I need a full ride. WHERE? Help me find a school

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Here's my stats. I need a full ride somewhere. Anyone know any schools (Tier 4...oh well i don't care at this stage) where I would definitely get a full ride? IE. Bowling Green State U, according to website, 1350+ i think and 3.8 get you full tuition. any others?</p>

<p>Female, Age 16, Buffalo, NY, White
Estimated Class Rank: 10-20/275ish
GPA: 4.0 unweighted, 96/100
SAT: M: 640 V: 730 W: 730 (1370/2100)
SAT II: US History: 680 (OUCH! RETAKE!!)
Total APs by graduation: 6
So far, AP scores: AP European (4), AP US Gov't (4), APUSH (5)</p>

<p>Classes:
Freshman year:
Biology Honors, 90. Regents Exam, 93
Design Drawing for Production, 100. Exam, 93
Global History I, 94. Exam, 96
English, 95. Exam, 98
Latin, 99. Exam, 99
Math, 90. Exam, 89
Advanced Spanish, 93. Exam, 96</p>

<p>Summer school to get ahead: Global II, 97. Regents Exam, 97</p>

<p>Sophomore year:
English, 100. Exam, 99
Math, 97. Exam, 88 Math A exam: 95
Advanced Spanish, 98. Exam, 99
AP European, 97 Exam, 98, AP: (4)
Advanced Latin, 99. Exam, 95
Earth Science Honors, 93. Exam, 94
Business and Personal Law, 99. Exam, 100</p>

<p>Junior year so far:
AP American, 99
English, 100
AP Government, 97
Advanced Spanish, 96
Advanced Latin, 97
Chemistry Honors, 96
Math, 95</p>

<p>Pretty steady incline in grades...</p>

<p>ECs:</p>

<p>Freshman year:
~ Class President
~ Principal's Advisory Council
~ Pep Club, Ambassadors' Circle, a couple others...can't remember...
~ JV Cheerleading (Most Improved award, lol)
~ Community service program (25ish hours over summer)
~ Latin award: Summa cumma laude - National Latin Exam</p>

<p>Sophomore year:
~ Student Congress representative
~ Principal's Advisory Council
~ Student Recognition Council (secretary)
~ Environmental Club (secretary)
~ SADD (Officer of Publicity)
~ Best Buddies (Officer of Publicity)
~ JV Cheerleading (MVP award)
~ Town of **** Supervisor's Youth Council
~ Community service program (50-ish hours)
~ Youth Consortium (promoting leadership and wise choices in younger teens)
~ Awards:
~ NY State winner of Essay Contest
~ Published in Parade Magazine: fresh voices
~ Featured: "Someone You Should Know": town newspaper
~ National Latin Exam: Silver Medal
~ Kodak Young Leaders Award
~ HOBY Youth Conference (summer)
~ National Young Leaders Conference (summer) (Assistant Majority Leader of Model Congress)</p>

<p>Junior year:
~ Co-President of Environmental Club
~ Vice-President of SADD Club
~ Student Congress Executive Board
~ Principal's Advisory Council
~ Student Recognition Council
~ Youth voting member of Town Board
~ Youth Consortium
~ Community service program: from summer 2004-present: 100+ hours
~ National Honor Society (maybe President -- running next week)
~ Varsity Cheerleading
~ Keynote Speaker: Junior National Young Leaders Conference
~ Girls State Nominee
~ 2006 NY State winner Lewis and Clark essay contest
Won: all expenses paid trip to North Dakota to learn about Indian heritage and walk the trails of Lewis and Clark.</p>

<p>~ WORK: Busser at restaraunt (May 2005-present, 12 hours a week)
Only member of family employed at moment due to father's cancer
Hostess at another restaraunt (Jan. 2006-present, 7-8 hours a week)
Intern at law office for summer 2006 (total 55 hours)
^ Will try and get an actual job there for senior year</p>

<p>Also, neither parent went to college...if that helps?</p>

<p>Thanks for much!!</p>

2

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<p>Robertson Scholars are chosen on the basis of six criteria
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Courage
Collaborative spirit</p>

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3

<p>It's hard to find a school that will automatically give you a full ride based on numbers. I believe that for BGSU, that means you get full in-state tuition, there are also some OOS discounts, but no real full tuition stuff.</p>

4

<p>lots of state schools will give you a full ride, or only require you to pay a minimal fee, not just BGSU.</p>

5

<p>It's hard to find a school that will automatically give you a full ride based on numbers. I believe that for BGSU, that means you get full in-state tuition, there are also some OOS discounts, but no real full tuition stuff.</p>

<p>No it's full-tuition. The one that brings it down to In-state costs (which I got) is a diff. scholarship.</p>

6

<p>i wouldn't retake the us history - 680 is a good score, and improving 20 or 30 points isn;t going to mean the difference between scholarship and no scholarship.</p>

<p>I would look at Franklin and Marshall in PA - it gives 8 or 12 full rides a year.</p>

<p>Also, if you aren't very affluent (if you make less than 50,000 a year) then penn gives grants instead of loans - and i think you have a pretty decent shot of getting in there.</p>

<p>If you're within 2x the poverty line (about 40,000/yr for a family of 4), UVa gives full rides to all students (in and out of state) and even if you're not, all loans are capped at around 15,000 over the 4 years (1 year of instate tuition). </p>

<p>Berea college is tuition free - and you can do work study there to pay for room and board (about 10 hours/week of work)</p>

<p>Also, if you're at all interested in engineering, cooper union is free.</p>

7

<p>jags, that was incredibly helpful!</p>

<p>me...get into penn? are you kidding though?</p>

<p>we are around 50,000 or less cuz the first 5 months of this year my dad couldn't work (he's the only one who works ...and me) because he had cancer.</p>

<p>any other specific publics i could look at?</p>

8

<p>i mean, you arn't a shoe in - its a reach of course, but my best friend in high school got into penn with a 96 average and 1320 on his sats. he was ranked 1/180 though.</p>

<p>However I think since you're at least in the top 10%, you have 2100 sat's, you have worked throughout high school - and also you have a very good list of ecs plus the fact your father was sick all year and your performance didn't suffer, I think you'd be competitive.</p>

9

<p>as for publics, I would look into seeing what scholarship programs the suny's and cuny's have - if they offer scholarships, I would be shocked if you didn't receive them.</p>

10

<p>UPittsburgh gave 4 people from my school full tuition scholarships (including me, and we were all from Maryland--and your stats our better than ours). With your stats, you'd probably be in the running to be a finalist for the Chancellor's scholarship too.</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=219347%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=219347&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Curmudgen made a short list of top100 school who give merit money.</p>

11

<p>You might also want to try applying to top-tier schools (HYPSM even?). I'm assuming that if you need a full ride, your family income won't be that high. HYP provide really generous financial aid once you get in (H - income <60,000 means you don't pay at all, P - all FA in grant form).</p>

12

<p>Seriously, if you're family doesn't own a farm or business and you really make about $50,000, you're probably going to get a full ride at any 100% need-met school. If you dont get a full-ride, it will be pretty damn close. Apply to prestigious schools, they will give you the best aid being that they have the most money and you can be competitive at any school you apply to. From my experience, a lot of those lower tier schools that give reat merit aid, give crap need-based aid. One other thing to think about... Will your dad be able to return to work soon? How much money did he make before? You will have to reapply for aid every year, so if he goes back to work, your package will change. Most merit aid does not change from year to year, but need-based does.</p>

13

<p>This website is a good basic about financial aid, loans etc.:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>There is also a link to scholarships and fellowships:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/prestigious.phtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/prestigious.phtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>as well as full tuition scholarships for specific scholarships:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/academicscholarships.phtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/academicscholarships.phtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Don't be afraid to apply to private universities - your family income makes you a good candidate for financial aid. Colleges want diversity and the since your parents did not attend college and you work - you may have an advantage. </p>

<p>You can also get application fees waived at many colleges - they have information on their websites. You'll have to apply for the FAFSA to be considered for financial aid - the website above has good explanations about the application process.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

14

<p>Here's an article about three young women who won full tuition to three different schools:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-07262006-688852.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-07262006-688852.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

15

<p>Thanks so much guys!!! Any specific private schools? The trouble is, I really want over 5,000 kids at a school and that's hard to get. I know I'd be more competitive at the smaller schools....</p>

16

<p>If you don't mind going across the country to LA, apply to USC. They have solid financial aid and merit awards. Apply early. Another southern option, well Texas option, Trinity in San Antonio. They gave one of our international students a great package or look at Southwestern.</p>

17

<p>lol</p>

<p>cooper union owns azn parents</p>

18

<p>The Five Service Academies provide great academics, leadership training and a full ride.</p>

<p>They aren't for everybody and the worst reason to go to one is because it’s paid for. But if you haven't looked into them, they are worth a look you might see something compelling. Don't dismiss them out of hand.</p>

<p>The Merchant Marine Academy is the most flexible and provides the most opportunities of all of them.</p>

<p>United States Merchant Marine Academy
<a href="http://www.usmma.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.usmma.edu&lt;/a>
United States Naval Academy
<a href="http://www.usna.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.usna.edu&lt;/a>
United States Military Academy
<a href="http://www.usma.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.usma.edu&lt;/a>
United States Air Force Academy
<a href="http://www.usafa.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.usafa.edu&lt;/a>
United States Coast Guard Academy
<a href="http://www.cga.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.cga.edu&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

19

<p>You could look at Emory. I'm not sure about the specifics and all, but someone at my school got a full ride this year with a 2210 and a 4.0. That's pretty close to you...good luck...</p>

20

<p>If you raised your SAT to above 1410 (M/V) or make a 32+ on the ACT, my school (LA Tech) would give you a full-ride...but I doubt you'd want to come down to Louisiana from New York.</p>