<p>She could take one or two years off to be be an Americorps volunteer and get paid $200 a week plus get $4,725 (a year) afterward that she can use for college expenses. She could do this for up to 2 years. That would give her a decent amount of money to put toward her college expenses. It's an excellent program, too, that would help her develop professionalism, organizational and leadership skills. She would be an excellent candidate for Americorps, which values a person's work ethic highly, and also wants people who can relate to people in low income communities.</p>
<p>she should be able to get plenty of finaid-- both Cal Grant and Federal Pell Grant, can amount to a good deal of money--if she can live in a stable situation with grandparents and go to CC that sounds like the best option, as long as public transportation is available; they should have remedial programs to address any deficiencies coming in and lots of help is available, including free tutoring if needed. I've taken some classes at my local CC and have been very impressed with facilities, staff and just the whole set-up. Definitely a great way to prepare for a UC.</p>
<p>Thanks to all who posted and PM'd me. I met with the student today and we are making headway. Her SATs are better than I thought 590v, 570 math, 550 writing. She is going to leave her GC a voice mail tonight asking for a fee waiver to retake SAT in October. At this point I think she is just going to retake the SAT and not worry about ACT. She has not taken the SAT IIs required for UCs but in talking with her, many of the Cal states have the major she is interested in and the Cal states are more affordable so she is going to focus her efforts there. I have given her a timeline for what needs to be done when and we applied for FAFSA pin today.
One last question: does anyone know how to declare yourself independent as far as FAFSA is concerned? She does not live with either parent and neither parent claims her on their income taxes. She lives with grandparents.<br>
I am going to call Financial Aid at Chico state tomorrow and see if they can give me some information on this too. Thanks again to all.</p>
<p>Forgot to say, that while I felt the CCs were an option we ruled them out because at this point she really needs to get away from her mother and father, both of whom drop in at her grandparents and wreak havoc any time they can.</p>
<p>Thanks for the update, ebeee. Keep us posted. I seem to remember Northstarmom is knowledgeable re declaring independence for finaid purposes. Maybe you can PM her if no one posts the info here.</p>
<p>"At this point I think she is just going to retake the SAT and not worry about ACT"</p>
<p>You don't want to load her up with too much, but some kids do better on the ACT than the SAT, even though the scores are supposed to equate. It would be worth her at least trying a practice ACT to see.</p>
<p>It's hard for me to see how such colleges as above, even though SAT-optional, would be relevant for this girl. Even if they are 100% of need and give her a full ride, she has no resources for travel. And we don't know if she has the grades for such schools. Nor do I know how many of them have a major like kinesiology.</p>
<p>Jmmom, you are right, they are not really an option. She is going to retake the SAT and then we will give the Cal states a shot. Some of them have special admissions programs for students who are both financially disadvantaged and whose parents haven't attended college. I am going to call one of those counselors tomorrow and get some information.</p>
<p>She appears to be fine with the SAT scores she has for many of the CalStates. Of course, higher SAT/ACT scores can sometimes translate into more scholarships. Here are the admission stats (2005-2006) for Chico State:</p>
<p>Neighbor is at Sonoma State and has received a very nice aid package (they have a special program for low income kids--help with remedial subjects, class scheduling, study skills, etc.--kind of like a college AVID program). Don't know if they have your major, but I was pretty impressed.</p>
<p>Of course, there is still the travel expense...</p>
<p>ellemenope,
Thanks for the info. After an extensive web crawl yesterday I found the EOP program at Chico State. Sounds similar, it is a program for Low Income. I am going to call them this morning.</p>
<p>My friend's niece who I originally posted about called yesterday. She got her first acceptance to CSU Monterey Bay! She was very excited. She is the process of doing the last EOP applications as I think that program will really help her. She is also writing an essay for an application to University of the Pacific, just to see what they might offer in scholarship and if she can get accepted. Thank you so much to everyone who posted here and gave me such great advice.</p>
<p>Ebeee - congrats to her, and blessings to you for helping her. Keep in toush because her challenges are just beginning, but think what an impact this will make on her life if she graduates successfully.
One of the things that bugs me about this forum is that there is so much emphasis on whose getting AA and a leg up to Harvard because they are a URM or poor and who isn't, thread after thread of ranting, but so little discussion about simple things that can make such a difference in the life of a student who will never go to Harvard but could easily end up in jail, on drugs, dead end job, pregnant, broke - you name it. I bet that most kids, even low income kids or URMs, who have lives together enough to apply and be accepted to top 25 colleges will be successful no matter where they finally attend school, but a kid wil regular grades and 575 SATs needs some help and advice and probably won't get it. AND, you can multiply that kid by thousands, so Ebeee, you don't know who all else you may have helped - BRAVO!</p>