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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Oh please, my DC was recruited by several D3 schools. Go on any D3 school athletic website and there will be a recruiting form that you fill out for the coach. The level of interest by the coach and the level of influence he will have varies depending on how much they want you. And they typically only have 1-2 spots at most to accept kids who don't otherwise have grades and scores well within the norms for the school. To get help from the coach you need to apply ED but at that point the kid has been prescreened by admissions and given an indication of admissions. D3 schools don't do athletic scholarships but I know some kids who definitely got a boost to their aid package.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Washington University doesn't give much merit aid or much financial aid at all. They are quite a bit more expensive than the Ivies.

Not worth it.

/signed, WUSTL alumna

[Anonymous]

Beware that merit scholarships usually don't increase over the 4 years, but guarantee the tuition well increase!

If your child has taken AP exams, see if they can graduate early. My oldest graduated a semester early and saved me $25000.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Washington University doesn't give much merit aid or much financial aid at all.

Seriously, no! About 40% of the freshman class gets financial aid with an average award of $38,000. 10% of those with financial aid also get merit aid. In addition, 15% of freshman had no financial need and still received merit aid with the average award of over $11,000.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Beware that merit scholarships usually don't increase over the 4 years, but guarantee the tuition well increase!

If your child has taken AP exams, see if they can graduate early. My oldest graduated a semester early and saved me $25000.

How many AP credits did your child start college with?

[Anonymous]

I like you 15:51.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Washington University doesn't give much merit aid or much financial aid at all. They are quite a bit more expensive than the Ivies.

Not worth it.

/signed, WUSTL alumna

Wash U has PLENTY of merit aid, you just have to be qualified.

Signed,

WUSTL alumna who had a full ride (+ stipend for fees/books) on a university merit scholarship. I didn't even fill out a FAFSA because there was no way my family was getting need-based aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Washington University doesn't give much merit aid or much financial aid at all. They are quite a bit more expensive than the Ivies.

Not worth it.

/signed, WUSTL alumna

Wash U has PLENTY of merit aid, you just have to be qualified.

Signed,

WUSTL alumna who had a full ride (+ stipend for fees/books) on a university merit scholarship. I didn't even fill out a FAFSA because there was no way my family was getting need-based aid.

Oh, and forgot to mention they are very generous with their aid requirements and policies. I transferred schools/majors and my money went with me (even though it had been awarded initially for incoming freshman in a certain program) AND they extended it for a 5th year dual degree.

[Anonymous]

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.

[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.

Thanks for the tip! My DD isn't likely to major in theater but she's very involved and does a lot of tech at her current school. I wonder if she should reach out to the theater department of some SLACs and talk to them as she goes through the application process. If you can share, which SLAC in the midwest gave a full ride?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Beware that merit scholarships usually don't increase over the 4 years, but guarantee the tuition well increase!

If your child has taken AP exams, see if they can graduate early. My oldest graduated a semester early and saved me $25000.

a good point. Another: more than half of all college students now take more than four years to graduate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS is a junior. We're starting the college search. We don't qualify for FA, but can't afford more than $25K per year.

He's applying in-state, but wants a few more options. (3.87 unweighted gpa, but poor PSAT math scores, probably English/theater major). He's considering East Coast schools that offer merit aid like Juniata, Ursinus, U Vermont, Allegheny, Lesley, Fairfield, Muhlenberg, Mary Washington, Saint Michael's, Clark, Washington College (MD), College of New Jersey, etc.

BUT, I'm wondering, has ANYONE with similar stats received more than $30K in merit aid at any of these or similar private colleges? Anyone received in-state price at public OOS schools?

I don't want to waste our time applying if there's no hope that merit aid awards will bring DS's cost down to around $25K.

Thanks!

We got $24,000 at a small liberal arts college. We pay about $30,000 for tuition, room and board. You are doing the right thing by applying to schools where your child is at the top of the applicant pool with his GPA. Is it in the cards for your son to retake the SAT and also try taking the ACT? Many schools base scholarship amounts on the GPA and the test scores. A higher test score could be worth thousands of dollars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.