chance at financial aid?

Paying for College
1

<p>hey everyone. im a junior in high school in california. just wondering about my chances at financial aid at any decent colleges...</p>

<p>psat-228 junior year. expecting a national merit semifinalist letter in april
sat-2090. i feel like i can do alot better and will retake in two months</p>

<p>freshman year-honors english 9, french 1, algebra 2, honors biology, PE, geography/health (1 semester each)
all A's, 4.0</p>

<p>sophomore-french 2, honors english 10, advanced math analysis (basically a precalc class), honors chemistry, world history, PE
all A's, 4.166 </p>

<p>junior-french 3, college composition & american literature, ap calculus bc, ap biology, US history, PE
all A's (first semester, but expecting all As second semester as well) 4.333</p>

<p>unsure about senior schedule, but will meet graduation requirements, take a fine art, and at least 3 AP classes (one math, one science, and probably a social science)</p>

<p>i also play football and run track. im good at both, but realistically, not good enough to get an athletic scholarship to a major college.</p>

<p>unfortunately, i dont have much in the way of volunteering or ECs other than sports.</p>

<p>my familys income is midrange (~100k). i have 3 siblings and almost no shot at any FAFSA aid. i am of no ethnicity other than 25% japanese.</p>

<p>if i dont get a scholarship somewhere, i will end up living at home and attending a nearby CSU, which is not a bad option, but not exactly my first choice</p>

<p>here are my questions
-should i submit my SAT score of 2090 to the national merit foundation to "verify" my PSAT scores? or should i wait until i retake the SAT and hopefully score higher to send the score?
-besides the national merit scholarship, are there any other merit based scholarships that i could pursue?
-how do i become a national merit finalist, and what exactly will that do for me? i have heard that some colleges offer full ride scholarships to students that pick that college as a first choice on their finalist application?
-should i try to start volunteering this summer? i could easily book 200+ hours at a nearby hospital. would this pay off in the form of a merit scholarship?
-do i need to take the ACT?
also: i would like to go to school in california, or at least on the west coast</p>

<p>thanks everyone for the help</p>

2

<p>NMSF notifications come in September of senior year. But, you’ll likely make it.</p>

<p>Yes, submit your SAT to NMCorp, but you may want to see if you’ll get a higher score for college admittance and send that.</p>

3

<p>how do i become a national merit finalist, and what exactly will that do for me? i have heard that some colleges offer full ride scholarships to students that pick that college as a first choice on their finalist application?
-should i try to start volunteering this summer? i could easily book 200+ hours at a nearby hospital. would this pay off in the form of a merit scholarship?
-do i need to take the ACT?
also: i would like to go to school in california, or at least on the west coast</p>

<p>As I mentioned above, you’ll be notified in Sept (perhaps in late Aug). You’ll be given a packet that will need to be completed properly and submitted back to your school by a certain date so it can be sent in to NMCorp on time… </p>

<p>As long as you have a good GPA, a good SAT, you write a decent essay, you’re not a discipline problem at your school, and you complete the packet on time, you’ll make finalist. Of the 16,000 NMSF, only 1,000 don’t make it to NMF. It’s usually the student’s fault if he doesn’t make it to NMF.</p>

<p>Yes, some schools give very generous scholarships to NMF. My son is on a near full-ride for NMF (tuition, room, laptop, study abroad $, plus other $)</p>

<p>Yes, take the ACT and take the SAT again.</p>

<p>USC gives a 50% tuition scholarship to NMFs, but that only covers about 1/3 of the total cost to go there.</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the info.</p>

<p>So National Merit is probably my best shot at a scholarship? How will I know what college to pick as my first choice for the NMF application?</p>

5

<p>Well…</p>

<p>First it’s a good idea to come up with a list of NMF scholarship schools, and then pick your favorite.</p>

<p>What is your likely major or career?</p>

6

<p>NMF FULL TUITION+</p>

<h2>Publics</h2>

<p>U of Alabama (NMF full ride & NMSF full tuition with 3.5 GPA guaranteed)
U of Alabama-Huntsville (NMF full ride & NMSF full tuition guaranteed)
Alabama State U (full ride guaranteed)
Auburn U <a href=“full%20tuition+%20guaranteed”>AL</a>
U of North Alabama (NMF full ride & NMSF full tuition+ guaranteed)
Troy U <a href=“full%20ride%20competitive”>AL</a>
U of Arizona (full tuition[+?] guaranteed?)
Southern Arkansas U (in-state full ride/OOS full tuition+ [full ride - 2.5k] rolling)
U of Central Florida (NMF full tuition+ guaranteed / full ride competitive & NMSF 9k guaranteed)
Florida A&M U (NMF in-state full ride & OOS full tuition guaranteed - other qualifications, see University Scholarships - Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University 2010)
U of South Florida (NMF full ride competitive - <a href=“http://usfweb2.usf.edu/Admissions/pd...on-florida.pdf[/url]”>http://usfweb2.usf.edu/Admissions/pd...on-florida.pdf&lt;/a&gt; | <a href=“http://usfweb2.usf.edu/Admissions/pd...an-florida.pdf[/url]”>http://usfweb2.usf.edu/Admissions/pd...an-florida.pdf&lt;/a&gt;)
U of Idaho (NMF full ride competitive [25])
Ball State U <a href=“NMF%20full%20ride%20guaranteed”>IN</a>
Eastern Kentucky U (in-state full ride & OOS full tuition- guaranteed)
U of Kentucky (full ride 1st year & full tuition+ remaining 3 years guaranteed)
Louisiana State U (full tuition competitive)
U of Maine (tuition- competitive)
Wayne State U <a href=“full%20ride%20competitive”>MI</a>
^*U of Minnesota-Morris (full tuition guaranteed)
^Truman State U <a href=“full%20tuition%20competitive”>MO</a>
U of Mississippi (NMF full tuition+ equivalent, less for NMSF; see The University of Mississippi ? Office of Financial Aid)
Mississippi State U (NMF full tuition+ & NMSF full tuition- guaranteed)
U of Southern Mississippi (NMF/SF full ride competitive)
Southeast Missouri State U (NMF full ride guaranteed, NMSF full tuition- guaranteed)
U of Nebraska-Lincoln (full tuition+ competitive)
New Jersey Institute of Technology (full ride guaranteed)
New Mexico State U (NMF full ride & NMSF full tuition+ guaranteed)
Cleveland State U <a href=“full%20tuition%20guaranteed”>OH</a>
Youngstown State U <a href=“full%20ride%20with%2030%20ACT/1300%20SAT%20competitive%20%5B40%5D”>OH</a>
Ohio State U (full tuition competitive)
U of Oklahoma (full tuition+ guaranteed)
Oklahoma State U (full tuition+ guaranteed)
U of Memphis <a href=“NMF%20%5B9k%20+%20OOS%20waiver%5D%20&%20NMSF%20%5B7.5k%20+%20OOS%20waiver%5D%20full%20tuition+%20guaranteed”>TN</a>
U of Houston <a href=“full%20ride%20guaranteed”>TX</a>
U of North Texas (full ride competitive)
Texas A&M U (full tuition+ competitive)
U of Texas-Dallas (full tuition+ guaranteed)
Texas Tech U (IS full ride & OOS full tuition+ [19.8k] guaranteed)
U of Texas-Tyler (NMF full ride & NMSF full tuition+ guaranteed)
Washington State U (NMSF full tuition guaranteed)
West Virginia U (full tuition- guaranteed)
U of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (in-state full ride guaranteed [~4k OOS tuition difference])</p>

7

<p>The above list is from Keilexandra…</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-updated-compilation-17.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-updated-compilation-17.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

8

<p>thanks again for all the help.</p>

<p>probably biochemistry or engineering as a major. i’m not interested in going to school on the east coast, though. </p>

<p>now is that list only schools that offer room and board in addition to full tuition?</p>

<p>you mentioned that your son is on a full ride scholarship. where is he going? does that mean you don’t have to support him financially at all (or at least college related expenses)</p>

9

<p>Don’t know why the rest of the post didn’t show…</p>

<h2>Privates</h2>

<p><em>Abilene Christian U (full tuition guaranteed)
Alfred U (full ride guaranteed with top 5% rank, otherwise full tuition/ride competitive)
*Alma C (full tuition guaranteed, full ride competitive [first 15 to commit])
*Andrews U (full tuition guaranteed)
Baylor U (full tuition guaranteed)
*Birmingham-Southern C (full tuition competitive)
Bradley U (full tuition guaranteed [not advertised, see <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/...6-post29.html][/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/...6-post29.html]</a>)
U of Dallas (NMF full tuition, NMSF 12k guaranteed)
^</em>Denison U (full tuition competitive)
<em>U of Evansville (NMF full tuition & NMSF 75% tuition guaranteed)
*Faulkner U (NMF/SF full tuition guaranteed)
^Fordham U (full tuition+ competitive)
*Harding U (full tuition guaranteed)
*Geneva C (NMF full tuition & NMSF 3/4 tuition guaranteed)
Liberty U (NMF full ride & NMSF full tuition guaranteed)
*Lipscomb U (full tuition+ guaranteed)
Long Island U-C.W. Post (full tuition competitive)
^Northeastern U (full tuition competitive)
*Nyack C (full tuition guaranteed)
*Oakwood U (NMF full tuition+, NMSF full tuition, & NMCommended 80% tuition guaranteed)
*Oklahoma Christian U (full ride guaranteed)
*Pacific Union C (full tuition guaranteed)
*Roberts Wesleyan C (NMF full tuition & NMSF half tuition guaranteed)
*Spring Arbor U (NMF full tuition & NMSF half tuition + one-time 5k guaranteed)
*Sterling C (full tuition guaranteed)
^</em>U of Tulsa (full ride competitive [70-80])
^*Wesleyan C <a href=“full%20tuition%20competitive”>women only</a>
*Westminster C <a href=“NMF%20full%20tuition%20&%20NMSF%20half%20tuition%20guaranteed”>UT</a></p>

<p>NMF HONORABLE MENTIONS</p>

<h2>Publics</h2>

<p>Arizona State University (11k in-state, 17k OOS guaranteed)
U of Central Arkansas (12k guaranteed with 3.25 GPA)
California State U-Fullerton (in-state only: full tuition+ guaranteed)
California State U-Long Beach (in-state only: full ride competitive)
U of Florida (OOS tuition waiver + 4k guaranteed)
^*New C of Florida (17.5k guaranteed)
Iowa State U (in-state full ride competitive)
U of Kansas (in-state only: 10k guaranteed)
U of Louisiana-Lafayette (unclear - UL Lafayette: Academic Scholarships: High School Seniors)
U of Massachusetts-Amherst (in-state full ride competitive)
Michigan State U (750-2k + in-state 2k & OOS 4k and room/board competitive)
U of New Mexico (~13k [in-state full tuition] competitive)
U of Akron <a href=“6k%20guaranteed%20+%20Honors%20College%203k”>OH</a>
U of Cincinnati <a href=“in-state%20full%20tuition+%20%5BOOS%2014k%20difference%5D”>OH</a>
Wright State U <a href=“in-state%20only:%20NMF%20full%20ride%20guaranteed,%20NMSF/Commended%20full%20tuition%20guaranteed”>OH</a>
U of South Carolina (in-state up to 10k, OOS up to 6k + OOS tuition waiver)
U of Vermont (in-state NMF full tuition, OOS “up to 10k” competitive)
U of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (full in-state tuition guaranteed)</p>

<h2>Privates</h2>

<p>^American U (“up to full tuition” competitive)
^Boston U (half tuition competitive)
<em>Calvin C (10k guaranteed)
*Concordia C (14k guaranteed)
^George Washington U (15k guaranteed)
*Gordon C (75% tuition guaranteed w/ 3.5 GPA)
*Hope C (17k guaranteed)
^</em>Macalester C (5k guaranteed)
<em>Morningside C (“tuition scholarship” guaranteed - Morningside College Admissions: First-year Students Scholarships)
*North Central C (3/4 tuition guaranteed)
^U of Rochester (22k guaranteed)
^Rochester Institute of Technology (15k guaranteed)
*U of Sioux Falls (full ride competitive [1])
^U of Southern California (half tuition guaranteed)
Southern Methodist U (half tuition + 2k guaranteed)
^</em>St. Olaf C (7.5k guaranteed)
^Vanderbilt U (5k guaranteed + 2k if awarded competitive merit)</p>