Already done – Bates and Colby (see post #73). Bates is test optional. Although, based on what BrownParent says is post #75, it appears that OP was already advised to consider these schools.
^^^
Right, but that was before she understood how FA and loans work. Now that she knows she needs the full need test optional schools, she may reconsider.
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How would she know her SAT score was the highest in her school?
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It may not be the highest, but one of the highest. She may hang-out with the “honors crowd” and they’ve compare scores.
OP started a thread in March of this year in which she received some excellent advice. She even titled the thread “How Will I Pay for College.”
It’s somewhat discouraging to find out nine months later that OP has largely disregarded the advice she received and instead has her heart set on an out-of-state public school where she is not receiving anything close to the amount of aid she needs in order to attend.
@mom2collegekids can confirm, but I don’t believe Net Price Calculators are going to be accurate for you if your dad owns a small business. CSS profile schools will require his info., I think, and I would expect they’ll take a close look at your dad’s income and expenses because $9k/year seems really low for a business owner.
Have you looked into the information below that was posted to your attention last March?
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@gtgonewrong I am late to this thread but hope I can help. (First of all I kind of love your username. I think my D would also have called herself gtgonewrong had she been on CC as a junior!)
We live in Maine and are fairly low income, so we went through a similar search.
For scholarships, I’d encourage you to apply for the George Mitchell scholarship. Unlike most outside scholarships, it’s for all four years ($2,000 each year!) PLUS it involves networking and mentoring and a community of other scholars and alums. Very cool. They choose ONE student from every high school in Maine each year. My D won it last year and it’s been so helpful. Here’s the link: http://mitchellinstitute.org/ Start thinking about who to ask to write your recommendations, that will be very important.
There will also be a bunch of local scholarships you should apply to. They will only be for one year but every little bit helps. Go and speak to your guidance office, they should have a list. You won’t be able to apply until next year but you can be thinking of what to write, etc… Here are some ideas:
Rodney Harmon scholarship http://www.trademarkfcu.org/rod-harmon-scholarship/
Maine American Legion scholarships: http://www.mainelegion.org/pages/programs/scholarships.php Also check with your LOCAL American Legion posts, which often have their own scholarships as well.
Check with your local Lions Clubs and Chamber of Commerce as well.
FAME Maine has a terrific scholarship search here: http://www.famemaine.com/files/StaticPages/Education/Scholarship_Search.aspx
FAME Maine are also good people to speak with about paying for college in general. If they don’t do a talk at your school this year, I’d recommend calling them and asking to speak to a counselor who can help you get a handle on the whole financial aid project… that’s their job, and they’re very helpful!!
Lastly, are you male of female? If female, please consider the seven sisters schools. They’re terrific for a whole bunch of reasons, but one is that they are all meets-full-need schools, but -compared to peer schools with the same academic stats of admitted students- have a higher acceptance rate due to the fact that the applicant pool is smaller and self selecting. Depending on your SAT scores and final GPA this year, you should definitely consider Smith and Mount Holyoke at the very least.
Sorry I was at school. I would not be interested in attending a HBCU, or an all female school. My CR+M was 1220, and I just retook it. I know for a fact that it was the highest in the school because there were only 30 kids that took the SAT in my school and I talked to each and every one of them. My guidance counselors told me that I would not get accepted at Colby and Bates. And you guys shouldn’t shame me for what I fell in love with. I visited it this summer and I instantly knew it was the place I wanted to be. And my family is not that poor that my mother wouldn’t be able to see me graduate or visit.
I also don’t know if it would technically be a small business… He fixes cars out of his garage… But I do not live with him.
People just don’t want your dream ending in you not going to school next year.
The issue isn’t shame, the issue is that you will NOT be able to afford GMU, so you need to find BETTER choices. We realize that you got your heart set on GMU when you didn’t understand about loans, and getting loans…and how you won’t be able to get loans…even if you wanted them.
Don’t be stubborn…otherwise in 4 months you’ll be posting that you’re upset and embarassed that you don’t have any affordable schools to attend.
ok…folks…where else should she apply?
I think Loyola Maryland gives good aid and may meet need.
Where else? Does St. Olaf meet need?
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I live with my single mother. I have two younger siblings. My father doesn't pay child support and my mother makes around $17,000/year. There is no way she can contribute almost anything for me to go to college especially with my brother also entering the year after me. Her credit is also pretty poor.
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Does your family live with relatives?
I don’t really feel comfortable leaving New England. (The only reason I feel comfortable with GMU is I have family that lives nearby and would have a good support system there since I have many friends that attend)
People are just giving suggestions. You can eliminate HBCU, all women’s college, military academies, schools in the south, etc., but when you do you are eliminating the benefits that go with those schools, including money. You asked for suggestions and those are the schools that come to mind. You are a busy high school student, and no one is suggesting you are wasting your time on two sports and babysitting, but that doesn’t put money in your bank account and you are the one who has to decide if you are benefiting more from the sports and ECs than you would from money.
Most people don’t get to have everything. If you go to college OOS without a full scholarship, you’ll have loans. You also need to figure out how to get all the extra money you’ll need for transportation to Virginia, for other things that might be required like lab fees and health insurance, set up costs like a coffee pot or hooks for your wall art. I kept things to a minimum and it still was a couple hundred dollars for each of my daughters when they started school (sophomore year was basically nothing). You really can’t arrive to school with no money. Paying $20-30k for tuition just isn’t realistic from everything you’ve said.
My siblings live with both my mother and father. I have to babysit my youngest brother while my mother works, there is no other option. I have health insurance, and I have everything I will need for my dorm. There also won’t be problems getting to and from VA.
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Ok…so some siblings live at dad’s home…and some live at mom’s home.
It seems like you still think that you’ll be able to go to GMU. Are you still thinking that? Where do you think you’re going to get the money to go to GMU? Where? You said that your mom has lousy credit, plus her income is low, so she cannot cosign. So where is the money going to come from?
My parents have shared custody of my younger siblings. They are with my mother half the time, and my father half the time.
I don’t know where it will come from. I am hopeful of getting scholarships, and some good financial aid from GMU.
@TempeMom 's post is accurate. People want you to be able to have real choices for next yr. Getting accepted, getting scholarships, etc. are fabulous, but they are also all meaningless in the end if you cannot afford to attend. College costs are exorbitant. There are 1000s of kids who work hard, have amazing achievements, and their college choices are limited by cost. That is not shameful. It is fiscal reality.
FWIW, you will have greater success if you are not stressed about how you are going to manage to pay for every little thing you need, stressed about having to pay back loans, stressed about how your attending college is impacting your mom and your siblings, etc.
Do you believe them? If your answer to that question is yes, here’s another question: WHY?
I’ll tell you something I’m 100% certain of: if you don’t apply, you won’t be accepted. Colby’s application is free. Bates is test-optional. While you’re at it, apply to Bowdoin as well; that school is also test optional. I believe in another post you wrote that you have CommonApp fee waivers and waivers for sending SAT scores. Even if you have to pay to submit an application to these schools (or any school that meets 100% of financial need), the return on investment can be huge. By the way, both Colby and Bowdoin have a no-loan policy with their 100% meets need commitment.
This is demonstrably false. Bowdoin, Bates and Colby are all consistently ranked as some of the best small liberal arts schools in the country.
More bad advice.
https://www.colby.edu/goldfarb/journalismconference/
Have you run the Net Price Calculators for Bowdoin, Bates or Colby? Take a few minutes to do so and let us know what you find out. I wouldn’t be surprised if they show an EFC of much less than $12,000.
As a lower income kid from rural Maine, along with your academic credentials, this is pure gold for whoever might read your application at Bowdoin, Bates or Colby. Add a compelling essay and (hopefully) improved test scores, and you might have a real shot. Have I mentioned that Colby’s application is free?
My S went to Bates and now has a great job in Boston. Students at BB&C don’t generally stay in Maine after they graduate.
I advised a student from a small town in Maine with excellent stats who wanted desperately to get out of Maine that she apply to at least one of the Maine schools as they just love high stat Maine kids. Thankfully she listened and applied to Colby, where she is now a Sophomore. Colby gave her $54k a year in grants and her single mom has an income of approx $75k/yr.
We have an income between $120-$130k/yr and are not from Maine and Bates gave us $40k/yr in grant money.
You will get a lot of money from any of the Maine LACs. I strongly urge you to apply to to at least two of these school. Just make sure you interview (although the student who is at Colby now didn’t.)
UMaine’s largest scholarship is for 8,000, reducing the cost of attendance to approximately 15,000. If you’re a valedictorian or salutatorian and have a good gpa, you’re almost guaranteed this scholarship - they like to encourage top students from Maine high schools to attend. Run a net price calculator and apply for some outside scholarships and the school could become a very affordable option. I know it may not be your first choice - I’m also from rural Maine, so I totally get what you’re going through. I’ve wanted to attend school in Boston since I was a little kid. But it’s not affordable or smart, even for much of the middle class. UMaine has become a serious option for me simply because it’s so cheap, especially once you factor in merit scholarships.
Colby is also another great option. My parents make a decent amount of money for Maine (UMaine offered me zero need based aid,) but Colby’s financial aid is awesome and based off the online calculator it would cost me almost the same to go to Colby as to UMaine. If you got in, I imagine you’d get a very large financial aid package. And Colby is a top college. It could be a very good compromise for you between your dream school and a cheap school.
I know how you feel to at least some extent, and I hope very much it all works out for you. Good luck.
Youngest D also accepted to Franklin Pierce in Rindge New Hampshire …merit award is almost 30,000 a year, D2 athletics… From what I can tell fairly rural… Small and appears to be over financial hurdles they experienced in past … They also offer a Graduate PA program. I will also post some questions about this school in D2 athletics as daughter and coach are discussing recruitment for Track and field. My question is on NCCPA ratings…100% pass rating 2012, 85% 2013, 95% 2014, 86% 2015. Does anyone have any insight to Franklin Pierce…area…school Thoughts on PA rankings?
Merit aid is very high compared to most schools we are considering
“Rancid” New Hampshire? Are you communicating an opinion about the state of New Hampshire, or is this a typo?
Rindge… My error… Working on 2 computers plus I pad