My DS is a rising senior. We do not want to/ cannot pay $65,000 per year, and we are looking for merit scholarships. I have looked at the pinned threads which have been very helpful. Stories I've heard of strong students being rejected by most schools on their lists have made me nervous, and I think my son has a decent chance of admittance at every university on his list except for Columbia which is his super reach school. But I could be wrong.
Unweighted GPA: 3.8-3.9 (very good grades junior year)
ACT: 35
State: TX
High School: Large public (very competetive)
APs: about 15 total
SAT II: Math II: 790; Physics:800; World History 800.
Likely NMF (PSAT 220)
Likely NHRP (He is Hispanic)
ECs: XC, track, drama, Modell UN, Scouts (solid ECs but nothing spectacular - lead roles in drama and leadership in scouts)
Major: Economics, International Affairs
Preferences: Urban, medium sized university, intellectual atmosphere (at least available but does not have to be overriding culture of the school), politically progressive
Income: $180,000 (only past 12 months at this income....quite a bit lower before that...EFC seems to be full pay at many schools except for somewhere like Columbia)
Preferred COA: $30-$40,000 (this amount is feasible but will require stretching every dollar-closer to $30,000 is preferred)
Siblings: one sibling exactly 4 years younger (not helpful for college expenses)
Current List
(We visited GWU, American, Columbia and Fordham and liked them all. I think he is the sort of student who would like a variety of schools. His graduating class has 600+ so very small schools do not appeal to him.)
Columbia
George Washington
American
University of Maryland CP (will apply to honors program)
Fordham
Boston University
Northeastern University
University of Texas (NOT auto-admit. Not in top 8%)
He does not want to attend TX A&M or Baylor. But he may need to reconsider A&M. The Rice University NPC gave us $2500 in work study, and I don't think my DS would be competetive for a merit scholarship from Rice. Does anyone have an opinion on this? We have lots of alumni connections to Rice and are big fans of the school, but it has become very expensive for our income bracket. I feel the same way about Duke and Vandy. They are very expensive with limited merit scholarships. I don't think my DS is competetive for scholarships at these sorts of schools and his chances of even getting in are slim. But again I am no expert.
Thanks for the feedback!
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