<p>By the way, OP—good job for tackling your situation head on and early enough for you to put yourself in a good situation.</p>
<p>hmm ok, rochester sounds like a good possibility.</p>
<p>SteveMA I did have safety schools, but they aren’t really financial safeties now.</p>
<p>People seem to forget two things about 529s – they are different than UTMA or UGMA gifts to minors. The money continues to be owned by the person who established the account. It is not owned by the intended student. And it does not “have” to be used for college. The owner can pull it back out, and use it for whatever they want. There would just be a tax penalty associated with that.</p>
<p>You need to add University of Tulsa to you list. NMF can get a full ride - it’s not guaranteed - but if you don’t get full ride you can/ usually get full tuition. </p>
<p>I would agree strongly with one earlier point - you need to get them to agree what each will pay and get them to put it in the divorce agreement.</p>
<p>Don’t forget USC. If you complete your application by Dec 1 there’s a guaranteed 1/2 tuition scholarship for NMSF and the chance for much more for a high stats kid.</p>
<p>Billy–if they aren’t financial safety schools now, they were not before. Were your parents really planning on pulling out their retirement dollars to pay for your schooling?</p>
<p>Wichita State University also offers a full ride for NMF’s - they have some excellent programs - you might consider researching this school as well.</p>
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<p>After you file the FASFA/CSS, you write the schools with your extenuating circumstances, and the “one time” income. They can easily back it out and recalculate your EFC for need based aid.</p>
<p>I see you are adding Ga. Tech so think about University of Cincinnati. Full ride (instate tuition plus R & B) to NMFs. Good Engineering & Business schools plus it’s a mandatory co-op program (for Engineering; I think it’s optional for Business) so after the first year you alternate work & school. You’ll make money for next semester’s tuition.</p>
<p>Hi, billy, congrats on earning such a handsome stats profile! I am so sorry you have to go through this family upheaval right now. I hope you have a trusted friend or mentor you can turn to for venting and emotional support–be good to yourself.</p>
<p>You’ve already received a lot of helpful info and advice. I will try to add a few more Texas-specific points:</p>
<p>1-Except for Rice, all Texas schools are pretty much guaranteed admits for you, so the real issue is money. If you want to add a U Alabama stats-driven full ride-type Texas school to your list, then among the top three Texas schools, A&M is your best bet, although it takes luck in bundling various scholarships (including the National Merit award UT dropped) to equal a full Aggie ride. But it sounds like you bleed orange! 
If that’s the case, Rice and UT give very little merit, but on the private front, Baylor, SMU and TCU are targeting exceptional students; if you show any interest, they will aggressively court you with promises of generous $ and prestigious/rigorous honors and leadership paths. If you lean toward engineering, also consider UT Dallas–they will likely give you a full ride and are doing a lot of exciting things in engineering and scientific research. </p>
<p>2-If you want to get your UT admit regardless, go for an honors admit (Oct. 15 deadline–that’s a pretty hard deadline as to Plan II, which sounds perfect for you, and more of an “early action” deadline for Cockrell, McCombs, et al.) and apply for the Forty Acres and other competitive scholarships. [Tech tip: If you haven’t done your ApplyTexas app yet, note that the honors app will not open up and be available to you until ApplyTexas processes your basic app and gives you the green light, which can take 24+ hours, so don’t cut it too close to the Oct. 15 or Dec. 1 deadline!] If your ECs, leadership, writing, etc. are as strong as your stats, you have as good a chance as anyone of being tapped for the Texas Exes Forty Acres scholarship mentioned above. It’s a full ride pure merit scholarship, and because the numbers are small, it’s very competitive. There were 10 in the 2011 founding group of scholars, and 14 this year. The 2013 class is expected to be 20 students strong. Watch this feature about this year’s scholars: [Meet</a> the 2012 Recipients of the Forty Acres Scholars Program! - YouTube](<a href=“Meet the 2012 Recipients of the Forty Acres Scholars Program! - YouTube”>Meet the 2012 Recipients of the Forty Acres Scholars Program! - YouTube) </p>
<p>3-Almost all scholarship opportunities at Texas schools–including the Forty Acres scholarship–are triggered when you complete the scholarship section on your ApplyTexas app. Stats-driven institutional awards are generally offered fairly early; competitive scholarships like Forty Acres often require supplemental essays, info, interviews, etc. and involve an extended selection process, so you won’t know if you’re getting any $ until spring or later. Note, another coveted full ride scholarship is the Terry Scholarship (available at not only UT, but A&M and several other Texas schools), but it does have a need-based component, so it may/may not come into play. Here’s a link to the UT scholarships info site: [Texas</a> Scholarships](<a href=“http://www.texasscholarships.org/]Texas”>http://www.texasscholarships.org/) Each college will have a merit scholarship website–it’s often located in the financial aid section. </p>
<p>4-Talk to your assigned college counselor ASAP to get him/her up to speed on this new aspect to your search and selection process. In addition to helping you identify merit possibilities, including local scholarships of significance, perhaps your counselor would agree to invite your parents to come in to discuss your options and the role they will need to play. Many times, a counselor-parent meeting helps take the stress off a senior with parent difficulties (of whatever type) and also gives the parents a “push” and a timeline for what they need to be doing. With your credentials, I’m sure you are the top or among the top students at your school; the counseling staff should be enthusiastic about working with you to optimize your college search, selection and financing…don’t be shy about asking them to help!</p>
<p>Good luck. :)</p>
<p>Take a look at Northeastern in Boston. It has a great co-op program, and in the past they have offered full tuition scholarships for NMF. (That would leave about $15K/year in room/board etc costs). As an added benefit, it is in the middle of Boston with terrific access to Logan Airport. That will allow you to be self-sufficient on transportation, without needing favors from either parent.</p>
<p>Wow, thanks TXArtemis! I will definitely look into all of those options. Right now I have a quick question – can you explain the application deadlines to me for UT Austin? I tried wading through their website without much success… I think I would be applying for Engineering (since I hear it’s easier to switch out of engineering than in) and maybe 40 acres? I just found out about that opportunity so I’m not sure but lets just assume I do apply for 40 acres. So whats the timeline for the applytexas app, scholarship app, honors app (is there one?), and 40 acres app? ALL by oct. 15?</p>
<p>thank you colorado_mom, but I don’t think I would be happy at northeastern. It seems like going to school 15 minutes from two of my dream schools (harvard and mit) would just be rubbing salt in the wound everyday for 4 years. that probably sounds stupid but it’s how I feel.</p>
<p>Oh, also, stevema they told me they were willing to use that money for my college (saying and doing are two different things I know, but I believed them). after saving the majority of their retirements, they have watched their own parents become so bored of retirement that they took up grocery store/fast food jobs just to have something to do with themselves, and I don’t really think they even want to retire anymore.</p>
<p>University of New Mexico has a guaranteed scholarship for NM Semifinalists–a full tuition + fees scholarship. (just leaves R&B at ~$8000/year)</p>
<p>NM Finalists get a full ride (Free tuition, fees plus room & board)</p>
<p>[Undergraduate</a> Scholarships :: | The University of New Mexico](<a href=“http://scholarship.unm.edu/scholarships/index.html]Undergraduate”>http://scholarship.unm.edu/scholarships/index.html)</p>
<p>OOS scholarships are near the bottom of the page.</p>
<p>While NM is not as cold as Rochester’s—it’s colder here than Texas. (There’s skiing only 30 minutes from the UNM campus.)</p>
<p>If you have any interest in Aerospace Engineering - you should look at Wichita State - they have an amazing program and amazing opportunities with all of the aviation in the city. NMF status would give you a full ride.</p>
<p>Keep in mind - to get the NMF scholarship at any of these schools - you have to list that school as your number one choice by the deadline. It is in the spring sometime - but make sure to note this deadline and get it in by then.</p>
<p>*Billy–if they aren’t financial safety schools now, they were not before. Were your parents really planning on pulling out their retirement dollars to pay for your schooling?
*</p>
<p>It really doesn’t matter what the parents were going to do before, the fact that their incomes/assets will now take a huge hit from divorce attorneys and maintaining two households may have changed all previous plans. A second residence can mean $25k going towards that alone.</p>
<p>You might want to look at Trinity university in San Antonio. They can be fairly generous though I am not certain what they offer NMF.</p>
<p>billy, UT’s deadline for application, honors program and scholarships (including 40 Acres) is Dec. 1, except that a few honors programs have Oct. 15 priority deadlines. If you’re just focused on Cockrell Engineering, then no worries about Oct. 15–Cockrell goes by the Dec. 1 deadline. [Honors</a> Programs | Be a Longhorn](<a href=“http://bealonghorn.utexas.edu/freshmen/honors]Honors”>http://bealonghorn.utexas.edu/freshmen/honors) </p>
<p>Things will be a lot more clear to you when you go in and set up your account at ApplyTexas, which I recommend you do sooner than later so you can review what needs to be done and set your own timeline for completion. You only have to complete the basic app once (like the Common App)–it will be good for UT and any other Texas school to which you apply. When you tick the specific schools you’ll go for, school-specific options will open up, including supplemental applications for both honors programs and scholarships (including 40 Acres). Just follow the prompts, pay attention to the additional items required (essays, recs, test scores, transcript, etc.) and be sure you submit everything by Dec. 1. Note, UT loves their expanded resume, and it’ll also be a critical piece in support of your honors and scholarship apps. Preparing it is actually a helpful exercise in developing how you want to present yourself on all of your apps (not just Texas) in terms of ECs, honors, leadership, passions, skills, etc. So if you’re up to working on that sooner than later, it’s a good place to start.</p>
<p>Whew, good. I have Georgia tech due oct. 15 and a lot of EA schools nov. 1 so adding UT austin would’ve been tough.</p>
<p>Thank you so much to the people who have pmed me, especially colorado_mom, I am seriously resenting the “You may not PM if you have less than 15 posts” thing!</p>
<p>I appreciate all of the suggestions and am researching all of them. Quick question - before, one of my safeties/low matches was Rensselaer, is it still worth applying? Are they known for good aid?</p>
<p>also, what happens if I get into ut austin engineering honors and then decide i actually want to do economics? thats basically my biggest reservation about UT, how hard is it to change schools within UT, and if you do that can you even get into honors at the other school? I guess this applies to really all the schools that you have to apply into departments…</p>
<p>You can get a near-full-ride at UTD–automatic for NMF’s. (Your total cost might be 1-2K per year.) You can also apply for competitive scholarships with even more benefits. This is a good financial safety for you. They have an honors program and you can easily change colleges within the university. The school is known for engineering, computer science and business, but has most other majors you can think of. It used to be more a of commuter school, but is becoming more residential. UTD has nice new freshman dorms with single bedrooms in 3-person suites. Check it out.</p>
<p>Also, you can get at least full tuition, if not a full-ride at U. Tulsa.</p>