Chances of full ride/tuition?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I've read many conflicting stories about who gets full rides to the colleges I'm applying to and who doesn't. It seems there's a lot of drastic differences in the recipients and I was wondering if someone could tell me if I really do have a chance so I don't go on thinking that these miracle cases could happen to me. I am a senior in high school and am applying for:
UCLA
USC (the one I really want to go to but would need a full ride/tuition to go)
Cal Poly
Claremont Mckenna
Pomona
Rensselaer
Brown
Colombia
Pratt
University of Idaho
Purdue
Santa Clara University
Stanford
Yale
Pepperdine
Duquense</p>

<p>and my stats are as follows....</p>

<p>Academics:
4.0 cumulative GPA (our school doesn't do the whole weight thing but I have never gotten anything but an A in my life)
Honors English, AP Lit and Comp (scored 5), AP Lang and Comp, AP Biology (scored 5), Honors US History, Honors Geometry, Honors Algebra 2, Honors Pre-Calc, AP Stats, AP US History (scored 5), Primera art program (the only kid to stay in the advanced art program at my school), AP Studio Art Drawing (scored 3...misread some directions..) AP Studio Art 2-D Design, AP Physics B, Concurrent credit in Psychology, 3+ years of French, AP Macroeconomics, AP U.S government, AP Chemistry, Honors Chemistry
- Only AP Art student last year and last kid in Primera program
-I'm tied for #6 in class rankings with roughly 450 in my class</p>

<p>Leadership:
-Vice President of Art Club
-Captain of high school swim team
-Received Sue Shelton hardest worker award twice on year round swim team (one boy and one girl out of 1500 kids receives this, sets example and is role model for new swimmers)
-Main volunteer/assistant coach for stroke clinics with the younger kids every other Friday</p>

<p>Extracurricular's:
- YMCA year round competitive swim team (9-12)
- High School swim team (9-12)
- National Honors Society (10-12)
-French Club (11-12)
-Art Club (12)</p>

<p>Volunteerism:
-Helped with children's summer art classes at local art museum last summer
-Local Food Bank
-Coaches little kids on Fridays (swimming)
-YMCA fun runs and triathlons volunteer
-sets up art exhibits at state wide fair
-Festival of Trees exhibition</p>

<p>Awards/random stuff:
-Lettered in NHS and Swim team
-AP Scholar award with Honor
-First, second, and best in show for artwork at state wide fair
-Artwork voted by school into school district art show
-won statewide essay contest on patriotism
-competed and qualified for state championships in swimming
-taken 3+ years of creative writing workshops at The Log Cabin from local authors and poets
-From California, moved to Idaho
-7 years of soccer, 3 on a Select Talent team
-Plays a little guitar and piano
-3 years on Boise City Children's Chorus (try outs include kids from all over the valley, 40 spots available, sings in The Nutcracker, plays, fundraising events, etc.)</p>

<p>Test Scores:
-33 ACT
-680 on SAT 2 Biology (really yucky score but...I took it haha..)
-1800 on SAT (not submitting this score, took it without studying but decided not to do it again because I liked the ACT better)</p>

<p>So just give it to me straight. If there's a chance for a miracle that'd be pretty awesome. Thanx! :)</p>

2

<p>Many of the schools on your list such as Stanford or Yale will be difficult to obtain a hefty scholarship, much less a full ride tuition, unless you apply for financial aid. For those schools I think you should worry about getting into them first.</p>

3

<p>It depends on your socioeconomic type. Are you an URM or poor (by Ivy standards)?</p>

4

<p>Shoot for lower non-ivy league school and then I think you would have a great chance at a scholarship.</p>

5

<p>Some of the schools on your lists offer need-based aid and cover 100% need: Brown, Stanford, Pomona… So, if your EFC is zero, you will receive enough aid in work study (typically $2,000), loans ($5,500 is the maximum allowed freshman year), and grants to attend. So, if your EFC is zero or close, you’ll have a full ride.
You need to run the Net Price Calculators on the websites.</p>

<p>What state are you from though? CA I suppose? Are you a resident of CA or Idaho?</p>

<p>There’s also a matter of fit -have you researched these universities well? I can’t imagine a candidate who’d be a “fit” at Brown… and at Pepperdine!</p>

<p>You’re medium competitive for Yale, Brown, Pomona or Stanford, unless you’re still living in Idaho and/or are first-gen (meaning neither adult who raised you has a degree from a 4 year college). You can apply of course :slight_smile: just to see.
These offer financial aid if your parents make up to a quarter million dollars/year and if your parents make up to $60,000/year, you’ll attend almost for free. They’re the only ones though :)</p>

<p>Santa Clara does not meet need so you’d have to get a merit scholarship, and if your family is low-income they’re actually ranked among the worst for that SES.</p>

<p>Cal POly and UCLA don’t have merit; if you’re instate, you may qualify for a Cal Grant; and if you’re out of state, even if they admit you, it’s not their problem whether you have $50,000 to cover OOS costs. </p>

<p>the USC full tuition scholarship is extremely competitive but they award need-based financial aid.</p>

<p>With these stats, you’d get a full tuition scholarship at University of Alabama, regardless of how much your parents make. However you’d still have to pay for room and board and they don’t have need-based for OOS applicants, so if you need a full ride because your parents can’t afford college it’s not a good choice, but if your parents are too rich to have financial aid but not rich enough to afford their EFC, it’s a good choice.</p>

<p>Many, many schools in the Midwest, South, and Midatlantic region, not to mention second-tier private colleges in CA, will be glad to offer you a combination of need-based and merit-based aid.</p>