<p>Wouldn’t you qualify for a HOPE scholarship at UGA (and GA Tech?) anyway? Don’t tell me Georgia got rid of them!</p>
<p>You’re applying to some very good schools, so I’m not sure you’re undershooting, but you <em>are</em> limiting yourself (there are, as you know, a lot of other good schools).</p>
<p>Make sure that your parents actually <em>do</em> make too much money for finaid. Some do, of course, but for some schools, the cutoff is higher than a lot of people think it is.</p>
<p>Are you willing to do and qualified for military service (as an officer)? If so, consider ROTC - a ROTC scholarship will fully pay your way at most schools with programs (which includes some of the best schools out there, e.g MIT).</p>
<p>Since you like science and have good stats, also look at the SMART scholarships (if you are a US citizen). Most people think of them as being for grad students, but they fund undergrads as well (you already have to be enrolled in college, though, so you might have to take loans for your freshman year or something). They will pay your way <em>plus</em> a salary and book allowance <em>plus</em> mentoring and guaranteed paid summer internships in exchange for you working as a scientist in a DoD lab for one year for each year they fund you (a guaranteed prestigious job after graduation!). And they can be used at any accredited school in the US.</p>
<p>Look at the University of Chicago. It has the individuality and intellectualism that you want. And they give 30 full-ride scholarships and 100 partial (10k/year) scholarships per year to incoming freshmen.</p>
<p>I know that Vanderbilt, which has great sciences, also gives generous merit aid (they offered me some back in the day). They may not be culturally what you want, though.</p>
<p>My overall point is that you might as well apply places, as long as the application fees aren’t a big financial strain. You have great stats. You can always decide not to go if the funds don’t come in, but as the examples that I’ve given indicate, there are other ways to fund your college studies besides parents and need-based aid.</p>