“She always stresses that cost isn’t important, follow your dreams, unicorns are real!”
Ugh. I hate guidance counselors who do this, and unfortunately it seems to be most of them. They’re not there to be emotional support counselors, and yet so many seem to tell kids absolutely no pertinent info as to how admissions and financial aid ACTUALLY works – in reality. Dreams aside.
Also, SAT equivalent of 32 is a 1400. Also a “magic number” in terms of getting those huge scholarships.
^^ Didn’t the “magic” number go up for the new SAT? I know Alabama requires a 1400 on the old SAT but a 1450 on the new SAT.
Maybe for some schools. I still see a lot giving full tuition or higher for 1400s.
Since reading that there are questions about the reliability of the old-new SAT concordance, I’ve wondered if colleges will end up re-adjusting their automatic merit matrices.
@vivianm Because your parents aren’t married, the NPCs may not be reliable for you. But start with them anyway so you can get an idea of what various schools will expect you to pay (with help from your mom and dad).
You might want to take the June ACT. Those practice test scores are very good, so try it for real and see if you get a 32 under real conditions.
Since you live in Ohio you will have a number of schools that will offer you merit and be affordable based on what you told us your mom can pay. As a rule of thumb you want to be in the 75th percentile or above for the school you are applying to be considered for merit aid. The higher the better. Many Ohio publics offer scholarships for various GPA and test scores and I think would be affordable for you. Some such as Bowling Green will give you a calculator to figure it out, others you’d have to apply to and wait for financial aid. I would check out Bowling Green, Kent State, University of Akron, Cleveland State and maybe even Ohio University. Each school has a different atmosphere. Some are college towns, some are suburban, some rather rural and some are urban. Miami University would be more difficult as it’s more expensive and they consider rigor of curriculum rather strongly. Most privates would likely cost more than what your mom would provide but you could try and apply. There are also some OOS schools in Alabama and Mississippi that might meet your financial parameters.
Once you get your scores you can apply to a variety of schools. What is nice is that you have a number of schools that are affordable and that you are likely to get some merit at in Ohio. Most schools at the level you are applying to are going to primarily look at grades, rigor and test scores to determine what scholarships to offer. Some might provide some talent or sports scholarships if you are interested. I would concentrate on preparing well for your standardized tests and keeping your grades up. Get your applications in early and fill out the fafsa in October.
Creighton University
Look up their merit awards!
tOSU, Ohio U, Miami University, UCincinnati, all have good merit awards - apply to all as soon as you reach 32 or whatever score you can. Those would be the top public universities in Ohio with strong honors colleges.
Next, explore automatic merit scholarships from the list above.
Next, run NPC’s. Some colleges don’t offer any merit - Notre Dame, for instance, will add up your mother’s and your father’s income, whether they want to contribute or not, and will expect whatever the NPC tells you they want.
If you’re a girl, you could attend St Mary’s, Notre Dame’s sister school (they have a common Engineering major with ND). Run the NPC.
In the Midwest (and around), run the NPC on Ohio Wesleyan, Wooster, Denison, St Olaf, Lawrence, Beloit, Gustavus Adolphus, Drake, Butler, Hendrix.