Could I get a full ride to a Cal State?

Paying for College
1

<p>Hi, I'm a junior in California and I was wondering if I would qualify for a full ride?</p>

<p>I'm a full IB student and I have all As on my transcript with one B+ in a non-academic class so my GPA is like a 4.5 weighted and a 3.99 unweighted or something like that. I'm in the top 3% of my school and I'm planning on moving up because of all the AP classes I'm taking this year and next year.
I played sports for the first two years of high school and I'm starting to do some more volunteer work at a tutoring center and I'm in my schools National Honor Society.
I took the ACT for the first time last month and I got a 30 without studying or trying really, and I feel like I can probably get close to a 36 if I take it a few more times, which I'm planning to do.
Also, my parents are about to get a divorce and together they make like $140k a year? But my sister and I live with my mom and she makes like $100k a year I don't know if that qualifies me for a need-based scholarship? I'm a white female.
I'm looking to go into biochemistry or microbiology and my mom told me that there are a lot of scholarships for women in science so I don't know if that could help me or not.</p>

<p>So really I'm just looking for a merit-based scholarship but I don't know if my parents' divorce qualifies me for anything else. Does anyone know if this might be enough to get me at least a partial if not full-ride scholarship to a school like San Jose State or Chico State and major in microbiology or biochemistry? Thanks in advance :-)</p>

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<p>But my sister and I live with my mom and she makes like $100k a year I don’t know if that qualifies me for a need-based scholarship?</p>

<p>You will not get a need-based grant…your mom makes too much money. To qualify for Cal Grant, the income has to be much lower.</p>

<p>As for a merit scholarship, that will depend on your stats (GPA and test scores). I don’t know if any of the CSUs give free rides. What do their websites say???</p>

3

<p>With your family income, it is unlikely you’ll get any ‘need’ based aid. There are merit scholarships at CA publics - though full rides are rare. If I were you, I’d give the top 5 UCs a shot anyway. </p>

<p>With your stats - I’d try some more selective privates too - Santa Clara comes to mind but maybe Stanford too. Financial aid will be more plentiful. </p>

<p>Your high school counselor should be able to help you identify some local scholarship opportunites.</p>

4

<p>I took the ACT for the first time last month and I got a 30 without studying or trying really, and I feel like I can probably get close to a 36 if I take it a few more times, which I’m planning to do.</p>

<p>If you can get a 32+, then you’ll open up more larger merit opportunities.</p>

<p>How did you do on the PSAT?</p>

5

<p>Free rides are rare in the California State systems. We know one girl that got full tuition for musical theatre but that’s the only one. That’s not to say you shouldn’t try for one. Check out the individual sites. Their scholarship info is sometimes buried and require you to contact specific staff members.</p>

<p>I just wanted to encourage you to look into private schools as well. Some have very good financial aid or more chances for merit aid. Applying to a school where your stats are well above the 75th percentile will up your merit aid chances. </p>

<p>Look into the WUE program. It allows you to attend out-of-state west coast public universities for in-state tuition. Some of those schools offer some good merit for high stats.</p>

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<p>You are qualified to apply for the Smittcamp Scholarship at CSU Fresno which includes tuition/fees (at in-state levels) plus room [The</a> Smittcamp Family Honors College](<a href=“http://www.fresnostate.edu/academics/honors/]The”>The Smittcamp Family Honors College - The Smittcamp Family Honors College) . Applicants must be in the top 10% of their graduating class, have a 3.8 GPA and at least a 27 on the ACT or 1800 on the SAT. Please note that it is NOT a guaranteed scholarship as over 600 apply for the 50 scholarships, but you would certainly be an excellent candidate.</p>

<p>The Smittcamp is available for all majors.</p>

<p>Good luck</p>

7

<p>National Merit Finalists and valedictorians can get a full ride at Long Beach State.</p>

<p>See:
<a href=“http://www.csulb.edu/divisions/students/presidents_scholars/[/url]”>http://www.csulb.edu/divisions/students/presidents_scholars/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;