Need BIG Merit! 32 ACT 3.3 wt GPA EFC $24k, Parents Can't Pay!!!

<p>3.3 weighted GPA (grades 9-11)
top 46%
32 ACT, 10 writing
6 APs, 2 honors
8 ECs</p>

<p>EFC $24,000</p>

<p>Parents can only pay $1k-2k per year.</p>

<p>Wisconsin resident</p>

<p>Career goal...investment banking</p>

<p>I can contribute a couple thousand per year from a part-time job. </p>

<p>I need schools that will give me HUGE merit with a GPA that is less than 3.5. </p>

<p>Obviously, I need schools that will give me at LEAST free tuition because I'll have to cover room, board and books with a student loan, and $2k from my parents and $2-3k from me.</p>

<p>So, please don't recommend schools where the scholarship would not cover most of the cost.</p>

<p>You might consider doing a year or two at one of the satellite UW campuses and then transferring to either Madison or U Minnesota. I’m not sure what merit aid is like at those campuses, but perhaps some is available?</p>

<p>Are you a National Merit Semifinalist?</p>

<p>Howard University Legacy or Capstone scholarship. And no, you don’t have to be black. There are plenty of not-black students, at least in the professional schools.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.howard.edu/financialaid/grants_scholarships.htm[/url]”>http://www.howard.edu/financialaid/grants_scholarships.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I would suggest UW-Milwaukee as your instate school. Given your screen name I am assuming you live near Milwaukee. Could you possibly commute?</p>

<p>As a Wisconsin resident you may or may not get into UW-Madison. Usually the GPA is a little higher for accepted students though your ACT will help. As long as you’re applying to UW you might as well apply to U Minn-TC also.</p>

<p>You could also check out some of the schools participating in the Midwest Student Exchange Program. If you are interested in this program you will need to check carefully which degree programs are covered. Below is a link.</p>

<p>[MHEC</a> : Student Access: Midwest Student Exchange Program (1)](<a href=“http://www.mhec.org/MidwestStudentExchangeProgram]MHEC”>http://www.mhec.org/MidwestStudentExchangeProgram)</p>

<p>I realize from your other posts that you were hoping for a private school located in the east. I don’t know if that is financially possible given your limited resources. However, others may have viable solutions for you.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>And if you don’t mind doing research, good techniques are described at:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/148852-what-ive-learned-about-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/148852-what-ive-learned-about-full-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/291483-update-what-i-learned-about-free-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/291483-update-what-i-learned-about-free-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>The “what I’ve learned about full-ride scholarships” threads were written for you.
Good luck! :D</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>This sounds like the most practical solution. If you do get into Madison, I’d be surprised if you get nearly enough aid to close the gap between what your parents can afford and the full cost of on-campus attendance. And I’m afraid your grades are not high enough to qualify for a large merit scholarship at OOS schools that are as good as the ones in the UW system.</p>

<p>Even if you commute to UW-M, you’ll have a gap of about $10K/year to make up from student jobs and loans.</p>

<p>You could take a shot at some private schools. Your ACT is competitive for merit money at private schools in the US News 75-100 range that give it. Unfortunately, your grades probably aren’t. Besides, the average merit awards at private schools in this range tends to be about $10K or less, which would leave you still with a big gap.</p>

<p>First, look at tier 2 and 3 schools nearby in Wisconsin. Get the UNSWR rankings and peruse that list for likely candidates. Lower tier schools would LOVE to have you and would shower you with money. Lower tier does not mean lower quality education. Just not as tough standards of admission. Many of the small private colleges in tier 2 and 3 are wonderful schools and have a lot of scholarship or grant money to hand out. Good luck.</p>

<p>I’m not a NMF.</p>

<p>Thanks for all the links guys. I think I found a couple colleges that would offer me a lot of aid. I especially like Ohio U. My tuition would only be about $3000 plus room & board.</p>

<p>UWM does seem like a good option too.</p>

<p>I looked in the UNSWR rankings but they don’t really rank those so I don’t know which ones are best. Does anyone have any suggestions for lower tier schools?</p>