<p>All summer long (I've been in summer for about a month now), I've been applying for scholarships ranging from $200 to $10,000. However, I'm sorta feeling that I'm not going to be able to get a lot of money from just that.</p>
<p>One of my mom's friends (two kids in college) helped us fill out our FAFSA (not the official one; just an example) and our EFC is zero. My dad's not going to be able to work for a while due to his health, so our annual income is reducing, which I guess "ensures" us an EFC of zero. (My mom will be working for a family of five.)</p>
<p>All of the schools I'm applying to guarantee 100% of demonstrated need and a lot say no loans for my family's income bracket.</p>
<p>So I'm just asking --- should I be able to depend on that guaranteed aid from colleges or should I continue applying for scholarships?</p>
<p>EDIT: I meant "Is it okay not to apply FOR scholarships?"</p>
<p>Well...I guess the question is...are you SURE you are going to get accepted to one of those schools that guarantees to meet your demonstrated need? These are amongst the most competitive schools in the country...and truthfully, no one is guaranteed admission to them. </p>
<p>I would say you need a financial safety in your mix and along with that I would apply for those scholarships...just in case one of the "meets full need" schools doesn't work out.</p>
<p>In addition, if you are in the range for those highly competitive schools, you might also want to look at some lower ranked schools where you might be eligible for substantial merit aid. There are even a few schools where you might be in the running for a close to full ride (U of South Carolina McNair Scholar for example). </p>
<p>I hope that things do work out for you and that your dad's health improves soon.</p>
<p>Please note that EFC just guarantees you the PELL Grant and the subsidized Stafford loans. The rest of the money has to come from the school. Even with full need at a school that guarantees meeting it, the way it is provided can be in the form of loans. If your family is in a tough spot financially, coming out with loads of debt is not a good idea. Those schools that are the most generous with scholarship money tend to be the most selective in the country. Make sure you add a good financial safety school to your list.</p>
<p>Do you guys have other ideas on how to get non-loan aid? I've been to fastweb and collegeboard's scholarship finder, but the other sites I come across seem kind of unreliable. Thanks!</p>
<p>I don't think my stats are good enough (they're above average, I hope, but they're not 2250 SAT or something like that) to really get into a good school that will give me 100% aid (as cptofthehouse said, most of those schools are selective.)</p>
<p>How would I go about finding a financial safety?</p>
<p>The only schools I am really guaranteed to get into is a couple of the UCs, because of ELC. However, my counselor told me not to expect much aid because of the budget cuts.</p>
<p>A financial safety is a school where you are very likely to be admitted and you are very likely to get your need met. </p>
<p>It sounds like based on your research, your need is likely to be met at the schools you have chosen. If your list includes schools where you are very likely to be admitted, then you're in good shape.</p>
<p>A safety on all fronts may have to be a local school. Also look at momfromtexas thread on finding full ride school. They are not schools that are well known, but the price is right. And that will give you a safety so you can put your chips whereever for your chances for financial aid packages. You should also subscribe to fastweb and look at your guidance counselor's office and local areas for scholarships, since you may get gapped at a school and could use that money without losing other aid. IF you are full need, every bit of scholarship will help security wise if nothing else.</p>
<p>it depends....my efc was 0....my school required me to pay them nearly 16000.00 then I got enough scholarships to pay for that...so scholarships does help...</p>
<p>Another word of caution-- while it sounds like your EFC is 0, and FAFSA may very well come back reporting that your EFC is 0, schools have a way of coming back with very different reports. Our EFC was about $6,000 less than what the school is asking us to pay, and this is a 100% need-met school. Schools are tricky in their interpretation of all of the numbers.</p>
<p>Have you filled out the CSS Profile? As far as I know, the schools that meet 100% of need do not rely solely on FAFSA. They also use the Profile to determine your need. That means that someone with an EFC of 0 on FAFSA may have a higher EFC once the Profile information is factored in.</p>
<p>Chedva -- my mom's friend (the one who has two kids in college so she's filled out these financial forms) said our EFC should be zero for CSS too. The year before (our last tax season) was when my dad started having health problems, so he was working part time. My family's total income was just around 30,000 and unless my dad's health improves, our annual income will drastically lower.</p>
<p>Anyway, I really want to apply to more scholarships now. Does anybody know any more websites besides fastweb and collegeboard? It seems that I've been through everything on there. Thanks!</p>
<p>Arduous, the $15 investment for the USN&WR premier service would be a good one for you. Or the hard copy of the book. There is a section that lists the schools that give the best financial and merit aid. You can then look up each school that interests you on that list in its individual listing, and get an idea what their breakdown is in their financial aid. If you are sure that you will be zero or very low in terms of EFC for Profile, then you want a school that will cover most or all of your need. It would then be important that you pick those schools that do not give out large loans to meet that need. Again, I recommend Momfromtexas's thread that can help you find lesser known full ride opportunities that you can also have as some choices. When you need a full ride or close to it, you need to shake a lot of bushes.</p>
<p>arduouspallor, have you looked at local scholarships from your community? Many civic organizations give out scholarships. These applications are usually not available until during your senior year of high school (I'm assuming you are a rising senior). Often these are posted in the guidance office, and/or in the newspapers. While some of these are smaller, they do add up...and every penny counts. Most are one year awards only but some are renewable. Both of my kids got about $3000 in these types of scholarships and that really helped for freshman year. You might want to ask some recent graduates (if you know any) if they applied for this type of scholarship.</p>
<p>In addition, please do some research into some of the scholarships for high achieving students at other schools. You might find yourself in the position to get one of these. Look into the Pogue Scholarship at UNC-Chapel Hill (it may be at Duke too...not sure). These are out there...but you have to really look.</p>
<p>Look for threads here by getouttabuffalo. She got some terrific awards. Maybe she wouldn't mind a PM.</p>