Looking at colleges...Again.

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I had a thread before concerning a friend and I looking for the same college and now I'm back because that idea was completely ditched.</p>

<p>A little warning first, college lingo is not my thing and I'm not really educated on how to go about this whole process, so please do be kind.</p>

<p>Information:
I'm a junior and I'm residing in Tennessee.
GPA - 3.5 unweighted. I make A's and B's in all my classes.
I'll be graduating in December 2011.
I'm a member of Art Club.
I have yet to take the SAT, but I'm projected to make a high score.
My classes are all CP classes, excluding math were I take standard level. I'm hoping to change that this year so that during my senior year I can take CP.
My records for my 7th through 9th grade year were lost and I had to work most of my 10th grade year just to make up for that blunder. I lost several credits and lost my levels that were above CP level. They made me start all classes at standard level and I've worked my way up into CP classes and hope to further progress my levels as the year continues.
As far as financial aid, I need all that I can receive. Both my parents are unemployed and neither of my parents own a house. My dad and I live with family and my mom lives with friends.
I'm no longer sure of what I plan to study in college, so I'm not as limited on college choices as I was before.</p>

<p>I know that's not a lot of information to work on with, but I'm not looking for specific answers. I just want to know about a school that I MIGHT be able to get into and that meet some of my requirements. I can research more as I continue to talk to guidance counselors at my school.</p>

<p>My requirements are:
My biggest concern is financial aid. My guidance counselor, knowing I seek an out of state school, recommended I find a school with a work study program. One requirement is that the school be somewhat LGBTQ friendly. I get enough anti-LGBTQ comments at my high school, so I'd rather like to escape that. I don't care about campus size or location as to whether it's rural or urban, and I'm most certainly not looking for a party school. I like schools that offer programs for studying abroad, but that isn't really a requirement.</p>

<p>My guidance counselor told me that she thought Berea College in Kentucky would be one of my best options. I like how the school is setup to function, though I'm not sure about going to a religiously based school or the fact that they don't allow cars on campus. I could get used to the rest though.</p>

<p>It seems I've wrote a book here. Sorry. I don't know if you can name anything with the limited information I've given. No worries if you can't. Thanks.</p>

2

<p>It is likely that a state school will be your best bet in terms of finances. Very few schools will meet your financial need, and most that do are top schools that expect you to have taken honors and AP classes. I’m not familiar with TN, but many states offer grants to low income students and many state schools offer the same. When put together with a Pell Grant from the federal govt., a student loan and a campus work study job, a state school is often affordable when you live in that state.</p>

3

<p>Okay. I was really trying to avoid in state schools, but I guess that’s unavoidable.</p>

4

<p>Berea is a good choice because the school emphasizes assisting lower income students and most/all of their students are on scholarship. The other alternative, as 2college stated, are in-state colleges for which you would receive any in-state grants and a lower cost. If you do exceptionally well on the SAT/ACT then there are some other OOS schools which might offer you scholarship $. Make sure you post an update then.</p>