I don’t think OP is going to be interested in an HBCU, although I agree with your budgetary comments!
Why are so many people here writing in purple prose and exaggerating everything?
How about this for being precise: did I really say anywhere between 0 and 32k for what my father can do? Didn’t I say that 32k (times 2) is absurdly beyond what my father can do?
I don’t see why a rough calculation that “OK, I have to look outside the UC system because I can’t afford the full ride” and “It looks like I may need to try CSS colleges, but woah they are all so competitive” and “maybe I should try OOS for merits” aren’t a good starting point for learning something new.
It’s not like I can compare my exact contribution from my father to what exactly I will get in merit aid and see if it lines up. I don’t know what my merit aid will be or if I can even get any.
Any leads on ways I can get anything better than FAFSA need based aid is appreciated. The degree to which it turns out better than FAFSA need aid is the degree to which it is a good thing for me. No one can know that now, but perhaps it is possible for some here to have a sense of where or what is most likely to have a good degree of difference from FAFSA need aid.
Pushing me back to known quantities like UC and Cal state isn’t contributing much. But hey, I get it. Yes I will try those. And we might swing Cal state with loans and maybe I can live with my parents for four years and commute to cc and UC. But I won’t say uncle yet, particularly because I don’t learn anything new or open any new possibilities by saying uncle to that.
It’s common at most if not all schools, that students whose parents are faculty, administration etc have an advantage in admissions, like a pretty big one. If you’re familiar with the recent Harvard lawsuit on race, a lot of data came out on that.
It may be useful to us if we know a little more about what twin’s plans are, again whatever you can share. Is he or she interested in staying local, merit based as well, c/c possibly.
I know what I’m talking about. I know it’s common but not in UC. It’s banned as far as I know. There isn’t a place in the application where you can identify yourself as a faculty child. There has been talk at UC Berkeley about tuition assistance for children on several occasions (because other top institutions that drain faculty away have those perks), but it always get shot down. And not that many faculty leave actually, so there’s no incentive.
Side-note: there have been some scandals in UC and Cal State where donors’ children have been discovered to get preference. This is no bueno in CA public school.
My twin is not valedictorian because I beat him, ha ha. He has a couple B’s, which he got unjustly. He’s taken all the same courses as me (as in maxing out the honors, AP, and FL). Truthfully, he is not a verbally adept as me and won’t have as good essays nor where there is interviews, come off as well.
Given the financial situation is the same, everything that goes for me goes for him except when seeking merit he has to go lower than me and needs even more of a juicy opportunity than me in order to be competitive. In terms of preferences, he has to go wherever he can, even more so for him than me. He was partially resigned to the CC to UC plan, until the FAFSA thing was discovered.
I don’t think he could adapt to a truly competitive college, particularly LAC. While I’ve also not received an education that prepares me for that, I could adapt. He may also go pre-med or science or even engineering (though he’s not committed enough to enter an engineering program next year), or he also has dreams of being an entrepreneur.
I don’t see why it’s only possible to find merit opportunities based on what my father can pay.
A great merit opportunity is a great opportunity. A pretty good opportunity is a pretty good opportunity. It is what is regardless of my need (although I realize that sometimes it’s linked and that there are subtleties to this esp. at LACs. In any case it can be assumed that my need part of it is not very compelling to any needy meritish type aid administrator)
I’ll go for any opportunity. Great ones are great. Good ones are good.
There isn’t in other applications either, but you fill out the parent information section and admissions figures it out from there.
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Nevertheless, there is no advantage at UC. Except maybe with human error or subconscious influence. It’s not the only public system where this is the rule and case.
When you are seeking merit, your best aid is at the top schools but you’re best pure merit is at less competitive schools that need your profile to boost their standing. It’s why Alabama, Arizona, Ms State, UAH are so aggressive.
Top schools don’t need you. You are a nice to have if you pay. But a school like Kalamazoo or Hendrix or Arizona or West Virginia or Bradley - they need you. Florida State gives great merit…waive OOS tuition. Why ? They are trying to catch up to Florida which gives little.
Few schools give full rides but Washington & Lee is one top school that does. So do SMU and American on a lesser scale.
We always get off tangent. Your initial question was can I apply top tier with 2 years FL? yes
Will it hurt? It should not. In addition to the counselors report note that on your common app where it asks for any special circumstances. My daughter did this with Chinese.l in which she had two years.
My daughter will attend College of Charleston. She will be a Charleston Fellow and Intl Scholar. She will have free tuition although it’s thru 4 or 5 institutional scholarships. My employer kicked in 2k. Note to readers. Always hit your employer scholarships.
Of her 17 admits it’s 16th in pedigree. But she will have so much mentoring and attention. She’s the tallest on the short team so to speak. Had she gone to her top admits, which included Washington & Lee, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina Honors, American etc she’s just be another student.
She found the right fit. That’s what u need pedigree or not. Money plays a part in fit.
Reach for the skies. My daughter did. Rejected at Rice abd UNC. WL at Emory and William & Mary. Yes, with only two years FL. If your list is varied you’ll find the right home. And btw prestige is in the eye of the beholder. Where u go needs to be right. Not prestigious.
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I agree, in many cases, the less selective the college, the more merit is offered to good students.
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I’ve been lurking on this thread for the past few days and have a couple of things to share as a parent having gone through this with my D last year. I am by no means an expert, as most of the posters who are trying to help you are. So, respectfully, take a deep breath and count to 10 before crafting your responses. You are asking for advice so present yourself in a way that people will become invested in you and your story and want to help. 
Regarding your question about the requests for your family contribution… that is necessary because merit tops out at many schools so that even the highest merit possible may not reduce the cost of attendance to a level that will work for you. For example, my D received the highest competitive merit available at Rhodes (wonderful, less selective LAC for pre-meds btw) and that was $35k per year, leaving her cost of attendance around $30k IIR. So that would not be a worthwhile suggestion even though I am confident you would get great merit there. (Note, I just used Rhodes as the example because I knew the details off my head.) Others upthread have provided information on schools with competitive full tuition or full ride scholarships, but there are levels of merit less than that that could be workable for you if they had a better idea of what your budget may be. That is why they are asking. Also because, as you have already pointed out and many of us know from our own experience, the EFC and NPC calculators do not always align with the realities of what a family feels comfortable paying. You are not alone with this!
ETA: My D was awarded a competitive merit scholarship so if you have questions about that process as you get further along, feel free to PM me and I will share our experience with essays, interviews, etc. She is also on the pre-med track so it was important to our family to keep undergrad costs as low as possible.
@MYOS1634 - have appreciated your advice over the YEARS here. thx. Question about what you just mentioned: “most small/rural schools dont have a school profile because they dont have a need for one.” We are in this position - our small private school doesnt have a profile. How would the (one) guidance counselor make one?
@Marmozets – this wont make you feel better, but please know hundreds of thousands of kids are in your position. Many can’t pay their EFC, let alone all the costs above it, for many reasons.
Very few colleges give grant aid that covers the amount between EFC and the cost of the college. I dont know how many, but it’s a very small percentage out of the 3000 colleges in the US. I’m in the midwest and not a single college in my state or the state above me or below me gives institutional grant aid and meets the needs beyond the EFC. they are rare and hard to get into.
for most schools, it doesnt matter if the EFC is cut in half or not. If your EFC isn’t below a small number (6000ish for a pell grant) there is nothing most colleges give besides a little in subsidized loans.
Most kids/families are on their own if their EFC are over the 6000ish number for a pell grant. This happens everywhere, every year. they look for merit scholarships, and many kids just live at home and attend the local college. room and board is very pricey that first year for sure.
i’d encourage you to include public schools that give money for merit. I know that’s not really what you want or have been thinking . . but . . . just look around.
- KEEP THAT 4.0 up next year! If you are merit hunting, just one B can make a difference now
** i know that sounds harsh, but its not that much different than saying “up your ACT” that this board often tells other kids. - remember there’s a $2500 tax credit your parents can get back if they spend money on tuition and fees for four years. that could help a bit
3)work over the summer and plan to spend some of your own college expenses.
good luck, sounds like you’ve got a good head on your shoulders. this forum can help a lot.
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@Gumbymom is this accurate?
The UCs and CSUs are not going to charge you $32,000 for tuition…or $64,000 for tuition. The cost of tuition is not going to go up that much. The Calgrant dollar amounts will likely remain unchanged regardless as well (not sure how the Calgrant folks will treat two kids in college at the same time in the future).
UCLA, one of the more costly UCs has a cost of attendance of about $37,000 a year all in. It’s not going to go up to $64,000.
I do believe you have some affordable options in CA, if you are willing to make some compromises regarding commuting or location….or both. You are competitive for the regents awards, and you can take $5500 in freshman loans. You said your parents can contribute as well…was that $6000? And your calgrant eligibility. Add the numbers up…then apply broadly.
The amount matters.
If your parents can pay $0, that is far more limiting than if they can pay $20k for each of you each year (or $160k total for both of you).
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UC Professors are Faculty and I cannot see why their dependent children would not have the same perks/ scholarship opportunities as normal staff but I am not in the know if UC professors are treated differently. If anything, I would think dependents should get at least equal opportunities but not according to OP.
Thanks! This is exactly in line with where I’m at and my purpose for being here on the forum. I’m not here to settle on my local Cal state or cc, although that may be where I wind up. Thank you!
Where there was movement on my position in a takeaway here from contributors to the thread, is in finding some confirmation that, yes, my idea about getting merit from exclusive schools is a long shot and I need to move to where I’ll be, as you say, “tall,” except not in volleyball.
In volleyball academic exclusivity correlates with shortness of the volleyball players and vice versa.
Why cant you just respectfully acknowledge that as a faculty brat who has discussed this with her faculty father who confirms this and have spent many unsupervised hours because of lack of money for child care wandering around the halls and labs years and years and knows the UC system, that “Faculty” are one thing and “Staff” are another thing.
It doesn’t matter if you “can’t see why” from your armchair speculating.
This is the way it is. This forum is really weird.
Of course it matters to ultimately enrolling. but searching for merit opportunities does not require knowing how much money I have. The opportunities are objectively out there independent of my financial situation.
At most one could say that some opportunities could turn out to be a waste of time because they are not big enough, but anything somewhat substantial and that can dip into EFC is a good opportunity if its realistic I could win it and depending on a whole host of other factors too numerous to list.
Gumbymom is the “forum champion” and the resident expert on all things UC. She’s not “armchair speculating.”
Getting back to your original question, I think only having 2 years of Spanish could be a hindrance out of state. In my experience, state schools are more forgiving of short comings in curriculum for their instate applicants because part of their mission is education students of their state. OOS schools may be less lenient, regardless if that’s all that was offered at your school.
I agree with the posters who are suggesting some lower ranked programs with great merit aid.
I also agree that you’d get better advice if you shared your budget instead of being evasive. There are plenty of schools that give merit but it matters if your budget is $10K or $20K or whatever K. There are very very knowledgeable posters on this board that can streamline their suggestions.
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Yes she is armchair speculating. I am right that Faculty are not Staff at UC. Luckily anyone coming to the forum who is a faculty child will not be led astray by this person because they will know the truth already, like I do. So I guess I can leave the misinformation she is spreading without comment from now on.
Thanks for the warning about Spanish. I was afraid of that. I have also today learned, from other forum posts, that some are of the opinion that only 3 years of math is a problem too, despitthe fact that I ended math with calculus and the last class my school offers. Yikes.
We could do maybe $8000 each or about half the old efc of 16k each, but only a quarter of the new EFC. If it was a great opportunity for a great experience, like, to drool for, we might each (meaning me and my father each) take out predatory loans under the right circumstances that are difficult to describe, but if I saw some kind of renaissance breeding ground with clear post college launch into something substantial, I would borrow like an numbskull. So it’s fluid and depends on a lot of factors.
If this helps, at the end of the month we carry over a bank balance of about $3,000 and have no other savings, other than what I save from a job I just started.