Hey, so my parents just recently told me they won’t help me pay for college, and I’ll need to do it all myself. I’ve been classified as homeless by my school, which I know helps for financial aid. I’ll also most likely be a National Merit Finalist, so I can use those scholarships. Right now, my college list is universities in the South with OOS + National Merit scholarships and universities in Canada (I’m a dual US/Canadian citizen and my grandparents live close to UToronto), but I was wondering: what good liberal arts colleges would offer me a lot of financial aid? So far, I’ve gotten suggestions from friends and family for Grinnell and Swarthmore. My GPA is around 3.7 / 4.3, SAT score is 1580, and 11 5’s on a bunch of different APs (including almost all the math and science ones). Thanks in advance for your help!
Is your family homeless? Your parents’ info is needed for the FAFSA & CSS profile. You can’t just say they aren’t paying and expect colleges to give you a full ride. You would have to get a dependency override from a given school, which is rarely granted. Even if you don’t live with them, it is hard to get.
It doesn’t sound like you are homeless.
Where do you live? In a shelter? Or no?
You dont sound like a homeless at all…and even if you are you can live with your grandparents.
You can be deemed homeless per the The McKinney–Vento Act by your school. Is that your situation? . @sybbie719 if this student is residing with their parents…would the parents be exempt from being included on the FAFSA form?
Where does your family presently live?
Who are you currently living with?
If your family is homeless and you are still living with them, the only thing it means that your family is living in transitional housing. There is no additional monies because you are homeless.
While your GC may have deemed you as a student living in transitional housing- homeless (your family being homeless living in a shelter or doubled up situation), because your family does not have fixed permanent housing, because you live with them, you are not a homeless youth that would make you independent for federal aid. There would be no additional monies coming your way.
Your parents income and assets will have to go on the FAFSA and all other financial aid forms.
If his parents are in a homeless shelter they are broke so there would be virtually no income or assets. If the student has been thrown out of his home and is in a shelter or couch surfing I believe he can be classified as independent and homeless by his local school. It entirely depends on what he means by homeless.
There are plenty of people who are working every day and for some reason or another are living in transitional housing. You do not necessarily have to be poor, with virtually no income/assets to be homeless.
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to say this at first, but since everyone is asking, my parents were physically and emotionally abusive, so I moved out of the house more than a year ago. I’ve been deemed homeless under FAFSA’s definition of homeless: “Students are also considered homeless if they are fleeing an abusive parent(s) who would otherwise provide the student with financial support and a place to live” (see https://fafsa.ed.gov/fotw1718/help/fahelp29a.htm). I have all the necessary paperwork from my school to back this up, if colleges ask me for evidence.
Where and with whom do you do you live? Will the school attest that your parents are no way involved in your life ( they don’t come to parent teacher conferences, they don’t pay for anything associated with school) , the don’t sign permission slips)
If you are alleging abuse, you are asking for a dependency override, which will include third party documentation stating that the relationship between you and your parents is irreparably broken.
Since this was over a year ago, you were probably under 17. Every adult in your school if s mandated reporter. If you told them of the abuse they must report the situation to children’s services. The school must provide all of that documentation including police report, protective orders, etc.
I’ve lived with one of my friends from school and his family since I first moved out. My parents are still involved in my life, simply because they refuse to give up guardianship to the family I’m living with, which means everything has to go through them. However, I can get letters from my school counselor and my various therapists / psychiatrists (being treated for depression) about how the relationship with my parents has affected me. CPS got involved when I first moved out, but because the social worker was extremely overworked and the situation had worked itself out for the most part, they didn’t do anything. Various incidents were reported to CPS before I moved out as well, both by my therapists and a social worker I met when I was admitted to the ER for self-harm, but CPS never contacted me until I moved out. Everyone said they needed physical evidence of abuse (e.g. a bruise) before they would talk to me.
The Ivy’s have some of the best financial aid out there and you have as good a chance as anyone else.
Agree…with your fine stats, you would be a fine applicant for a lot of well endowed and generous schools. You could add Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Amherst, Williams to your list.
If you are a woman, you might want to consider the women’s colleges.
What about Vassar?
Would you consider Lawrence or McCalester? I believe both meet full need.
Does you instate public have any scholarships for you?
Will you be a NM finalist? If so, add Alabama to your list.
Vassar is indeed very generous with need based aid, thought there has reportedly been some loss of funds: http://miscellanynews.org/2017/02/08/features/vc-still-prioritizes-aid-after-decline-in-funds/ Have you looked into the Posse foundation and Questbridge, if those are appropriate for you?
Not the most exciting but I think georgia state you may get full ride.
Something isn’t right. You need to get the right authorities involved. Your parents should not have a choice. Was CPS or police involved?
liberal arts colleges that are need-blind and do meet full demonstrated need:
bowdoin, claremont mckenna, davidson, grinnell, hamilton, middlebury, pomona, swarthmore, vassar, and williams
liberal arts colleges that are not need-blind but do meet full demonstrated need:
bates, carleton, colby, colgate, colorado college, connecticut college, franklin and marshall, haverford, kenyon, lafayette, macalester, oberlin, occidental, pitzer, reed, skidmore, trinity, union, and wesleyan
liberal arts colleges that are not need-blind and do not meet full demonstrated need:
bard, beloit, depauw, dickinson, rhodes, whitman
Dickinson meets 99% of need now. But is not need blind.
Since you think you will make NMF, please consider applying to any of several fine universities that will give you a guaranteed full ride. I will highlight a few, but the full list is longer than this. Use them as safeties in case the financial picture doesn’t work out at any of the LACs where you also apply.
Some of the apps take less than 5 minutes, and some of them (UT Dallas, frex) will waive the application fee if you ask before you submit.
U of Florida and UCF - look for info on the Benaquisto scholarship, which covers other Florida schools as well.
U of Alabama, UA Birmingham and UA Huntsville. Bama recently increased its NMF offer, and I’m pretty sure it’s full ride now.
U Kentucky, and I think U of Louisville, too, though the latter might be competitive instead of automatic.
If Texas qualifies as Southern for you, UT Dallas and Texas Tech.
And what the heck, University of New Mexico because that’s where my S is headed for his NMF full ride. 