Help, important questions

<p>so I'm 17 years old I'm almost done with high school (1 more semester) and I'm living at home, I live with my mom and step dad and their annual earnings is around $45,000. they haven't saved a dime for me for college which means I'm going to be completely dependant on scholarships and grants and possibly even loans. I've done a decent amount of research and since i want to live on campus its going to cost an average of $6,500 / year. because i live in New Mexico my tuition and fees for college is paid for, except the first semester which is going to run me $2,300. so all in all i need to find a way to pay for the first semester tuition fee of $2,300, my book fees (avg of $500-800 a semester), and my housing fee of $6,500 / year. my cumulative GPA at the end of this year, my final year of high school, will be between 2.7 - 2.85 and so far my best ACT score is a 21 but I plan on re-taking it at least 2 more times, but 21 is good enough for the college I've already been accepted to (UNM).
I'm not the brightest student, I don't do community service, I don't have any academic achievement awards, and because I don't have a 3.0+ GPA I'm disqualified from many scholarships, local and national. I have heard of FAFSA and plan on applying ASAP but I fear that this will not be enough money to get me through college which makes me lean more on scholarships. I've heard good and bad things about Fastweb, they have a lot of essay competition scholarships that I've heard are virtually impossible to win and even if you do win them it usually isn't that much money. I've gone through a list of all my college's available scholarships to incoming freshmen and I don't qualify for ANY. I feel that when I search and apply to scholarships on Fastweb its virtually impossible to win any of them because I think of how many people are also applying and how low my chances are of winning, I can write a fairly decent essay, probably above average but not enough to make me stand out from 500,000+ people, I've also looked into local scholarships but that isn't looking too good either. So far I have 0 scholarships and college starts in 7 1/2 months, I feel like I'm trapped in a financial corner with only my drive and ambition carrying my forward. I haven't really looked into loans as I see that as a last resort but I did calculate my housing and it's going to cost around $26,000 for 4 years, I'm not looking forward to paying that back either if I got a loan for that much. I also plan on working on-campus around 20 hours a week. I've also looked into "unusual" scholarships and I don't qualify for any of them, never thought I'd hate being normal.</p>

<p>So my questions are does anyone know what I should do scholarship wise? What national scholarships are easiest to win? and on Fastweb when it says "awards available: 1" on a scholarship does that mean only one person out of the thousands that apply can win or does that mean that if you win you only get that 1 award? also can scholarships / financial aid be used towards on-campus housing + meal plan? is it easier to get scholarships once you're attending college? because I've seen scholarships that are only available to people that are already enrolled and going to college. and any other advice you can give me is greatly appreciated.
My ultimate question is for anybody who wasn't the brightest kid in the school and doesn't have any awards and didn't do any community service and his parents didn't save up for his college education. How did you get through it? What advice can you offer me? What scholarships did you receive?</p>

<p>many kids whose parents are unable/unwilling to pay for college & who don't qualify for merit aid- & who don't have Ap credits from high school, save money and enjoy smaller class sizes than a large university, by attending community college- where they can show that they can excel at college work, even if they didn't think they were scholars in high school.
Then after they get some courses under their belt, maybe even two years worth, they transfer to a 4 year university.
Since they are now proven- they may get merit awards.</p>

<p>Also, it is not written in stone that you have to go directly from high school to college. Many in your situation find it beneficial to work for a year after high school to bank some cash before starting college.</p>

<p>Yeah dt i know but if I don't attend a New Mexico college immediately after I graduate from high school I will not get the Lottery Scholarship, which is what pays for all my tuition and fees, and I've looked into a community college but I really want to attend a 4-year right after high school.</p>

<p>Jason -- it sounds like you are doing some solid thinking about the finances of school, and I think you can make this work. </p>

<p>First -- let's take a look at the costs you have outlined to see if I have this right:</p>

<p>--first semester tuition of $2300
--room and board each year of $6500
--books ~$500-$800 a semester</p>

<p>and then there is also personal expenses and travel costs, which you want to make sure and budget for.</p>

<p>I think that you can definitely lower some of these costs -- if you are smart and buy textbooks online, you will probably be looking at spending $200 - $400 a semester (unless you are a science or math major).</p>

<p>Most schools allow students to work as an RA (resident assistant) at the dorms after freshman year -- and they generally offer free housing and sometimes even a stipend for this. So if you work hard and keep your behavior and attitude good(they generally don't hire the hard parties), you could be an RA for three of those years. Ask about this opportunity at the beginning so you can start building relationships with people who can give you good references.</p>

<p>Personal expenses and travel -- this is where a work-study job can come in handy. You are going to want to talk with the school's financial office about getting a work-study opportunity. Many schools offer this regardless of financial need. A job on campus is easy to get to, is generally flexible and will work around finals and midterms and can pay a fair amount. about 10 hours of work a week is just enough not to interfere with school work and provide just enough money for a pizza and notebooks -- it might even cover books.</p>

<p>so -- if you can get that to work out (RA and work-study) then what you are truly lacking is the first semester tuition, first year housing and possibly books. A good summer job will help in this area -- and you may want to do two jobs the first summer. It might be hard to do, but knowing that you have money to pay those bills will ease your mind.</p>

<p>Another suggestion would be to talk with your mom and stepdad. let them know that you have really thought this out and you have plans to pay for college -- but it is that first year that will be difficult. let them know they will be saving money with you gone (food, utilities, gas for the car, allowance if you got any, school lunches, etc). Most families save at least $1500 - $3000 when a teen leaves for colleges. See if they would be willing to help you out that first year -- maybe pay your first semester tuition. </p>

<p>finally -- definitely file the FAFSA (the financial aid form the school requires) and do it very, very soon. You will need to file it to be eligible for stafford loans (low interest loans) and you may find that you are eligible for additional funds. </p>

<p>put your numbers into this calculator FinAid</a> | Calculators and use the federal methodology. See what your EFC would be.</p>

<p>good luck!</p>

<p>Jason444</p>

<p>You didn't say which New Mexico university you're planning attending. I'm assuming it's one the state's public colleges since you're talking the Lottery Success Scholarships. </p>

<p>New Mexico has a scholarship in place to pay for those first semester costs until the Lottery Scholarship kicks in. It's called the "Bridge to Success Scholarship".</p>

<p><a href="http://www.unm.edu/%7Eschol/freshmen/bridge.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.unm.edu/~schol/freshmen/bridge.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>At UNM, this scholarship does NOT require a separate application, but is routinedly given to ALL freshman students who meet the following criteria:</p>

<p>--Be a New Mexico and US resident
--Graduate from an accredited NM high school or have a GED
--Have a cumulative high school GPA of 3.0 or higher or a GED score of 550 or higher
--Enroll full time in a public NM college or university seeking a 4 year
degree.</p>

<p>You must complete 12 credit hours and maintain a college GPA of 2.5 to be eligible for the Lottery at the end of your first semester.</p>

<p>I believe the Bridge to Success Scholarship is available for ANY public NM college or university, including the extension campuses of UNM and NMSU. But you should check with your particular college's financial aid to be sure.</p>

<p>My D (and most of her friends) got Bridge scholarships when they went to UNM.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>Wayout,</p>

<p>Only problem is, the OP said his/her GPS was expected to be lower than a 3.0, so that scholarship won't apply.</p>

<p>Oops! I just read all your post... you don't qualify for the Bridge Scholarship.</p>

<p>Have you considered doing your first semester at one of UNM's or NMSU's extension campuses? Credits are 100% transferrable and while you would still have tuition, books and fees, you may be able to eliminate room & board costs by living at home for a while.</p>

<p>What about attending CCNM in ABQ or Rio Rancho? Last time I checked, classes were about $330/course--lots less expensive than UNM. Academic credits there are 100% transferrable and CCNM's counseling office is very helpful in helping student make the transition. (Several of my d's friends have done this, including one who is now in the School of Nursing which is extremely competitive.) </p>

<p>If you not from the ABQ area, you do the same at your local community college. </p>

<p>UNM is very transfer friendly, esp if you're from in-state. They hold special transfer orientations twice a year. My d told that as many as 1/3 of UNM's student are transfers.</p>

<p>What about a part-time job? My d worked 20 hours/week and covered most of her living expenses that way. </p>

<p>And consider living off-campus. It's less expensive than the dorms. (And the best parties are off campus anyway.)</p>

<p>But as the poster suggested above-- be sure to fill out your FAFSA. You can't be considered for finaid unless you do. </p>

<p>BTW, UNM can be quite generous with the aid. My neighbor's d was in danger of losing her Lottery because she didn't take enough credits in her sophomore year. UNM gave her FREE tuition to summer session so she could make up her deficit and keep her scholarship. (And the girl
wasn't a super student or anything--pretty average.)</p>

<p>One last thing you should be aware of. UNM's new President is trying to improve the school's competitiveness and raise its abysmal graduation rate. One of his proposals is that starting in 2009, students will have to maintain a 3.0 to be eligible for the Lottery Success Scholarship. Currently, the GPA is 2.5.</p>

<p>Jason444- I was in a similar situation a few decades ago. Loans were my only option for paying for school. I had to work to provide my basic necessities like clothing, medical care and insurance. Though I didn't relish paying off all of those loans, that route was worth it in the end.</p>

<p>jason44--</p>

<p>Have you checked out NM Higher Education Department Financial Aid page?</p>

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<p>It lists all sorts of loans, grants and scholarships. Many are state specific. Particularly look at the College Affordablity Grant--there is no minimum GPA or community required required. You will need to file a FAFSA for this.</p>

<p>Grants do not have to be repaid.</p>

<p>Also you haven't said what your intended field of study is? NM offers several loans-for-service programs--where the state will repay your loans in part or in full if you are in certain fields (like nursing or education) and agree to work in an underserved areas after graduation.</p>

<p>And I forgot to mention, if you do attend an extension campus or a CC, that meets the requirement to begin college the fall after graduation for the Lottery. (If you are attending a CC, you must be enrolled in an academic program that meets college transfer requirements, rather than in vocational training. The counseling dept of the CC can help you determine what courses meet that criteria.) </p>

<p>Again, good luck!</p>
</script></p>

<p>Hey Jason we do have the same problem....</p>

<p>Thanks a lot guys for all the input, so far what it looks like I'm going to end up doing is working on campus, hopefully I'll be able to become an RA like hsmom was talking about, hopefully FASFA will give me a little bit of money to get me started. I was looking at "subsidized loans" in the financial aid handbook and it says they don't have to be paid back as long as I do good in college, which I plan to. and wayout I've also heard that the lottery scholarship requirements were going up.
As for living on campus or not I'm not 100% sure what I want to do, but I'm definitely moving out no matter what.
i want to live on campus because its closer to my classes obviously, financial aid may be able to help pay for it if i have left over aid, theres a lot of free stuff like cable, wireless internet, etc. that will really come in handy, and its about the same as an apartment once u total it up, its just that it has to be paid up front which kind of sucks. and ya they tell us about the bridge scholarship a lot but I will not have that 3.0 GPA for it, all in all if worse comes to worse I will get a big loan out. I'm also considering grants, but I don't know too much about them and I think I need to get my FASFA done first to see if I qualify for any of them.
also nobody has really said anything about scholarships, is it really that difficult to get a non-merit-based scholarship?
I plan on majoring in business (university of new mexico)
but this still leaves me with how am i paying for my first year of on campus housing if financial aid doesn't fall through? how am i gonna pay my first semester of tuition? how am i gonna pay for books?</p>

<p>jason444-</p>

<p>85% of all UNM students qualify for financial aid. D2 just got an email reminder about applying for aid. Priority finaid applications are due BEFORE March 1 so you need to get your FAFSA done within the next month or so. </p>

<p>UNM's finaid page is here: <a href="http://www.unm.edu/%7Efinaid/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.unm.edu/%7Efinaid/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>(And you need to submit your application to UNM ASAP if you haven't already done so. You can't be considered for financial aid if you haven't applied.)</p>

<p>While you can still receive financial aid if you apply after the March 1 deadline--you will not be eligible for any grants (which are "free" money, i.e., money that doesn't have to be repaid) </p>

<p>Good luck! Anderson has a strong reputation locallly.</p>

<p>
[quote]
I was looking at "subsidized loans" in the financial aid handbook and it says they don't have to be paid back as long as I do good in college, which I plan to.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>That is not exactly correct. They do have to be paid back eventually. The deal with subsidized loans is that the govt pays the interest until you graduate/stop attending school. Then there is a grace period after you stop college (9 months for Perkins, 6months for Stafford) after which you start repaying the loan and you pay the interest.</p>

<p>Most scholarships I know of are merit based even if financial need is factored in. I don't know of any that are not.</p>

<p>As Way out West Mom says - do your FAFSA ASAP. Some aid has limited funding so it is best to get the form completed early.</p>