<p>I live with my mother who was unemployed this entire year, but recently got a high paying job. My father is unemployed. Where do I have a good shot at qualifying for need-based aid? BTW my parents have money saved up in a college fund, but not that much.</p>
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<p>Your stats will get the $15,000 per year scholarship (need GPA 3.0 and ACT 28) at UA Birmingham, leaving a remaining cost of attendance of about $10,000 per year. Stafford loans can cover about half of that, which would mean that you would need work earnings and that small college fund to cover the rest. That might still be a stretch (depending on the size of that college fund and considering the job market right now).</p>
<p>You can do the FAFSA estimator or cost calculators at schools you are looking at. Be sure you are looking at total cost of attending, not just tuition. If you can swing it financially, you might can set up an appt with an independent college counselor to help you look at options if you’re really not happy with school resources.</p>
<p>Could anyone perhaps point me in the direction of best academic schools that are reasonably priced/typically offer generous aid?</p>
<p>If you are a Pennsylvania resident and you like Penn State and Pitt, then it does not make much sense to consider out of state public schools. In most cases, you’d be paying quite a bit more for schools that offer essentially the same advantages and disadvantages. There are a few state schools (in Minnesota or New York for example) that are a little cheaper even for out-of-state students compared to what you’d pay for Penn State or Pitt … but you wouldn’t necessarily prefer them for any other reason. And Penn State or Pitt might be cheaper after aid.</p>
<p>[Best</a> Values in Public Colleges, 2011-12](<a href=“Best College Values, 2019 | Kiplinger”>Best College Values, 2019 | Kiplinger)=ALL&id=none&sortby=out<em>state</em>cost&sortorder=ASC#colleges</p>
<p>With your qualifications, you’d probably have a good shot at many private schools outside the US News top 20 or so. Schools in the 21-50 range (or so) generally will be more selective than most state schools and have much smaller classes (especially in the first two years). After aid they may be cheaper, too, than the public alternatives. But that really depends on the details of your family finances.</p>
<p>Check out Brandeis, Bucknell, Bates, Boston College, Case Western, Holy Cross, Lehigh, Richmond, Tulane, and Wake Forest. Brandeis, HC, Richmond and Wake are all “full-need” schools (although of course it is up to the school to determine what you need).</p>
<p>bakersdozen --Really – you need to figure out probable EFC at both FAFSA schools and what might be expected at schools that use Profile and the Non-Custodial form. Some of the “best academic schools” offer merit scholarships (and some do not) – but even for the ones that do, you’re very, very unlikely to get much more than half your COA paid by grants at most of these expensive schools – if your folks can swing the remaining $25K-35K a year, then you may have some good options from tk’s list. But most of these private schools definitely use the noncustodial form, and they do not particularly care that your dad was unemployed recently – they’re just going to look at the 100K + current income and start calculating.</p>
<p>I’m all for applying to some reaches, academically and financially, but I’d also like to see students have some good financially feasible schools in their mix, because it is highly likely that those are the ones from which you’ll need to make the ultimate choice.</p>
<p>(If you pulled a 34 or higher on your ACT, lots more options open up, but that is a big, big leap.)</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. I’ll find out about the financial estimates and get back to you guys.</p>
<p>I am looking for merit scholarships that I could get with my 3.75 unweighted GPA and 2020 SAT/29 ACT. I will be retaking both of these tests again soon and I am shooting for a 33 ACT and at least a 2100 SAT. Where should I look to?</p>
<p>Remember to investigate honors programs at Pitt and Penn State. Temple also has one; a friend’s daughter loved it.</p>
<p>Don’t forget to check all the small Catholic colleges in the area, though I don’t know how generous they are with aid. But if you’re male, some have gone coed recently and might want to admit more men (and give good aid). If you’re female, some feel they have a special mission to educate women.</p>
<p>Merit</p>
<p>UAB
Howard University
Miami of Ohio
Ohio State
Possibly Marist</p>
<p>I agree with those who have posted above that you should focus on merit aid, and not need-based aid. If your mom now has a high paying job, your financial aid eligibility will be calculated based on that income - and won’t take into account her prior unemployment. So, chances are that any need-based aid you’d be awarded would still leave the school beyond your financial reach.</p>
<p>For merit award, you should look at [this</a> thread](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html]this”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html) that focuses on automatic/guaranteed merit awards. So long as your GPA and test scores are high enough, the awards are guaranteed. You just need to apply early - before the school runs out of money for the year. (Some of these schools have rolling admissions, which means you can apply right now!) Here is a [list[/url</a>] of automatic/guaranteed awards that cover full tuition (and a few of them cover room/board, as well).</p>
<p>Many of these schools have honors colleges that will put you with other students who are just as motivated as you are. Depending on the school, there could well be honors housing, special honors-only courses, as well as other benefits.</p>
<p>Beyond these schools, there are many, many others that offer competitive merit awards. What you need to do is focus on schools where your GPA and test scores are above the norm for that school - the farther above the norm, the better. Look at it this way: a school uses its merit money to attract strong students who might otherwise not be interested in attending that school . . . so it’s not going to spend that money on a student whose stat’s are the same as every other student at the school; it’s looking to spend the money on a student who’s exceptional!</p>
<p>So, a super-competitive “reach” school is not the one where you’re going to get the merit aid you’re looking for. You need to find schools where YOU are the exceptional candidate! Search Princeton Review for schools you might be interested in that are easier to get into - and don’t discount a school just because you’ve never heard of it! Also take a look at the [url=<a href=“http://www.ctcl.org/]Colleges”>http://www.ctcl.org/]Colleges</a> That Change Lives](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/14675705-post98.html]list[/url”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/14675705-post98.html) for smaller, lesser known schools where you might qualify for merit aid.</p>
<p>Your safety school should be a school where the merit aid you need is guaranteed. Your match schools should be schools where your stats all but guarantee that you’ll be admitted and give you a really good shot at competitive merit awards. And your reach schools can be one or two schools where you have a chance at a merit award . . . but you really can’t count on getting it.</p>
<p>You have given no specific information about what your parents are able & willing to pay. So, it’s impossible to know if you need a $5K scholarship to push you over the top, or full tuition. </p>
<p>At some moderately selective private schools, especially if you raise your scores, you might have a shot at a merit discount of $10K-$15K or so (off total costs of $50K-$60K). Would that be enough? If not, you probably should focus on your state universities.</p>