<p>Hey guys! I am a senior this year (whoop!) and I am looking into colleges. I have NO Idea where to start. </p>
<p>I have an unweighted gpa of 3.44 and a weighted of 3.75.
ACT is 27
SAT is 620 reading, 520 math and 570 writing. </p>
<p>softball, cheerleading, cross country, class board, county representative, part of a selective program run by my congressman, went abroad this summer. </p>
<p>I think I want to be a nurse or ob gyn. </p>
<p>I have taken classes at my community college (just taking classes as they fit in my schedule) and have 10 credits, looking to earn 3 more during fall semester and more spring and summer. </p>
<p>I want a college with great social life (like people living in dorms and sororities and things)
and a great academic program. I don't really want to go to small colleges. </p>
<p>I live in Maryland so I am looking for colleges in md or va but its not a necessity. </p>
<p>Help?! I need scholarships too :\
im a black female, if that has anything to add.</p>
<p>I looked at
towson, umd college park, commonwealth, Michigan, george mason, georgetown. but im not sure how i would get in.</p>
<p>Since you say you have no idea where to start - start with money. You need to determine your Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) and you need to find out what your family will actually pay. Your EFC or some similar number will be used by colleges to determine how much need-based financial aid they will give you.</p>
<p>Say a college costs $40,000/year and your family can pay $10,000/year towards your college. If the college offers $30,000/year financial aid, you are in great shape. However, more often there is a gap - and sometimes a very big gap - between what the college offers and what it takes to make up the difference.</p>
<p>If the need-based aid story doesn’t work for you, then you can try for merit-based aid. This means scholarships that are awarded by the school that are based on your academic qualifications rather than your financial status.</p>
<p>Here’s an EFC calculator to get you started:
<a href=“https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/paying-your-share/expected-family-contribution-calculator[/url]”>https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/paying-your-share/expected-family-contribution-calculator</a></p>
<p>Out-of-state (OOS) public schools like Michigan will probably not be affordable because they do not give a lot of aid to students from other states.</p>
<p>Definitely figure out your EFC. If you’re serious about nursing, then that will be a limiting factor. Start looking at schools that have nursing programs. Also look for schools where test scores would be in at least the top half of the class to help with merit scholarships. Whenever you have a chance, visit different colleges even if you don’t think you’ll apply to just to get a feel of what you like and don’t like. And ruling out small schools could eliminate some great opportunities for financial aid.</p>
<p>kirsten77 -</p>
<p>What community college are you attending? Make an appointment with the Transfer Advisor there, and find out whether or not there is a formal articulation agreement for Nursing with any of the in-state universities that offer it. Your most affordable (and most secure) option may be to complete a pre-Nursing program at your community college and then to transfer in state. </p>
<p>Here is the page from the MHEC website that lists all of the Nursing programs in the state: [Find</a> a Program Search Results](<a href=“http://www.mhec.state.md.us/utilities/results_major.asp?T1=nursing&D1=a&submit=+++Search++]Find”>http://www.mhec.state.md.us/utilities/results_major.asp?T1=nursing&D1=a&submit=+++Search++) Some of the community colleges offer only a Practical Nursing program, but others offer a Registered Nursing program. Frostburg has an RN to BSN program that could work if you do an RN at your community college.</p>
<p>[Nursing</a> Program](<a href=“http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/nursing/]Nursing”>http://cms.montgomerycollege.edu/nursing/)</p>
<p>Go talk to admissions about what your options are. They have a number of scholarships for nursing students, as I recall.</p>
<p>And although this is a two year program, there are opportunities to continue on for advanced studies in specialties which you should explore.</p>