Drew from the long list is a great choice - no football or Greeks and definitely gives merit aid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I suggest Dickinson, Dennison, Kenyon, Oberlin, The College of Wooster, St. Olaf's, Knox College, Kalamazoo College, Earlham, Antioch, Ursinus, Eckerd, Hampshire, Goucher, Clark, Allegheny, Tulane, Roanoke, Goucher, Drew, Hollins, Washington (MD), Muhlenberg, Bennington, Gettysburg, Davidson, University of Richmond, among others.

These are good suggestions given that kid has a 3.38 and requires merit aid.

Would add Washington & Jefferson College (Pittsburgh) to this list. I know you don't want to say the sport, but if it is something unique (squash, water polo etc.) that could be an advantage and you might want to approach the coach at schools you are interested in.

I don't think being on JV sports is recruitable. Most varsity athletes aren't recruitable. And obscure sports aren't JV/varsity sports in MCPS.

I agree with Dickinson, Denison, etc. You won't find merit aid (or possibly even admission) at the top 10 SLACs.

Even among the SLACs ranked 10 through 20 by USNWR--Haverford, Vassar, Hamilton, Harvey Mudd, Smith, Washington & Lee, Wesleyan, Colby, Colgate, Grinnell--only Harvey Mudd, Smith, W&L, Wesleyan, and Grinnell give merit aid; the rest give financial aid only. And last year Wesleyan awarded merit scholarships to just 6 students who had no financial need. Since Harvey Mudd is math/science/engineering, and Smith is women-only, that leaves just W&L and Grinnell as viable options among schools ranked 10-20 for a person seeking merit aid. And among the top 10 SLACs, only Claremont McKenna and Davidson give merit aid, and CMC gives very, very little.

Anonymous wrote:No idea if they give merit aid, but Tufts would be a good fit.

No. Tufts would eat him alive. Not good for geeky kids, and only social life is frats. Unless it's changed since I was there.

Anonymous wrote:If you are in a situation where you need merit aid, you may want to encourage your son to pursue a more employable degree.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

I suggest Dickinson, Dennison, Kenyon, Oberlin, The College of Wooster, St. Olaf's, Knox College, Kalamazoo College, Earlham, Antioch, Ursinus, Eckerd, Hampshire, Goucher, Clark, Allegheny, Tulane, Roanoke, Goucher, Drew, Hollins, Washington (MD), Muhlenberg, Bennington, Gettysburg, Davidson, University of Richmond, among others.

These are good suggestions given that kid has a 3.38 and requires merit aid.

I'm not sure what your point is, but I think I can guess. Just for the record, you should know that, generally speaking, higher ranked schools than the ones listed above don't give merit aid at all. Period. Most of the USNWR top 20 SLACs give aid only to meet financial need, no matter how meritorious the student.

In addition, we should note that OP said he had an unweighted 3.38, with ~10 AP classes and very high test scores. Also, this is a boy interested in SLACs (which typically have far more applications from girls). This kid is a much more attractive candidate than you seem to think.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I suggest Dickinson, Dennison, Kenyon, Oberlin, The College of Wooster, St. Olaf's, Knox College, Kalamazoo College, Earlham, Antioch, Ursinus, Eckerd, Hampshire, Goucher, Clark, Allegheny, Tulane, Roanoke, Goucher, Drew, Hollins, Washington (MD), Muhlenberg, Bennington, Gettysburg, Davidson, University of Richmond, among others.

These are good suggestions given that kid has a 3.38 and requires merit aid.

Would add Washington & Jefferson College (Pittsburgh) to this list. I know you don't want to say the sport, but if it is something unique (squash, water polo etc.) that could be an advantage and you might want to approach the coach at schools you are interested in.

I don't think being on JV sports is recruitable. Most varsity athletes aren't recruitable. And obscure sports aren't JV/varsity sports in MCPS.

I agree with Dickinson, Denison, etc. You won't find merit aid (or possibly even admission) at the top 10 SLACs.

Anonymous wrote:

I suggest Dickinson, Dennison, Kenyon, Oberlin, The College of Wooster, St. Olaf's, Knox College, Kalamazoo College, Earlham, Antioch, Ursinus, Eckerd, Hampshire, Goucher, Clark, Allegheny, Tulane, Roanoke, Goucher, Drew, Hollins, Washington (MD), Muhlenberg, Bennington, Gettysburg, Davidson, University of Richmond, among others.

These are good suggestions given that kid has a 3.38 and requires merit aid.

Would add Washington & Jefferson College (Pittsburgh) to this list. I know you don't want to say the sport, but if it is something unique (squash, water polo etc.) that could be an advantage and you might want to approach the coach at schools you are interested in.

Agree on St Marys - there's a great alumni network that was really helpful to me in my post graduation job hunt. And such a nice set of kids. (I went from one of the MCPS magnets, too with similar grades and scores,.)

No idea if they give merit aid, but Tufts would be a good fit.

What's wrong with MD publics?

I suggest Dickinson, Dennison, Kenyon, Oberlin, The College of Wooster, St. Olaf's, Knox College, Kalamazoo College, Earlham, Antioch, Ursinus, Eckerd, Hampshire, Goucher, Clark, Allegheny, Tulane, Roanoke, Goucher, Drew, Hollins, Washington (MD), Muhlenberg, Bennington, Gettysburg, Davidson, University of Richmond, among others.

These are good suggestions given that kid has a 3.38 and requires merit aid.

Oberlin. Claremont McKenna has a <10% admissions rate, which is lower than Williams, Amherst, or Swarthmore!

We're in the same boat as you, OP, only our DS is a junior. We are searching for SLACS that offer merit aid:

None of the NESCAC schools offer merit aid, so if you don't qualify for FA, you're out of luck. Haverford, Swarthmore don't offer merit aid either.

If you're in VA, William and Mary would work. In MD, St. Mary's College of Maryland is a good choice. Both are good schools.

I suggest Dickinson, Dennison, Kenyon, Oberlin, The College of Wooster, St. Olaf's, Knox College, Kalamazoo College, Earlham, Antioch, Ursinus, Eckerd, Hampshire, Goucher, Clark, Allegheny, Tulane, Roanoke, Goucher, Drew, Hollins, Washington (MD), Muhlenberg, Bennington, Gettysburg, Davidson, University of Richmond, among others.

Here are some links:

US News "Most Students Receiving Merit Aid"
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/most-merit-aid

New York Times list of merit aid from 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/07/08/education/edlife/8edlife_chart.html?_r=0


College Atlas (whatever that is) merit aid list:
http://www.collegeatlas.org/merit-aid-colleges.html

DIY College Rankings (some website) merit aid list:
http://diycollegerankings.com/35-best-bets-college-merit-aid/8921/

Money Magazine's merit aid list:
https://best-colleges.time.com/money/more-rankings/the-25-best-private-colleges-for-merit-aid#/list

Our experience with DD#1 is that merit aid is all over the place. It's unpredictable. DD got a large grant from a school she never visited and wasn't even that interested in, and she got nothing from schools she pestered and made a huge effort to visit and communicate with. Both schools were equal on Naviance. She also got wait-listed at schools she showed no iterest in, but were way below her stats -- a big surprise! She got accepted at some NESCAC schools, but no FA or merit aid at all. She chose a school we can afford, and she's very happy. Apply widely, and early! Best of luck to you!

Anonymous wrote:Swarthmore is not going to give merit aid and it is looks like it is really hard to come by at Claremont McKenna too. I'd start looking at liberal arts colleges ranked lower than 20 and go from there.

Yep, this. Haverford, Bowdoin, Bates, Williams--these schools offer financial aid only, no merit aid. You need to look lower down on the rankings and get out of the northeast to find good merit aid.

With those stats, I'd thnk about Oberlin, Kenyon, Macalester, Grinnell as reaches (by which I mean financial reaches;I think he sounds like a good candidate for admission at these, the question will be whether he gets money). Cold places where he'd surely get aid: Dickinson, St Olaf, Denison, Beloit. Did you say you are in MD? I'd add St. Mary's College for an in-state option.

If you want merit aid, DS needs to apply now. Some early action deadlines are tomorrow.

Swarthmore is not going to give merit aid and it is looks like it is really hard to come by at Claremont McKenna too. I'd start looking at liberal arts colleges ranked lower than 20 and go from there.