<p>Hello, I am currently a High School Sophmore/Junior that will graduate next year. I am currently holding a 4.86 weighted GPA grade, and a 4.10 Un-Weighted GPA. I am involved in several clubs and have even created my own that is doing fairly well at the moment, and it is regarded very well by the community and school. I currently attend Pittsburg High School in California, and while not the best of schools it certainly is not the worst. </p>
<p>I am really worried about what college to choose and how I will pay it off. My parents are willing to pay for some of the expenses, but definitely not too much! I want to choose a college that is well-regarded, but that has extensive financial aid and scholarships available. Financial Aid such as FAFSA is hard to get for me because my parents do not fit in within the boundaries for it, so I shall have to rely upon the scholarships the most. I do not have SAT/ACT scores yet, I will acquire those early next school year.</p>
<p>As for my majors in college, I would like a double Major in Psychology and Sociology, but I do not know if that ramps up the cost even more. Otherwise, it would most likely be a major in Sociology.</p>
<p>So, what colleges would be best for me? The colleges that would give me the most aid to pay as little as possible? California is fine, but any other US state would be fine as long as the college is reputable and it is relatively cheap...</p>
<p>Any more questions just ask them, I would be happy to respond.</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>For you to get some real answers, sign up for the June SAT & ACT…</p>
<p>From that info, we can give you more help.</p>
<p>(Suggestion to other posters: Please do not include in your posts specific personal information that could identify you, such as the name of your HS.)</p>
<p>If your family income is too high to qualify for need-based aid, but your parents are unable/unwilling to cover the full cost of attendance above a certain price point, then you have two options. Either find some schools with sticker prices below what they are willing to pay, or look for schools that offer generous merit scholarships to students with stats like yours. We don’t know your test scores or your price point. We also don’t know what characteristics are important to you (size, geographic setting, etc.)</p>
<p>The University of Minnesota is a state university that does not charge too much more for out-of-state than in-state residents. 2009-2010 OOS tuition and fees are $15,542; room and board is $7,280. So, total cost of attendance would be comparable to UCLA or Berkeley in-state rates. I don’t know whether you are likely to get aid to knock the costs down farther at that school. If you want a smaller out-of-state school with comparable sticker prices, consider SUNY-Geneseo.</p>
<p>For private liberal arts colleges that award merit scholarships, check out the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM schools), other than Carleton. Full COA at these schools typically is about $45K, with average merit scholarships ~$10K. If your scores are very high and your essays etc. are good, you might get more from some of them (but you still probably are looking, at best, at rates comparable to the California flagships i.e. $25K or so).</p>
<p>OP, UW GPAs generally top out at 4.0 so I don’t know what a 4.1 means without class rank. Have you taken the PSAT?</p>