If I come from a very low income family (less than 30,000), is that considered a big advantage, comparable to being like hispanic??
<p>While it may help, it's not comparable because the economic ranges of students tend to be diversified without actively seeking it.</p>
<p>Well, it's a tip factor but depends on a lot of things. If your parents are college grads making $30,000 it's not going to help. If they are poor, uneducated and you went to an inner city high school offering no APs and did really well in spite of poverty, it will help. If your teachers will say that you are so unusual versus the other kids at the school and so on.</p>
<p>I go to a competitive high school, over 15 ap classes, live in suburbs, but I not well off or anything. One parent dropped out of high school, and other didn't go to college. If I had to struggle with other adversities, will that help?</p>
<p>oh, and since my parents did not go to college let alone high school, will my expectations be lowered like athletes or urms??</p>
<p>It depends on where you're applying. The top ranked colleges, places like Ivies, want student bodies that are diverse in all respects, but have a hard time recruiting qualified low income students. If you have the stats that make you qualified for admission, being low income can be a big plus in admissions at such places.</p>
<p>That's not the case, though, for some public institutions that attract large numbers of low income students.</p>
<p>BTW, Berea College in Kentucky is only for low income students. If you're concerned about finances, check it out because it may be very affordable for you.</p>
<p>Having parents who aren't h.s. or college educated also is a plus particularly at top colleges.</p>
<p>It's a plus factor at teh UC's.</p>
<p>but will having lower income/being first generation lower expectation in standardized test scores?? I have a 29 ACT (1st time, will retake). Hardest courseload, 10 aps by end of senior year, 4.2 gpa. Not so outstanding ec, but will have outstanding essays. Will northwestern/cornell/wellesley be too much of a reach??</p>
<p>It will also depend on how many people are in your family. Eight people living off less than $30k a year is a lot less common than three.</p>
<p>Since finances are a problem, before applying to a college, take a careful look at the financial aid and scholarship section of their web pages to find out what kind of aid they offer. If you have questions about possibilities, e-mail a financial aid officer. There are few things more disappointing than to get accepted to a top choice and then find out that you can't afford it because they either gapped your aid (gave you far less than you need) or gave you a financial aid package with an impossibly high amount of loans.</p>
<p>There have been students posting on CC whose packages consisted of $20,000 a year in loans, which would put a stranglehold on their future.</p>
<p>could i get accepted to princeton with my status?? I know they are very generous.</p>
<p>You have a chance, but would have a better chance at the colleges that you listed if you raise your ACT score. You also could try taking the SAT as some students do better on that.</p>
<p>Also look at SAT optional colleges. Mount Holyoke and Bowdoin are among those colleges that you might consider. The website for Fairtest has a list of all colleges that don't require the SAT or ACT.</p>
<p>Colleges also know that it's harder for first generation college students and students from low income backgrounds to score high on those tests (due to lack of enrichment and often lack of access to good schools) so will give them some leeway. </p>
<p>If you're willing to go South, consider Rice as it has had a longtime interest in attracting first generation and low income college students.</p>
<p>I don't suggest Northwestern because it's often not generous with aid.</p>
<p>Also consider Smith as the women's colleges want a diverse student body, and sometimes have a hard time competing with the top co-ed schools for excellent students since women's colleges aren't that popular now.</p>
<p>I saw on another thread by you that you are concerned about not being able to visit colleges. If you are low income, colleges won't expect you to visit unless the colleges are only a short distance away -- such as being located within an hour drive or so.</p>
<p>Also, since you're low income, many colleges will give you a fee waiver so you don't have to pay application fees. Your guidance counselor can help with this.</p>
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If you're willing to go South, consider Rice as it has had a longtime interest in attracting first generation and low income college students.
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<p>Northstarmom, do you know of any other schools like that? I'm first-generation and low income, and I am absolutely applying to (and in love with) Smith.</p>
<p>I think a 29 is really good. It's right within the middle 50 for the schools you're looking at, I believe. Keep in mind that even at SAT I/ACT-optional schools, you still frequently need to submit SAT IIs or (less commonly) AP/IB scores.</p>
<p>Oh, and to add to the fee waiver thing: Free</a> applications! (I love my pretty list...)</p>
<p>Great list, beginning!</p>
<p>Remember, though, that if finances are a concern, free applications are meaningless unless the colleges offer excellent financial aid. </p>
<p>OP, make sure that you have a financial safety -- a school you know you'll be accepted to and can afford. For very lowi income people, often financial safeties are local community colleges or are local 4-year public universities where a student knows they'll get merit aid. Make sure that you apply early to your financial safety if it's a public university because many have rolling admission and close admissions after they fill their freshmen class, which could be as early as Dec. They also may award scholarships on a first come, first served basis.</p>
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For very lowi income people, often financial safeties are local community colleges
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<p>I have to second this. I'm starting my college career at my local community college, and I couldn't be happier. I'm taking honors courses, working with great professors, involved with lots of clubs, and just delighted in general.</p>
<p>The best thing is, I'm building my portfolio for merit aid this way. Also, at many colleges -- including Smith, Cornell, Wells, Dickinson, NCF, Mount Holyoke, Drew, Binghamton, Rochester, and Sweet Briar, all of which are on my list -- I get automatic scholarships (or, at the very least, automatic scholarship consideration) through Phi Theta Kappa, which is something virtually no freshmen applicants have. Check out <a href="http://scholarships.ptk.org/%5B/url%5D">http://scholarships.ptk.org/</a> for a list of colleges that offer scholarships for PTK members.</p>
<p>Really, CCs are an amazing resource, and they shouldn't be knocked like they are sometimes on these boards. Don't rule it out, especially if you live near a good one. I'm lucky to be .3 mi from one of the best in the country, so I hope you're in a similar situation.</p>
<p>Yogurt, the idea is that it can be a tip factor, so if two equal candidates are being considered and one is poor and has had few advantages and the other is wealthy with every advantage, you would get the nod. Ir's not going to get someone with a 29 ACT into Princeton.</p>
<p>What you really need to understand is that what schools want is diversity. They want the inner city poor and URMs who bring something into the mostly middle and upper middle class suburbanite mix. If you go to a suburban school with advantages, money isn't going to be seen as a factor for you. Really, your income is not on the application, they are judging who you are by where you come from. If being poor has really impacted your life you can write an essay about it and try that way. Otherwise, you're just another suburban kid from a school with lots of APs, and they think of poor as a kid from the inner city at a school with little enrichment.</p>
<p>So for example, I'm a URM but I go to an elite prep school and not on a scholarsship. I will get nowhere near the benefit a black from Harlem will.</p>
<p>so how will they know your income in order for financial aid? I thought colleges consider income as a factor? Just because one lives in a suburb doesn't mean that they are well off. Don't they consider the fact that I don't have money for test prep classes which all my friends went to??</p>
<p>As I said, they usually assume income by zip code. Different people do the financial aid, adcoms do see whether or not you're applying. If you think being poor has significantly effected you in a ways your peers were not impacted , write about that in one of your essays or ask a teacher to write it in a rec.</p>