<p>Hello all. I could use anyone's advice at this point. I have been a straight-A student since the 8th grade. Because of my opportunity to participate in a Post Secondary Enrollment Option (PSEO) program, I received a 5.0 gpa last semester. I have participated in various community service, public service, extracurricular, religious, and academic programs. I will also be valedictorian of my class. I was led to believe that if I worked hard enough I could get to college with plenty of scholarships and most importantly, no debt. I applied to The Ohio State University, because that is where I felt I belonged. I feel like I made a big mistake. For whatever reason, OSU is not offering me all the financial aid and scholarships necessary for me to live on campus. And I cannot handle the stress of being a commuter student with no means of transportation. I have been a public transportation commuter student these past 2 semesters for my PSEO program, and it has been one rough year. On a good day, it takes me an hour and a half to get to school. I dont have other schools to turn to and I cannot find large sum scholarships still available at this point in time. I feel stuck. I do not understand why I was not offered more, and I feel like all that hard work will have been for nothing if I end up taking out loans. My mother is a single parent with three other children, and she cannot offer me any money for college. That is also another reason why I worked so hard in school. Did I have the wrong idea about financial aid and merit scholarships? And if it is this hard for a 4.0 student, I can only imagine the difficulty for others. And costs are just going to increase from here on. I am starting to contemplate the value of a college education, and I have never thought this way about school before. Please help. I could really use some advice on what I should do. At this point I am worried that there are no more options left for me.</p>
<p>If you are being offered enough scholarships to cover the cost of tuition, you need to consider yourself extremely lucky. The vast majority of students do not have the advantage you have.</p>
<p>You can borrow $5,500 in Stafford loans as a freshman, which should cover a significant percentage of standard college room and board costs. You should also look at finding employment on or off campus.</p>
<p>Taking those base levels of federal student loans is a pretty standard amount of debt for college. It is only when students are talking about borrowing tens of thousands of dollars a year that they need to rethink their financial plans.</p>
<p>What was your SAT breakdown? and your ACT if you have one.</p>
<p>OSU doesn’t meet need. I’m sorry no one told you that.</p>
<p>Are you a national merit finalist? If so, I can help you get a near free ride and then Pell will pick up the rest. </p>
<p>What are your stats?</p>
<p>What is your major?</p>
<p>Did I have the wrong idea about financial aid and merit scholarships? And if it is this hard for a 4.0 student,</p>
<p>Yes, it sounds like you didn’t understand. First of all, merit is often based on test scores since SO many kids have high GPAs these days. </p>
<p>and, most schools don’t meet need. </p>
<p>But give us your info and maybe we can help you.</p>
<p>Thank you all for you comments. I really do appreciate them. As for the SAT I have never been good with standardized test. I was only able to get a composite score of 1480. But I was told by teachers and college advisors that this would not make a big difference because colleges focused on the entire package and well-rounded individual. I guess I was misinformed. My class rank is #1 and my major is economics. I have done multiple internships at OSU and participated into their youth programs. I thought that would definitely help reduce the cost of attendance. Is there a way for students to appeal their financial aid package, or do they just have to work with what they get? If thats the case I could try to take on a part time job along with work/study, but thats really stretching myself. I wouldnt want my grades to suffer. And again, thank you for the replies.</p>
<p>Judicial9 - You might fare better with 100% need met colleges as opposed to merit scholarships. But, you might want to take a gap year and focus on studying for the SAT or ACT as your test scores are too low for most 100% need met schools or for great merit aid. Schools do look at the whole person for admission, but often they like concrete numbers as to who gets the best merit aid and the most selective schools (100% need met schools) like concrete numbers as well. But, you will have to get out of your OSU comfort zone. Cast your net wide and broadly. Don’t be afraid to take a gap year in order to come up with a comprehensive list.</p>
<p>. As for the SAT I have never been good with standardized test. I was only able to get a composite score of 1480. But I was told by teachers and college advisors that this would not make a big difference because colleges focused on the entire package and well-rounded individual.</p>
<p>These people confused acceptance with merit scholarships and such. Yes, many schools will choose to accept a student based on being well-rounded, but merit scholarships are largely based on high TEST scores. Being accepted is one thing; being one of the 10% or less that get awarded big merit or a preferential aid pkg is another. </p>
<p>Did you only apply to tOSU? If not, where else?</p>
<p>This is the philosophy…</p>
<p>There is a huge pool of students with high GPAs. Nowadays, 30% (or more) of accepted students might have a 4.0 or close to it. </p>
<p>There is a much smaller pool of student with high test scores.</p>
<p>There is even a MUCH smaller pool of students with BOTH high test scores and high GPAs. Those are the ones that typically get the great merit scholarships and/or the preferential aid pkgs.</p>
<p>Sadly, your GC and teachers were misinformed. You might want to enlighten them so they don’t give such bad advise to future students. At least let them know how badly you were gapped.</p>
<p>They might also not realize that tOSU doesn’t meet need.</p>
<p>At this point, if you didn’t apply elsewhere, you can only do the following…</p>
<p>1) commute to tOSU, but create your schedule so that you’re either missing the busy times or not attending college 5 days a week. If public transportation is super busy at 7am, then have your first class at 9am or later so you’ll miss the crowds.</p>
<p>2) start at a CC and then transfer.</p>
<p>3) take a gap year, work, don’t take any classes, and apply where you’ll get better aid.</p>
<p>Are you a minority? If so, which one?</p>
<p>If possible, work a lot over the summer and buy a reliable car.</p>
<p>
While this is a noble idea it just doesn’t work. VERY few schools offer full rides which also pay for room and board. There are ~36,000 high schools in this country so a 4.0 is not exactly rare. Colleges are trying to lure students with both good grades and good scores. It sounds like you are in-state for OH so you might look at some of the other public Us (Kent State, Wright State, Akron, Cleveland) to see if they offer you better merit and financial aid.</p>