I’m trying to find a thread with free ride schools but can’t. Sorry if it already exists! Please leave a link to it if it does
Otherwise, I need to look for free ride schools (struggling with Google). Any state in US is fine and my GPA is 3.85 unweighted. Poor on Extra curriculars 
SAT is around 1770 (will retake, but let’s just say it’s 1770 for now)
Thank you for the help!! <3
I know I can look for 100% need met but my younger sister is going into college very shortly after me so it’ll really help if I narrow it to free rides
The links you’re looking for are in the pinned threads at the top of this forum. Also check http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/.
Try googling full ride rather than free ride.
You need to talk to your parents. How much can they pay?
What is your CR/Math breakdown on the SAT? Have you considered taking the ACT?
Do you qualify for Cal Grants in Calif?
What is your SAT CR+M?
Many of the scholarships listed in http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/ are based on SAT CR+M or ACT as well as GPA. You do qualify for the one at Prairie View A&M, which uses the SAT CR+M+W.
If I don’t qualify, does that mean I don’t qualify for free rides?
CR+M = 1180 
I guess I’ll be looking into those too. thank you!
Are you low income? do you qualify for a Cal Grant?
Yes I qualify for Cal Grant. What does that have to do with it?
With your current SAT CR/Math score, it is highly unlikely you will get accepted at any of the highly competitive schools that meet full need.
Can you attend a community college and reside at home? By completing a FAFSA, you would be eligible for a $5500 Direct Loan at most community colleges ( you need to check…some do not participate in this program).
What WILL your parents contribute annually for your college costs? Anything?
And regards your Calgrant eligibility…if you get accepted at a CA public university and have Calgrant eligibility, you WILL receive need based aid. However, it won’t cover all of your costs. That’s what this has to do with your situation. Do you live within commuting distance of a Cal State U?
Yes, I understand it’s a low score. I’ll be retaking it in the fall, and am working with practice books this summer. It’ll really be less of a burden for my parents – theyre investing more into my sister’s college, anyways. I’ll keep researching. Thank you.
^^^ Your scores will do for mid-tier UC’s (might snatch a top one if you have a hook/special quality). UC’s give very good aid to low/modest income students (less than $80k income). Those should be your targets, as well as CSU’s -which would give you okay aid, but not as good as a UC. A “full ride” without loans in the package is not feasible, though, unless you get into one of those top 20 colleges.
A UC will meet your FAFSA EFC if your income is low enough, albeit with loans/work study.
Do you know about Clark University? They have a scholarship I can sign up for when I apply that will pay for my 5 years as a free ride. I don’t know how competitive it is; some websites say the people who sign up there have an average of a 4.8 gpa and that worries me They only choose 5 out of thousands of submissions.
I’ll take another look at the UCs, thank you!
1180 SAT CR+M adds only Alabama State in the automatic full ride list (though a few others are automatic full tuition if you can come up with the room, board, books, and misc costs). However, the thresholds given in that list can give you an idea of what to aim for when you retake the SAT or try the ACT to expand your safety options.
There is a list of competitive full rides at http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html . These cannot be safeties, but you may want to consider adding some of these schools as reaches if you are interested in them.
For UCs and CSUs, try their net price calculators to get an idea of what financial aid looks like.
Most private colleges will have at least one full ride type of merit scholarship. To maximize your chances, apply to privates which are your safety schools. Chances are they will want to throw a lot of money at you to entice you to go there.
If your EFC will be low/zero, look for “meet your need colleges”. This is even more true if you have a sibling soon to follow. The EFC takes into calculation the number of siblings in college. If you are four years apart though, you’re kind of screwed there unfortunately.
@scrippsie ^^^^ No, privates cannot be his safeties. His scores are low for merit, and most privates will give horrible financial aid. Except for the ones that meet need -which are reaches for everyone. A good safety must have both guaranteed $ for the student’s specific needs as well as a high/decent acceptance rate.
A low tier UC such as Riverside, for example, could be safety/low match for this student. Acceptance rate = 89% for CA residents last fall. They actually have guaranteed admissions program for certain students, I forgot what the name was. And the $$ would be there as well.
Privates absolutely are safeties. Obviously, not the competitive ones in this case, but there are privates that accept almost 100% of applicants. And they also have a great variety of what they will give merit based scholarships for. It could be within a certain department, for the arts, athletics, league of legends (not even kidding here. I’ve heard of someone getting a ton of scholarship money for this), etc. It takes some searching, but his GPA and scores are more than enough for a not very competitive private college.
@scrippsie Academically, yes. But not financially. The awards you speak off are usually small (& unreliable), and they’re not gonna anywhere near meeting this student’s EFC. Even he gets some more significant awards, they will only decrease their aid. There’s always gonna be a gap with these schools; any awards they have won’t meet this student’s needs as a low EFC kid.
Actually, there are private schools in http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/ , although the OP currently only qualifies for full tuition (not full ride) automatic merit scholarships at a few of them (better SAT or ACT scores may give more full rides).