College

I’m a sophomore in high school and I am 16 years old . I want to go to ucf uf or fsu . I have a 3.8 gpa , and I really want to go to college to change my life all my life I was surrounded by drugs and I was In a very tough environment ,my parents got divorced when I was three and my mom is a single mother working two jobs for three kids , so even if I do get accepted I don’t know how I will pay for tuiton . I’m in 10th grade and I’m taking algebra so I won’t reach the math that certain colleges require you to take . What should I do ?

If your GPA is 3.8 and you do well on the SAT/ACT, you won’t have any problem getting into public universities in Florida.

In your junior and senior years, take Algebra II/Trigonometry/Pre-calculus, or the equivalents. You don’t need calculus to get into public universities in Florida.

Since you’re in 10th grade (taking Algebra), plan on taking Geometry in 11th and Algebra 2 in 12th. UF and the other Florida public universities require 4 years of math, including Algebra 1, Formal Geometry, and Algebra 2. You should be able to meet that requirement.

Here are UF’s Minimum Admission Requirements:

Plan on taking the SAT and/or ACT in your junior year. Then take it again early in your senior year.

Do well on your SAT or ACT, keep your GPA high, make an effort to do some EC’s, and make sure you meet the requirements for Bright Future scholarships (the volunteer hours). Don’t worry about cost till you’re a senior (other than making sure you qualify for Bright Futures) and start to applying to colleges. With Bright Futures, Pell Grants, Need-based grants, merit scholarships and loans, I’m sure you’ll find a great college (including UF, FSU or UCF).

Good Luck!

Paying for school is sometimes a matter of picking the right schools to apply to — the ones that have aid to give.

Depending on your mother’s income and number in your family you may be eligible for federal aid. If you are eligible for Bright Futures you will get some funds from that. You may get funds from the college. If you stay on track with your grades and you are taking a good schedule, you will find some opportunities. The most important thing is to keeps grades up. The next most important thing is to do well on the SAT or ACT. Focus on that until summer after your Jr year. And get involved in things that interest you, sports, arts, volunteer work, clubs, contributing something to your community.

Talk to your school guidance counselor, they are excellent resources. Look into Questbridge. If you’re near Miami also look into the Posse Foundation, they have a Miami chapter.

Thanks guys I really appreciate all the help and I did some research and my mom has a low income so that might help me a little , but the beginning of this year I didnt go to school for the first two months because my mom couldn’t afford to send me to the private school I was going to , so I had to miss some school , I also failed some courses in my freshamn year but I am really focused I want to get into college so bad but I don’t see how that will happen now , I will probably have to attend a community collge first .