<p>I'm so worried and confused about getting financial aid because I'm the first one in my family. I'm going into my senior year btw. My parents have no clue and I live an average life. I don't understand many internet guides because I have NO CLUE to whom they're pertaining to (freshman or undergrads or grads?).</p>
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<li>Can I get merit scholarships although my grade average is a B+?</li>
<li>Can I get need based scholarships if my family income is about 90k?</li>
<li>Where should I look for scholarships I can actually get? Internet or local?</li>
<li>What's a normal amount of scholarships students actually get?</li>
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<p>My family is completely normal with no deaths or tragedies. I've seen those essay contests about "American Pride" and "How would you improve your community". Should I apply for those HUGE contests? Or would it be more reasonable to stick with local?</p>
<p>It depends on which colleges you apply to. Most schools rely heavily on federal aid, which tends to peter off well before that income threshold. However, certain colleges – your Ivy Leagues, mostly – have financial aid (need-based) for students with incomes well above $100k. The only trick is getting in.</p>
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<p>It’s hard to say; they’re both pretty crappy. The BEST scholarships come from colleges. After that, I would look at local scholarships. They tend to be small, but they’re much less competitive (since they’re a lot less well-known). Your guidance counselor can help you find those, but you can’t really count on them to pay all or even most of your costs, especially since most of them are only for one year (Although some are renewable – you have to look that up too). You can try Internet if you want; after all, you MIGHT win, but you can’t defend on them. One rule of thumb is the easier it is to apply for a scholarship (ie no essay, no interviews) the less likely it is for you to actually win. After all, if YOU spent 30 seconds applying for the scholarship, EVERYONE ELSE could probably do it too.</p>
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<p>Yes. Most merit scholarships are offered by the schools themselves (the colleges that you get into) and they’re based on things such as GPA, SAT scores, and even ACT scores, as well as financial need on occasion and certain other traits like community service or essays. Your best bet is to look up the specific requirements for each scholarship on the college’s website. A B+ is an excellent GPA and there’s no reason to consider it an automatic barrier from merit scholarships.</p>
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<p>Hard to say. A few people get full-rides (again, usually from colleges themselves); others can get a couple of thousands of dollars; most only get loans and have to rely on savings and current income.</p>
<p>While you are college shopping, take a long hard look at your local community college(s). The tuition and fees are affordable, and living at home can be a drag but it usually is cheaper than a college dorm. Many community colleges have their own scholarship programs including need-based, merit-based, and even gee-we-like-this-kid-based. Happykid was awarded one from that last category. It covers full tuition and fees up to 15 credits per semester. Requirements for applying: GPA of 3.0, two short essays, and a letter of recommendation. No test scores at all! If Happykid maintains a 2.0 it will be renewed second semester. If Happykid maintains a 3.5 for the year, it will be renewed for the second year. Not a bad deal when you think about it!</p>
<p>AND community colleges often have something called transfer articulation agreements with state and private colleges. If you maintain a certain GPA average and meet a few other requirements, you can transfer as a junior to any participating university. In my neighborhood (Northern Virginia), you can transfer from the VCCS system to top schools liike the University of Virginia as a junior, and graduate with the UVA degree at roughly 1/2 of the cost of starting there as a freshman.</p>
<p>It’s a good time to have a talk with your parents on how much they can realistically afford each year for college. You should them look for schools within that price range as your base school, the ones you know that you can afford, and they should also be schools that will very likely accept you. Once, you have that covered, you can start extending your search to other schools where the admissions selectivity and finances could involve some chances. </p>
<p>Your test scores, your class rank and your difficulty level in course work are main factors in getting accepted to selective school. As a general rule, the more selective schools tend to give more generous financial aid. With a family income of $90K, you are not going to get any federal money except possibly in form of loans or work study. Still, the cost of a $60K a year private, boarding college is probably too steep for your family without some form of financial aid. </p>
<p>If you are applying to selective schools, private schools, it is likely that you will need to complete PROFILE which is what many of these schools use for financial aid apps. On Jan 1, 2011 or later, you will then fill out FAFSA which will make you eligible for any government funds for which you qualify. In your case, I see only self help unless your state or a given college has something. Usually schools use the FAFSA govt money first as a building block for your financial aid package. They will supplement those funds with their own money. But most schools do not meet full need, so there is often a gap. That is why you need to have some sure things in place.</p>
<p>An example of how this might work would be if you were accepted to a school that cost $30K a year and does not always meet 100% of need. You would probably get the full $5500 Stafford loan amount with some of it subsidized. That is government money. If the school has work study, it might award you $2000 in workstudy funds. With a $90 salary, you would not really qualify for much aid as the calculators usually assume about 1/3-1/2 of pay at that level. But the school might throw in a few thousand dollars in merit money or financial aid if they can. Would still leave a large gap. If your parents could pay $10K a year out of their savings and income, and if you have some money saved and work over the summer, it would be doable, but difficult. Perhaps your parents would consider a PLUS–which is a parent loan for the difference.</p>
<p>If you have very high test scores and grades, you may qualify for scholarship money. Most of the larger scholarship money come from the schools themselves. You need to be among the top applicants of a school for a realistic shot at those funds and they are not guaranteed most of the time. Some colleges do have certain guaranteed amounts for kids at a particular test score and/or gpa. Those are schools that should go on your list as financial safeties as well. But everything else would have elements of chance to it.</p>
<p>aStyle – Those are actually very good achievements and you should be proud!!! LOTS of great private schools with money that would love to have you!! UCONN and/or Eastern, Western…in CT. should remain on your list but really look at privates…you have a good shot at going for the same cost or less than UCONN, but need to know more about your family financials…do they have lots of non-retirement assets? Lots of home equity? If they don’t, and your let’s say a family of 4, your EFC would be around $10-$15K…</p>
<p>As a quick first step to see what I mean…check out Trinity and Conn. College locally – see if your admission stats stack up – as you will probably see, you have a good shot, right?</p>
<p>Then, read about their financial aid policies…you will see, they are VERY GENEROUS with need-based FA. Once you see those possibilities, look all over New England and beyond for similar opportunities…</p>
<p>Seek schools that meet 100% demonstrated need – what’s interesting about those schools is that even if you are the last student they admit, they will STILL meet your demonstrated need!! Therefore, if you have need and could squeeze into a “reach” school with this policy (like Wesleyan), you may end up with a cost that’s last then UCONN even though the sticker is $60K…</p>
<p>This is all possible, but you have to research this thoroughly…</p>