How do I make going to college possible for me?

Parent Cafe
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<p>Fallenchemist, her FAFSA EFC as done by a quick calculator or making certain assumptions is zero, she says. Since she is going to college this fall, she has not done a true FAFSA. How the farm will be treated may be an issue. There may be other things in the financials that come out when she does the full thing.</p>

<p>The schools where she is likely to get full need met are private schools that almost all use PROFILE or other app. Those may look at farm differently. </p>

<p>A zero EFC on the FAFSA means a full PELL and full subsidized Staffords plus any unsubsidized STaffords at her disposal up to the cost of the school. With that kind of money, the local state college would be covered. Depending on her state, that would just about pay half of state costs if she lives on campus, so she would need more grants if she went that route. Unless the state school gives out some merit awards, it will be tough to get full need met that way. She should, however, research her state schools and see if any have awards for which she would qualify that would bring the cost to what she can afford.</p>

<p>The OOS schools, both private and public, and private in state schools that offer full merit packages and/or financial aid should also be on her list. Many of those schools wil be reaches for her, for anyone. She has the stats that make it worth the try. She should check with the financial aid office of a private school that catches her eye, and see what her institutional EFC would be.</p>

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<p>I don’t know how important it is, but what do you mean first generation? If grandparent(s) attended college then you are not first generation college. It may have skipped a generation, your parents, but you certainly would not be first.
But aside from that, I have rarely heard “first-generation” used to apply toward attending college. Much more frequently I have heard “first in my family to attend colege”.
First-gen is often used to refer to citizenship.</p>

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<p>

I am having trouble finding where she said that. As far as I can tell, she just said

A declarative statement. Maybe she has siblings that have gone through this, hence she knows. Or she may have other reasons for knowing. My point is that unless there is some reason to believe a poster is mistaken, why would anyone assume they are mistaken? You may be right, but I think one has to take her at her word. At the least, I would ask the question first “How do you know your EFC is 0?”. If then she says they calculated it online, people can correct her. Besides, Fang said “near zero or something near $20,000”. I doubt she would be that far off on the high end, but we don’t know. Unless there is reason to believe otherwise, isn’t it logical to operate with the parameters supplied by the OP?</p>

<p>I was also under the impression that FAFSA doesn’t count houses and farms if they are the primary residence. Yes/no? CSS is a different story, of course.</p>

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<p>Apply through Questbridge. I agree with other posters that schools like Wellesley and Stanford are interested in students with your profile, and if you are admitted to one of these schools, you can expect a full-ride scholarship, or close to it. If you’re good at math, add MIT to the list.</p>

<p>On the other end of the spectrum, consider community colleges for the first two years. If you maintain the sort of grades you have now, you will also have some great choices as a transfer student.</p>

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<p>Thank you all for answering. Many of the possibilities you have told about I hadn’t heard anything before and I’m sure some of them will be worth a shot.</p>

<p>sylvan8798: Our nearest college is about 2,5 hours away from us. Bit too far away for commuting at least. </p>

<p>cptofthehouse was right in that we have only tried few online calculators to estimate our EFC and don’t know for sure. I’m sorry I misspoke. Anyway I don’t think it can be very high considering that the value of our farm is not very high anyway and there is lots of debt on it.</p>

<p>I’m very open to different options because what I really want, is go to college. If I will end up with more loans than I hope for I will have to alter my career hopes and forget medicine, but if needed, I’m ready to do that. And though I said that our state flagship is not the most well-known or selective of state flagships I have to say that at least it is very cheap compared to other schools. </p>

<p>I have never thought about women colleges but it also sounds an interesting possibility. Wherever I end up going to college it will be a big chance and adventure for me so I don’t have any really strong preferences for what kind of school I would wish to attend. Beggars can’t be choosers.</p>

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<p>“While elite private colleges have a very high, intimidating price tag, they are often much cheaper for low-income students to attend than less pricey public universities and community colleges.” (from the Questbridge website)</p>

<p>I know that other posters have mentioned Questbridge. Please check it out: [QuestBridge</a> Home Page](<a href=“http://www.questbridge.org/]QuestBridge”>http://www.questbridge.org/).</p>

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<p>Intparent mentioned about reciprocity. As a Midwest resident, you may try exploring colleges that participate in Midwest Student Exchange Program (MSEP). " The MSEP serves as the Midwest’s largest multi-state tuition reciprocity program. MSEP is not a scholarship.
Over 140 colleges and universities in Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and Wisconsin have opened their doors to each others’ citizens at more affordable rates."</p>

<p>[MHEC</a> : MSEP Description (328)](<a href=“http://www.mhec.org/MSEPDescription]MHEC”>http://www.mhec.org/MSEPDescription)</p>

<p>You might be the type of candidate that your state medical school might be looking to staff the state’s rural medical clinics. Your county health office might be able to provide you with contact names for a clinic near your location. If your State is really looking to fill future rural (primary care) vacancies, there may be opportunities for being a sponsored candidate. </p>

<p>Although dated, the Student Doctor Forum’s archives on Rural Medicine might be of some help.
[Rural</a> & Underserved Communities [Archive] - Student Doctor Network Forums](<a href=“Rural & Underserved Communities | Student Doctor Network”>Rural & Underserved Communities | Student Doctor Network)</p>

<p>Also, as a previous CCer mentioned, the Elizabeth Blackwell Medical Scholar’s program at Hobart & William Smith College / SUNY upstate Medical University might be worth looking into. </p>

<p>You might be able to locate suitable universities using the CC College Search tool ([College</a> Search - College Confidential](<a href=“http://www.collegeconfidential.com/college_search]College”>http://www.collegeconfidential.com/college_search)).</p>

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<p>In addition to Questbridge - a great program that I really encourage you to try! - I’d also look at some other schools that have good merit programs. For example, Penn State has the Bunton-Waller Fellows Program, a full scholarship given to strong academic students that gives “priority consideration to students who are underrepresented in the university” - i.e. a lower-income, rural student like you (my cousin goes there, so I know a little about it). </p>

<p>In addition, I second the recommendation of applying to a few private “reach” schools, which often meet full FA if you are offered admissions. Schools such as Stanford and Princeton especially look for low-income rural students to increase the diversity of their campus, and although the competition for admission is intense, they will meet full demonstrated need for students.</p>

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<p>younghoss: “first generation” is a very commonly used term to describe a kid who will be the 1st in their family to attend college. and you’re right, if the grandparents attended college then that person is not considered first generation.</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>Why? What is the point in getting an undergrad degree if it prevents you from going onto grad school? </p>

<p>Loans are the enemy for someone looking at a career that requires grad school. You can do this, get ready to be flexible and get ready to work but don’t get ready to sign away your future.</p>

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<p>RE: First Generation.</p>

<p>Some apps ask directly if the applicant is first gen. But most applications just ask about parent’s education. In this case, none of the parents went to college. So…the colleges will put this candidate in the First Gen “pool” - never know about the grandparent’s higher education. Applicant won’t be hiding anything — some schools just don’t ask the question directly.</p>

<p>Lots of good advice on this thread. You haven’t told us enough about yourself (nor should you!) for us to know if schools like the Ivys and the women’s Sister schools would be a good fit for you — but you would certainly be an unusual and attractive candidate for them.</p>

<p>Have you done much traveling? You may be a very attractive candidate to many of the tippy top colleges — and you should apply — but, if you are admitted, you have to think about how comfortable you might be in that environment. </p>

<p>I would stongly suggest adding some of the very good, large state Universities that offer substantial aid to out of state students. Univ of South Carolina was mentioned. I’d also suggest you look at University of North Carolina @ Chapel Hill - which also has some substantial aid programs for high performing out of state students.</p>

<p>In addition, look at smaller schools in your state and surrounding states that meet full need.</p>

<p>Find post from Curmudgeon. His daughter received a highly competitive scholarship from Rhodes and will be attending Yale Medical school. There are some similarities with your situation: The family lives on a ranch (impacts financial aspects of CSS form used by many private schools and some publics…but I don’t think farms/ranches impact FAFSA as much.) Major difference with his daughter’s situationk though is that the father is college educated (and beyond) and I don’t think their financial situation was quite as extreme as yours appears to be.</p>

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<p>Lots of great advice here. A few more things to consider:</p>

<p>1) Talk to your teachers and guidence counselor right now (yes, over the summer, if you can find them) about writing letters of recommendation for you. Start pulling together an info sheet for them about your academic and professional goals, your strengths - personal and academic, the challenges you have overcome, the personal achievements you are most proud of, and anything else that they can use to make that recommendation shine. </p>

<p>2) Print out a copy of the common application and read it. Start working on your essays right now. Once school starts, you will be too busy. </p>

<p>3) Do not underestimate the value of working on your family farm or holding an outside job. The other kids have tons of clubs, but so what? You have something different to offer. Attending a school where most kids don’t go to college and being the first in your family to go to college will be counted in your favor. You are different and that is a huge advantage.</p>

<p>4) In the spring of your senior year, start looking for independent scholarships on Fast…Web or other scholarship forums. There are many out there, especially if you have financial need, that no one has ever heard of - but the amounts add up. Most require letters of recommendation, official transcripts, and essays - a lot of work unless you are organized and think about it ahead of time: Treat applying for these like a job-x hrs a day= $y.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>Hey, ruralgirl, you and me are basically the same lol
Similar scores, low income. However, my family does not own a farm and I live in the south.</p>

<p>So, this is what I did. I first looked at questbridge. It is a great option, and you should definitely try. However! Do not rely on this option! Chances are, with its thousands of applicants, you may not get a spot. If you look at the kids who won the college match last year, you will notice most are immigrants, with tons of good ECs. A good many are even refugees. Not saying you shouldn’t apply, just saying you need to be realistic. Many people throw this name around like it’s a sure thing and not a competition.</p>

<p>Secondly, look very closely at your in-state options. You say yours are no good, but if you are planning on grad school, this does not matter too much as long as they are decent. A good game plan for you (and me!) is to apply to the top in-state college and work your butt off for four years. Try to get really nice internships and make it to the top 10% of your graduating class. Do a bunch of research with the professors. Then nice graduate schools will be looking at you favorably and you’ll hopefully be able to go on to graduate school with none to little debt.</p>

<p>Next, consider those private universities. Some in-state privates might offer very special deals (think: complete tuition, room, and board) for low income in-staters. Other private universities throughout also are very generous towards the low-income, high-achievers. Don’t just go for the top names, though. Yes, they might give amazing aid. But the actual chances of getting an admit to Harvard? Slim, for anyone. There are plenty of other great colleges to look at.</p>

<p>And lastly, everyone is telling you to apply to these reach colleges with good aid. Yes, that is a great idea. But make sure you apply to some safeties too! Reach colleges are called such for a reason: you may get in, you may not. And if you don’t get in to any of the reaches, where will you be? Make sure you apply to at least one back-up college that you know you can get into. Try and make it somewhere that you would actually like to go, or wouldn’t mind going. But even if you do have to resort to your safety, you can always try and transfer.</p>

<p>Also, more information would be beneficial. Most importantly, what state are you actually from? And how low-income are you really? Below 20,000? 20,000 to 30,000? Or 30,000 to 40,000? The income group you’re in will make a big difference to different colleges about whether or not you meet certain standards for certain benefits (such as no loans in your finaid package, or full tuition, or no EFC). Speaking of that, you need to find out the value of your family’s farm, because it most likely will be considered an asset, and then will be taken into account.</p>

<p>And lastly, everyone has mentioned good colleges with good aid, I will list a few that I don’t think have been listed yet:</p>

<p>Rice University ( also pretty prestigious )
Occidental College
Northwestern University ( some prestige )
University of New Mexico ( clamoring for more out of staters )</p>

<p>Good luck, girl</p>

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<p>

I am a bit mystified by your description of Northwestern, which is ranked 12th by USNWR, while Rice is ranked 17th. I don’t believe in rankings, and if I did I would say there is no difference in those schools from that perspective, but Northwestern is clearly one of the great schools in this country, as is Rice. I think extremely prestigious is a better description of both those schools. Also, to the best of my knowledge, Northwestern gives no merit scholarships. Their need-based aid may be great, but as you say they may count the farm, so who knows.</p>

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<p>Ruralgirl, check out these helpful threads:</p>

<p>What I’ve learned about full-ride scholarships
Update on What I learned about free ride scholarships </p>

<p>Also, google scholarships for valedictorians. </p>

<p>I agree that women’s colleges are a good option. Be sure to take a look at Scripps (one of the Claremont consortium of schools).</p>

<p>Add a couple of reach schools that offer great finaid. Stanford would probably feel very comfortable to you, as it was once a farm and is spread out over a lot of land.</p>

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<p>How about Amherst? No merit aid, but WONDERFUL FA packages. D’s freshman roommate came from rural WV where there were no AP courses and she took some classes online (Latin, for one), since they weren’t offered. Of course, it is a reach for everyone, so make sure you apply to safeties and matches, as well.</p>

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<p>I’m not a parent, but I’m a student in very much the same boat. You should qualify for a good amount of government aid (my EFC was higher than yours and I did). You should also get some great merit scholarships. I got a 30 on my ACT and I had a finishing GPA of 3.92. I did an essay honors scholarship competition at my college and I’m getting $14,000/yr for it, and I didn’t even get 1st. Go for it! The worst that can happen is you’re in the same position you are now. Good luck :-)</p>

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<p>I just heard about a school in Kentucky, called Berea College, where every student gets a full tuition scholarship, (still have room, board, fees, books, etc.) I have no personal knowledge of this school, but I thought I’d throw it out there for you to look into as a possible safety, surely someone else on CC will have more knowledge of this school.</p>

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<p>Berea is a great school - everybody does work there to help pay for their education. I think you’d be a good candidate.</p>

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<p>At the ivy’s and other schools with sizable endowments and generous financial aid policies, you should be able to get a full (tuition + room and board) ride. </p>

<p>Your stats are good enough that if you apply to a number of such schools, at least one will likely decide to admit you. </p>

<p>As someone else said, make sure you take SAT II’s. </p>

<p>If you don’t know anyone that has gone to a selective school that you would trust to edit your essays, look for people on here.</p>