SLACs that offer merit aid?

[Anonymous]

My kid is in 7th grade, so admittedly I'm thinking ahead here, trying to get a sense of what the financial picture will be for college in 5 years.

We have a HHI of about $130k and hope to have about $200k saved for college by the time she heads off. Beyond that, we have enough investments so that I don't think we will be eligible for any need-based aid. I'm expecting to be able to cover in-state tuition (MD), but I'm wondering if SLACs like Oberlin, Haverford, Swarthmore offer any merit aid -- or maybe they don't have to because there are so many smart kids who are willing and able to pay full price?

[Anonymous]

There’s no “SLACs like...” answer. Some do, some don’t. Oberlin, yes, and a good amount. Swarthmore and Haverford, vanishingly little.

[Anonymous]

You can look at the college data set (CDS) for each school of interest (just google "college name common data set" to find it) and it will tell you the exact number of freshmen enrollees receiving non-need based (i.e. merit) aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can look at the college data set (CDS) for each school of interest (just google "college name common data set" to find it) and it will tell you the exact number of freshmen enrollees receiving non-need based (i.e. merit) aid.

Op here. Thanks. That's very helpful. (Also thank you to the first pp.)

[Anonymous]

If you are into rankings, the highest that DO offer merit are W&L and Richmond and the Ohio schools. For the most part you can forget the higher tier New England schools and PA schools Swarthmore, Haverford (previously mentioned) and F&M.

[Anonymous]

The SLACs are changing enough so that when your 7th grade daughter is applying to colleges, current info will likely be out of date. My guess is some need-based aid only schools will start offering merit to attract students

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you are into rankings, the highest that DO offer merit are W&L and Richmond and the Ohio schools. For the most part you can forget the higher tier New England schools and PA schools Swarthmore, Haverford (previously mentioned) and F&M.

Grinnell is highly rated and has merit aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in 7th grade, so admittedly I'm thinking ahead here, trying to get a sense of what the financial picture will be for college in 5 years.

We have a HHI of about $130k and hope to have about $200k saved for college by the time she heads off. Beyond that, we have enough investments so that I don't think we will be eligible for any need-based aid. I'm expecting to be able to cover in-state tuition (MD), but I'm wondering if SLACs like Oberlin, Haverford, Swarthmore offer any merit aid -- or maybe they don't have to because there are so many smart kids who are willing and able to pay full price?

7th grade and you're talking about merit aid at the top liberal arts colleges in the country??? I've seen everything. Parents in this area are certifiably nuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The SLACs are changing enough so that when your 7th grade daughter is applying to colleges, current info will likely be out of date. My guess is some need-based aid only schools will start offering merit to attract students

+1. This. The aid landscape is shifting. But, for my kid this year, merit only, no application for need based aid) this is what is possible (not at all saying my kid will be offered this)

Davidson up to full tuition (but that’s very, very tough)

Max for other schools:

St. Olaf (1/2 tuition)
Wooster ($40,000)
Juanita (same range as Wooster)
Oberlin (about $30,000– they don’t publish clear numbers)
Kenyon, Grinnell and Macalester ($25,000)

Carleton, Reed and the NEASC schools do nothing, except maybe $2000 for NMSF. So, Amherst, Williams, Bowdoin, Bates, Colgate, Hamilton, Swathmore, Haverford, etc all zilch.

St. John’s does good merit and cut tuition to $35,000– but it has a very specific program.

Sewanee and Denison are supposed to do good merit aid, but my kid wasn’t interested.

I have a boy, but I believe Smith does merit aid. Next up for me is a girl, so would be interested to know if any of the women’s colleges do merit— Mt. Holyoke, Wellesley, Barnard, etc.

If you look at the common data set, it breaks out the number of kids who get merit aid, and the average amount per kid. That’s the best place to get real data.

Also, look at small universities. Rochester and Case Western both do good merit aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are into rankings, the highest that DO offer merit are W&L and Richmond and the Ohio schools. For the most part you can forget the higher tier New England schools and PA schools Swarthmore, Haverford (previously mentioned) and F&M.

Grinnell is highly rated and has merit aid.

Ditto Davidson

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in 7th grade, so admittedly I'm thinking ahead here, trying to get a sense of what the financial picture will be for college in 5 years.

We have a HHI of about $130k and hope to have about $200k saved for college by the time she heads off. Beyond that, we have enough investments so that I don't think we will be eligible for any need-based aid. I'm expecting to be able to cover in-state tuition (MD), but I'm wondering if SLACs like Oberlin, Haverford, Swarthmore offer any merit aid -- or maybe they don't have to because there are so many smart kids who are willing and able to pay full price?

7th grade and you're talking about merit aid at the top liberal arts colleges in the country??? I've seen everything. Parents in this area are certifiably nuts.

Op here. I'm trying to understand the financial landscape for folks in our shoes. I have no idea if my kid could get into these schools or be eligible for merit aid, but as I said, we're not likely to qualify for need bases aid and she's no athlete, so that's where things stand. I'd rather ask the questions early than deal with painful sticker shock later on.

[Anonymous]

My dd is going to Wooster next year and got a lot of merit aid. Here are some schools where I know of people getting a lot of merit: Ohio Wesleyan provides automatic merit if you have minimum stats, Susquehanna, Case Western, Duquesne, University of Hartford, Muhlenberg, Chapman University, John Carroll University, Roanoake College. Obviously, there are others - this isn't an exhaustive list. Plus, who knows where your kid will get in and what things will look like in several years. I'm amazed at the rejections/deferrals that some of my dd's classmates are receiving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dd is going to Wooster next year and got a lot of merit aid. Here are some schools where I know of people getting a lot of merit: Ohio Wesleyan provides automatic merit if you have minimum stats, Susquehanna, Case Western, Duquesne, University of Hartford, Muhlenberg, Chapman University, John Carroll University, Roanoake College. Obviously, there are others - this isn't an exhaustive list. Plus, who knows where your kid will get in and what things will look like in several years. I'm amazed at the rejections/deferrals that some of my dd's classmates are receiving.

Hi fellow (potential) Fighting Scot! My DS just got a $37,000 College Scholar offer from Wooster EA. We’ll have to see how RD falls out in March and if he is admitted to WM, but Wooster is a very real possibility. We were very impressed with the school and he loved it. We may see you in August.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in 7th grade, so admittedly I'm thinking ahead here, trying to get a sense of what the financial picture will be for college in 5 years.

We have a HHI of about $130k and hope to have about $200k saved for college by the time she heads off. Beyond that, we have enough investments so that I don't think we will be eligible for any need-based aid. I'm expecting to be able to cover in-state tuition (MD), but I'm wondering if SLACs like Oberlin, Haverford, Swarthmore offer any merit aid -- or maybe they don't have to because there are so many smart kids who are willing and able to pay full price?

7th grade and you're talking about merit aid at the top liberal arts colleges in the country??? I've seen everything. Parents in this area are certifiably nuts.

Op here. I'm trying to understand the financial landscape for folks in our shoes. I have no idea if my kid could get into these schools or be eligible for merit aid, but as I said, we're not likely to qualify for need bases aid and she's no athlete, so that's where things stand. I'd rather ask the questions early than deal with painful sticker shock later on.

Not only should you prepare for sticker shock, you should also prepare for admissions shock. A 7th grade parent talking about Swarthmore! Hahahahahahahaha

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in 7th grade, so admittedly I'm thinking ahead here, trying to get a sense of what the financial picture will be for college in 5 years.

We have a HHI of about $130k and hope to have about $200k saved for college by the time she heads off. Beyond that, we have enough investments so that I don't think we will be eligible for any need-based aid. I'm expecting to be able to cover in-state tuition (MD), but I'm wondering if SLACs like Oberlin, Haverford, Swarthmore offer any merit aid -- or maybe they don't have to because there are so many smart kids who are willing and able to pay full price?

7th grade and you're talking about merit aid at the top liberal arts colleges in the country??? I've seen everything. Parents in this area are certifiably nuts.

Op here. I'm trying to understand the financial landscape for folks in our shoes. I have no idea if my kid could get into these schools or be eligible for merit aid, but as I said, we're not likely to qualify for need bases aid and she's no athlete, so that's where things stand. I'd rather ask the questions early than deal with painful sticker shock later on.

You have already saved a significant amount of money. Your kid can easily attend an in-state school with that. If she wants to attend a private, then there are ways to close the gap.

IMO plan on your kid helping pay — save and contribute $3K from high school earnings, borrowing $4-5K/year (not an outrageous amount) and working at school (another $2K) and summers ($2K each). It will work out.