<p>Basically..I go to a prestigious private school in Hawaii. But..I'm ranked 144/445. 3.4 GPA, 1820 cummulative GPA. 2 year varsity wrestler. Annual improvement upon GPA. Journalism internship during summer of Junior year w/ the University of Hawaii newspaper. Intend to major in journalism w/ the ultimate goal of becoming a sports writer/columnist. </p>
<p>My financial situation doesn't exactly favor my goals of going into the continental US, where sports thrive way beyond Michelle Wie and UH football. I'd like to study in Cali, but I'm not opposed to other states.</p>
<p>My dad contributes $0 to my family, and my mom's income is $30,000/yr. Where should I go from here? Any recommendations?</p>
<p>Are you still in High School? If you are, then please speak to your guidance counselor. </p>
<p>Also, why do you not at least add the University of Hawaii to your list of prospective schools? If you had an internship there, then they must like you a bit. </p>
<p>Hmm... let me think...</p>
<p>hmm...</p>
<p>I know that there are some Sports Mad schools where I live in the South. Seriously, it would be good for you to look at some schools over there. </p>
<p>Maybe you should elaborate on the situation with your dad. There are fin aid rules about parents income and stuff, you know. It would help anyone else who reads your thread if you elaborated on the situation with your dad.</p>
<p>You might consider going to the University of Hawaii for a year to bring up your grades and get some journalism classes/experience. </p>
<p>Also, you might be interested in the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education program, which allows students in certain states to study in certain other states for 150% of instate tuition. This is their main website</p>
<p>As Mildred said, schools will take into account your father's lack of support in different ways. Even if he doesn't contribute, most schools will consider his income when analyzing your financial need. If you can, you should still probably apply to some private schools that offer merit money just in case you find one that will work with you and your mother to help out with your financial situation.</p>
<p>Just an FYI that the University of New Mexico, which is huge on sports, offers something called an "Amigo" scholarship. This is in-state tuition for students from out of state who did decently in high school (as you certainly did.) Tuition for the year is about 4k for in-state. Room and board about 7k. So for 11-12k including books, you could go there. YOu would also be accepted into the honors program, which is a cut above the rest of the academics.</p>
<p>Talk to your GC, including about your lack of financial support from your dad. Even though your dad hasn't been contributing, colleges still will expect him to pay what they feel is his fair share. It can be very difficult to get around this, so the earlier you start researching this, the better.</p>
<p>My dad is somewhat of a touchy matter. He has never had a steady job and we haven't seen from him in 10+ years. We do know that he doesn't have a job, however, and he also doesn't pay child support. I wish the colleges good luck in tracking down my elusive dad.</p>
<p>It's not the colleges who will need luck-- it's you. Colleges are naturally hesitant about accepting students' claims that one parent provides no support. Even the schools who will work with you will require a lot of documentation about your situation. Please don't assume that colleges will just rely on the statements of you and your mom.</p>
<p>I've searched for my dad w/ no avail. Obviously I didn't put myself into this type of bind, but whatevers. What type of documentation would it require? Will the thousands of dollars of back payment my dad owes for child support work? Obviously I'd rather he be around, but thats not my choice.</p>
<p>Has there ever been a court order issued to require your father to pay child support? Has your mother ever filed claims against your father? Hired a lawyer? A private investigator?</p>
<p>You basically have to provide enough information to prove that you've tried to get support from him, pursued the necessary legal channels, etc.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, there are a lot of kids in your situation. Some have fathers like yours, who've simply fallen off the face of the earth. But others have perfectly well-off parents who just decline to pay the court-ordered support.</p>
<p>That said, the income bracket that your mother is in would probably qualify you for full financial aid at most private colleges.</p>
<p>Also -- keep in mind that the only schools that will require information and support from your father are schools that require the Profile (or their own, similiar forms). many, many state schools only require the FAFSA and for that you only list your mother's income and asset information.</p>
<p>Check out the schools that were recommended to see if they require more than the FAFSA.</p>
<p>Most schools "gap" students -- they don't provide the aid that the student's information indicates that they require, so also do some checking to see how much different schools "GAP"</p>
<p>There are schools that are "need-aware" when it comes to admission. With such colleges, having high financial need puts one at a disadvantage. The very poor students who gain admission tend to be at the top of the admissions pool.</p>
<p>There are even more schools that can't afford to meet 100% of most students' documented financial need. They may be able to meet on average 60-80% of students financial need (and much of how they do that may be through loans). In may not be worth it to apply to such schools unless you have a good chance of getting merit aid from them.</p>
<p>Thoroughly check the financial aid and admissions web sites of colleges that interest you, work closely with your GC starting early in the year, and read everything you can find out about financial aid, including the threads pinned at the top of this board.</p>
<p>All students' best chances of getting financial aid are from the colleges that they apply to (and that means they need to select colleges that are likely to give them aid) and from local scholarships, which tend to have little competiton. I know someone who started a $1,000 scholarship that would be given directly to a poor student who responded to an essay prompt about making the world more peaceful. No one applied for the scholarship even though it was offered in the poorest high school in one of my state's poorest counties, and even though the person offering the scholarship worked with the guidance counselors. </p>
<p>Do not bother selecting a dream school that you have little or no chance of getting the aid you need to attend it. Be realistic. More than likely, as is the case with the majority of students who go to college, you'll go to college within 250 miles fo home. Traveling to distant colleges in new climates adds additional expense that most people can't afford.</p>
<p>Because of the expense involved in leaving Hawaii unless you have sky high stats that would make you very desireable to the most generous colleges or unless you have the kind of athletic skills that make you recruitable, it may be difficult for you to be able to afford to go out of state for undergrad. However, depending on what field you major in (hard science fields have very generous fellowships) and how high your college grades are, it may be relatively easy for you to be able to afford to go out of state for grad school.</p>