<p>Hi, and thanks for taking the time to look at this thread. I am a junior in HS right now and I am looking ahead at college possibilities. I really love the idea of not having to pay anything to go to college. I honestly don't care that much about prestige; I'd rather go to a school ranked 74 in the nation on a full ride rather than going to Harvard paying for everything. I currently live in Georgia, so the HOPE scholarship might effect some answers. I really have worked hard for my grades and would really like for all that hard work to pay off. Again, I really don't care if I stay in GA or it's OOS</p>
<p>Here are my stats...</p>
<p>GPA- 4.58/3.96
Rank-1/580
ACT-33
Exceptional soccer player, started on varsity as a Sophomore at 5A school
Will have 13 AP's done by graduation, taking straight AP schedule Junior year (8 AP's)</p>
<p>I really have no idea if we would qualify for financial aid. My parents make pretty good money (pretty close to 100k a year)</p>
<p>If your family’s income is in the vicinity of $100K per year, you likely won’t qualify for any need-based aid at the vast majority of non-Ivy schools. Your stats will make you competitive for some big dollar merit scholarships, but many of those also factor in EC’s, volunteer work, etc. Certainly possible, but not a sure thing.</p>
<p>Here is a link to a thread discussing schools which offer large AUTOMATIC merit scholarships based on stats. There are many fantastic schools in this list, but none at the Ivy/public Ivy level. I see from your post that you understand and appreciate that prestige is often not worth the pricetag, so there may be some potential options for you within this thread. I’d suggest starting at the most recent posts and working backwards as the list gets updated periodically.</p>
<p>You didn’t mention whether or not you were a National Merit Finalist, but if you are here is a thread discussing school-sponsored NM scholarships, some of which are at or near full-ride level. Some schools currently (again, subject to change from year to year) offering large dollar scholarships to NMFs are U of Kentucky, UA Birmingham, and Central Florida.</p>
<p>There are Net Price Calculators on all college websites. You might want to plug accurate income and asset information from your parents into a couple of those…just for an idea of how much you would likely be expected to pay.With an income of $30k you should apply to some colleges that guarantee to meet full need for all accepted students, as well as some schools with guaranteed merit aid for students with your stats. It’s good that you are thinking about this now, as it gives you time to research options.</p>
<p>If your parents make 30k and you don’t have any costly properties such as a family business or own a house, chances are you could get a full ride at a school that meets 100% of demonstrated need. That includes the ivies and many other top institutions.</p>
<p>If the only house your family owns is your prmary residence, the equity used in the finaid calculations is usually capped at a %age of your family income. HOWEVER, if you own additional real estate (say a rental property, or land), that is another story.</p>
<p>You could get an automatic ride to all the IVY Leagues (granted you get in) just based on that income. Search up a college you’re interested in and follow it with “financial aid calculator”.</p>
<p>So far harvard, you should google “Harvard Financial Aid Calculator” and plug in your numbers. It will then spit out an estimated cost of attendance for you, which i expect to be close to 0 unless you have some crazy assets.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, but I’m having some difficulty making the leap from here to the “30K a year” in the OP’s next post. Makes me wonder if there isn’t a bit more to this than meets the eye . . . such as business or investment income. The OP just needs to be aware that ALL family income will be considered in determining his (or her) eligibility for financial aid, not just earned income.</p>
<p>Ok I just asked my parents and I was horribly wrong… They make around 30K a year.
I am assuming this would effect alot</p>
<p>??? If your parents only earn $30k per year (low income), why would you think that they make “pretty good money” $100k per year. Not only is that a huge difference, but that makes a huge difference in how a family lives and how they’re able to spend.</p>
<p>“Pretty good money” is subjective. I used to think I was “upper-middle class” back when my parents made less than they do now and did not own a car, because we did not receive food stamps like some families in my neighborhood did. </p>
<p>But since you’re from Georgia, you should probably look into the Foundation Fellows/Barnard Ramsey scholarship offered by UGA. It’s competitive, but provided that you get a good score on the SAT/ACT, you have a good shot. Also, since you’re the valedictorian of the school, you’d definitely qualify for the Zell Miller, which while is not a full ride, will cover a pretty good portion of your tuition at a state school. I know a girl who got a full ride at Georgia State with a GPA lower than yours, and you should also look into the Clough program (for low-income students) and Godbold Foundation (merit) at Tech as well. I’d say that if your parents make 30k per year and have no assets, you’d probably get a full ride at some competitive private schools as well. Have you looked into the QuestBridge program?</p>
<p>Good luck! I’m also from GA and my parents make around the same amount. I just got accepted to a 100% needs-met school so I’m hoping for a full ride as well.</p>
<p>And the OP could also win the lottery . . . but neither of these is a reliable plan for getting four years of college expenses paid!</p>
<p>Even if the OP’s income/assets are actually low enough that he would qualify for full financial aid (and this is uncertain), he still needs a financial safety - and, for that, the OP needs to look at the list of automatic full tuition/full ride scholarships linked to in Post #4 above.</p>
<p>Look in the archives at the methodology a parent from here, Momfromtexas, used to get full rides for her kids. Yes, it is possible. There are full rides, however one may define them, available. The more stringent the definition, the fewer there are, but, yes, it is possible. </p>
<p>Be aware that the higher you are in the applicant pool in terms of stats the better the chance of that happening. I know kids with full rides + at schools like Duke, Wake Forest, UNC-CH, Pitt, but they are truly the top of the top. My son whose test scores were truly average, nationally, not just as a matter of speaking, got a full tuition award at a local private which would have made it a full ride for him if he commuted and just worked part time. My other kids were offered full tuiton, transportation, books and summer abroad opportunities at a local state school. But again, they would have had to commute to make it a “full ride”.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies… The reason I went from 100k to 30k was because my parents just divorced and I live with my mom now. She makes 30k a year but I was thinking of when they were together for some odd reason. Sorry about that… Anyways, based on all the helpful posts I got, I am going to aim for full scholarship at UGA. Maybe I might even get accepted to the honors program. At the least I should get full tuition, right?</p>
<p>I want to amend an earlier reply of mine. Many of the schools that meet full need will ask for the income of your mom…but many also require the income info from the non-custodial parent. UGA is a FAFSA only school so ONLY your moms info would go on the FAFSA. </p>
<p>Your stats guarantee the Zell Miller Scholarship for full tuition. They also give you a good shot at additional merit aid at UGA.</p>
<p>When shooting for large merit aid, it is best to apply to quite a few schools and to look for schools where you will be near the top of the admit pool, stats-wise.</p>
<p>Most of the name state schools in the south would be good targets for merit aid as well (Alabama, South Carolina, Clemson, Mississippi, Mississippi State, etc.). There are also good Liberal Arts Colleges that might give you big merit, such as Sewanee, Rhodes, Wofford, Berry, etc. If LAC appeals to you, there is also GCSU, where you would get full tuition: <a href=“http://www.gcsu.edu/[/url]”>http://www.gcsu.edu/</a></p>
<p>Thanks for all the advice. I just remembered that the Zen Miller scholarship is awarded to Valedictorian and Salutatorian regardless of their GPA (it would obviously still be high), so I am pretty confident in getting atleast full tuition. I will probably be looking at UGA the most since I am really close to my family and their Honors Program seems nice.</p>