Good alternatives to UVA/WM with merit?

[Anonymous]

Depending on your HHI, but W&L does offer grants that put it well into the cost range of UVA & W&M.

We were pleasantly surprised, after the disappointment of not getting the Johnson scholarship.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS thought U Del and Miami U both felt similar in style to UVA while being a lot less selective. DS got merit from both to bring the cost down to be in range,, $35-40k

My DD who preferred W&M mainly also applied to LACs (in the 50-80 rank range) + UMW, which is the most similar school in VA to W&M. With merit UMW would only have cost us $17k. The LACs generally came in around $30k with a couple higher ranked ones only getting the price down to $50k.

Your DS’s experience is irrelevant because the schools involved don’t have nearly as good a reputation as UVA or W&M regardless of their “vibe.” If he turned either down to attend U Del or Miami he’d be nuts.

Of course they don't. But OP wants "similar" schools that will provide merit to match UVAs price. To get that you obviously have to go down in reputation tier. Same tier schools don't give merit. FWIW, DS was never going to be admitted to UVA (not most rigorous classes at his HS). He's now at Virginia Tech.

So, you have confirmed as I suspected: your son was not in the running for UVA or William and Mary. The OP’s question was, what if your kid IS in the running?

Different PP here - I think OP is saying even tho their kid is in the running for the two mentioned, are there good alternatives that would provide good merit. Didn’t say alternatives have to be on a par. Often a very good school will offer great merit to attract a kid like that - but often, that school is less selective than the top 50-100. For many people, that is a great alternative - to still receive a quality education at a terrific place, at a great price. To each his own. OP, come back and let us know how it went, it would honestly be great info to hear. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS thought U Del and Miami U both felt similar in style to UVA while being a lot less selective. DS got merit from both to bring the cost down to be in range,, $35-40k

My DD who preferred W&M mainly also applied to LACs (in the 50-80 rank range) + UMW, which is the most similar school in VA to W&M. With merit UMW would only have cost us $17k. The LACs generally came in around $30k with a couple higher ranked ones only getting the price down to $50k.

Your DS’s experience is irrelevant because the schools involved don’t have nearly as good a reputation as UVA or W&M regardless of their “vibe.” If he turned either down to attend U Del or Miami he’d be nuts.

Of course they don't. But OP wants "similar" schools that will provide merit to match UVAs price. To get that you obviously have to go down in reputation tier. Same tier schools don't give merit. FWIW, DS was never going to be admitted to UVA (not most rigorous classes at his HS). He's now at Virginia Tech.

So, you have confirmed as I suspected: your son was not in the running for UVA or William and Mary. The OP’s question was, what if your kid IS in the running?

Different PP here - I think OP is saying even tho their kid is in the running for the two mentioned, are there good alternatives that would provide good merit. Didn’t say alternatives have to be on a par. Often a very good school will offer great merit to attract a kid like that - but often, that school is less selective than the top 50-100. For many people, that is a great alternative - to still receive a quality education at a terrific place, at a great price. To each his own. OP, come back and let us know how it went, it would honestly be great info to hear. Good luck!

Also, in the running doesn't mean they will get in, and they may be priced out of similar level options. A kid competitive for UVA and W&M who ultimately doesn't get in and can only afford in state tuition probably can't attend a comparable school.

[Anonymous]

Usually, these types of discussions happen if the kid is getting more money than this. Imagining that Delaware is at all similar to UVA would require a magic trick heretofore never seen on this planet.

[Anonymous]

A balanced list of colleges one is applying to could easily include both UVA and Delaware.
If Delaware offered a ton of merit and UVA offered none, a great choice for some students would be to choose Delaware.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A balanced list of colleges one is applying to could easily include both UVA and Delaware.
If Delaware offered a ton of merit and UVA offered none, a great choice for some students would be to choose Delaware.

Just as it would then be to attend virtually any other university in the country selected at random.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS thought U Del and Miami U both felt similar in style to UVA while being a lot less selective. DS got merit from both to bring the cost down to be in range,, $35-40k

My DD who preferred W&M mainly also applied to LACs (in the 50-80 rank range) + UMW, which is the most similar school in VA to W&M. With merit UMW would only have cost us $17k. The LACs generally came in around $30k with a couple higher ranked ones only getting the price down to $50k.

Your DS’s experience is irrelevant because the schools involved don’t have nearly as good a reputation as UVA or W&M regardless of their “vibe.” If he turned either down to attend U Del or Miami he’d be nuts.

Of course they don't. But OP wants "similar" schools that will provide merit to match UVAs price. To get that you obviously have to go down in reputation tier. Same tier schools don't give merit. FWIW, DS was never going to be admitted to UVA (not most rigorous classes at his HS). He's now at Virginia Tech.

So, you have confirmed as I suspected: your son was not in the running for UVA or William and Mary. The OP’s question was, what if your kid IS in the running?

Different PP here - I think OP is saying even tho their kid is in the running for the two mentioned, are there good alternatives that would provide good merit. Didn’t say alternatives have to be on a par. Often a very good school will offer great merit to attract a kid like that - but often, that school is less selective than the top 50-100. For many people, that is a great alternative - to still receive a quality education at a terrific place, at a great price. To each his own. OP, come back and let us know how it went, it would honestly be great info to hear. Good luck!

Also, in the running doesn't mean they will get in, and they may be priced out of similar level options. A kid competitive for UVA and W&M who ultimately doesn't get in and can only afford in state tuition probably can't attend a comparable school.

I don’t even know what a comparable school would be to William and Mary because it’s such an odd duck in terms of size and state school status. All I can think of is sort of Wake Forest, but that’s a private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Usually, these types of discussions happen if the kid is getting more money than this. Imagining that Delaware is at all similar to UVA would require a magic trick heretofore never seen on this planet.

If your budget is UVA and you don't get into UVA (which regularly happens to qualified applicants) then UVA's peer schools like Michigan, UNC, Wisconsin, Tufts, USC.... aren't options. Schools like Delaware are

[Anonymous]

IME for most VA kids who don't get into UVA, the most likely outcome is either W&M if they got in and like it or JMU or Virginia Tech if they prefer the big school/big sports vibe. Or an OOS school similarly ranked to JMU/VT that gave merit. And, yes, that could include Honors College at U Del or similar schools.

For students primarily aspiring for W&M, they seem to mostly apply to LACs as alternatives.

Obviously they'd likely go to UVA/W&M if they got in but many, many students who may be in range for those don't actually get in so if you aren't considering lower ranked schools you are an idiot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Usually, these types of discussions happen if the kid is getting more money than this. Imagining that Delaware is at all similar to UVA would require a magic trick heretofore never seen on this planet.

If your budget is UVA and you don't get into UVA (which regularly happens to qualified applicants) then UVA's peer schools like Michigan, UNC, Wisconsin, Tufts, USC.... aren't options. Schools like Delaware are

Disagree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Usually, these types of discussions happen if the kid is getting more money than this. Imagining that Delaware is at all similar to UVA would require a magic trick heretofore never seen on this planet.

If your budget is UVA and you don't get into UVA (which regularly happens to qualified applicants) then UVA's peer schools like Michigan, UNC, Wisconsin, Tufts, USC.... aren't options. Schools like Delaware are

+1 and the student would end up in the honors college. I toured UDel with DD and I do get what PP meant about the similarity. Delaware's campus architecture does look similar to UVA. Obviously it would be a safety but that's why it would cost less.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree. I know of several cases where kids got great merit from target schools. Don’t know of any from schools on a par with W&M or UVA. Not saying it doesn’t happen but chances better if aiming just a bit lower.

One of my kids had no interest in UVA, despite having the stats for it. They applied to William and Mary, Carleton and Grinnell among others. They got into all three, and Grinnell offered a substantial merit award. It did not lower the cost to the point of it being even with William and Mary completely, but it widely bridged the gap. They chose Grinnell. I would say that Grinnell and William and Mary are on par academically.

We are OOS but my child’s top two schools were also Grinnell and W&M and they chose Grinnell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Usually, these types of discussions happen if the kid is getting more money than this. Imagining that Delaware is at all similar to UVA would require a magic trick heretofore never seen on this planet.

If your budget is UVA and you don't get into UVA (which regularly happens to qualified applicants) then UVA's peer schools like Michigan, UNC, Wisconsin, Tufts, USC.... aren't options. Schools like Delaware are

Disagree.

Name a school that you think a kid who matches stats for UVA and has a budget of UVA instate should consider if they don't get into UVA. All of UVA's peers would be out of budget OOS, so what schools would you consider?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS thought U Del and Miami U both felt similar in style to UVA while being a lot less selective. DS got merit from both to bring the cost down to be in range,, $35-40k

My DD who preferred W&M mainly also applied to LACs (in the 50-80 rank range) + UMW, which is the most similar school in VA to W&M. With merit UMW would only have cost us $17k. The LACs generally came in around $30k with a couple higher ranked ones only getting the price down to $50k.

Your DS’s experience is irrelevant because the schools involved don’t have nearly as good a reputation as UVA or W&M regardless of their “vibe.” If he turned either down to attend U Del or Miami he’d be nuts.

Of course they don't. But OP wants "similar" schools that will provide merit to match UVAs price. To get that you obviously have to go down in reputation tier. Same tier schools don't give merit. FWIW, DS was never going to be admitted to UVA (not most rigorous classes at his HS). He's now at Virginia Tech.

If one looks at private and public alike, focusing on the student body size, the following come to mind. The settings might be very different though:

WUSTL
Carnegie Mellon
Wake Forrest
Tufts
URochester
Tulane
CWRU
Lehigh
Villanova
Rensselaer
Worcester Polytech
Gonzaga
Elon


So, you have confirmed as I suspected: your son was not in the running for UVA or William and Mary. The OP’s question was, what if your kid IS in the running?

Different PP here - I think OP is saying even tho their kid is in the running for the two mentioned, are there good alternatives that would provide good merit. Didn’t say alternatives have to be on a par. Often a very good school will offer great merit to attract a kid like that - but often, that school is less selective than the top 50-100. For many people, that is a great alternative - to still receive a quality education at a terrific place, at a great price. To each his own. OP, come back and let us know how it went, it would honestly be great info to hear. Good luck!

Also, in the running doesn't mean they will get in, and they may be priced out of similar level options. A kid competitive for UVA and W&M who ultimately doesn't get in and can only afford in state tuition probably can't attend a comparable school.

I don’t even know what a comparable school would be to William and Mary because it’s such an odd duck in terms of size and state school status. All I can think of is sort of Wake Forest, but that’s a private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS thought U Del and Miami U both felt similar in style to UVA while being a lot less selective. DS got merit from both to bring the cost down to be in range,, $35-40k

My DD who preferred W&M mainly also applied to LACs (in the 50-80 rank range) + UMW, which is the most similar school in VA to W&M. With merit UMW would only have cost us $17k. The LACs generally came in around $30k with a couple higher ranked ones only getting the price down to $50k.

Your DS’s experience is irrelevant because the schools involved don’t have nearly as good a reputation as UVA or W&M regardless of their “vibe.” If he turned either down to attend U Del or Miami he’d be nuts.

Of course they don't. But OP wants "similar" schools that will provide merit to match UVAs price. To get that you obviously have to go down in reputation tier. Same tier schools don't give merit. FWIW, DS was never going to be admitted to UVA (not most rigorous classes at his HS). He's now at Virginia Tech.

So, you have confirmed as I suspected: your son was not in the running for UVA or William and Mary. The OP’s question was, what if your kid IS in the running?

Different PP here - I think OP is saying even tho their kid is in the running for the two mentioned, are there good alternatives that would provide good merit. Didn’t say alternatives have to be on a par. Often a very good school will offer great merit to attract a kid like that - but often, that school is less selective than the top 50-100. For many people, that is a great alternative - to still receive a quality education at a terrific place, at a great price. To each his own. OP, come back and let us know how it went, it would honestly be great info to hear. Good luck!

Also, in the running doesn't mean they will get in, and they may be priced out of similar level options. A kid competitive for UVA and W&M who ultimately doesn't get in and can only afford in state tuition probably can't attend a comparable school.

I don’t even know what a comparable school would be to William and Mary because it’s such an odd duck in terms of size and state school status. All I can think of is sort of Wake Forest, but that’s a private school.

If one looks at private and public alike, focusing on the student body size, the following come to mind. The settings might be very different though:

WUSTL
Carnegie Mellon
Wake Forrest
Tufts
URochester
Tulane
CWRU
Lehigh
Villanova
Rensselaer
Worcester Polytech
Gonzaga
Elon

As others have pointed out. The higher the more competitive the scholarships.