Very high stats kid - which schools should we be considering

[Anonymous]

Premed or pre-PhD?

He can get a full ride at Alabama if he becomes NMF:

https://thescholarshipsystem.com/blog-for-students-families/25-full-ride-scholarships-for-national-merit-finalists/#12_University_of_Alabama_Tuscaloosa_Alabama

https://blog.collegevine.com/national-merit-scholarship-full-ride

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s with all the rude responses?

Anyway, it will help if you can give some indications of preferences with respect to class size, geography, and career ambitions beyond the biochem major. Any other color you can lend makes it easier to narrow down potential matches.

I seriously don't know what the deal is with the rude replies.
Kid is at least for now planning on medical research. Western USA. I'm not sure about class size. Kid attends a small school and will probably be shell shocked by a huge college. But kid is also quirky and worried that they won't find friends at a smaller school.

go for a SLAC out west then, below T75. They will probably give decent merit.

+1 it takes some time to visit and get a sense of the personality but the right LAC can be a great place for a quirky kid. It has been for my DD (but far from CA).

I'd look at Lewis & Clark College (less selective LAC but gives merit, strong sciences), Gonzaga University (midsize Jesuit), Reed College (more selective/expensive LAC, check net price calc.).

https://college.lclark.edu/programs/biochemistry_and_molecular_biology/
https://www.gonzaga.edu/college-of-arts-sciences/departments/chemistry-biochemistry

Unfortunately Reed doesn’t give merit based, only need based if that makes a difference, OP.

[Anonymous]

If your kid is at a school that offers AP Eng Lit, AP Calc, and AP Chem to freshman and sophomores and offers more than 5 post-AP courses, then you are at a school with a lot of competition. Are there not other students at this school with 36 ACTs and 1570+ SATs? And, likely, these students probably have better ECs than your kid? This type of school is likely in an UMC suburban bubble in your western state which likely has a lot of kids applying to T30 schools. Bottom line -- your kid will have a lot of competition.

If your kid likes to write essays and fill out very involved applications, then there is no problem with applying to the T30 schools that you are getting starry-eyed for. But, if they get it, then what? You tell them no because you cannot afford it? These schools are going to cost you more than $30,000 per year.

If you want other options for your kid, then apply to some of the many other lower-ranked schools suggested in this thread that will likely offer very good merit aid. Then your son will likely have several different options to choose from in addition to the big state U that they like.

[Anonymous]

Depends on the type of the school they want and what you can afford. There are multiple schools that will give full rides to OOS NMF. Univ of Tulsa, Univ of South Florida, Univ of Central Florida, and others. The list seems to shrink each year. Univ of Alabama gives an almost full ride, but you’ll still have some out of pocket costs. Check out College Confidential maybe. And some individual states, like Florida and Louisiana, have NMF scholarships as well.

My high stats 226 PSAT, 1600 SAT, 4.0UW kid took the NMF full ride to UCF. Super happy there. Great Honors college with caring deans, amazing apartment style dorms, nice kids, and a lot of really smart kids! He and many of his friends and roommates are on competition teams and have internships (sophomores). It’s a very large state school with tons of opportunities, but the students have to be self-motivated and follow-up on the opportunities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why aren’t you using your college counselor from school as your resource? This is what they do.

Seriously?! lol. We had tell my kids’ counselors about many of the NMF scholarship opportunities. They just weren’t aware outside one or two of them.

[Anonymous]

We had similarly high stats NMF kid. And are full pay everywhere.

Went with the full ride at Alabama (although kid also got into Vandy and every other school applied to).

Keeping the 529 money for law school.

Kid will start life 100% debt free.

Alabama is amazing. Unless you’re sitting on piles of cash or are super high net worth there’s no sense in spending hundreds of thousands on undergrad when there is a free option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on the type of the school they want and what you can afford. There are multiple schools that will give full rides to OOS NMF. Univ of Tulsa, Univ of South Florida, Univ of Central Florida, and others. The list seems to shrink each year. Univ of Alabama gives an almost full ride, but you’ll still have some out of pocket costs. Check out College Confidential maybe. And some individual states, like Florida and Louisiana, have NMF scholarships as well.

My high stats 226 PSAT, 1600 SAT, 4.0UW kid took the NMF full ride to UCF. Super happy there. Great Honors college with caring deans, amazing apartment style dorms, nice kids, and a lot of really smart kids! He and many of his friends and roommates are on competition teams and have internships (sophomores). It’s a very large state school with tons of opportunities, but the students have to be self-motivated and follow-up on the opportunities.

Our only real cost at Alabama is travel to/from and spending money for our kid. I don’t think we paid the university more than $1,500 for the entire year, and I’m
Not even sure what that was for…. I think maybe an upgraded meal plan? Alabama really is a full ride for NMF.

[Anonymous]

Alabama is making a real effort to get the high stats kids. And it’s working. I’m surprised more ambitious colleges aren’t doing the same. It’s a guaranteed way to boost the academic profile of a school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Alabama is making a real effort to get the high stats kids. And it’s working. I’m surprised more ambitious colleges aren’t doing the same. It’s a guaranteed way to boost the academic profile of a school.

Yup. There are a lot of insanely smart kids there. And the NMF tuition scholarship is 5 years (R&B is 4 years)— you can use it for anything — MBA, law school, study abroad. You can change majors, add majors, make up a major. And they take ALL of your AP credits. Gives the kids so much flexibility to pursue their interests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Alabama is making a real effort to get the high stats kids. And it’s working. I’m surprised more ambitious colleges aren’t doing the same. It’s a guaranteed way to boost the academic profile of a school.

We are going for a final visit next week - my NMF is still deciding 🤞🏼

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Alabama is making a real effort to get the high stats kids. And it’s working. I’m surprised more ambitious colleges aren’t doing the same. It’s a guaranteed way to boost the academic profile of a school.

Yup. There are a lot of insanely smart kids there. And the NMF tuition scholarship is 5 years (R&B is 4 years)— you can use it for anything — MBA, law school, study abroad. You can change majors, add majors, make up a major. And they take ALL of your AP credits. Gives the kids so much flexibility to pursue their interests.

Our daughter is finishing her first year at Alabama on an NMF scholarship. Agree with all of this.

[Anonymous]

ED to Penn or Harvard for the free tuition. Shoot your shot, it's silly not to. There will be a better chance on ED. MIT has same tuition program but no ED.

Then apply for the NMF full rides.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ED to Penn or Harvard for the free tuition. Shoot your shot, it's silly not to. There will be a better chance on ED. MIT has same tuition program but no ED.

Then apply for the NMF full rides.

Unless her kid is hooked, there will not be a better shot in ED.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My suggestion is to get a life.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:ED to Penn or Harvard for the free tuition. Shoot your shot, it's silly not to. There will be a better chance on ED. MIT has same tuition program but no ED.

Then apply for the NMF full rides.

Unless her kid is hooked, there will not be a better shot in ED.

ED choices should be:
Penn CAS - double major in theatre arts?
Brown
Dartmouth

If the theater/costume interest is real.