Any schools give close to full ride?

Paying for College
1

<p>Okay so I'm a pretty financially strapped student, so I know there is a lot of need-based aid out there. I was just wondering if, with my stats, any schools would give me close to a full ride?</p>

<p>Class: junior
Gender: Male
Race: White
GPA: 91/100 unweighted, 104/100 weighted
Class Rank: Not told exactly, only deciles. Top 10%.
SAT I: CR: 770, M: 790, W: 760 (74 MC, 10 Essay)
SAT IIs: None taken yet, taking May and June. Def taking Math II, US History, and then a mixture of Spanish, Lit, Bio, and Chem.
APs: Fresh/Soph Year: none offered
Junior: Calc AB, US history, Phys B (taking class but its awful so not taking exam), Eng Lang (self-study).
Senior: Bio, Stats, English Lit, Chem (taking at MIT because of school's three AP limit), hoping to self-study Spanish Lang.
Interesting Academic Stuff: I am the only junior in my class of 250 taking three APs this year.
I took a summer course in precalc to skip the course in school.
Only kid in school self-studying anything.
I was sick sophomore year (38 absences, 9 early dismissals, 11 tardies), so my GPA suffered a lot.</p>

<p>Extra Curriculars:
Captain Tennis Team Varsity
Captain Academic Decathalon
Math Team
NHS
Spanish Honor Society
Amigos (charity program for local, depraved students)
Volunteer at local hospital and local food pantry</p>

2

<p>I remember Harvard giving out full rides to people that make less than 50k/year or something. It’s a long shot but definitely worth it.</p>

3

<p>There is a terrific thread somewhere on this forum from a poster…Momfromtexas who did extensive research on full rides for her kids. These were not schools in the Ivy range. I’m sorry that I can’t link you to the thread. She found some very helpful information.</p>

<p>That thread is by Momfromtexas and is in the parents forum.</p>

<p>But you do need to understand that full rides (including tuition and room/board) are not all that plentiful.</p>

4

<p>Do you know your EFC yet? You don’t necessarily need a “full ride” from the schools if you qualify for federal and state aid. Check out the sticky at the top of this forum and also search for threads posted by momfromtexas entitled “what I learned about full rides”, or something to that effect.</p>

5

<p>here is the link
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/291483-update-what-i-learned-about-free-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/291483-update-what-i-learned-about-free-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Basically you want to apply to schools are known to give lots of merit aid and schools where your stats place you above the average student applying there. Safety schools.</p>

6

<p>Many schools offer full rides based on grades. In fact, there are quite a few. One place to look for such schools is the site I blog for, morethangrades.com [MoreThanGrades</a> - Home](<a href=“http://www.morethangrades.com%5DMoreThanGrades”>http://www.morethangrades.com). This site allows students to search specifically for scholarships offered by colleges. If you have any questions, I would be happy to help. SRios, <a href="mailto:Teacherblogmtg@gmail.com">Teacherblogmtg@gmail.com</a></p>

7

<p>Look at your state and the school in your state and whether they have scholarships that fit you. Boston University, for example, offers completely free education to a number of Boston Public School kids each year - and they’re private. You need to talk to your guidance people.</p>

8

<p>There’s a lot of good info in the stickies above as well (Best Merit Aid and Full Tuition +).</p>

9

<p>Claremont McKenna College – they gave me a great package. In the end, I will pay less than my EFC from FAFSA. (They give all grants, no loans)</p>

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<p>First you need to determine whether you need to look at just schools offering merit aid or both those offering need and merit based aid. Many financially strapped families are not seen as needy by colleges.</p>

<p>With your stats, you could get generous merit aid at many third tier schools. Full rides are tough, but they are out there at several schools much below where the candidate could otherwise get in. Check the thread at the top of the parent’s board for particulars.</p>

<p>You are in much better shape in terms of good colleges if you qualify for need based aid. Many of the top colleges have great aid on this basis.</p>

11

<p>You could try Boston University. They base their aid off both merit statistics and need. It really really helps if you do well in school and they want you. I’m going there next year with my best college package, and I’m also super excited!!! : )</p>

12

<p>Any Ivy league school you are admitted too should give a generous financial aid package based solely off of need. Harvard, Yale and Princeton’s will be exceptionally generous, and if you are as financially strapped as you sound, it will likely be close too or a full-ride offer. Other top schools like Stanford and top LACs should likewise offer such need based aid. The difficult part is getting in, of course, but once you are in, you are guaranteed to receive full-aid without difficulties (so long as you take all the necessary application steps). Don’t assume you are going to get in, but those are the schools you should be aiming for in your application process.</p>

13

<p>I know this is an older thread, but just in case anyone wants this info:
There are definitely schools that offer full-ride scholarships. Unfortunately (especially w. your stats) they may not be as competitive/prestigious as you would like. However, check this out: [url=&lt;a href=“http://creightonprep.creighton.edu/page.cfm?p=812]Creighton”&gt;http://creightonprep.creighton.edu/page.cfm?p=812]Creighton</a> Prep: Colleges Offering Full Tuition<a href=“I’m%20not%20sure%20if%20it’s%20all-inclusive,%20but%20it’s%20quite%20helpful”>/url</a>.</p>

14

<p>^^^^</p>

<p>A full tuition scholarship is NOT the same as a “full ride.”</p>

<p>A full tuition scholarship only covers tuition - which can be about 1/2 or 2/3 of college costs. That can mean that a student still has to come up with $15k -20k per year…which is impossible for many kids. At a state school, tuition is often only 1/3 of the cost.</p>

<p>Full ride scholarships cover tuition, fees, room, board, and books.</p>

15

<p>Mom2CK, if you look at the link you’ll see some ARE full rides. The title that came with the link is not entirely indicative of the info.</p>

16

<p>Does anyone know of good technical schools that offer full rides based on merit?</p>

17

<p>With your stats, U of Pittsburgh should give you full ride. The full tuition scholarship is automatic: you apply and if you are accepted, they tell you after a time period whether you also get full tuition. After your acceptance you have to apply separately for the full-ride Chancellor’s scholarship. There was an interview process, if I remember correctly. This was last year so I’m not sure if the qualification and details are still the same, so check the school’s website for more detail.</p>

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<p>Yes, unless your family has substantial assets or some other circumstances, H should offer full ride FA, but usually with work study incorporated into the FA package. But with an acceptance rate of less than 7%, make sure you have a few safeties on your college list.</p>

<p>Wait, sorry, I just realized that this is an old thread being revived.</p>