<p>Lets say, I have 34k a year for four years to pay for college. I will be OOS.</p>
<p>Description:
African American
New Yorker
UW 92 W 95 With pure honors courses and 7 AP's
I haven't taken SAT yes since I'm taking it in May (I'm a junior), but I did take the PSAt which I thought was decent, and got me a lot of junk mail from colleges, even UPENN. (I've never been so happy for a pile of junk mail o.O)
Numerous EC's + National Honor Society + Math Honor Scoiety (Mu Alpha Theta)
I'll probably have at least 30 hours of volunteering by sending in my application since I have to volunteer a certain amount a quarter for NHS.</p>
<p>Seeing as my family did not think to make me a college fund at all (even though we make around 130k a year.... -__-"), and we are tight on cash at the moment especially with my sis in community college, would I be able to kill off that 34k with scholarships/ financial aid and such? My dad says we are going to apply for 1000 scholarships (exaggeration, but you get the idea).</p>
<p>I'm looking at OSU/Penn State/Mich State if you are wondering.</p>
<p>How do you think I stand? Sunys are nice, but I'd like to go OOS because SUny's don't have what i'm looking for in a college.</p>
<p>Oh, and sorry for double post. Will getting a 78 in An honors social studies class in FL (i moved to NY summer before sophomore year) hurt me for merit scholarships despite me having a decent GPA?</p>
<p>You are willing to pay 34k each year; if so you will have a decent amount of options such as the big ten schools you’ve mention though be aware tuition prices are known to increase every single year.</p>
<p>Hmmm I read that as $34,000 for four years or alittle more than $8,000 per year. Clarify OP?</p>
<p>*
Lets say, I have 34k a year for four years to pay for college. I will be OOS.</p>
<p>would I be able to kill off that 34k with scholarships/ financial aid and such? *</p>
<p>I"m not sure what you mean here. Where is the $34k coming from? Is that per year? </p>
<p>What was your PSAT? Are you a likely National Achievement?</p>
<p>Cast your net wider and look for private schools that offer merit aid to someone with your stats. Be open to considering schools you might not have heard of before! You’ll need your SAT score to help assess this. OOS publics are not the best sources for merit aid.</p>
<p>I think the OP is asking if he has to come up with $34K/year (the to pay in the previous sentence should be moved in front of the 34k). And then asks if he can fill that requirement with scholarships, etc</p>
<p>OP, Those schools do have good merit scholarships but they are VERY competitive to get. If the 78 is included in the cum GPA listed then that should still be OK. If not it will reduce the chances of getting a scholarship because it will bring the CUM down. MAKE SURE you have SUNY on your app list as a safety (a SUNY you will be willing to attend if you can’t afford anything else).</p>
<p>ahhh…so you think he meant to say…</p>
<p>**Lets say, I have to pay 34k a year for four years for college. I will be OOS.</p>
<p>would I be able to kill off that 34k with scholarships/ financial aid and such? **</p>
<p>Ok…if that’s the case then…</p>
<p>If the $34k is your EFC and your parents aren’t paying, then you can’t cover that with financial aid. Financial aid is for “need”; it’s not for EFC.</p>
<p>You also cannot cover EFC with scholarships UNLESS the scholarships are so big that they cover all of need and then cut into EFC… (and that’s only if the school allows that)</p>
<p>For example</p>
<p>School’s COA is… $50k (which many privates and some OOS publics cost.)
Your EFC is… $34k
Your need is then… $16k</p>
<p>You would likely be given loans, work/study, and maybe a grant, merit, or gap to cover that remaining $16k. </p>
<p>You’d be expected to pay or borrow the $34k (not advisable to borrow).</p>
<p>However, if you were given a huge annual merit scholarship - say $35k per year - that would reduce your EFC by …still leaving you with $15k to cover. (BTW…it’s unlikely that you’d get that big of a merit scholarship…that size is very rare.)</p>
<p>Frankly, anyone who has a large unaffordable EFC (like $34k), should really look into schools that give huge merit. That is sometimes the only way to make undergrad affordable.</p>
<p>Wanted to add to above…</p>
<p>You should try to take the ACT and the SAT before May. (Take BOTH!!! you may do better on one than the other)</p>
<p>BTW…since you’re taking so may APs, it’s not a good idea to take the SAT I in May because it’s usually on the weekend DURING AP exams. Many kids don’t want to give up a Saturday doing a SAT, when they need the weekend to prepare for AP exams. </p>
<p>What was your PSAT? You may be a possible Achievement semi-finalist.</p>
<p>Sorry guys, for not being too clear. I mean 34k COA per year, and its not that my parents wont pay, its that they don’t have enough to actually make a significant difference straight from their income since we have 2 houses and can’t get rid of the other one which is driving us crazy.</p>
<p>78 was included in the CUM</p>
<p>My PSAT scores:
Math: 660
Reading: 630
Writing 510 (This one, I know I can improve. Didn’t realize I didn’t have to answer all of them…that’s the penalty I pay for not reading the instructions…)</p>
<p>In whole honesty, I’m not really picky on where I go. I only have this criteria:
~Respected Name
~Not too small
~ Good athletics program + a marching band ( I = Band Geek =D)
~ Strong Engineering Program (Electric)
~ Not going to drive me crazy with boredom if I live on campus. I’m not a party-er so I’m not talking bars, I’m talking fun.</p>
<p>Any schools you guys recommend with good merit and fits my criteria? And of course I don’t mind SUNY schools, I’m applying to a few of course, but I think I could find a better match somewhere else. =/</p>
<p>If you do get National Achievement many of these schools will be willing to give you merit scholarships - I remember in 2003 I got offered a merit scholarship at Ohio State because I was an NA Finalist at the time, although I didn’t apply. A lot of state schools try to attract OOS URMs - like Iowa, lol.</p>
<p>I agree with M2CK that you should look for some schools that give huge merit scholarships to top students. I went to a SLAC that gave me their top award because I was in the top 5 of their applicants that year. Look for public universities and small liberal arts colleges that give big merit scholarships to OOS students (if they’re public) or URMs, since you are one. Look at Auburn, University of Alabama, Iowa (I think it’s Iowa State), Florida A&M if you’re at all interested in HBCUs (FAMU has all the things you’ve listed…well, maybe without the respected name part, depends on who you ask), UF, Florida State, UGA. And look at small liberal arts colleges that aren’t in the top 25-50 of USNWR but still in the top 100 - like I got my full scholarship from Spelman, which is #68 right now. I also got a full-tuition scholarship from Agnes Scott, which was #50 at the time (don’t know what it is now).</p>
<p>I’m making a fool of myself by not just giving enough information in one post.</p>
<p>I just wanted to add that I’d like to stay near NY, ohio/mich being as far out, and probably Virginia/top of NC as far down. I still want to see my family once in awhile =)</p>
<p>LOL…</p>
<p>OK…so you’re thinking of attending a school with a COA of about $34k. That eliminates many privates who have COAs of about $50k or more. There are some OOS publics that fit that criteria.</p>
<p>It sounds like your parents will have a highish EFC, but won’t be able to contribute much (if anything). Sounds like they have a good income PLUS they have the asset of this extra house. Even if they sell the extra house, that may mean that 2010 income will be quite high from that sale.</p>
<p>Does anyone know what the NY cutoff is for National Achievement? He has a 180 PSAT (too bad that writing wasn’t a bit higher 
) I’m thinking that the cut-off is above 180, but I may be wrong. </p>
<p>However, it sounds like Kalookakoo has the ability to pull down some good SAT and ACT scores. But, I think he needs to take the first ones before May. At least take the SAT before May so it doesnt’ interfere with AP studying.</p>
<p>Once he has those scores, it will be easier to direct him to the merit schools or top elites that will want him. Of course, the top elites will be in the $55k+ range, but they have are generous.</p>
<p>Do you know what your EFC is (including that extra house)?</p>
<p>If you are in NY state now, you have many SUNY options that would be very affordable to you at less than $34K per year. For OOS, consider UDel.</p>
<p>Will UDel give him scholarships? I don’t know what their OOS policies or merit policies are.</p>
<p>Since he’s AA, he may have better money opportunities at some privates - especially those who want to improve their diversity numbers. Some of those who are a bit heavy female would also be a possibility.</p>
<p>The total cost of attendance for an OOS student this year at UDel is $32494…that includes all of their costs. That is under the $34K this student says he can pay per year (or did I get that part wrong).</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>I know, his posts were confusing at first.</p>
<p>No, his parents can’t pay $34k per year. I’m not even sure why he’s given that particular amount as a target COA. His biggest concern shouldn’t be COA, it should be how much he and his family would be responsible for after scholarships and such. </p>
<p>Sorry guys, for not being too clear. I mean 34k COA per year, and its not that my parents wont pay, its that they don’t have enough to actually make a significant difference straight from their income since we have 2 houses and can’t get rid of the other one which is driving us crazy.</p>
<p>So, it sounds like he’s arbitrarily set $34k as the COA for schools that he’ll consider, but his family can’t contribute that much because they have this issue with second home that they can’t sell.</p>
<p>So, it sounds like he’ll have a highish EFC that won’t be affordable.</p>
<p>34K being the highest COA I see that is even possible. With luck with scholarships, and aid from them, it could probably work. I doubt I’d be able to cover enough of 50k+ for attendance since whats left over after the 34k dwindles down into the EFC would be probably too high.</p>
<p>And no, don’t have the exact EFC. Like I said, my parents don’t think ahead which is why they never made me a college fund (they made one a year ago, and then emptied it to pay a phone bill a few months later…) and they’d probably fill out the paperwork as late as possible.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I don’t have any research to support this but my guess is that the VAST majority of college students do NOT have college funds. </p>
<p>Our kids did NOT have college funds. We put our money into retirement on the advice of our financial planner. He boldly told us we could pay back loans with our retirement earnings. Luckily we don’t have huge loans TO pay back…oh…and we haven’t retired yet either.</p>
<p>You need to discuss the college finances with your parents. The best way to do this is to open a discussion about looking for schools that will be affordable for your family. Ask your parents to give you a “ballpark” amount they are WILLING to contribute to your college costs each year. That is more important actually than your EFC. The reality is that if your parents are willing to contribute the amount you need to attend a school…terrific.</p>