First Generation
Hispanic
Pell Grant
EFC is $3,500 (family of 5)
California resident but open to out of state
Undecided major. Humanities or maybe Pre-Health
SAT 580 Math, 620 Reading (may retake)
GPA 3.8 unweighted, no AP or Honors classes, a few electives at the CC
Extracurriculars: some volunteering, some clubs, nothing special
Hoping to find generous, less selective schools that won’t require loans. Any that would come in around EFC?
Do you know of any that give extra $ to first generation minority kids who are average students?
Run the net price calculators on the UC’s and CSU’s since you are a CA resident. Generous usually means merit on top of need-based aid, so if you are looking for merit, you need to bump up your SAT score into the 1450+ range.
What is wrong with your local Cal State and commuting since we had this discussion when you PM’d me a few weeks ago.?
Here is a list of colleges that need full need but your stats would not make you competitive.
100% of Need without Loans for All Incomes
Amherst College
Bowdoin College
Claremont McKenna College
Colby College
Columbia University
Davidson College
Harvard University
Haverford College
Pomona College
Princeton University
Stanford University
Swarthmore College
University of Pennsylvania
Vanderbilt University
Washington and Lee University
Yale University
100% of Need without Loans for Some Incomes
Brown University – <$100,000
Connecticut College – <$50,000
Cornell University – <$75,000
Dartmouth College – <$100,000
Duke University – <$40,000
Lafayette College – <$50,000
Lehigh University – <$50,000
MIT – <$75,000
Northwestern University – Pell Grant Recipients
Rice University – <$80,000
Vassar College – <$60,000
University of Chicago – <$75,000
University of Virginia – <200% of Federal Poverty Line
Washington University in Saint Louis – <$60,000
Wellesley College – <$60,000
Wesleyan University – <$40,000
The 2017 Washington Monthly college rankings have come out and unlike the USNews it emphasizes social mobility and service to society in its metrics. Here are the results for some of the less selective colleges:
@guacnchips: (love the name) - I can’t help much with school recommendations, but I do recommend you take the SAT again and try the ACT too. The better you appear as a student, the more options you’ll have with school choices. The schools with the best financial aid tend to be the richer schools, and the rich schools with the deepest pockets also tend to attract the best students. Get those scores up as high as you can, and watch your costs (after financial aid) go down. Also, some students do better on the ACTs so try both.
You got some great advice ^. Unfortunately standardized tests will play a larger role than many students realize. Try both and see which to focus on, then study study study and take practice tests online. Our kids take out the prep books from the library and then do practice test.
Are your ECs weak because you have to work to support your family or help your siblings or elderly relatives while parents work?
If that is the case, be sure you mention that in your application.
Question for other parents…would a job like this be listed in the EC portion of the application? If not, where is best place to list it.
Do you have personal interests that you have not been able to pursue because of your family income or responsibilities? You might try to mention them somehow. Maybe in your essay?
The main thing is you want to give Admissions Officers a full picture of who you are and what you would add to their school if they admit you. Being a responsible family member and sacrificing for the good of your family is an admirable trait.
Try the net price calculators at the various UCs and CSUs to see what their financial aid may look like. You should expect there to be some student contribution (federal direct loan up to $5,500 first year plus some part time work earnings) in addition to the parent contribution.
In terms of merit scholarships, there is the list at http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/20798968/#Comment_20798968 , but getting your SAT or ACT score up would qualify for more of the full rides (your current stats appear to qualify only for those at Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley State; also full tuition at Alabama State).
The super generous ones are going to be reach schools for those stats. Another way to avoid loans is to commute to a community college for the first two years. If a degree with zero loans is nonnegotiable, it may be necessary to focus on a health career certificate (medical or dental assistant, radiology tech, LPN, OTA, etc.) at the community college rather than something that requires a four-year school. If by pre-health you mean something that requires grad school, that would be very difficult to do without loans somewhere along the way.