Midwest here. Many years ago my parents took under their wings a delightful single lady and her son from western africa. My parents have helped her with citizenship, legal & financial matters and socially/culturally with all sorts of things. They even gave her their car at one point. The son has shared a 1 bedroom apt with his mom as long as we’ve known them. It’s been good for our whole family to get to know them.
The mom works hard, last year made a decent wage after struggling for so long, but saves NOTHING. The kid is on financial scholarship to attend a top prep school (w/good GCs). He’ll be a senior - and was elected student body president - and we’ve been talking to him and mom about college and will probably drive them to visit a few nearby schools. He has an ACT of 29. He’s very interested in catholic/Jesuit schools. Money of course is the big question.
i guess i’m looking for thoughts on this all as the mom does not understand US colleges. From our point of view, we hope this kid does not take on too much debt.
i guess i hope to be an advocate for the kid; explaining things to his mom, helping discover different colleges and figuring out a good place for him. Any thoughts on this? Do you think there are (big) scholarship opportunities for this kid at private schools? Any thoughts on how to help them? Kid is really a good, sweet kid.
With no money, he needs full ride scholarships. His score isn’t good enough to get him the rare scholarship at a school like BC. He might want to test again and try for a 32.
Also, he should look at Questbridge. He is probably a great candidate. And of course there are all kinds of scholarships he can try for. Maybe @CourtneyThurston has some ideas?
He needs a college that will meet 100% of need. What part of the midwest and how far is he willing to go?
Take a look at St Olaf, Carleton, and Macalester. Have him prep for the ACT/SAT over the summer. Also see if he would be a fit for the test optional colleges that meet full need.
Below is a list ( a couple of years old) of Multicultural/Diversity college visit programs. If a link isn’t current it shouldn’t be hard to figure out which college. Then contact the college to find out if they are still having these programs.
Fall diversity fly ins:
Most of these need applications and offer travel assistance.
Advise him and his mother to check the net price calculator on each college’s web site to see if it will offer enough financial aid to be affordable (probably means a net price of ~$5,000 or less if he is willing to take federal loans or work part time and during summers, ~$10,000 or less if he is willing to stretch and commit to both federal loans and work).
Otherwise, he needs to seek a full ride or close to it merit scholarship. Here are some lists, but check school web sites for updates since the list was posted:
For Catholic colleges he is likely to get merit at Loyola MD and a lot Of merit at Catholic U. Fordham gives merit, but can still be pricey. I’d say the same goes for Santa Clara. Scranton may be a good option. College of the Holy Cross meets 100% need and they have a diversity program for applicants. @Hamlon . I never heard that Tufts has a sizable Catholic population, but it seems to have a fairly big Jewish population.
He could be competitive for a full tuition scholarship at Simpson College outside of Des Moines.
http://simpson.edu/financial-aid/first-year-student-scholarships-and-grants/
George Washington Carver National Fellowship The Carver Fellowship is named in honor of George Washington Carver, who attended Simpson College. It is one of the most prestigious academic awards offered by Simpson College. The Carver Fellowship ranges from 3/4 to full tuition. This scholarship is awarded to outstanding freshman and transfer students from distinctive and broadly diverse backgrounds, who exhibit potential for leadership, evidence of service and contribution to community and superior academic achievement in secondary school.
Test score is holding him back from a lot of opportunities so first and foremost my suggestion is to get that up. A few hours of prep could get him tens of thousands more.
After that and after targeted applications to automatic merit/competitive merit/and reaches are done, do your typical round of highly competitive outside scholarships. Coke, GE-Reagan, Buick, Burger King, AXA, Jack Kent Cooke especially – all look well upon students who have accomplished a lot with very little.
just remembered this thread i started months ago. Our friend “Upped” his act a few points (31). We are so proud of him. He is applying to two state safety schools (but still costly.) and to Notre Dame. He is so awesome; well spoken and calm. His mom doesnt understand much at all about financial aid but they did get their EFC.
I am so hoping she can get CSS paperwork figured out. It’s too late to apply for questbridge and other programs. I had arranged two tours for them this summer, but she skipped out at the last moment. I think about how hard he’s worked without the life advantages of my own kids. I’d want him on my team.
The problem even with full tuition scholarships is that they could still be unaffordable, if room and board are very high. Add transportation to that and the costs add up.
Unfortunately most Catholic colleges and universities are not affordable for low income students. We had a sad experience with a first gen student who had to leave his Jesuit school after one semester because his parents realized too late that they could not maintain that high of a debt. Problem was, after one semester he 1) would have been considered a transfer student, hence not getting as much aid but 2) could not get his transcripts released anyway because of outstanding debt!
Notre Dame, Georgetown and Holy Cross seem to be the most generous. Net price calculators are indispensable. Can you run some with him and his mother, print out the estimates and then help them figure them out? With a 31 he might be competitive at that level of schools.
One merit scholarship mentioned already is the BC scholarship is for room and board and tuition (if I remember correctly). I believe he would have to apply EA to be considered.
*** our friend just got back ACT scores. SUPER HIGH!!! we are so excited. we are hoping the schools he’s looking will look at these scores. so so so proud of him. I dont know if they got in their forms for EA.
Does he know about this scholarship program at Northeastern?
http://www.northeastern.edu/torch/torch/
Continuing Northeastern’s century-old commitment to educational opportunity, the Torch Scholars Program is a bold and innovative initiative that provides students with the opportunity to explore their passions and expand their global horizons. The program’s nomination and holistic review process identifies bright students from across the country who have already succeeded against the odds, but who have not yet reached their full academic potential…
…The program is simply unparalleled in its support for first-generation students from diverse backgrounds. Much more than a scholarship, Torch is a comprehensive model for access, retention, and achievement…