<p>I have a 30 on my ACT...and am taking the SAT for the first time next month, although I do not feel especially confident about that test because I live in Arkansas, where students aren't really prepared for the SAT.
Anyway, I'm just wondering if this 30 alone can make me eligible for any full ride scholarships at state schools...preferably one where the averace ACT scores for admittance are at least a 22-27...although I'm really open to anything...no 2 year schools though. I'm sure this score isn't good enough to warrant a full ride from a private college.</p>
<p>Weighted GPA: 4.07
Unweighted:4.0
APs: World History (4), US History (taking this year), next year will be taking AP Calculus, AP lit, and AP Chemistry.
I am a junior</p>
<p>Yak…full rides including tuition/room/board are NOT very plentiful and are usually merit awards reserved for the students at the top of the applicant pool. </p>
<p>I would suggest you check YOUR instate schools to see what is available there. </p>
<p>Hopefully mom2 will see this and tell you what the cut off for merit awards is at U of Alabama.</p>
<p>Full rides are usually reserved for the top 1% of applicants to state schools and they are pretty competitive. For SUNY Buffalo, I applied to their presidential scholarship, which is a complete full ride, but I didn’t even make it past the first cut, probably because my GPA was too low ("minimum GPA is 95 UW, along with a 1470 SAT or 34 ACT) I had a 92 UW and a 1520 SAT (CR/M) and a 35 ACT and 10 AP classes</p>
<p>well…I was hoping that maybe I could get a nice scholarship in a surrounding state…plus I still have time to bring up my act score…I should probably also mention that I am currently ranked number one in my class (although it is very small…45). If I get a 32 on the act…I will automatically qualify for a 10,000 dollar a year scholarship…if I go to school in Arkansas.
Maybe that would be easier financially…but I just know that Arkansas is very limited in particularly good schools</p>
<p>When you say “full ride” do you mean tuition, housing, room and board? Those are very rare without being a NMF. </p>
<p>If you only mean that you want a full tuition scholarship, but your family will pay for room, board and books, then you’re almost there for some schools. Getting an ACT 32 might get you free tuition at some schools. Right now, an ACT 32 would get you free tuition at Bama.</p>
<p>how did you do on your PSAT?</p>
<p>Don’t worry about your state and the SAT…schools in other states don’t really prepare for the SAT. Just do your best…and take both the SAT and ACT again.</p>
<p>What is your intended major?</p>
<p>Biology or chemistry…
193 on the PSAT 
Maybe a full ride is over reaching…but there are nice scholarship oppurtunities here in Arkansas…I just am not sure if arkansas is the right place too to college…
My family is not really able to help me much with tuition…</p>
<p>When you say that your family can’t pay much…does that mean that your family is low income? if so, then you could qualify for some federal aid to supplement your scholarships. </p>
<p>Study for both the ACT and SAT and test again…you’ll need the best scores possible.</p>
<p>I guess lower middle class would describe that…
My math and science scores are terrible on the act (25 and 26), but my reading and English scores are fine (33 and 35)
I heard though that the sat math section is a little easier though…is that true?</p>
<p>I don’t know about Arkansas schools specifically, but I would think that they would have fairly generous scholarship opportunities for someone of your academic caliber. Since you are a junior, you have a few months to reseach any schools that might interest you. Almost all colleges have online information concerning scholarships for incoming Freshman, and a lot of them spell out specific ACT scores and GPA’s for whatever scholarships they might offer. Even if you can’t get a “full-ride” from the school, you should qualify for a few local/private scholarships. Your ACT English scores indicate that you are a good writer, so writing a convincing scholarship essay should be fairly easy for you. The small stuff adds up quick! You’ve got some time to retake the tests, research the schools, and hunt for outside scholarship money. There are other cost-cutting measures that you can employ to reduce your bills, too. Don’t give up!</p>
<p>yaksic13 quote:
I guess lower middle class would describe that…
My math and science scores are terrible on the act (25 and 26), but my reading and English scores are fine (33 and 35)
I heard though that the sat math section is a little easier though…is that true?</p>
<p>===============</p>
<p>Well, you may do better on the SAT…and many schools only use the M+CR sections on the SAT for scholarship consideration. I don’t know if the SAT math is easier…often it can just depend on which test you sit for.</p>
<p>Do you have any siblings in college?</p>
<p>You need to use some EFC calculators to determine if your EFC is low enough for federal grants. </p>
<p>Can your family contribute ANY money for college? Can you work over summers and save that for college?</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice everyone!
Probably I will work over the summer!</p>
<p>University of New Mexico</p>
<p>Regents Scholarship: 31 ACT (1380 SAT) or 3.9 GPA
$14,250</p>
<p>Amigo Scholarshup: 26 ACT (1170 SAT) and 3.0 GPA
$14,815</p>
<p>They stack these scholarships.</p>
<p>Total Scholarship: $29,065</p>
<p>Basically, a free ride.</p>
<p>So does University of New Mexico perform better academically then, say, University of Arkansas or Arkansas State?</p>
<p>UNM is stronger than AK State. Not sure if it’s better than Bama.</p>
<p>UNM’s bio and biochem departments are excellent. Chem is a bit weaker than bio. But if you’re interested in pre-med, there is s medical school and research hospital across the street from the undergrad campus which has a tons of new state of the art research labs. Plentiful research opportunities. Chem dept has research agreements with 2 DOE National Labs (Sandia, Los Alamos) plus the Air Force Research Lab on Kirtland AF Base. Sandia and AFRL are both in town and easily accessible from campus. Los Alamos is about 1.25 hours away. </p>
<p>The Amigo is for OOS students only and remits the OOS portion of tuition.</p>
<p>The Regents is a full ride for in-state students.</p>
<p>If you get the Regents, you automatically get the Amigo if you’re OOS.</p>
<p>The Regents is a competitive scholarship and is not guaranteed. It also has a earlier deadline than regular admission–please check the link for details.</p>
<p><a href=“http://scholarships.unm.edu/scholarships/index.html[/url]”>http://scholarships.unm.edu/scholarships/index.html</a></p>
<p>(P.S. The weather in NM is nicer than Alabama’s weather…plus we have mountains and skiing only 35 minutes from campus. You can get to the base of the tram by city bus! Really.)</p>
<p>Sounds pretty awesome…
I’ve never been to New Mexico before, but I used to live in Colorado Springs, CO and LOVED it there. Is New Mexico sort of like Colorado?</p>
<p>There are a couple of full tuition paid private schools in your area. One is Berea, in Kentucky, the other is College of the Ozarks. Have you considered those? They’re both very selective but for kids in a certain geographic area (Appalachia and Ozarks), much less so. Your ACT is already high for their average. And Berea, which my S applied to, is a great school. Both have a work emphasis.</p>
<p>Berea does charge room and board (though FA or work study can offset that), and your parents have to be under a certain income to apply there. I believe CoA is similar.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Climate-wise and in terms of geography ABQ and Colorado Springs are fairly equivalent. Culturally, ABQ is bigger, more vibrant, more diverse and with a lot more things to do.</p>
<p>OP–</p>
<p>~~~~</p>
<p>If your current ACT is 26 or above, you could be considered for the Presidential Scholarship–which is full tuition–plus the Amigo Scholarship. R&B runs a hair over $7000/year. With a Stafford loan and summer job, you could probably cover the R&B costs if you don’t get your ACT up high enough for the Regents.</p>
<p>Again the Presidential is competitive and has an early than normal application deadline.</p>
<p>Both the Regents and the Presidential put you in Honors Housing and gives you priority registration.</p>
<p>I’ve never heard of berea college…but I do like kentucky.
I think that may also be a good option.</p>
<p>[Berea</a> College](<a href=“http://www.berea.edu%5DBerea”>http://www.berea.edu) :)</p>