Chances for a merit scholarship and suggest some CA schools PLEASE! new info!

Paying for College
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<p>Hi guys,
I am reposting a question I asked previously on another board with an update and would really really appreciate any new feedback.. please note the new SAT scores listed in this update below the original ones.. Thank you so much!!!!</p>

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<p>Hi everyone,</p>

<p>Please forgive my ignorance here, I am trying to help my daughter do some legwork before we start her actual applications next week, her dad and I never went to college. (Her grandparents both UCLA grads though so does that matter for anything?) She is a senior in high school, has wanted a medical career since she was 5 years old. She is uncertain if she will try to go for it and be an actual doctor (I think she's scared she will not cut it as far as getting into medical school) Alternately, she may become a Physician's Assistant, Nurse Practictioner, just get her BSN for now, or find some new medical or biotech career along the way. Our dilemna is.. should she shoot for UCLA and UCSD where she has wanted to go for some time, or as her counselor brought up.. maybe choose a private, lower tier school where she could be a big fish in a small pond as they say.. and possibly get good merit money, maybe even a full ride? Unfortunately, we dont have alot of money set aside to help her out. Yet we wouldnt qualify for need based aid either I dont think. We'd get loans and help her pay as much as possible, but she'd definitely have some significant student loan debt at graduation. So my questions for everyone are these.. How likely is she to get full ride, or pretty juicy scholarship money with her stats, admittedly at a smaller school.. and will choosing a school like this hurt her later should she decide to pursue med school, or a graduate degree? Truthfully, I didnt think she'd be able to consider a full ride, her counselor threw that idea out there. UC Davis has sent her a letter guaranteeing acceptance if she applies early. Thanks so much in advance.. and now for her numbers..</p>

<p>Academic GPA 4.51
Total GPA 4.45
CSU GPA 4.47
Cal Grant GPA 3.79 (unweighted?)
Class rank is 5 of 628 (top 10%)</p>

<p>Her SATs were not great.. she was sick and has since retaken but we dont know results yet. Also taking ACT soon. </p>

<p>SATs.. Crit R 580, Writ 470, Math 660 (SAT II M2 620 and SAT II UH 710)
NEW SCORES FOR SECOND SAT ATTEMPT: 600, 580, 660 (same order, 1840 total)
ACT test is this saturday..</p>

<p>APs
Language and Comp-B in class got 3 on test
AP US HIST- A in class Got a 3 on test
This year.. AP Calc, AP Lit, AP bio, regular Physics, straight A's so far. </p>

<p>Honor Society each year
Played Soccer for High School 9th and 10th Grade, Captain of her team both years
(actually played Soccer from age 4 thru 16, from AYSO, to Club, to High School)
Volunteer in Senior Year at Local Hospital Women's Unit 6 hrs a week
Key Club all four years,group leader
Participated with them in many local community service events
Tutors local kid twice a week
Volunteers a few hours a month at Saferides as a driver
Won a weeks scholarship at a college for science camp from American Association of University Women in Jr High</p>

<p>Thanks so much in advance.. so chances for her UCs and also if known, chances for good choices in California esp if she has a shot at some big help with tuition. THANK YOU!!!!!!!</p>

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<p>Does she want CA only? Western US? West Coast?</p>

<p>You might search for the thread by momintexas (i think) about full ride scholarships, you could learn a ton to start the process and that will help you ask even better questions.</p>

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<p>Some of the state universities have merit scholarships. They tend to hide all the good details so you might have to search carefully through the websites. If you live near one of the schools, I'd recommend your d applying there. Commuting saves $10K+ a year. Pick one or two schools she really wants and pick some lower cost options. She can transfer to one of the other schools in her junior year. Getting into UCLA would be awesome. One of the hardest. Depending on parent income she may qualify for more aid from a private university. You really wont know until acceptance time comes around.</p>

4

<p>CSU Fresno has the Smittcamp Honor Program</p>

<p>I believe it is free tuition, room and a laptop (you still have to pay for dorm food)</p>

5

<p>Wow.. a lot to think about. I can only go from my own kids experiences. UCLA will be very difficult with her SAT scores unless she sees a very significant bump on second try. </p>

<p>I am not familiar with merit money from the CSU schools but it sounds like FresnoMom knows about some good scholarships out there. You would need to check out the schools and find out what the specifics are. </p>

<p>I would be hard pressed to see anyone get into significant undergraduate debt if they even think they might go on to graduate and/or medical school. There will be plenty of debt at that point. </p>

<p>Would she be terribly unhappy at a smaller school? Some of the second tier privates might offer good merit money. I don't know about a full ride.....The money from a private may not exceed the COA of at UC though. </p>

<p>For instance, my son is at a private where he gets 16K per year in merit money. That brings the cost from 41 to 25k. The 25K is comparable to what we would be paying for instate UC COA. For him, the difference is that he is very happy where he is, is at a school with a great program in his major, is in the honors program where he got a lot more attention and smaller classes than he would ever see at a UC, etc. </p>

<p>So....in this situation if it were my kid I would cast a wide net. Apply to those UCs and probably UC Riverside or Davis, or Merced which are easier to get into. Then apply to one or two privates where her stats are at the top of the heap.</p>