<p>Hi there! I will be a senior of 2011 and I need help finding a college that will give me as much financial aid as possible.</p>
<p>Here is my profile:
- Top 6% in class of 498
- GPA 3.82 (unweighted - my HS doesn't weigh)
- All rigorous classes
- ACT of 29 (without much studying, so I plan on retaking it)
- Head of multiple committees in Student Council
- President of Student Council (2011)
- Vice President of National Honor Society (2011)
- 200 hrs of volunteering at hospital
- First generation Asian daughter out of 3 children</p>
<p>My parents can't afford to pay much for my college education except for providing a car. </p>
<p>Can anyone please provide any advice on colleges in the Midwest (MN, IA, IL, even OH, CO, & CA) that might offer me lots of financial aid? Also, I'm looking for a campus that has pre-law and pre-med programs with some reputation, though I may be asking too much.</p>
<p>Knowing your state would help. Your flagship public university may be a reasonable option, and the [Midwest</a> exchange](<a href=“http://www.mhec.org/MidwestStudentExchangeProgram]Midwest”>http://www.mhec.org/MidwestStudentExchangeProgram) allows students in certain states to study at out-of-state Midwestern colleges at reduced tuition rates.</p>
<p>U Minnesota is a relative bargain. ~$19K per year for in-state residents and ~$23K per year for out-of-state students. It’s very strong in most fields, and the Twin Cities area is quite nice.</p>
<p>It’s gotten very competitive, unfortunately, but look into the University of Chicago. They have very generous financial aid policies for low-income students, and they’re traditionally placed less emphasis on test scores than on essays and grades.</p>
<p>Knox, Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan, and Denison give out quite a few merit scholarships and may be worth a look. Beloit, Grinnell, Earlham, Hope, St. Olaf, and Lawrence are also reasonably generous.</p>
<p>One school to look at is The Univ of Iowa – low cost to begin with (a Fiske Best Buy), relatively generous merit aid, for both in-state and OOS. Very strong programs for medical fields and social sciences, and a very friendly and attractive campus.</p>
<p>I live in MN, but if possible, I’d rather avoid huge colleges. The U of M is my safety.</p>
<p>Does anyone know of a good match for me in these states: IL, IN, OH, CO, CA?</p>
<p>University of Cincinnati</p>
<p>It looks like you are interested in out-of-state schools (post#5). However, I suggest you google the Minnesota Office of Higher Education web site (click on Students and Parents: Learn More About Financial Aid, Reciprocity, and Preparing For College)-sorry I can’t provide the link for you. There is a wealth of information about grants, loans, reciprocity agreements and even a comprehensive list of Scholarships Offered By Minnesota Institutions.</p>
<p>DePauw in Indiana is very generous with their merit scholarships. Your GPA, test scores, EC’s and URM status would likely qualify you for some of their larger scholarships. It has a good reputation for turning out future law students and their new President is making a lot of future enhancements. It is worth a look. Good luck. (by the way, St. Olaf is a personal favorite but I am unsure of their reputation for financial aid outside of the scholarships they offer)</p>
<p>Financial aid isn’t based on what parents say they can pay. Financial aid is based on income/assets of the family.</p>
<p>So, even if a school is known to give good financial aid, if your family’s income or assets indicate that they should pay X amount (that they can’t pay), then it won’t help your situation.</p>
<p>*My parents can’t afford to pay much for my college education except for providing a car. *</p>
<p>What you’re saying is that your parents can’t pay anything towards college. So, you need to determine what your EFC will likely be. If it’s a number that is too high for YOU to cover, then it will be a problem and you’ll need to carefully pick out affordable schools.</p>
<p>FA Calc<br>
[FinAid</a> | Calculators | Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and Financial Aid](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Expected Family Contribution (EFC) Calculator - Finaid) </p>
<p>Do both the federal method and institutional. Many privates use the both methods.</p>
<p>*DePauw in Indiana is very generous with their merit scholarships. Your GPA, test scores, EC’s and URM status *</p>
<p>DePaul does give good merit scholarships, but not enough for this student. Her parents can’t pay anything. Even with a $15,500/yr merit scholarship (the biggest one - which I don’t think her stats are high enough), how would she pay the other $25k+ per year? </p>
<p>And, Asians are not URMs.</p>
<p>A student whose parents can’t pay anything cannot go to schools that will gap or expect a large amount from the student/family. </p>
<p>Even if the student qualifies for FULL PELL (about $5500 per year) and takes out a $5500 student loan, that still won’t be enough to cover the Cost of Attendance at a pricey school that gives a so-called “good” scholarship.</p>
<p>“And, Asians are not URMs”</p>
<p>They were 7 months ago when my D applied to college.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Then your D must have applied to some unusual schools. </p>
<p>Asians are not considered to be URMs at many/most schools. A URM is a minority whose numbers are not well-represented at colleges in relation to their population. Asians tend to be overly-represented at many schools, therefore they don’t get special consideration of URM status.</p>
<p>Anyway…back to the OP…</p>
<p>Keep in mind that most out of state public schools do not give their financial aid to out-of state students. Some will give merit scholarships, but those are different and often are not enough to overcome the higher cost for an out of state public school.</p>
<p>So, for an out of state public school to work for you, you have to carefully choose them based on your financial situation and your stats.</p>
<p>mom,</p>
<p>I agree that Asian students tend to be overly-represented at many schools, however, they are under-represented at other colleges. These schools are primarily LAC’s located in the South or Mid-West where the Asian student base and the overall minority population is low and the college is looking to increase diversity. In these cases, the LAC’s may consider an Asian student as a URM and it could help with scholarship assistance. It is not guaranteed by any means but it is not dismissed. </p>
<p>As far as my daughter applying to “unusual schools”, I hope that was not meant as an insult since you have always seemed above that.</p>
<p>*As far as my daughter applying to “unusual schools”, I hope that was not meant as an insult since you have always seemed above that. *</p>
<p>LOL…not an insult at all. I probably could have phrased it better. 
</p>
<p>It’s hard for many Asian students to find popular schools that aren’t overly represented with Asian students. That’s why many Asian students worry that they have a harder time with admissions at some schools and need even higher stats to be considered.</p>
<p>At my own kids’ school, there aren’t a lot of Asian students (but wants more!)…so I guess it’s an unusual school. ;)</p>
<p>Don’t suggest to any colleges your parents will pay for a car but have no money to pay for education, a car is not necessary.</p>
<p>If you are willing to look at mid-sized schools, look at UW-LaCrosse. You won’t get much in grant money, but you will pay in state tuition as a MN resident. UW-L is considered the #2 state school in Wisconsin. Not far behind is UW Eau Claire. </p>
<p>Also, you state that you are Asian. Are you Hmong? Hmong are very underrepresented in schools every where so that might help you if you fit that category.</p>
<p>Take a look at Simpson College. It is a LAC in Iowa that does a really good job of working with fist generation college students. If you could get one of the Carver Fellowships, you would only have to pay for room and board and books. If you qualify for the TRIO program, there is additional support available.
[Simpson</a> College | Indianola, Iowa](<a href=“http://www.simpson.edu/]Simpson”>http://www.simpson.edu/)
[George</a> Washington Carver Fellowship & Scholarship](<a href=“http://www.simpson.edu/financial/gwc.html]George”>http://www.simpson.edu/financial/gwc.html)
[Frequently</a> Asked Questions](<a href=“http://www.simpson.edu/support/faq.html]Frequently”>http://www.simpson.edu/support/faq.html)</p>