I am a current high school junior. As I’m getting closer to the end of the year, I’ve started looking at colleges. I recently received my first SAT score (1490), which has help narrow down some options.
However, I would really like to go to college somewhere that will give me a full ride. My family isn’t poor by any means, but I already have an older sister in college and a younger one that will follow behind me. While my parents could most likely pay to send me to our state schools (Virginia Tech or UVA), nothing would make me happier than to tell my parents that I got a full ride.
If all goes well, I end this year with about a 4.3 GPA (weighted) and a 3.9 GPA (unweighted).
I also will be taking two AP Tests this year in Calc and English.
I also have many dual-enrollment credits with my local community college.
One thing about me that I hope will set me apart from others with similar stats is that I attend a highly selective and rigorous magnet program (Called Governor Schools in Virginia) where I take advanced math and science classes. I have also done well in a few local science fairs but never moved on to anything at the state level or beyond.
I have played varsity golf all of my high school career and will likely be a captain next year.
I have many volunteer hours, started a Model UN Club, and have done a internship with a architect at a large company throughout my junior year.
I hope on majoring in computer or electrical engineering but am also considering physics.
I think I can get full rides or close to at colleges like New Mexico or Kentucky, but are there any others I should be looking at?
Also, I know my stats aren’t the best and I probably don’t have much room for preference, but I would love to go to a school in a big city but will go pretty much anywhere that will give me a full ride.
You are very thoughtful! You are also very fortunate to live in a state with excellent options. Take a look at Pitt- see if you are eligible for full tuition and apply early ( the app opens in June). Also check out Alabama (?).
@twogirls 1490 SAT isn’t in the ballpark for full tuition at Pitt. I’m thinking this year it would get maybe 10K/year in tuition…maybe even less. With OOS tuition at nearly $30,000year it’s a long way from where the OP wants to be.
OP, you would need to aim for a 1540-1550 or higher. Go check out the Pitt merit threads from this year and see how you compare.
I guess at one point Pitt was a given with merit awards but it’s most definitely not a sure thing anymore. Much more competitive and much more competitive. Just because you qualify at their minimum level does not automatically make it a given–it’s not automatic like at UA.
From what a lot of us this year have learned, if you have good stats and are really really searching for the elusive “full-ride” then you need to be “in it to win it.” Apply to schools that do give large full-ride competitive merit scholarships and then write the heck out of those essays. You should spend a LOT of time honing your essay skills and really put in the time to do them right. Best of luck!
I would absolutely take the ACT also. Just take a practice test at home under timed conditions maybe? Then decide which one is better for you and really prep again.
Did you take the PSAT? If so, was your score higher than the Virginia Nation Merit cut off score for 2016-2017?
Full rides are very rare but there are colleges that will give top scoring students full tuition scholarships.That would leave your parents to pay for only room and board.
check out these websites which were compiled by CC parents.
Again OP- if you can tell us what your budget is we can help. You might win a full tuition scholarship and STILL not be able to pay the balance (room, board, books, travel, health insurance). You need to focus on your budget and what will come in under that- the bragging rights of “full scholarship” or “full ride” don’t mean much if you’re stuck with the bill you cannot pay.
What do the net price calculators tell you that you would pay at one of the Virginia universities? That’s a good starting point.
I based the “only room and board” remark on the following sentences in the OPs statement , blossom.
" My family isn’t poor by any means, but I already have an older sister in college and a younger one that will follow behind me. While my parents could most likely pay to send me to our state schools (Virginia Tech or UVA)"
to me that does not sound like paying 15-20 K would be a real hardship.
I agree he should run the NPC’s at VT and UVA to see what his family WOULD have to come up with.
Check with your GC at the Governor’s School. They should be able to give you some ideas on where you might get the kind of scholarship you are looking for. This is a well regarded school and the GC’s should be quite knowledgeable about the college admissions process - they are quite invested in getting their students into good college situations. It’s kind of their reason for being, kwim?
That said, also check with them and make sure that UVa and VT are indeed safeties for you. That may sound far fetched, but I know students from TJ (Thomas Jefferson High - one of the best HS’s in the country) can have trouble with those 2 schools …VT and UVa can’t take the entire graduating class, even if they’re qualified. So make sure you’re OK if you want to use them as your safeties. The GC’s are probably the only ones who can give you that info, because everyone else will assume with your resume that you’ll be a shoe-in for those admissions.
ETA: think carefully if you’d be ok with a full ride to less regarded school than UVa or VT. That may be your trade-off.
Form a list of schools you like based on things like academic fit, location, environment, and social vibe. Given your goal, I suggest including at least one school that offers strong automatic merit awards based on stats. Google "colleges with automatic merit awards".
Many students with your type of stats choose a few “reach” schools, a few “match” schools, and at least one safety to apply to. A reach is a school at which admission is unlikely and a true match is one at which your chances are roughly 40-60%. A safety is a school at which you are virtually guaranteed admission. One way to quantify that is that your stats should be at the 75th percentile or better and the admit rate should be at least 40% – the higher, the safer. You should like and be able to afford all schools to which you apply.
Typical reaches for top students include roughly the top 20 private universities and top 15ish LACs (according to USNews) and some of the more selective state schools as an OOS applicant (Michigan, UVA, Berkeley, UCLA, etc.). And some majors (if direct admit…) can be reaches at schools not generally considered reaches – many Engineering and CS programs, for instance, are more competitive at most schools than most other programs.
Once you have a list of reaches, matches and 1+ safety that you like -- that fit your known preferences -- run the NPC to find out if you can afford to attend. This will require you to find out from your parents how much money they earn and how much they are willing to spend. If you have a higher bar (for instance, <$10k out of pocket per year), you can apply that too, of course.
So – maybe shoot for 15 schools to start with and then run NPC to whittle that list down to, oh, 5-10.
Plenty of highly regarded schools give pretty good financial aid – with usually minimal loans – to families well into the upper middle class. For instance, probably most families would pay less for their child to attend Princeton than they would for the kid to attend their state flagship. That is no joke. So make sure you run the NPC on all the schools you are strongly considering – you might be surprised what your family could afford.
For you, there will be lower match schools that would offer you quite a bit of merit money to attend. I'm thinking private universities ranked about 70 and lower and LACs ranked about 55 and lower would be candidates for this. Do some reading to identify some of the more generous schools and pick a couple that fit you best.
This would be a sample list of schools for you to apply to, just to give you some idea:
Reaches:
Penn
Duke
Washington & Lee (low reach)
Matches:
Boston U
Sewanee
Beloit
Safeties:
U of Alabama
James Madison (or another VA state school not named UVA or W&M, or VA Tech engineering…)
@mom2collegekids I was originally referring to a full ride including room and board but I am also considering an rotc scholarship, so this may not be necessary.