If you want a full ride (incl. room and board) you need to look at Red State Flagships such as U Alabama, U Oklahoma, etc. but those schools are not everybody’s cup of tea (although they are great schools); or
There are plenty of full tuition scholarships available from some great schools from around #25 in the US News & WR rankings. If you get into a top school there, you have some options for taking out loans, moving off campus sophomore year and living relatively cheaply. I assume that your parents would contribute something towards living expenses?
@londondad I’m a senior and already have full-ride and full tuition backups. I actually have over $800,000 in merit scholarships directly from the schools–some automatic and some due to applying for larger school merit. Those schools all rank in about top #35. What I am looking for is outside merit scholarships so I can attend my dream school. My dream school does not offer merit, only financial aid which I don’t qualify for.
@seanalex1 ? The Coke Scholarship announcements have been known to end up in spam folders. That actually happened to me in my year. That’s why I posted the names, which were sent to alumni. OP can see if he/she is on the list since it looks like there was an email miscommunication.
No need to jump to conclusions. I posted in good faith to help.
@jr2016 thanks for clarifying. I am still confused-you have been accepted at a $60k+ Dream School, but you only have $29k in scholarships? How are you able to bridge the gap by 04/30?
Good luck!
Yes @londondad I still need to come up with $12,500. The school cost is $54,000. I will take a federal loan of $5,500 and I have about $7,000 in savings. I am working now and will work full-time all summer. I still am waiting to hear back from about 30 scholarships and have more to apply to. I should be able to do it. Getting the scholarships will ease my mind but if not awarded I can work on campus or nearby.
@mommdc I make about $10,000 a year right now between full-time summer work and part-time work during school year. Of course I think my school is worth it otherwise I wouldn’t go to the trouble of trying to get outside scholarships. It’s even more satisfying because I set a goal and am working to achieve it. I’ll never settle. And I might not end up having debt.
No, didn’t win the Coke Scholarship but I knew going in it would be difficult. So I’ll just keep plugging away.
My parents make too much money. The NPC at all the schools showed that I do not qualify. Also, we filed CSS early for my EA schools and the preliminary financial awards all show that I only qualify for the federal loan.
“It is settling if it’s not the school I want to attend.”
You don’t get everything you want in life. Choosing an affordable option is a privilege; many people don’t have any options (some community colleges are getting expensive). It’s not settling.
@jr2016, The risk you take by attending a school that costs more than your parents are willing to pay is that somewhere down the line you won’t be able to raise the ~$20k you’ve been gapped. If you’re in engineering, planning to work a lot of hours during the year may not be wise. When you can’t pay, the school won’t let you register. You’ll have debt, but no degree, and will no longer qualify for merit aid at the schools you’ve been accepted to now. I’d do some thinking before I took a gamble like that.
OP wants to major in engineering? Even more reason to choose one of those full ride schools. Engineering is very standardized under ABET. There’s no reason to pay more when you’ll be getting paid the same as any graduate of any accredited engineering program.
I choose to believe that I can get everything I want in life and will work hard to get it. Everyone’s situation is different. I am only speaking about my situation. I know I have good options and am very grateful for those options. I see no harm in reaching for the moon. As a matter of fact I am more than half way there and have no intention of stopping until I reach my goal.