<p>I got decent scores on my SAT (760 CR, 660 Math, 660 Writing). My dad works at a local university, so I can get free tuition if I go to school there.</p>
<p>I haven't settled on a major yet, so I figure it might make sense to go to that university for a year for gen ed, then transfer to a more specialized college.</p>
<p>My question is, will applying as a transfer student to another college/university diminish my chance of financial aid? It's great if I can go to school free for a year, but if it ruins my scholarship options when I transfer, it's not worth it.</p>
<p>It will certainly limit merit scholarship options, there is little merit aid for transfers. If you qualify for need based aid, many schools, typically the top one, do meet need for transfers.</p>
<p>It really depends on where you plan to go, but keep in mind that at highly selective schools, it becomes not only harder to get scholarships, but harder to get in as a transfer.</p>
<p>The university doesn’t participate in the tuition exchange program, so I can only get free tuition at the university itself.
I know I want to minor in cinematography. I had considered majoring in it, but I’d rather pick a career that is more viable long term.
Unfortunately, because the video department of the local university is sorely lacking, I know I won’t be staying there for more than a year.</p>
<p>I had been looking at SUNY Binghamton since their tuition is fairly cheap even for out of state students. However, even if I were to get accepted now, I’ve missed the deadline for FAFSA, so attending that school this fall is out of the question.
I suppose I could wait until spring of 2013, but I don’t know how conventional that is.</p>
<p>Lots of students take a gap year between high school and college, so don’t worry about that. This would give you time to re-take the SAT (and/or take the ACT) in the pursuit of a higher score, and would give you more time to research your college list. You would also be able to work, volunteer, participate in other things that will help you better define your career and educational goals. </p>
<p>What you do not want to do in your gap year, is take any college-level classes. In some cases even one college-level class after high school graduation will make you a transfer applicant and mess up your chances for the best financial aid and scholarships.</p>
<p>Second semester admitted freshman don’t typically get much in merit aid.Most has already been allocated to those who enrolled for the fall term.</p>
<p>If you want the best chances at MERIT aid, you need to enroll as an incoming freshman a FALL term. </p>
<p>I hate to ask this…but it’s almost March 1, and it sounds like you are a senior. Did you consider these options earlier in the application process? Did you apply to other colleges? Did you miss the financial aid application deadlines everywhere? Are you looking for merit aid only? Or are you also looking for need based aid?</p>
<p>I just saw my scores - 760 Reading, 660 Math, and 660 writing. Normally I would be happy with that, but it turns out that I only got a combined 4 on the essay! I can only assume that I went too far off topic, since I believe the essay was written fairly well otherwise. </p>
<p>======</p>
<p>Above from another thread…</p>
<p>Sounds like this student isn’t a senior.</p>
<p>Retake…stay on subject…write a good amount…improve that essay score.</p>
<p>Then apply where you’ll get the best merit. </p>
<p>Since you’ll get free tuition from your dad’s college, does that mean that your parents won’t spend much on college (some with free tuition refuse to pay for elsewhere since child can live at home and go to school for free). If so, how much will your parents pay for you to go elsewhere?</p>
<p>To the OP…you have ONLY missed the FAFSA deadline for this year (at Bing) if you are currently a high school SENIOR. If you are a junior, you will submit your FAFSA beginning January 1, 2013…January of your senior year in high school.</p>
<p>If you are a junior, you have lots of time to target schools that are within your price range AND that might award you merit aid. </p>
<p>If you are a senior, my post #6 questions still apply.</p>
<p>I’m a senior.
I’m homeschooled as well, and I attribute my critical reading score to the excellent curriculum I’ve used.
Essays have never been too hard for me, but I had a preconceived notion of what I wanted to say, and the topic I was given didn’t quite line up with that line of thought.
If I can avoid it taking the SAT again, I’d be very happy.</p>
<p>To answer thumper1, I have been covered up with 12th grade work, so unfortunately I haven’t been very proactive in getting ready for college. In addition, I am not set on my major, so finding a college has been difficult when I don’t know what to look for.</p>
<p>My parents don’t have much money - I doubt they’ll be spending anything if I go somewhere besides my dad’s university. In fact, recently I’ve been pressured into finding a job to help out the household income.</p>
<p>I’m not opposed to waiting a semester and attending a good college next spring, if that’s a feasible option. Is that something that is done a lot?</p>
<p>Being a NEW student for the spring term is very often NOT a good bet if aid is needed. </p>
<p>If you are hoping to get a good merit aid package, DO NOT ENROLL as a freshman for the spring term. MOST colleges award their merit money to new freshmen who enroll in the FALL at the start of the academic year. Even for need based grants, very often the money has been awarded to freshmen for the fall term.</p>
<p>You say you are interested in cinematography but only as a minor - what are you planning to major in and can you complete that major at your dad’s university for free? There are probably a lot of ways to get training in cinematography/film after you have a degree and a 9 to 5 job, particularly since you weren’t planning to major in that field.</p>
<p>It seems to me that forgoing a free college education for a minor in something you already view as a shaky path to employment is not the most prudent choice. If you have been home schooled for the past 12 years (or most of those years) you have a big adjustment coming up, being close to home and not incurring debt could lighten the stress level. I’m not saying that as a criticism of home schooling - but I do take note that by your own admission you have not been very proactive in this process and that says something.</p>
<p>My parents don’t have much money - I doubt they’ll be spending anything if I go somewhere besides my dad’s university. In fact, recently I’ve been pressured into finding a job to help out the household income.</p>
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<p>You need to take the SAT again to bring up that essay score.</p>
<p>No, you won’t get much merit for spring. You’ll either have to find a school that will accept you at this late date with big merit, or do a gap year and re-apply.</p>
<p>Merit is awarded to FALL frosh…rarely ever to spring students.</p>
<p>You’re doing this very late for a senior!</p>
<p>I’m not surprised about your parents’ position…many won’t pay when a kid can go local for free.</p>
<p>Are your parents low income? If so, then you might qualify for a Pell Grant, too.</p>
<p>If you’re not low income, then you might as well work all next year and save, save, save for college to help with other costs. A scholarship might only pay for tuition and you’ll have to pay for other costs with savings and a small loan.</p>
<p>Work next year and save, save, save. If you need to give a bit to your parents, then do so, but you need to set aside money for college. </p>
<p>Do both of your parents work? If not, then maybe the non-working parent needs to work.</p>
<p>I’m in Georgia.
I could wait a year and work, but I believe I would do better without a gap year.
I’m may simply take some video classes and major in Psychology. That strategy would greatly expand the potential college list.
The local university is still out of the picture since they have a subpar Psychology department. I just feel as if I wouldn’t be challenged enough there. I’m not trying to seem arrogant, but the average SAT verbal score there is 430-510, and that’s way below my level.</p>
<p>My parents make about $40,000, so I might be eligible for a partial Pell Grant.</p>
<p>I am seriously considering GA College and State University. They don’t have cinematography as a major, but since I’ve already decided that’s not a viable long-term career option, it’s not so much of an issue. From what I can tell, they have a decent video department, as well as good business and psychology departments.
The average CR+Math score there is 1210, while mine is 1420, so I should think that would make me more likely to get a fairly large merit based scholarship.</p>
<p>I won’t have an issue with leaving home. I have been homeschooled for 12 years, but I’ve been involved in Scouting, and I have been away from home for lengthy periods of time without being homesick.
My main reason for not being proactive is simply that I didn’t realize how early most of the deadlines were. My local university, for instance, has a rolling deadline, so I naively thought most schools were like that (ha!).</p>
<p>You said that your parent’s income is around 40K. Do you have siblings? It sounds like you are in the income range to be Pell Grant eligible. You might want to punch some numbers into an online financial aid calculator to see what comes up. Since you are homeschooled, you have some flexibility with your actual graduation date. You might be doing 12th grade work, now, but could you extend your graduation until next year? How do colleges in your state treat “dual enrollment”? Could you attend your Dad’s university as a dual-enrolled high-school student, and still be eligible for freshman admission at the universities you are considering? In my state, a student can attend a community college during high-school (tuition is paid by her public school district). After my daughter graduated, the state university that she attends honored ALL of her community college credits and STILL awarded her a generous Freshman scholarship. They said that as long as all of her credits were earned before she graduated high-school, that she would be eligible for Freshman scholarships. Some of the other state universities would not accept dual-enrollment credits at all, so it seems that there is a lot of differences between schools. It would be worth your time to investigate this possibility, anyway.</p>
<p>Hope or Zell Miller do not cover housing or meals. </p>
<p>Hope covers about 90% of tuition.</p>
<p>Zell covers 100% of tuition. I don’t think you can get both, but maybe I’m wrong.</p>
<p>You would be better off applying instate where you’d get a merit scholarship that can be applied towards housing so that you can use Zell for tuition…and Pell towards your meal plan.</p>
<p>Meal plans are often mandatory. However, even if they weren’t you may not save much. My son doesn’t have a meal plan this year and he’s spending just about the same amount buying food, etc.</p>
<p>If you do wait to go to school, do not take any classes in the meantime…do not ruin your incoming frosh status…do not take online classes, or CC classes, etc.</p>