A lot of the colleges I’m looking at are richy private ones because I have no money.
The new FAFSA law means college costs have doubled for me and my twin so I lost a lot options overnight.
I’m valedictorian in my class of a whopping 60 or 70. I’ve exhausted my high school’s offerings of AP classes (one, calculus) and also exhausted all their language courses, which is level 2 Spanish, where we were literally watching Dora videos at one point in the pandemic.
Our school’s party line is colleges look at what choices you had and what you took. But I don’t believe it. Why would a school give me money over someone with 7 AP courses and 4 years of language?
Anyways my main question is how screwed am I that I only have 2 years of language?
In isolation, only having two years of FL, because that is all the school offers, likely isn’t an issue. However, what does your other class rigor look like? Your math is fine.
Would you (and your twin) qualify for Questbridge?
If you took all the FL your school has, that shouldn’t be the thing to hold you back. What are you hoping to study in college?
(Lousy news about the new FAFSA rules 
)
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No issue - it will show up on the counselors report.
You are wrong.
Colleges don’t actually care about AP courses per se: they are simply a proxy for students that have pushed themselves to do the most they can, and who have shown an ability for doing more advanced work well. Your school will have to supply a school profile, which will include how many APs are offered, how many students take them, etc.
Similarly, a FL is seen as generally Good Thing for a well educated person to have some familiarity with, and as most students have the ability to take a FL all the way through it has been ‘accepted’ that a top student looking at top schools will have 4 years.
What the top schools are looking for overall is evidence that you are a top student- the kind of student that will push themselves academically, that can handle challenges and hard work, and who will add to the class that they are building and the overall school community.
What is your GPA and SAT or ACT score? You have to get accepted to get this generous need based financial aid.
Thanks. I’m having trouble believing that.
There seem to be a lot of these sayings, and the one about “they only care what you chose out of your choices” seems like it’s the right thing for an admissions officer to say, but not what they do.
I’m actually looking for a merit boost combined with some need based. My single income family makes a decent bit, but it’s not much in CA, and can’t handle the doubled cost.
This makes me dependent on CSS colleges for the need part which I imagine is going to be very necessary part of the package, but I also need merit and unfortunately almost every CSS college is quite competitive.
Otherwise, I’d be happy to go to far lesser schools and try to be a big fish in a small pond, but none of these small ponds use CSS.
And, what I’m trying to say is I don’t think I’m a very, very big fish, especially in APs and FL
I have all A’s, and with my one AP class, and possibly some online ones I’m going to take, over a 4.0 weighted by the end of the first senior semester. I’m ranked #1 in the school. Currently debating using my summer to study for SAT’s or study online for a more rigorous transcript.
I’m not confident that studying for SATs will help my not-great practice scores enough, while I know online studying of coursework will be beneficial in many ways, at least a bit. So I might apply test-optional which is allowed at almost every single school I’ve looked into.
Ok thanks. Are you sure about this in practice though? Or is it just an idea that seems reasonable and fair? This statement is sometimes made on college websites because the more people who apply, the better. This statement is also the party line at my school, because what are they going to say, don’t go here if you are looking to be competitive for college?
I admit that I’m a little bit despondent, after the FAFSA news, and that might color my attitude but then again my observation of history shows that there is a lot of double talk especially where money is involved
Look at ASU, U of Arizona, U of New Mexico. They should all provide you with decent merit aid.
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Thanks. None of those use the CSS for calculating financial need, so the merit would have to be huge. I would also be out of state to add to it all.
I need both merit and need based aid as even with everything met up to EFC, I won’t be able to enroll even with using CSS to calculate EFC. I need merit on top. With FAFSA alone, forget it. I can’t go to college if that’s all I get.
I’m thinking pre-med but I’m equally good at all subjects and I haven’t had a really rigorous science class ever, so I don’t know for a fact that science in college will bring me joy.
I’m willing to say my major will be anything at all in order to get in and be able to enroll.
We won’t qualify for Questbridge.
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With a “meets need” school you shouldn’t need merit. Have you looked at Pomona? Meets need, uses CSS. Ditto Amherst, Davidson, W&L and some others.
SAT’s, as they could make you eligible for better aid, and summer online courses won’t be what tilts the needle at the more selective schools.
Don’t miss the woods for the trees: you are a high-achieving kid in your very limited school. You are maximising the resources available to you, and creating your own path. Look at what motivates you- what you want to be able to do, and what it’s going to take to get there.
In real life, the lack of APs will NOT be a negative (first hand knowledge: students who went to schools where no APs were offered getting into tippy top colleges), so move your focus on to what you can do!
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Do you qualify for the Calgrant?
For some of the schools I listed, their merit aid awards target tuition, up to full tuition.
@WayOutWestMom can detail the scholarships at University of New Mexico. I’m not sure whether they are allowing test optional for consideration.
How much CAN your family pay annually for college for you?
If you qualify for the Calgrant, is there a CSU within commuting distance? That might be an affordable option.
You need to check colleges to see if they allow stacking of merit and need based awards. Some do and some don’t. At some colleges, if you get a merit award, it reduces your need and therefore reduces your need based aid. Some schools will allow you to stack these awards up to the cost of attendance. You need to research this.
If you are eligible for any portion of the Pell Grant, you will receive that in addition to merit aid. Your EFC would need to be under $6000 to get any PELL money. In addition, you will be able to take the $5500 Direct Loan as a freshman.
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we don’t qualify for anything for low income. cal grant will be deducted from the schools FAoffer I think anyway, as in accounted for.
an old-style fafsa says my family can contribute 16k each, which means new fafsa will say 32k each, 64k, or almost half of what my family has been living off of (part normal CA expenses, part volleyball and music extravagances). My family has 5k in the bank now.
my family might be able to contribute 6k each to me and my twin, I’m guessing. I’m willing to borrow a little. I’m willing to go to a middling school (I’ve found one so far that may use CSS). I just want to go to college and I feel that somehow I deserve it, although I know that’s just a feeling.
I guess I just don’t want to go to a sucky school. Again, I feel I deserve better but that’s just a feeling and doesn’t make it right. Lots of people don’t get what seems fair to them.
I’m not sure how to research this, although I can find hints and sometimes clear indications on school websites that show a school is using merit to recruit and beat out other offers and, if so, they can only do that through stacking. Most merit based aid is of that ilk, I think.
@Gumbymom can you explain how the CalGrant is given to students at the UCs and CSUs.
With a $16,000 EFC just for you, you aren’t eligible for any Pell Grant money. Most colleges will expect your family to pay the EFC.
You need to hunt for merit aid if you can’t pay your EFC.
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Actually, I don’t think you are correct. I think most colleges do not allow stacking of need based and merit aid. But someone will correct me if I am wrong.
Yes please do. I think most colleges use merit based aid to recruit and improve the quality of their student body and the prestige of their university. Maybe when they reach their goal, they don’t do that anymore. But if not, it would make no sense to try and raise your prestige with merit aid if it provided no advantage.