<p>I don’t have any more details about the scholarships, but check with the financial aid and admissions departments of the colleges to learn the details. It would be best if your D, not you, were the one checking since colleges tend to admire students who seem independent and resourceful.</p>
<p>Also check the financial aid and admissions web sites of other colleges, and Google the college and “merit scholarships,” which is how I found the info I posted.</p>
<p>I don’t know if your daughter is a candidate for any of the ivy schools, but if so, it may be worth applying to some. They are very generous with aid to students in your financial situation. You may find that she does far far better at a private than a state school. State schools use a different calculation for aid and believe it or not they are not as generous. You may also be able to get fee waivers from your daughters guidance dept. In fact if you ask I would bet you will get them.</p>
<p>The Rutgers scholarships are competitive; don’t know about Ramapo.</p>
<p>momma-three >>>I don’t know if your daughter is a candidate for any of the ivy schools, but if so, it may be worth applying to some.
<<<<</p>
<p>the op’s daughter’s stats are quite strong, but they are no where near they would need to be for ivy schools. I think her SAT is around 2010.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>My son is beginning to say the same thing. As his friends are starting to announce that they would be willing to stay in state at a ‘less prestigious’ school (I’m sure for financial reasons for a lot of these kids), he’s starting to back off of his exclusive focus on the Top 10/20 schools. I echo the ‘Thank goodness!’</p>
<p>I’ll bet you’re sick of reading posts-I gave up. I’d bet, considering your income and her GPA-she’ll get practically a free ride to American and GW. And accepted. Though it’s a bad idea not to have a safety. She can always consider putting in Northeastern as a safety school. Definitely will get in, lots of money, downtown Boston-and they don’t require a common application supplement! Will take her 2 minutes to do.</p>
<p>I’m reading some of these lectures about applying to schools you can afford. But with a low income, so many schools will give her so much $$$, just reach out your hands and take the money they are offering. You would be surprised.</p>
<p>A ~2000 SAT score is not particularly competitive for full-need schools. Neither American nor GW promise to meet full need.</p>
<p>" But with a low income, so many schools will give her so much $$$, just reach out your hands and take the money they are offering. You would be surprised."</p>
<p>It’s a myth that there are a lot of schools that will meet the full need of very poor students. Most of the relatively few schools that will meet such full need – and also will do it without staggeringly large loans – are the most competitive colleges in the country – places like Harvard, Amherst, Stanford. For the OP’s D, as is the case for even students with higher stats than are hers, the odds are slim that she’d be accepted to such a school.</p>
<p>Thanks again, everyone, for your ideas.</p>
<p>I looked at the info for Rutgers and Ramapo that was posted by Northstarmom. I found out that the Presidential Scholarship that Rutgers requires that a student be in the top 5% and have a SAT score of 1500, so my D doesn’t qualify for that one. However, the Ramapo scholarship (Presidential) is one that my D more than qualifies for. Plus, it covers almost all of the COA. Thanks. </p>
<p>I also liked what I saw of the University of South Carolina. Thanks, JustAMomOf4. I have to approach her with that possibility.</p>
<p>I told her that I needed to have a few “Mom” schools, and she seemed ok with it. I also suggested that she try to look further out for schools; she doesn’t just have to stick to the northeast and Chicago.</p>
<p>I don’t know about a free ride to GW. My D wants to apply there ED, as the acceptance rate is significantly higher than RD. However, I have told her that we can’t risk that, as ED is binding. What if they met our need, but with $20,000 in loans? Plus, we need to compare financial aid offers from multiple schools. </p>
<p>I do worry about large-city costs, too. I know it will be costly to go out in DC and NYC, for instance. Plus, I wonder about how expensive off-campus housing will be in her junior and senior years if she attends GW, for instance. </p>
<p>I still have to look for schools with EZ apps, mom2collegekids. I really like that idea. =)</p>
<p>Bundle,</p>
<p>Is Rutgers still using that criteria? I believe that was the criteria used last year and the years before that.</p>
<p>The page that I looked at for the current year says:</p>
<p>Selection Criteria</p>
<p>Rutgers scholarships are competitive awards that recognize and encourage academic excellence. Criteria include academic achievement, leadership qualities, and potential for success. Other consideration may include students who are the first generation to attend college or have overcome adversity.</p>
<p>There is no set of “numbers” that will guarantee a scholarship or scholarship amount. Rather we look at the whole of a student’s record. Most past scholarship awardees were in the top 10% of their high school graduating class, with many in the top 5%; most had A or A- high school GPA’s, and most had combined SAT’s of 1950 or higher.</p>
<p>Please note that each Rutgers school or college selects scholarship recipients to shape their entering class. Therefore it is possible for a student admitted to several academic units within Rutgers to receive scholarship awards in amounts that vary by school/college.</p>
<p>[Rutgers</a> | Rutgers Admissions](<a href=“http://admissions.rutgers.edu/costs/scholarships/firstyearscholarships.aspx]Rutgers”>http://admissions.rutgers.edu/costs/scholarships/firstyearscholarships.aspx)</p>
<p>None of her schools meet full need. Even if she gets full tuition she will still have to pay for room, board, books, transportation and living expenses in very expensive cities. Sit with her and look with her at graduate and professional schools. Let her realize that undergrad is just the means of getting into the next level. Her grades at “lesser” school will be higher, no debt or less debt will allow her to go straight into grad school rather than work two jobs to pay off debt. Second her choice of school but for graduate level. Explain that she could CLEP/AP out of some 45 credits in a state school, take summer sessions and graduate in 2 years heading into her choice of professional school. Otherwise, help her select schools that meet full need where she could get accepted.</p>
<p>OP,
What are your D’s extracurriculars? Has she ever worked a job? Overcome major challenges? These can be helpful for merit aid for some colleges and private scholarships, and are factored into admission for the most competitive colleges, the places like Harvard.</p>
<p>Bundle…</p>
<p>Do NOT let your D apply ED to GW. GW does not promise to meet need. Such schools will expect you to take out student loans to make up shortfalls.</p>
<p>** Does your D understand the burden that occurs during loan repayment. She’d be repaying such loans while she is 22-32 years old. Those are very important life years. To be burdened with high student loans would only cripple her happiness. She’d become frustrated as she sees her peers moving on with their lives, while she’d be living poorly for a very long time. It could also affect any future relationships; a man may be fearful of marrying someone with such a debt.</p>
<p>For instance. If your D was to borrow a total of $50k (12k per year), the repayment would be about $600 a month for 10 years. If she were to borrow $100k (25k per year), the repayment would be about $1200 a month for 10 years. She may have never “done the math.” ** The student loan repayment calculator makes it clear that to repay such a debt without much heavy hardship requires a healthy 6 figure income. Most 22-32 year olds aren’t making that much money.</p>
<p>Bundle…</p>
<p>Yes, there are many online apps that are very easy. These are typically schools that use an easy formula to determine admission. Such schools typically just want to see your child’s transcript and test scores. Once those are received, your child is accepted.</p>
<p>Also, often a separate app is needed to apply for scholarships. It the scholarships are “automatic,” then the app is usually also super easy, but must be done if required.</p>
<p>Competitive scholarship apps can take a bit more time. Do you keep a Word doc that lists all your D’s stats, ECs, awards, etc. If not, make one. Copying and pasting from such a doc makes this process so much easier.</p>
<p>Also, if any essays are needed, oftentimes a previously written essay just needs to be "re-worked’ a bit to fit another school. Take special care to change or remove anything that is specific to one school. LOL</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>“Yes, there are many online apps that are very easy. These are typically schools that use an easy formula to determine admission. Such schools typically just want to see your child’s transcript and test scores. Once those are received, your child is accepted.”</p>
<p>I don’t know of any schools with such easy applications that also offer the kind of aid the O’s D needs. The better the aid, the more is required of applicants.</p>
<p>^^^ </p>
<p>Sometimes true, sometimes not. </p>
<p>Miss St. and UAlabama have very EZ apps, both for admission and scholarships (that aren’t competitive). </p>
<p>Now…the competitve ones will require more…but even Miss St’s competitive ones aren’t very hard at all to complete.</p>
<p>My DS1 got a free-ride to UA just on NMF status. My DS2 got full-tuition + $2500/yr to UA without an essay or ECs…just scores and transcript…that was it!</p>
<p>
Not always. Many private colleges will make a scholarship offer based on the application and include it with the offer of admission. The OP’s daughter has really good stats in her gpa and sat’s. Not good enough for Harvard but good enough to win some really good merit scholarships at smaller lesser known schools.<br>
Many colleges will offer up a merit scholarship and then tack on a financial aid grant. It can take some work and of course the student must want to attend but the possibilities are definitely there.</p>
<p>“However, I have told her that we can’t risk that, as ED is binding. What if they met our need, but with $20,000 in loans? Plus, we need to compare financial aid offers from multiple schools.”</p>
<p>There’s no risk; GW is a common app school:
<a href=“https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/docs/downloadforms/ED_Agreement.pdf[/url]”>https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/docs/downloadforms/ED_Agreement.pdf</a></p>
<p>But wanting to compare FA offers is the best reason not to apply ED, which should be reserved for the one dream school above all others where she would attend if there is any way to make it work financially. But if it doesn’t work (e.g., too much in loans, and it’s the student’s/family’s decision, not the school’s), she just says thanks but no thanks, and applies RD elsewhere.</p>
<p>For both a financial and academic safety, you might put a CUNY school on your list.</p>
<p>She would be an ideal candidate for the Macaulay Honors Program.</p>
<p>[Macaulay</a> Honors College -](<a href=“http://macaulay.cuny.edu/]Macaulay”>http://macaulay.cuny.edu/)</p>
<p>My younger daughter is in it, and attends Brooklyn College. The program gives free tuition to any of the participating CUNY schools. Hunter College also throws in free dormitory for Macaulay students. D would have gone to Hunter but it didn’t offer the major of her choice.</p>
<p>In other words, as close to a free ride as you are likely to get anywhere.</p>
<p>Good luck!!! Parenting during this time is a challenge ;)</p>