I feel good about ursinus but once I send it nothing to do but wait and see.
Be sure to send your FAFSA as soon as possible to any additional colleges you apply to.
Thanks for the reminder!!
Your situation in some ways was similar to mine when I started applying to colleges many years ago, except I was coming from a single parent household (mom widowed when my three siblings and I were young) and with a very low income. I am the oldest so I didn’t have any guidance from home, but my favorite teacher recommended a couple of schools to check out. Other than that, I poured over college guide books dreaming of finding a way out through education.
You mentioned that your dream was going to school in Boston. I am from Massachusetts. Northeastern, BU, BC, etc are all phenomenally expensive and apartments are also very expensive, even with roommates. I couldn’t quite tell if you are male or female because I skimmed through these postings quickly. If you are male (or female) for that matter, there are other options in the Boston area. There are several colleges that were formerly all female, but are now co-ed that might offer options. You are able to benefit from being in or are a subway ride into the city and can work to tap into opportunities in your area of interest. Emmanuel, Regis, Simmons (all womens college) come to mind. One never knows exactly what an AO is looking for, but sometimes smaller schools may surprise you and be able to provide financial aid that you wouldn’t expect.
As others have suggested, community college may help defray expenses of a four year degree. You do well there and then transfer your credits to another school. Years ago, I read about several students who attended Bunker Hill Community College (where Robin Williams held therapy sessions with Matt Damon in “Good Will Hunting”). These young women went to Bunker Hill for two years and did well enough to then transfer to Wellesley College where they completed the remainder of their credits. Their degrees were from Wellesley College, and for half the price.
Clearly, your results during this admissions cycle were not what you hoped they would be, but there is more than one path that will get you to where you would like to go. You could also choose not to matriculate and work and save. Continue your education independently- read, read, read. The local library is free. Find free or low cost lectures and performances. Volunteer, keep yourself involved and welcome new experiences. Proceed onward and apply again.
Also, are you able to access Naviance? It might be a helpful tool to use.
Hi, I am female. i do not think going to community college would be affordable OOS due to lack of housing (not sure if that was what you were suggesting with bunker hill) but i am certainly keeping it open as an option in state. i am not able to access naviance, i am from a public cyber charter school and they do not use that resource. it would have been helpful during the original admissions cycle. i do not really want to take a gap year as i do not feel it would be meaningful enough to convince admissions and i do not want to lose any forward momentum i have gained thus far. i would ideally like to like the college i choose for all four years as i feel like going into a 4 year college with a 2 year transfer mindset will hold me back socially and with ECs. however i really appreciate your comments and will keep them in mind going forward.
http://www.upj.pitt.edu/zh/academics/academic-divisions/humanities-division/communication/
Another poster’s son had a similar problem. He got into Pitt and couldn’t afford it.
He is going to Pitt Johnstown which apparently offers a 4 yr degree in his engineering specialty.
The scholarship UPJ offered him was a bit lower than at UPB ($5,500 instead of $7,500), but since he doesn’t have to transfer, it is better overall.
So if you got the same $5,500 scholarship, your final cost should be only about $2,000 more than at UPB.
He liked the campus when he visited.
I don’t know if that would be an option for you. You could visit and talk to someone in the communications/journalism department.
That looks like an option, ty!
just wanted to give a little update to you all that i filled out the scholarship that @mom2cats so graciously found and shared with me, and am hoping that by applying to ursinus tonight (at the latest) i will have a letter of acceptance (knock on wood!!) by the deadline of the 7th.
Thanks for the update!
We are all pulling for you. Keep us in the loop as your situation progresses!
Thank you guys! All my extra apps are in so I will see what happens.
FIngers crossed! Now you wait and two-three weeks from now you’ll have a clearer picture of your possibilities. You’ll take a couple days to do an overnight the new colleges that admitted you and are affordable. You’ll figure out where you want to put that deposit. It’ll soon be May 5th and you’ll see if on the list there are any colleges with more interesting programs, you’ll apply and compare again. And then it’ll be mid/late May and you’ll have a college to go to. You’ll start reading The Naked Roommate and you’ll be really excited. 
Don’t forget to update your thread - I bookmarked it!
Re: UNM - The educational quality is good enough that we’re sending our premed son there as a National Merit Finalist instead of somewhere here in CA.
UNM’s honors college is among the top 25 in the nation. Their photography program is among the top 5. People come from all over the world for UNM’s flamenco dance major. In addition to journalism and creative writing, there are also writing classes through the honors college where you can try your hand at things like fantasy, science fiction or an occult detective novel (think Harry Dresden or Supernatural). The honors college also produces its own literary journal, Scribendi.
UNM is also #102 for Top Public Schools and #86 for undergrad engineering. So not tippy top by any means, but extremely solid.
They also have a program where your final semester is tuition-free as long as you graduate in 8 semesters or less, and that would be in addition to the Amigo scholarship which waives OOS tuition. ABQ also has a fairly low cost of living for when/if you move off campus after freshman year.
Quality-wise, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. If it’s not a fit or you have no interest, that’s totally cool. That said, the application is online and takes 5-10 minutes, tops. Can’t hurt, right? https://www.unm.edu/apply/ You would be auto-admit to both the school and the Honors College.
Apologies if I’ve already posted this link, but here’s a thread with all of our visit report info in it, student demographics, test scores, etc.
That helps, ty! I did email them and ask if the lobo scholarship was still available and they haven’t gotten back to me yet but ill keep it in mind.
Do you mean Amigo? They award them automatically until funds run out. Last year, they were still awarding them in June for fall freshmen. They’re first come, first served, so you may want to get an app in just in case.
Depending on which department you emailed, they can be a bit slow to respond. Calling or chatting online would be faster. http://financialaid.unm.edu/contact/index.html
Not trying to be pushy or anything about the school, but it looks like it might be a financial and admit safety for you in case something doesn’t work out with Ursinus or one of the others.
Search for school with rolling admissions and apply now. It’s not too late.
@DiotimaDM Thank you! And hey a safety is a safety and I’m more than grateful for everyone’s help. I will definitely call or message Monday and if available, put An app in. Can’t hurt!
Re: Amigo availability - The guy who handles that is Jordan Skeen. The rest of the financial aid people don’t know the answer. He’s out of the office until Monday. You can find his email on the UNM website, or I can give it to you in PM if you’re interested. No harm, no foul if you’re not.
If you don’t mind I would really appreciate his email @DiotimaDM