The awards won’t necessarily take anything away. Each school has its own policy. Most schools will cap off how much aid you can get, but I know two people who somehow managed to accumulate enough money to actually make money while going to college since there was no such cap (although one I think it was from outside scholarships which were willing to just hand her a check). And there’s really no such thing as “usual” when it comes to other scholarships. I don’t think usually one can fund their entire college career off of playing a video game, but apparently that’s quite possible. I know I managed to get a talent based scholarship to a college (didn’t go there though) for something I auditioned for on a whim and had no formal training in. Obviously, one shouldn’t bank on getting a ridiculously large scholarship for something random, but one shouldn’t simply turn their back on it either. While these colleges generally are not the top of anyone’s list of dream schools, there are perfectly fine schools that give a lot of merit based aid.
@ucbalumnus Most privates will not be so generous…It’s good that there’s some options, though.
It sounds as if he/she needs a bit more than tuition, though…A UC could give him/her a university grant on top of the Calgrant/tuition value.
OP, what exactly is your EFC?
So if I have a sister 5 years older and she graduates the same year as me from college and me, from high school, then I can’t qualify for the free ride?
@scrippsie Yes, each school has their own policy. However, it’s a known fact that the large majority of schools in the US do not meet need, leaving a financial aid gap. Thus “Most schools will cap off how much aid you can get”
“I know two people who somehow managed to accumulate enough money to actually make money while going to college since there was no such cap (although one I think it was from outside scholarships which were willing to just hand her a check).”
This is not a reliable/safe option.
“there are perfectly fine schools that give a lot of merit based aid.”
What some will consider “a lot of aid” (half tuition awards? 3/4 tuition?) may be not be enough for a low income kid.
I can’t calculate my EFC without my parents’ tax information, so I have to wait until they have free time to organize it with me. Frankly, I have no idea what they’re asking for on the EFC form and i doubt my parents do either, but i’ll figure it out. Hopefully I do find good private schools that will give me a lot of aid. I will be retaking the SAT in the fall, hoping for a better score. Thank you for the help.
@anionforanion OP, full rides are very rare. However, some schools will give you a large enough amount of aid to make things work. Your sister being in college doesn’t get you a full ride by itself, but it will lower your EFC & thus allow you to get more aid. What’s your FAFSA EFC?
Thank you for the great advice. Will these lower-ranked private schools be alright for when I apply for jobs, though? I don’t plan to go to graduate school or obtain a super intense career as of right now with money issues, but I just wonder. & Do you know a couple good lower-ranked private schools just off the top of your head? I’ll be doing my personal research.
I haven’t checked that yet either, I need my parents’ forms. Is it possible to get a free ride with her in college though? She doesn’t have an income.
@anionforanion Sorry, it seems we’ve been posting at the same time lol
“I can’t calculate my EFC without my parents’ tax information, so I have to wait until they have free time to organize it with me. Frankly, I have no idea what they’re asking for on the EFC form and i doubt my parents do either, but i’ll figure it out.”
I’m not sure what form you’re filling out but…
https://fafsa.ed.gov/FAFSA/app/f4cForm?execution=e1s1
For when taxes are done. This will predict your FAFSA EFC. As you fill it out, it explains the terms on the side. Hope that clears things up.
“Will these lower-ranked private schools be alright for when I apply for jobs, though”
College is what you make of it. Any reasonable school will do as long as you work hard. 
“Is it possible to get a free ride with her in college though”
If you raise your test scores, some schools could give you a full ride in merit. See the link that @ucbalumnus posted. It’s tough to raise an SAT score by over 100 points, so you need other options as well (thus, the whole discussion about safeties above). But if you can, more power to you. Try 
For a financial aid full ride…Can’t really tell without the EFC. 
You need the tax info to calculate the EFC, but if you can post your parents’ income/how much they make, we can help you estimate it.
Thank you! I’ll be making another post once I figure it out
For schools that claim to be 100% need met, do they just help anyone who applies for financial aid or do i have to win a scholarship also to get that? Such as this list: http://www.thecollegesolution.com/colleges-that-meet-100-of-financial-need/
^^^ This schools will give you great aid based on your income only. No, you don’t have to earn a scholarship. They’ll provide the aid based on your financial aid app. These schools don’t use the FAFSA EFC, though. They’ll calculate their own EFC for you based on their criteria; it’s usually slightly higher, but doable most of the time. Regardless, the aid is always better than at schools which don’t meet need.
@Scrippsie
Some colleges allow stacking of financial,aid awards up to,the cost of attendance. Some simply do not. Actually, most do not.
To the OP…the Clark scholarship is a competitive one.
Please…retake the ACT and SAT. Improved scores on those will improve the options you have for significant scholarship money.
@Scrippsie how about some suggestions where this OP could get pretty much assured acceptance with his current SAT or ACT scores? Schools only “throw money” at their tippy top applicants…full rides that is.
So…scrippsie, which private schools should this OP apply to?
@Scrippsie You need to look at this student’s stats and answer accordingly.
This student has average stats.
99% of schools would not have a free ride for average stats.
This is just for need-based financial aid. However, each college may define “need” differently, and each may have a different expected student contribution (i.e. the amount of student loans and work earnings they expect you to contribute).
Run the net price calculator on each school’s web site to see what each school estimates. It is not necessarily true that a “meet 100% of need” schools will be affordable to you.
@anionforanion Do you qualify for a Cal Grant in your home stats (which I think is Calif)?
Scrippsie, are you a student or parent?
You are posting some misleading information. I’m wondering where you are getting your information.
I’m confused, who do I listen to? Every website is telling me different things. I’m going to run the NPCs for every website once I locate some schools. but thank you for your contribution
My sister in college does so I should qualify for Cal Grants