<p>Sorry it's a bit of a late response, but consider the Canadian universities. Even for non-Canadians, they are very cheap (although I don't know if the Pell grant would apply). The University of Toronto and McGill University are both very prestigious institutions.</p>
<p>Another option: join the military for two years and receive the GI Bill upon discharge, which would cover complete tuition at any of the SUNYs. Add Pell and Tap to that and you'd probably be getting paid to go to college.</p>
<p>... and coming late to the party ... quite a number of private schools will meet all demonstrated need. Northwestern is one which is not on your list yet.</p>
<p>Another route to try is ROTC. A good friend of mine came from a tough background, excelled in Army ROTC, and ended up being both the top ROTC graduate on the east coast and the first female combat helicopter pilot in the Army. She flew intelligence missions during the first Gulf War.</p>
<p>The military isn't for everyone, but a free ride to college is a lot get in exchange for four years of military obligation when you graduate. Don't forget that during that four years you would be an officer making more than $30k per year and you'll come out with zero in college loans. Being 26 with a bachelor's degree, debt free (at least college debt) and four years of outstanding leadership experience isn't bad. By the way, a lot of private schools will provide room and board scholarships to ROTC students.</p>
<p>Good luck. I had to work while I went to school and took seven years to graduate. You can do it -- but it probably won't be the ivy-covered-halls-president-of-the-sorority experience.</p>
<p>Of course with your grades you might just land a "president's" scholarship somewhere and go to school for free anyway.</p>
<p>Oh -- one last idea. You didn't mention -- are you a National Merit Semifinalist? NM Finalists are eligible for nearly-free-ride scholarships at a number of schools. They might not be on on your list, but many of them are credible schools.</p>
<p>Full ride at UB?</p>
<p>^^ in response to the ROTC thing, you can always just get your first year free, and drop ROTC at that point, the military allows you a 'test year' with no obligation after that.</p>
<p>The only thing is you have to be up at like 5am a few times a week for that year</p>