<p>Hi, I live in WA state and my family makes very little money(under 10K) yearly so i was wondering would it look bad when i apply to colleges? Since they might think that i want to get a lot of money off of them? Or am i fine and being paranoid? Also my grades are mediocre, kind of...i got a 3.4 unweighted gpa but my high school is very tough, top 30 public and my test scores are good like 28-30 ACT and 1700-1800 SAT. I'm only involved in cross country and a couple of other activities that i actually want to do. Do you think with these stats and my low income would affect my chances? ahh im kind of freaking out.</p>
<p>Re: admissions. Many schools are need blind for admissions. That means they will not consider your ability to pay when they consider your application for admission to the college.</p>
<p>Some schools are need aware. These schools DO consider your financial situation when you apply for admissions. </p>
<p>If you are wondering about financial aid, with a family income of $10,000 you would receive the maximum Pell grant of about $5000, likely a subsidized Stafford loan of $5500 and any state grants your school has for low income students (you should check to see if these are available and where they can be used). </p>
<p>Where are you planning to apply to college as the policies of schools vary.</p>
<p>^^Max Stafford loan for a freshman is $5500 but only up to $3500 can be subsidized. The other $2000 would be unsubsidized.</p>
<p>The good news is that most schools are “need blind”.</p>
<p>The bad news is that most schools don’t meet “need” so many/most schools will still be unaffordable for you. </p>
<p>You’d get about $5500 in a Pell grant from the federal gov’t. Plus, you’re eligible to borrow $5500 each year. That said, the total amount (about $11k) is not enough money for you to go to many schools.</p>
<p>Does your state have any grants for low income students? Are there any GPA req’ts to get them? You need to find out how much (if any) money is available thru a state grant.</p>
<p>Since your affordable choices are going to be VERY limited, you probably should mostly limit your applications to your instate schools - including those that you can commute to.</p>
<p>Did you get an ACT 30? If not, what is your highest ACT composite from a single sitting?</p>
<p>What is your weighted GPA?</p>
<p>If you got an ACT 30 and your weighted GPA is over a 3.5, then there are some schools that will give you a good scholarship.</p>
<p>@Thumper</p>
<p>I plan on applying to University of Washington(first choice), Western Washington University, Emerson College, and i am deciding whether or not for NYU Gallatin. The thing is is that NYU is SO expensive, the debt i’d be in really scares me. I don’t think i’ll be applying ED there just to be on the safe side, though i wish i could but the consequences can be very bad.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids</p>
<p>I got a 28 on my first sitting but i am currently studying to bring up my ACT to a 30 and my SAT to a 1800+. Unfortunately my school doesn’t weigh my gpa, quite frustrating. But if they did i would assume it would be about 3.5-3.6 since i’ve taken four advanced classes and did exceptional in all of them. I’m on a hunt for scholarships right now. Could you recomend me some websites for scholarships? I already know ***** and Fastweb…</p>
<p>If you are concerned about debt…do NOT apply to NYU early decision. NYU does not guarantee to meet full need. Your financial aid package there might not support your attendance. If you want to apply to NYU, do so Regular Decision and that way you are not bound by their ED acceptance should you get one. You might hit it lucky and get the aid you need to attend, but if you don’t, you will have your other applications (and hopefully acceptances) to consider as well.</p>
<p>Agree with Thumper re: NYU…see if you can find other privates that provide generous need-based aid (ideally meet it 100%). As a result, you may be able to go to privates for less than your in-state options!!</p>
<p>NYU is the LAST choice for applying ED for a student with big need. NYU has no shame about putting in Parent Plus loans for $25k+ in the packages of very low income families. (And this is from a school with a top B-school??? LOL )</p>
<p>Your stats are not high enough to inspire NYU to give you a good FA package, even if you get an ACT 30. NYU gives awful aid. </p>
<p>You’re going to need to be able to compare the financial packages from your accepted schools. </p>
<p>What is your list of schools?</p>
<p>Don’t rely on private scholarships. They are often small and only for one year. They can be a 'nice help" to pay for books, but they won’t pay for tuition, room, board, etc.</p>
<p>You need to focus on schools that meet need and/or give big scholarships for your stats.</p>
<p>You can apply where ever you want after you have some financial/admission safety schools locked up. Those schools would most likely be commuting distance with state tuition. </p>
<p>Also check out MOmfromtexas’s full ride scholarship thread. That may give you some ideas for schools that will pay your way. </p>
<p>I am not familiar with what UW and other Washington state school give in terms of financial aid. Is there a state program to subsidize costs as well? Even then, for most states, going away to a state school is not doable without some help from the college itself. Most state schools do not meet financial need, but you need to see what you can expect from the Washington colleges.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Seems like a pretty good idea to me. If people are going to give you all of their money and a lot of someone else’s money, why say no?</p>
<p>^ I was thinking that if any potential B school student took a 25K Parent Plus loan they should be rescinded…</p>
<p>Forget about out of state privates and publics, you don’t have the money or the stats. You don’t have a lot of options at your income level. Make sure you apply to the state flag, the lower level states and your local CC. You probably need to make some decent money over the summer too. good luck</p>
<p>Speedo, I agree re: out of state publics, but disagree on privates. Did you know that privates that have a “100% need met” policy will meet the need of the “last” student admitted as well? Further, there are many small/mid privates that would love to have a WA student even apply to their school, let alone admit them…this works the farther away from WA the OP is willing to go…</p>
<h1>13</h1>
<p>This op’s stats are too low to get into the “100% need colleges” and most small privates don’t have the funds to support such a high need student. This op would be gapped at most privates and would end up with huge loans. Better off, accepting reality and applying instate public.</p>
<p>Speedo’s advice is not well-grounded.</p>
<p>The OP’s stats are not too low to get into 100% need-met colleges. While many private colleges don’t have the funds to fully support high-need students, some do, and those are the ones the OP should apply to. For example, look at colleges like Whitman, Oberlin, Pitzer, and Bates. They meet 100% of need (in Whitman’s case, about 98%), and you might find them interesting.</p>
<p>Also look at the Questbridge program - but check it out now, because the full application (with quite a few essays that need to be well-written) is due Sept. 30.</p>
<p>most schools aren’t need blind. Only the publics and the top privates. and yes, high need can affect your chances at schools, as it did my d, especially if you aren’t at the top of their applicant pool. the director of admissions at the LAC my d applied ED to told us our high need was one of the main reasons she was deferred. In the end she chose Whitman, which is need blind, and received a generous grant/loan package from them. The key here, if you are applying to privates, is to apply to the ones where you will be in the high level applicant pool for that school. I agree with mom2collegekids, NYU is not a good bet for you. What are you planning to study, and what are you looking for in a school?</p>
<p>Actually most schools ARE need-blind. </p>
<p>The difference is that not many are “need blind AND meet need”.</p>
<p>why do you say that mom2…? Oberlin isn’t, Colorado College isn’t, and didn’t Williams just announce that they were also dropping the need blind policy? I know Vassar and Wes are. Bowdoin dropped need blind status for their wait list. Don’t know about Bates and Colby. I agree that just because a school is need blind they may not meet 100% of need, but we had to really dig to find true need blind schools for d.</p>
<p>^ To start with, most public schools are need blind. Then there is a pretty good segment of privates that are as well.</p>
<p>why do you say that mom2…?</p>
<p>Uh…because there are a ton more public schools than private, and nearly all (if not all) publics are need blind.</p>