Universities with generous academic scholarships? (Houston, Dallas: loans, home, employment)

[TGentry]

I have a child who will be applying to college. They are currently in the top 1% of their class in the Frisco ISD with a 34 ACT. They will not qualify for a scholarship based on financial need. Not a National Merit Scholar.

Are there any Texas schools (or nearby states with equivalent in-state tuition) that are generous with academic scholarships other than UT Dallas?

[calgirlinnc]

Are you hoping for a full ride, or will a partial scholarship do? Can they be farther away from Texas?

Does your student have a skill or talent that might be useful? (Sport, music, etc?)

A google search revealed that state universities that heavily recruit top students from out of state and award merit scholarships include The University of Alabama, The University of South Carolina, and Ohio State. I also remember reading on CD that Oklahoma and Arkansas recruit heavily from Texas.

There are a lot of articles about merit based aid that a Google search pulls up.
Here's one:

https://www.edmit.me/blog/which-publ...ps?hs_amp=true

Congratulations on your child's academic successes!

[TGentry]

Thank you, Calgirl!


My child would be happy with free tuition, leaving only room and board/books/incidentals.
I don't think they would want to be too far from Texas. Other than academics and a club leadership role, they don't have any other "hook."

They are particularly interested in Baylor, Rice, UT and A&M but are open to any Texas or nearby school where tuition would be waived. I doubt they will get a dime from UT and probably not much from A&M. May not even be admitted to Rice. Baylor would have to offer a chunk of money since their private school tuition is ridiculously high.

I suspect they would qualify for free tuition plus a $6000/year stipend at UT Dallas, but they do not want to go that route. We toured UTD, and several employees emphasized the nerd-factor too many times. It's a shame that my child will not look past that.

I've looked into Arkansas. There's a slim possibility my child would qualify for their tippety-top fellowship program, or whatever it's called, but it's highly competitive. They would definitely get a 90% waiver of out-of-state tuition. However, my child wants to go into medicine, so I worry that in the med school application process a degree from Arkansas wouldn't be perceived the same way as a degree from UT or A&M. Perhaps my concerns are not warranted.

[UnfairPark]

Baylor and TCU have good merit scholarships. SMU and Austin College have many.

Among state schools, UTD, UT Arlington, UH, UNT, Texas Tech and some A&M (Commerce) or UT (may be San Antonio) campuses should have many full tuition merit scholarships.

Rice has very few partial merit scholarships and admission is really tough but as your son is a good student and you have good income, it’s worth trying.

I like his idea of staying in Texas for undergrad as there are many advantages. I can understand his dislike of UTD. It’s not popular among top students.

[TGentry]

Originally Posted by UnfairPark

Baylor and TCU have good merit scholarships. SMU and Austin College have many.

Among state schools, UTD, UT Arlington, UH, UNT, Texas Tech and some A&M (Commerce) or UT (may be San Antonio) campuses should have many full tuition merit scholarships.

Rice has very few partial merit scholarships and admission is really tough but as your son is a good student and you have good income, it’s worth trying.

I like his idea of staying in Texas for undergrad as there are many advantages. I can understand his dislike of UTD. It’s not popular among top students.

All excellent information. Thank you!


How is TCU's reputation? And what about SMU with regard to pre-med? Any thoughts?

Also, are you suggesting that staying in TX for undergrad will make it easier with regard to medical school acceptance? I was told a student remains a TX resident even if they attend college out-of-state as long as the parents remain TX residents. I don't know if that is true. I know TX public med schools save 90% of their seats for TX residents, but does attending undergrad out-of-state disqualify them for this perk?

[Bp25]

It completely depends upon how determined your son is to go to med school. If he is determined, then he should not go to a top notch school because it will be more competitive to get committee recommendation for med school application and have top GPA. So a second tier school with good merit scholarship will be a better option. However, if there is any chance that he will change his mind in the middle of undergrad, then he may end up with a pretty useless degree from a second tier school. Remember that most "pre-med" degrees are worth next to nothing if he can't or won't get into medical school. So, make sure there is a plan B no matter what he does.

[UnfairPark]

Originally Posted by TGentry

All excellent information. Thank you!


How is TCU's reputation? And what about SMU with regard to pre-med? Any thoughts?

Also, are you suggesting that staying in TX for undergrad will make it easier with regard to medical school acceptance? I was told a student remains a TX resident even if they attend college out-of-state as long as the parents remain TX residents. I don't know if that is true. I know TX public med schools save 90% of their seats for TX residents, but does attending undergrad out-of-state disqualify them for this perk?

Texas schools make it easier as kids and parents can hop in a car or on a bus and see each other whenever they want, doesn’t have to budget plane tickets or wait for vacations. It also helps when students need to take boxes and furniture to college or home at beginning and end of every school year. You can rush for every big or small emergency. There are usually other kids from your school or area who attend same college so that helps.

I’m not sure about current residency requirements but I doubt it matters for medical schools as long as he graduated from a Texas high school and you work here. This link should have needed information.

https://www.tmdsas.com/Pre-Submission/Residency.html

TCU and SMU are fine, nothing special, at least not for top students. I would try Rice, UT, Baylor or A&M first and see if it works out. To be fair, medical schools (unless you are aiming for top medical schools or exclusive residency programs) doesn’t care much about name of the undergrad institution. A selective undergrad school is just a more suitable environment for top students and if a student changes his major or track, there are more alternatives to choose from. Undergrad school’s rank and prestige does matter to top graduate programs. For jobs , name of medical school doesn’t matter either unless it’s something exclusive. Only picky patients look at credentials of their doctors, most medical graduates are good enough for most requirements.

An average middle class parent’s approach is to send children wherever they get admission with financial aid and merit for affordable education. Most Americans take loans for graduate or medical schools. For families who have more money, there is more flexibility to consider which school is going to be a better fit or can open up more employment doors or elevate social standing.

[calgirlinnc]

Originally Posted by UnfairPark

Texas schools make it easier as kids and parents can hop in a car or on a bus and see each other whenever they want, doesn’t have to budget plane tickets or wait for vacations. It also helps when students need to take boxes and furniture to college or home at beginning and end of every school year. You can rush for every big or small emergency. There are usually other kids from your school or area who attend same college so that helps.

Well, to be fair, some places outside of Texas might be closer or the same as within Texas.

For example, A&M is 196 miles from my house; The University of Oklahoma is 201 miles. UTEP is 600 miles from here while the University of Arkansas is 350 miles.

[mSooner]

Also, are you suggesting that staying in TX for undergrad will make it easier with regard to medical school acceptance? I was told a student remains a TX resident even if they attend college out-of-state as long as the parents remain TX residents. I don't know if that is true. I know TX public med schools save 90% of their seats for TX residents, but does attending undergrad out-of-state disqualify them for this perk?

Can confirm that parent's residency is what matters for med school, not what school the student went to. My husband went to OU and applied to Texas med schools as a TX resident (went to HS in Houston)

I haven't looked, but since OU reduced the National Merit program, they might be offering more generally now. Alabama is the other big one I know gives out a lot of money for academic merit.

[UnfairPark]

Originally Posted by calgirlinnc

Well, to be fair, some places outside of Texas might be closer or the same as within Texas.

For example, A&M is 196 miles from my house; The University of Oklahoma is 201 miles. UTEP is 600 miles from here while the University of Arkansas is 350 miles.

Good point@calgirlinnc
Anything within few hour drive should be good.