hi there - i think its a good thing you are thinking about college and costs now. Stay on this forum and read, read read.
But, please know that things do change. eg: A few years ago when I first started looking there was a college that automatically gave free tuition (Temple) for kids with 32 ACTs I believe; now they DON’T offer that. Same with a few other colleges. Things change! and colleges are becoming more stingy I think. But with that in mind, you can see what the trends are and figure out how to direct your kiddo; and encourage her to do her best in HS.
The links posted upstream here should be viewed with caution. Many of the scholarships on them either no longer exist, or have been changed in terms of eligibility.
They are a good starting point…but do check the colleges financial aid websites for more specifics that are current.
Thank you everyone. Of course, her interests can change and I’m aware that medical schools accept students from a variety of majors. She absolutely loves Biology so I figure that is a good place to start. As I said, she takes a specialty Biomed track at her high school ( https://www.pltw.org/our-programs/pltw-biomedical-science ) along with regular honors biology class. Yes, there are many fine schools in NC but she is a volleyball player and wants to try to play in college. So NC State, UNC - Chapel Hill, and most likely App State are probably out because they all have girls who are 6’1- 6’4" in her position and she is only 5’9. We plan on applying to NC State and App State. We live in Chapel Hill so she doesn’t want to go to UNC-CH. We will have about $70k saved for her by the time she graduates. It is most likely that we will not qualify for any need-based financial aid. I’ve run some calculators online. We make too much money now looking at 2016 taxes, so I’m positive unless disaster strikes that in a few years it will be the same outcome. It would be nice to go to school as inexpensively as possible so maybe some money can be used for grad school or Med school or whatever path she chooses. As far as being an athlete, by Sophomore year you should have an idea of a good number of schools that your interested in to begin contacting coaches etc. She already has had college coaches watch her play and take notes on her online profile (we can’t read them or know who they are just what division and conference they’re in) at some of the big national tournaments that she plays at. A year from now, according to NCAA regulations, coaches can contact her (right now she can contact them, they can’t reach out to her) I was looking for the scholarship info because if its a school that can offer her a great academic scholarship and she can also play on the VB team, its a win win. Worse case scenario is that she goes to one of the big in state schools and plays club. She is passionate about wanting to be an athlete in college. We’ll see what will work best when the time comes. Some of the options on the lists could possibly work, Univ Of Alabama- Huntsville for instance. Thanks again everyone.
@twoinanddone do you know anything about volleyball women’s scholarships? Should this student expect a free ride or what?
Why are you looking at 2016 taxes? Those were used for the 2018-2019 academic year…which is ending…now.
If your daughter starts college in 2022, you will be using 2020 income. Also, as an FYI…the net price calculators DO changes sometimes. They are currently set up for students starting college fall of 2019…not for 2022. You will need to do them again during summer 2021.
@Trishaluna My rising high school JR D is shooting for National Merit. She will attend a school that gives Huge money for NMF. She is not a minority. The schools we are looking at are:(none are HBCU) Oklahoma State University, University of Alabama, University of Central Florida, Florida University and our local school that gives 100% true Cost of Attendance, Texas Tech University.
I used 2016 taxes because that is what the EFC calculator asked for. I of course, cannot know what our 2020 taxes will look like. I just wanted to see, based on what my husband makes now, if we qualify for anything. I figured we didn’t and I was correct.
Women’s volleyball is a ‘head count’ sport in D1, so if there is a scholarship offered from a D1 school (and that sport is fully funded) it will be a full COA scholarship (or none at all). For D2, she can stack a volleyball scholarship with an academic one but not with a needs based scholarship from the school. She can combine athletic with merit or need based aid from federal or state sources.
That said, a scholarship from a D1 is very very difficult to get.
there are no athletic scholarships in D3, so she’s free to accept merit or need based scholarships.
Shooting for and getting NMF are two different things. It is tough to get. It is good you are here doing research. If you are going on the hunt for merit you will need to do a ton of research. Read all the threads here on CC, but look at the colleges’ own website to get a feel for what they are offering. Like others have said it can change from year to year. In general the ticket to larger merit is high ACT/SAT scores and good grades. But then come the essays as well. If she goes pre-med be sure to do research on kids from said colleges going on to med school.