Why didn’t you give you brother money for gas or arrange some other transportation? Call a cab?
@PickOne1 @intparent I understand what you mean: The tuition would most likely be paid through a part time job, some loans, a few cheap grants, and little money from my parents. I know they cost quite a bit for out of state but I think they’re worth that. The ones I listed here are only some reach schools and “On my level schools.” Honestly, they were suppose to be on my level due to the SAT, which won’t happen now. My GPA is a 3.58, so I fully understand how some of those listed are reaching.
The other schools I’m applying to:
University of Arizona
Kennesaw State University
University of Iowa
Indiana University-Bloomington
University of Pittsburgh
@3scoutsmom I don’t understand how a high school student would have much money or how that could help in getting gas with no transportation. We did try to call a friend but they were too far away. Once again, we didn’t have money for a cab and no buses go to that test/school center.
Your plan for paying for college makes no sense. To start with,you can only borrow $5,500 freshman year, $6,500 soph year, and $7,500 each year jr and senior year. Second, as an out of state student, you will not get need based grants from state universities. And your stats are not high enough for merit aid (which is usually best for in-state students anyway). Even a 1900 SAT would not have gotten you there. The cost of the schools on your list are mostly $40,000 per year or more for out of state students.
What is your home state? Where do your parents reside, and where are you attending high school?
I live in California now, but I’m moving to Georgia on January 21.
You need to check the residency rules for Georgia and California. Also, where do your parents reside? That is s factor.
Do you understand that almost every school on your list is unaffordable for you?
@Hizeus Be thankful for the help you’re getting here bro. These guys on CC are experienced with financial aid and will help you massively.
Well, my parent are in Georgia right now waiting for my brother to finish up his semester of college.
At this point, I’m honestly thinking about just applying for the fall 2017 year when that comes up so I can take the new SAT. I would have to wait about a year or apply for 2017 winter/spring. Would that be a good idea?
So you parents left you alone to travel out of state with no money, neither you nor your brother have access to any money for emergencies? No neighbors willing to help? That’s so sad.
Most teens I know have been saving up at least a little birthday money here and there and have teen checking/savings accounts with debit/credit cards. Last year they even put in an ATM in our public high school for student use because most students have their own plastic. I just can’t imagine leaving my teenage kiddos with no access to money for emergencies.
Did your parents pay for the SAT? If so what did they say when they found out you couldn’t get a ride because your brother didn’t have gas in the car and neither of you had access to any money, and now not only are you stuck with the scores you were going to improve on but also the testing fees won’t be refunded? Truly an example of “penny wise and pound foolish.” I’m sorry your parents left you in such a situation.
@3scoutsmom My brother was suppose to have money from his job but used it up on a bunch of useless clothes and fast food. My parents did pay for the SAT. Do you think the idea of applying for 2017 and taking the new SAT is a good idea? I’m simply not sure what to do now.
Not all schools accept students In winter/spring, many just accept for the fall semester. You have to read each school’s website to see. So you may be taking a gap year for entry in Fall 2017.
You need to completely rework your college list regardless, unless your parents are willing to pay the $40,000 plus per year for the schools currently on your list. Find out how much they can and will pay as a starting point.
Georgia has some grants for in-state students to use at Georgia public universities (Zell Miller grants, maybe? You will have to research.). But you need to figure out if you are eligible because you are moving to Georgia right before graduating from high school, whether you can still get them if you take a gap year, and whether there are other rules (family income, etc) around them.
I assume you aren’t eligible for in-state tuition in CA because you are moving, but maybe someone else can confirm that.
Each college has something called a net price calculator on their website. Work with your parents to run it for different schools to see what you would be expected to pay.
I’ve been suffering from depression for 7 years now and this is just messing up my motivation. This is ruining everything good I had going, I don’t know what to do!
@intparent Thanks.
Google is your friend. Start by trying to figure out where you have in-state residency (GA or CA, it sounds like). Then figure out if there are any grants available to college students in these states and what the rules around them are. If you are still confused after reading all the info, post questions out here. Then see what schools your current stats would work for in your state of residency. For example, your current ACT is in range for Georgia state. Run the net price calculators for those schools. Consider whether there are any schools within commuting distance of your parents house, as that would cut your expenses considerably.
Why are some of you so mean to him? “Why didn’t you just call a friend instead?”, "Why didn’t you have a backup plan? “You can’t get there anyways with that crappy sat score”, “If you can’t pay for fuel why bother taking sat if you don’t have money for college anyways?”
This poor guy got screwed over by the worst possible combination of events, coupled with inexperience on part of his counselors and others. Be a little nice to him for God’s sake.
Here is what you should do. Take the ACT test. You don’t have time to study but you will probably improve upon your scores anyway. Make some time to practice with a few sample tests. Review a guide book about the formula for writing the essay and take the writing section. The ACTs are far more straight forward than the SATs so you don’t need to learn ACT tricks. There are really none whereas the SATs are full of them. A nice aspect of the ACTs is that there are 4 subtests. Some schools super-score ACTs so even if your composite does not go up, and even if you go down on some subtests, doing better on a couple can make you more competitive. I believe that the ACTs allow you to go stand by if you did not register in time.
Don’t be mad at your brother. Sounds like you are both struggling without a lot of guidance and without available parents. That is really tough and I feel for you. You are right at being upset that you have not been informed about what is needed to apply to colleges. As people have mentioned, sure there is plenty of information on the internet but the process is exceedingly complex. To make matters worse, wealthy students are primed from the time they are in middle school (or earlier) and given all kinds of advantages while those who struggle financially or whose parents are not as invested and are not as educated are disadvantaged in comparison.
Don’t listen to people telling you you can’t afford this or that. Instead, get help. Try to meet with your guidance counselor this week-tomorrow if possible. Lay it all on the line and solicit his/her help with every part of the process. Explain that your parents are not there to guide you through this. Appeal to his or her sympathetic side.
I would suggest that you take the ACT – even gaining a point or two could help. Then I’d consider putting in an application to Georgia State. You may need some time to sort out your residency, but if your parents live there and you will graduate from HS there, you may be able to get in-state tuition and at least the Hope scholarship. If your parents live close enough to commute, it would be more affordable. If in the end you can’t get that to work out, then a gap year or community college may be your best bet. But your original list of colleges will not work even if you get better scores. Out of state public universities will not be unaffordable.
Know that if you take any community college classes after HS graduation, you are then considered a transfer student and not a freshman, and that can mean less aid/less eligibility for scholarships.
Do you know about what your parents’ income is?
ASU will likely give you some nice aid from my personal experience seeing others get in.
Dude, this may seem like a massive influx of information coming in from everyone. So, take your time to process all of what’s coming at you slowly. We’re all trying to help. 
Ah… taking his time at this point is not good advice. He has received poor counseling to date, and if he does want a shot at attending a four year college next fall, he needs to quickly start educating himself and moving forwsrd.