@thumper1
Yes I’m aware of that. But if I don’t meet tuition, then I can’t go to a school at all, there’s no wiggle room. It’s just if I can cover tuition than I can get through Room & Board by using other means. I’ve only plan this out of Texas A&M but if you get the cheapest dorm with the cheapest meal plan it’s roughly 2000 a semester. And COA says the average is about 10,000. That 8000 Gap is the wiggle room im hoping for between my EFC and my financial aid offer. so right there is where I have some wiggle room depending on how much merit aid I get. Especially since their are some 2,500 scholarships that I have a good chance at getting. Although if I get no merit aid and no financial aid then there will be a problem. I appreciate your link though to colleges that offer alot of merit aid.
@MYOS1634 thanks for the list of colleges I will be sure to look at their websites.But if they are all out of state, won’t their tuition be much higher? And wouldn’t it be harder to get aid from them?
@thumper1
A room for 2 people in warton or Ramp residence halls cost $1,402 and the smallest meal plan with the fewest dinner dollars cost $1,190, which add up to be $2,592. however the price changes every year so I can’t rely on that. (Most students get much bigger meal plans but I don’t eat alot so…)
Several liberal arts colleges have 3/2 programs where you spend 3 years at that undergraduate institute, then spend 2 years elsewhere. The main problem is those 2 years elsewhere, you’re almost guaranteed to not receive any aid (although I have heard of Columbia giving money). But most of those would have networking opportunities and undergrad research and/or send people to REUs regularly.
@Scrippsie I would love a trade off program like that,… however (as you can tell by the thread) affording it would be my biggest concern. Networking and Research come second to that. But feel free to list some schools for me. (Also since I didn’t say it earlier, i would LOVE it if the school had Material Science research going on )
Some oos public universities have excellent merit aid (full tuition to full ride). university of Alabama -Tuscaloosa has full tuition and $2,500 stipend if your cr+m= 1400 ou ACT=32. In other words, there’s no better investment than the time you’ll spend preparing those tests.
As for oos private universities, if you apply more than 400 miles from where you live, you actually a bonusbfor geographical diversity, and since you also bring ethnic diversity and cultural diversity that makes you a very desirable candidate at some universities, provided your test scored improve.
If they don’t , Prairie View A&M is your safety since your current stats guarantee you a full RIDE (not just full tuition, but full tuition plus room&board !) as long as your GPA gets to 3.5.
Many schools will not allow freshman to get on the cheaper meal plans, they often require that freshmen get one of the more expensive ones. Be sure to check each college website carefully.
University of Pittsburgh has some diversity scholarships, might be worth a try. They have a co-op program for their engineering students. And they have materials science.
You could put it on your list with your Texas schools like Texas Tech and Texas A&M and your safety Prairie View A&M, with the understanding that it’s only possible if you get a full ride (since you can’t expect much federal aid with income of $95k and no state aid if not staying in TX, and parents are against loans)
Would your parents want you that far from home though?
However, private schools don’t consider 95K to be high income at all so many private colleges I listed would offer a lot of financial aid (double diversity: geographical and cultural/URM = guaranteed preferential packaging). Of course OP needs to have the stats to be in range for these colleges and their scholarships.
Wait I’m curious, I get scholarships for being a first generation immigrant? Not first generation college student?
And if anyone is interested, here is my current college list
Reach
University of Southern California
University of Texas
*Howard University
Fair Bet
Texas A&M
Texas Tech
*University of Dallas
*University of Pittsburgh
Safety-
-Prairie View A&M
-Texas State University
*Florida A&M University
*-still researching. no Privates yet
@MYOS1634 I think until I get my retest scores in may/june I’m not sure if I should get my hopes up for some full ride scholarships that I don’t qualify for with the stats that I currently have. Right now I feel confident that I can get my GPA up to 3.5 UW, a 33 ACT composite, and that on the march SAT I made 1300 +. But I am going to consider FAMU and Howard really closely. So thank you!
I know A&M and tech don’t require their freshman get meal plans at all. But I don’t know about the other schools on my list. That’s a big hole in plan to decrease college cost. (but I guess i have to deal with that on a case by case basis) thank you @mamag2855 for bringing that to my attention.
@mommdc They don’t mind me being far. But It would be nice if it were 8 or less hours near home. But I’m definatly open to far away schools. And Which university of Pittsburgh do you mean?
Consider the cost of buying food if you don’t have a meal plan. That won’t be free. You really won’t be able to,afford to go to restaurants and the like. You may find that the meal plan is your best bet…because you will have meals available.
Buying food in lieu of a mea plan really can add up.
Well, first gen can be a boost, but “geographical diversity” (being from Texas) and “URM” (being African American) are big hooks.
If you do get a 32+ACT and 3.5 GPA, apply widely because the results should be good. Case Western or Lehigh for instance would be very happy with a double-hooked applicant who boasts a 32+ACT. Olin would be a reach but not impossible (they’re trying to get more first-gen and more URM applicants with high stats, and if you get a 32+ that means you).
Try to save your money in order to be able to afford the application fees, but don’t restrict yourself unduly.
@mommdc Good to note, thanks for clarifying for me. But It doesn’t seem like that give much financial aid, so I’m gonna put that one to the side. thank you for showing me.
@thumper1
Yeah that is why I really hope I qualify for finical aid and can get work study. Since I prefer to cook at home but I know that I will occasionally want to eat with my friend on occasion with the meal plans so I want to have at least a few each week. (but I don’t know about how much storage I may or may not have. I don’t want to find out yet though since I don’t want to get too attached to a school)
@MYOS1634 I didn’t even think about application fees. But I don’t have a job right now and I’m afraid if I get one it will make my EFC worse. But at my school my ACT score qualifies them to pay for 7 of my college apps. So I do need to whittle down the list a bit and research those other schools more.
Assume your storage will be limited. Dorm rooms are not particularly spacious. You will likely have room for a dorm size fridge or Microfridge which often can be rented from the school. You need to check to see what is and is not allowed for cooking appliances. Usually not many.
7 apps for your situation is WAY not enough You’re going to need to apply widely: various instate public colleges, some instate privates, some meet-need, some high-merit (competitive and automatic). Some will be “free to apply” but most won’t.
Don’t worry about having a job: You could earn thousands of dollars (yes, 2 or 3 or 4!) and it would not affect you EFC or your contribution. Earn $1,000 and you’re good to go.
Should OP consider Christian private schools? Trinity or Baylor come to mind. Is there a benefit, especially considering the reason for lower Family Contribution in addition to the “Hooks”?
Just to clarify again (because you know, its my biggest concern) I do still seem like I might qualify for any financial aid right? Because If i do, i may start looking for colleges with good merit aid, and (on average) offer financial aid packages that are greater then the tuition cost. That way I have a better chance of covering the schools total cost.
@MYOS1634 I’m sure my parents won’t mind paying for some, but again, I think until I know my test scores, I won’t know how many I’m applying for. Also why wouldn’t me working a job affect my fafsa? isn’t it contributing to my education fees right?
Financial aid depends on the college. You may get zero from a public university in Texas, merit aid from another public in Texas, full need-met at a private college in the Midwest, a combination of need and merit from a private in the South… Each college calculates according to 1° their secret recipe and 2° how much they want you. Hence the “hook” and “boost” concepts leading to “preferential packaging”.
The ONLY way to have an idea is to use the NPC for all the colleges you’re considering. If they don’t ask your stats, they will only present need-based aid, no merit aid (so you may or may not be eligible for more).
However, for most “meet need” colleges, 95K is NOT considered high income AT ALL (at some colleges, they ategorize: 500K+, 250K+, 180K+, 75K+, less than 75K. Meaning you’d be borderline lower income there. Other colleges don’t meet need so their FA package will depend on how much they want you in relation to others.)
Run the NPC on Case Western Reserve, Olin, UTD, TexasTech, Baylor, Notre Dame, Macalester, Gettysburg, St Olaf, UScranton, Muhlenberg, Beloit (and, if your family RENTS their apartment, Boston College and Holy Cross). These are all different, with different ways of calculating need and merit. Enter ACT 32 and if you’re courageous, your current ACT too, to see if there’s a difference.
You’ll quickly see that the results for your net price are all different!
(to find the NPC, it’s easy: in your browser, type the name of each college followed by “NPC”.)
