<p>I am currently a high school junior with 3.7GPA and inside the top 25%. I just took the ACT two weeks ago. I'll more than likely take the SAT once, but I already know for sure that I'm MUCH better at the ACT. My questions are.... Although I do believe I can attain a high enough score to enter a&m, or easily an alternate like tamug or blinn and then transfer, I believe I'd rather go to Texas Tech honors program (Petro. Eng. or Elec. Eng.). Based on research, my somewhat introverted personality, and friends I have at Tech, I feel like Tech would suit me best. My questions are: Now that I've chosen the main school that I see myself going to (I will apply to at least 4 others), what can I do to prepare as a junior?? Things like scholarships, rooming, visits... Where, when, and how do I prepare for these things?</p>
<p>If relevant, my parents are very low income, probably less than 30k, and I have a part-time job at a fast food place. Point is, I'm trying to rely heavily on grants, scholarships, and then finally as little loans as possible. I apologize if I appear a bit ignorant, but I am a first generation student going to college in this country. Thank you in advance.</p>
<p>Any other advice I can receive, please I'd be eternally grateful</p>
<p>Go the financial aid forum and read the threads there. They will help in understanding how to get good aid. </p>
<p>Also, read through this thread about HOW to find targets for scholarships.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/291483-update-what-i-learned-about-free-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/291483-update-what-i-learned-about-free-ride-scholarships.html</a></p>
<p>Don’t get invested in just one school. The numbers may not work out.</p>
<p>First, my congrats on being well accomplished in your high school career and thoughtful about your college possibilities. Second, I agree with your thinking that an honors program at Tech could be much more meaningful to you as a student than TAMU via Blinn or similar effort to transfer to UT Austin. My son graduated from Tech in business a few years ago and had a wonderful experience due to Tech’s Honors College. Like you his high school class ranking was good (top 20 percent) but not great. However, he did very well in all the Honors College classes at Tech. Also like you, he did better on the ACT than the SAT. You only need an overall 26 ACT to be eligible to apply to the Honors College. Explore the scholarship possibilities at Tech. Hopefully, both the money and the academics at Tech will be to your liking.</p>