bit longer before retiring. But we're healthy (thank God).

[Anonymous]

Some SLACs and top fifty rated schools give full tuition merit aid, but your student has to be have a very high GPA, come from a well known high school and score above 95 % on either the ACT or SAT and it helps to be a URM or first generation college student. My DC got two such offer last year. The top twenty schools offered a smaller amount of financial aid, no merit aid, although their offers differed quite a bit based on the same financial data.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some SLACs and top fifty rated schools give full tuition merit aid, but your student has to be have a very high GPA, come from a well known high school and score above 95 % on either the ACT or SAT and it helps to be a URM or first generation college student. My DC got two such offer last year. The top twenty schools offered a smaller amount of financial aid, no merit aid, although their offers differed quite a bit based on the same financial data.

My DC received an offer of almost $100K in scholarship but from a college you've never heard of. The college bought the list of a certain profile of kids who had scored over 32 on the ACT and were trying to entice them to apply. Nice offer but never a school that DC would be interested in.