Free College! What does it take to get it?

Paying for College
1

<ol>
<li><p>What does it take to get free college, and more specifically, where could I likely earn it given my academic achievements?</p></li>
<li><p>Do colleges generally allow you to stack outside scholarships on top of college-sponsored scholarships?</p></li>
<li><p>What special tips do you have for minimizing your college costs?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>About me:</p>

<p>Statistics: 4.0 GPA, Rank 1 of about 200, 33 ACT, 2260 SAT (800 SAT Math)</p>

<p>Notable Courses: Honors English 11 and 12, Latin I and II, AP Calculus, AP Chemistry, AP Government, AP Psychology, College Western Civilization</p>

<p>I have decent ECs. (Cross country team captain, editor-in-chief of school paper, sportswriter for local paper, United Way youth board member, to name the best ones.)</p>

<p>I am also a National Merit Semifinalist from the Midwest.</p>

<p>Any answers are greatly appreciated!</p>

2

<p>If you make NMF, there are some free or “near free” options. </p>

<p>I think UT-Dallas has a free ride or very close to it. </p>

<p>What is your major? </p>

<p>You may find some schools that will let you stack merit, but keep in mind that those outside awards are likely only for one year. </p>

<p>Can you or your family contribute ANYTHING? You can borrow $5500 …a fed student loan.</p>

3

<p>My major will be engineering. As for what type of engineering, I am undecided. It could be mechanical, chemical, environmental, or even materials. Nanoscience is interesting to me. </p>

<p>For an example of stacking scholarships, in my community there is a 4000 dollar local scholarship renewable for four years. What are the chances that a school would let me stack that reward?</p>

4

<p>I know that Alabama would let you stack it on top of their awards.</p>

<p>As a NMF and eng’g major, Bama would give you:</p>

<p>5 years of tuition
1 year of housing
3500 per year from the univ
2500 per year from eng’g
2000 study abroad money
iPad</p>

<p>So, if you were to get that $4000 annual extra award, you could stack that right on top. You’d have free tuition plus $10k per year. </p>

5

<p><a href=“Links to Popular Threads on Scholarships and Lower-Cost Colleges - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1678964-links-to-popular-threads-on-scholarships-and-lower-cost-colleges.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Pay particular attention to the automatic (for stats) full ride list, the competitive full ride list, and the National Merit list.</p>

<p>Depending on your state of residency, there may be in-state-only large merit scholarships at some of the public schools.</p>

6

<p>What’s your EFC and desired major?</p>

7

<p>@‌sweetbeet</p>

<p>Engineering. As for his EFC, in another thread he mentions that his family is “well-off”. So likely his EFC will be too high to get much (or enough) aid. </p>