As I’m approaching the end of my junior year, the reality of paying for college has hit me like a truck. I’ve realized that(though I have to check with the FAFSA later on) with my parents’ combined income, we won’t qualify for any financial aid, which will be a huge blow for my parents, and personal circumstances have caused our household number to increase to 7, and I know my parents are having a hard time with money and providing for me, my siblings, and our extended family members.
As a result, I need to look for merit-based scholarships. My GPA is very high and I have a handful of extracurricular activites, but I’ve noticed that most scholarships are often awarded to those who have clear leadership positions, such as the President or Treasurer or such. I don’t have any of those kinds of positions, and officer elections for my main organization don’t occur until senior year, which is concerning because I’m planning to finish most of my college stuff in the summer since I know I’m going to be very busy. I know that there are ways to be a leader outside of school; for example, I am one of few youth song leaders for mass at my church, but I’m afraid that even with my qualifications and essay that I won’t get much money or stand out amongst applicants. Does anyone have advice about getting scholarships, or schools that are great and offer generous financial aid? Asking for a friend…
Many school have merit awards based mostly on gpa and test scores. If your scores aren’t high, take the tests again. You’ll get the most money in scholarships directly from the school itself.
If you post your stats and a little about the type of school you are looking for, your state (for instate tuition rates), a lot of people here can help you get the biggest awards. You should also look for some little awards in your area, so get a head start by talking to your guidance counselor.
@justjannelle you are so smart to be thinking of this ahead of time - I commend you for being on the ball because a lot of kids (and parents) aren’t and thus don’t have any affordable options in the spring of your senior year.
Go ahead and post your stats, academic interests, home state and what you are looking for in a college.
@justjannelle Don’t let the names of the scholarships deter you. Many of the higher level ones are called Presidential or Leadership. Most merit-based scholarships in my experience are primarily based on the GPA, Test Scores, and Class Ranking. Many of these scholarships clearly stated the minimum requirements to qualify; the higher your stats the higher the dollar amount you would be eligible for. My DD’s high school does not rank so she was not eligible for some of the higher level scholarships where the Class Ranking was a determining factor. In these case, she was only considered for the lower level awards.
If a scholarship specifies a range of award amounts (for example - Leadership Scholarship from $20K to $25K), then other factors may come into play in order for you to get more than the minimum. While some schools won’t disclose their criteria for awarding scholarships, many post the information right on their websites or are more than willing to tell you what you may qualify for.; just ask Admissions (most scholarships come from Admissions as opposed to Financial Aid, in our experience)
We have found this to be true for the small local scholarships. The little ladies of the woman’s club tend to want to see you were secretary of the NHS vs. being a crew leader on your job. Oh well.
However, you don’t need to spend your time worrying about those scholarships anyway. Time to dig deep and make sure you have THE best stats you can get heading into application season so you can apply to school that give great automatic merit scholarships based on GPA, rank and SAT or ACT.
What is your home state, your major and how much do your parents say they can pay for college per year?
I'm from Texas. I'm aiming to shoot for a very high SAT score (in the 1500s) and a 35 on the ACT to boost scholarship chances. However, I do not think that I qualify for being a National Merit Semifinalist because my national merit index based on my PSAT score (what they use to determine semifinalists) is probably not high enough for me to become one in Texas (which I believe is one of the more competitive states.
Regarding my major, I'm thinking of Biology, neuroscience, or biochem. I will most likely into medical school, though plans may change during college.
I really want to go to a college/university that has very good academics (doesn't have to be Ivy League high), especially in my interests, but also is set in an area with easy to access to restaurants, shops, etc. if I wanted to go off campus. As someone who has trouble making close friendships, I would really appreciate a school where it's easy to get involved in various groups and become close with other students with some common interests, and overall have a nice college experience.
In Texas, there's a rule that if you're in the top 10% in your grade, you are automatically admitted in to any public university in the state. Because of this rule, I definitely won't have any trouble getting admitted (I'm in the top 15 out of 800-900 students.) However, as one of my teachers says, the issue for me and other IB and AP students in my grade is getting a scholarship. I want to add are that I am definitely trying to apply to an Honors college if offered at the university.
I'm not exactly sure if my parents even know a hard amount of how much they want to pay for me to go to college. I'm their first child to go to college, and my younger sister will also be attending college while I am for at least two years, so I do know that money is a concern. Admittedly, while I am concerned with money, I don't want to attend a college so close to home (DFW) due to personal reasons. This is all I'm saying for now as I feel that this is too much in one post...
@justjannelle, you need to have a talk with your parents now to find out how much they can contribute to college. A full-tuition scholarship is not going to do you any good if you still have no way to pay for room, board, books, etc.
Guaranteed admissions at UT Austin and A&M is kind of misleading. First of all, you are incorrect with the top 10% rule. It is top 10% at Texas A&M, but at UT it is top 7%. You are guaranteed admission to the school, but not to your major. Apply early, apply with your best scores possible. Hopefully you are taking the SAT or ACT SOON. Like..next month. We had quite a few top 7% kids who were admitted to UT automatically based on rank but offered an alternative major that was nowhere near the realm of what they wanted to study. So that's just a heads up.
Merit at the two main Texas schools is a total crapshoot. To get it at UT it looks like you have to apply to the Honors program for your major. Work on those essays and get that done in August. Even then..it's a really really hard to get that money. Texas A&M is the same way. A lot of the aid at UT is competitive need based aid and goes to the competitive stat kids with incomes <$60,000 per year (Texas Advance is the name of that particular scholarship fund I believe).
It's good to aim high with your tests. What are you currently making in practice tests? You should already be scoring in the upper 1400s or mid-30s in order to reach your goal score. Have you been taking practice tests?
You need to sit down with your parents this week to look at college costs. Will they able to cover room and board if you get a full-tuition scholarship? Have you heard the term EFC?
@carachel2 I’m very aware of UT automatically admitting students but not to their major. I know only one out of a handful of seniors at my school that applied to UT for Biology was actually accepted to study in that major. From the looks of it, getting into CNS (the “college” of UT that offers science majors) is more difficult than it seems, but I’ll still apply to UT and A&M just in case.
Also, I don’t want to be limited by schools just in/around Texas. Out of state schools are fine for my parents and I, as long as they give good VALUE for their price and what they are worth.
I recently got my ACT score results online, a 34, and while my January SAT scores are in the upper 1400s, I’m going to retake the SAT and try to score in the 1500s.
In terms of cost, my parents have about 60,000 in savings for college. I plan to work part time for most of my time in college, so that should help alleviate the cost somewhat. I definitely don’t think that’s bad? but my parents are still worried about costs. Honestly, my best bet is getting a scholarship. From what I’ve heard, UT Dallas, a nearby school, is great for my major and financial aid, so it’s a school I’m definitely going to apply to, though from what people have said about it being a commuter school on multiple forums, I’m not quite sure I would like the environment. It’d be nice to have a mix of everything I’d like in a school, but I know that’s not very realistic.
Leadership is not defined as holding a titled role in an organization. It is defined as having commitment and being actively involved . it is possible to be awarded numerous leadership type scholarships without “titled” positions. Your role in your parish choir fits the commitment descriptor.