<p>Yes, I meant a job on campus. Sorry. Had a long talk with my guidance counselor at school today. He’s wonderful. I’m going to take the SAT and ACT a few more times. If I can raise my 28 to a 32 on ACT (or SAT equivalent), then I can afford New College without having to worry about outside scholarships. If I can’t raise my scores by the time the application deadlines for USF and UWF roll around, then I will apply to one of those schools since I know I can afford them.</p>
<p>Also, I posted a thread a few days back and it hasn’t been getting much traction. Well, it hasn’t been touched at all. One of the schools I applied to, Reed College, meets full need, but I’m not sure if I’d be able to get in. Not sure if it’s proper etiquette, but here’s the link: <a href=“What Are My Chances at Reed? - Reed College - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/reed-college/1683348-what-are-my-chances-at-reed.html</a></p>
<p>I don’t think a school can be a safety if it requires 20 hours per week to make it work. </p>
<p>If he goes part-time, how does that effect his BF award? I don’t think it is wise to spend more on R&B by going more years is the answer. R&B will still be full cost.</p>
<p>A true safety for this kid would be a school that is going to give him a big chunk of merit for his stats (full tuition), so that his BF and a student loan can cover R&B.</p>
<p>Ianeberle, I suggest you apply to all of the schools on your list, including USF and UWF as early as you can and get your financial aid papers to them ASAP. It can make a difference in the aid you get from them. Schools do run out of some caches of money and the early bird gets the worm in many such cases. I would not wait until the application deadlines. What you save in app fees may not be worth it in your aid package.</p>
<p>As for your friends who got so much money that they got checks back from the school, that’s wonderful if they got all of that money from merit scholarships. However, if they are borrowing on top of what they get from various sources, they may be running up future tabs that will be tough to repay. I know MANY kids who were doing that. They lived quite well in college, and then when it came to pay the piper back when they did not net high paying jobs, it was a whole different tune being paid.</p>
<p>Some of that money that your friends got back to them, may have been LOAN money. If they live off-campus, then after applying their BF money and maybe some Pell and loans, they would have a “surplus” and get a refund. However, some/all of that may be LOAN money.</p>
<p><<
If I can’t raise my scores by the time the application deadlines for USF and UWF roll around, </p>
<br>
<br>
<p>THAT is a BAD strategy. Application deadlines have LITTLE/NOTHING to do with merit awards. Merit awards often have earlier deadlines or are handed-out First Come, First Serve. So, someone applying towards the end of the app cycle may get NOTHING while others who applied earlier get big awards.</p>
<p>Sounds like you and your brother both don’t naturally have good planning skills. Be pro-active!!!</p>
<p>Bright Futures requires full time status, 12 credits. It is either $2300 or $3000 (for 15 credits; BF pays by the credit). It is only small part of the funds needed to attend a college in Florida. Nice to have, but any student needs more.</p>
<p>Most schools require freshmen to live in dorms. UNF absolutely requires it, even if the student is from Jacksonville and could live at home. FSU doesn’t require it, and there can be a huge cost savings by not living in the dorms and not having a meal plan.</p>
<p>OP, have you considered Florida Southern? We looked at it and but there was not an engineering program. There was a lot of merit money available, lots of business/poly sci stuff. Does your step father have any military money for you? Yellow ribbon? Have you considered ROTC or going to the Coast Guard Academy (small, political, FREE).</p>
<p>@ianeberle I’m so glad that you’re thinking smart about the situation. If you are at the top 25% of the college’s stats, you’ll get the most in merit aid if they have the merit aid to give.</p>
<p>Keep up with applying for private merit scholarships. With a good system, you can win more money than what you need to attend any college that you choose.</p>
<p>I also recommend that families send appeal financial aid award letters as well since both you and your brother will be in college at the same time.</p>
<p>You can graduate from college debt-free without putting the burden on your family. </p>
<p>I have wonderful planning skills. I have had my applications submitted to 7 schools mid-August, before some people even go back to school for the fall.</p>
<p>I contacted New College. Turns out they use weighted GPA for their merit aid, so I’ll get a lot more money from them than I originally anticipated. Put my weighted GPA into their calculator and I can afford to go there without any problems now, without having to worry about a job or pulling up my scores. Now just waiting on the acceptance letter 
</p>
<p>Yes, you have been pro-active in regards to getting apps in…good!</p>
<p>It looks like with an ACT 28 and a 4.0 GPA, you would get $2000 per year. Is that what you got in your calculation? (I’m not sure what you mean by saying that now you will get “a lot more”. )</p>
<p>What did you put in for your SAT score? (FYI…an ACT 28 is equivalent to a 1250-60 SAT)</p>
<p>how much is the COA for NC?</p>
<p>I’m not sure how you are figuring that you will have all costs covered with BF, 5500 in loans, and a $2k scholarship. </p>
<p>@ianeberle </p>
<p>I need to pull my ACT up to 30. I need at least a 29 for Bright Futures anyway. I have a 28 now. I can definitely get it to a 30 by the end of senior year.</p>
<p>My weighted GPA is 4.1. That will go nowhere but up.</p>
<p>Using NCF’s calculator (<a href=“http://www.ncf.edu/fl-freshmen-scholarships”>http://www.ncf.edu/fl-freshmen-scholarships</a>) with the following info:</p>
<p>GPA: 4.1
ACT: 30 (SAT 1340)</p>
<p>This yields the $2,500 award at NCF.</p>
<hr>
<p>Loan: $5,500
Bright Futures: $3,000
NCF Scholarship: $2,500</p>
<p>Total: $11,000.</p>
<hr>
<p>Puts me about $2,000-3,000 short of affording New College. I can easily make up for this amount between other scholarships and working over the summer. If by some miracle I’m still $1,000 or so short, my parents will cover the rest.</p>
<p>you need to get more money. Books were a lot more than I thought. Engineering daughter was about $800 (but some books will be used for next semester too). Theater daughter doesn’t have many books (about $200) but also needed a yoga mat, pillow, some special props and things. </p>
<p>Also, tuition, room and board all increased for both of them with very little notice. The first time I saw how much D#2s costs had gone up was July 8 when her bill was posted, and it was due on Aug 11. No other notice at all. I found out that D#1’s went up in mid July and it is due next week. These weren’t little increases, but about $3000 each. They each also wanted to join clubs and participate in activities, and those cost more money. You can say that you won’t spend anything above tuition, but you will. You’ll need toothpaste and copies and a bottle of water occasionally. </p>