A gap year is just a year off school (in this case, between high school and college). Most of the time, gap years are spent working to earn money to pay for school.
My heart went out to you and your daughter after reading your post, so I did a quick google search for merit scholarships at UA. With your daughter’s 3.8 unweighted GPA and 1400 SAT, it appears she’d qualify for a guaranteed Wildcat Excellence merit scholarship of $10K to $12K.
https://www.husd.org/cms/lib/AZ01001450/Centricity/Domain/1495/UofA%20Chart%20for%20Scholarships.pdf
http://financialaid.arizona.edu/types-aid/scholarships/scholarships-0
I don’t know much about FA compared to others, but assuming she gets the minimum of $10K in merit along with a Pell Grant and a loan for $5500, that would come very close to covering tuition, room and board. With a summer job (modeling?) and a work/study job, I would think she could cover the shortfall.
An ASU scholarship estimator also popped up in my search, so I plugged in her stats (without class standing – didn’t have that) and it appears she’d qualify for a $10K Presidential Scholarship there.
https://scholarships.asu.edu/estimator
These may not be where she thought she’d be going a year or two ago, but they are two potentially viable options for her to be able to still afford going away to college. Of course commuting would save the room and board expense, but I don’t know if you are within commuting distance of either college.
Hope this helps. Wishing you all the best.
Since you are in AZ you are in a Western Undergraduate Exchange state. The big name CA schools are not on the list but the less selective ones are. She may not get a fancy name school but she can go to a good 4 year school. Also if you don’t mind going to a college in a lower population state like the University of New Mexico, the cost is exceptionally reasonable with automatic instate tuition for her GPA (better than WUE). Add her Pell grant and work study and it is quite doable. Public schools will only look at your income. I mentioned UNM because they are one of the best financially and also my alma matter. I am biased but once you get rid of the idea that name brand it very important you can find excellent colleges.
Secondly, you might want to look at some of the schools that are full need based. If she is interested in CA you might look at Occidental. Many school will meet 100% of demonstrated need. Your ex will have to explain a change in income for any school that uses the CSS profile to fulfill need but most schools that offer full need have the option to provide information if a financial change has occurred.
You can look at schools that meet full need as well as schools that meet over to 90% but doing a search on College Data. Use the financial friendliness option. http://www.collegedata.com/cs/search/college/college_search_tmpl.jhtml and see what shows up. It is quite accurate. Once again you will need to explain financial changes to any schools that offers high need based aid. Those will almost all use the CSS profile which will ask for dad’s income. However, if there has been an income change many will take that into consideration. Always speak directly to the financial aid and simply ask!
While most schools that offer full need are very competitive, we found that schools that offer aid in the 90-99 were actually quite generous and bundled need with merit. See if she can get that score up a tad and it will make merit a bit easier.
When we speak of “explaining,” it’s often the request for Professional Judgment, which, afaik, comes after an admit and an initial financial aid package. Depending on the admit and FA notification schedule, for some colleges, this can be later in the game. It would be tough to get her hopes up, then wait, sometimes past May 1.
For CSS Profile schools, there is a possibility the Non Custodial Waiver (so Dad’s info is not required) would be approved up front. But you need to request that by college. Some may agree, some not.
So, for any CSS college, you may need to be in contact with their FA, ask the right questions. If you have bankruptcy pending, you may have a case. At the same time, you may need a variety of supporting documents.
I don’t know if this was said, but google the list of Meet Full Need schools, check to see if they’re still MFN, see if she has a realistic admit shot, then play with their NPC calculators.
I also fee the need to add this: it’s a lot of pressure to pick a college she can only afford if she continues to model and earns quite a large amount. Not only might her scedule not allow this easily, what if she , for any reason, can’t get the jobs? Imo, you want to keep this part of the plan low and reasonable.
Would this student qualify for the Amigo…and what exactly would,she get?
@rmason the Amigo scholarship is at University of New Mexico…and could very well be affordable.
There are a lot of schools in the New York area, some more prestigious than others, but there is actually a broad range and some would be very happy to have a woman from out west, and proximity could help with her modeling career. Obviously, transportation costs are a lot, but only your family can decide what’s worth it. I can think of several schools commutable to Manhattan that could come in to a good cost range. They will be lower than your daughter’s best academic possibilities, but that’s often where the money is.
I’m really sorry your family has gone through this. A close friend had a similar situation in the summer before junior year of high school when her now ex husband took all the family savings and a second mortgage on the house to open a truly ridiculous business.
RE: UNM’s Amigo Scholarship
The Amigo requires a 1130 SAT or 26 ACT plus 3.5 GPA.
The Amigo waives the OOS differential for UNM tuition. Application deadline is Feb 1.
Instate tuition plus room & board puts UNM’s COA at about $16,500.
If your D could raise her SAT score slightly – to 1420 – she would be eligible for the Regents Scholarship. The Regent’s Scholarship requires a 1420 SAT or 31 ACT plus a 3.9 GPA. The Regent is a true full ride. Value $18,337/year–which would cover tuition, fees, room & board in the honors dorm, plus an additional $1200 left over for books and travel.
For the Regents, you must apply to UNM by December 1 and must fill out the separate scholarship application by December 1.
https://scholarship.unm.edu/scholarships/non-resident.html
@rmason
FWIW, D1 used to model locally (nothing on the level the OP’s D does) and earned her spending money working as a movie & TV extra in NM’s robust film industry.
I echo what the others have said about shifting your dreams. Financial independence will matter so much more than what school you attend. My son had to turn down his first-choice CSS school because the tuition was out of reach and attend an in-state public instead. She will take her emotional cues from you and needs you to be excited about where she ends up. BTW, you might try Kent State University - my son had a similar GPA as your daughter, less ECs, and a slightly higher ACT and was offered slightly more than a full tuition scholarship even though he was oos.
They have study abroad in Florence
Other CCers here know more about the Arizona higher ed system than I do.
But I have a different idea, based on your daughter’s preferences and my own experience: Since your daughter, as I understand it, earns money modeling in NYC, why doesn’t she establish residency in NY?
See if she can expand her gigs there, save, and find additional employment perhaps in the meantime. Enough to rent a cheap apartment in one of the Hudson River towns north of NYC. (The trains are convenient to Manhatten.) Initially she could take a few classes at, say, SUNY Purchase (near White Plains), and then metriculate full time–scheduling modeling and whatever other work she can find around it.
She seems to be interested in NYC, but I agree with the other posters that NYU is not practical. Neither is NYC at this time, unless she conquers the fashion world.
My SUNY education was good and cheap. I did not live on campus, but commuted (while I also worked.) When I finally finished my BA, I had won a full scholarship for graduate school at an “elite” private university.
I don’t know what she has in mind after college, but for some of us the way is not fast and easy.
While her path may not be straightforward, she has time on her side. Money is not everything. Ingenuity, passion, and intelligence are forms of capital too.
–Best of luck to you both!
Because for the daughter to establish residency in NY for instate tuition purposes, her PARENTS would need to move to NY state at least a year prior to her enrolling in college. @IvyGrad09
However, the SUNY schools aren’t all that costly for OOS students.
Perhaps this student could look at SUNY Purchase.
Hi Thumper. As I said, the plan takes more time. Parents need no involvement at all.
At some point, I think your son is going to be old enough to realize that he was “nudged” towards state/community colleges while his sister wasn’t. And I can see some real issues arising at that point. It might be better to state that you can afford $x per child towards their education, and everything else needs to be loans/merit aid.
The best of luck to you and your kids.
Living in a “cheap” river town up the train line to NYC- $1800 a month in rent for a bare bones apartment. Monthly train pass- several hundred dollars per month. Food? I guess models don’t need to eat.
“A few classes” at SUNY Purchase means that she’d be a transfer student wherever she ends up matriculating full time. So good-bye both need based or merit aid for Freshman that she might be eligible for.
Fantasy much?
Only the OP knows if this would be appropriate for her daughter emotionally, but here’s a possibility – there’s a respectable list of very good schools which meet 100% of need and which frequently adjust for circumstances. Even with an income of $140k she’d qualify for a lot of need-based financial aid at many of these places, so they wouldn’t have to adjust it too much once she’s in. Job loss, etc are always listed as examples of extenuating circumstances appropriate for adjustments.
With her stats and ECs she’d have a reasonable chance of getting into the right 100% need school. Not Stanford & Amherst, but there are others she’d have a good shot at. Union? Occidental? St Olaf? Mount Holyoke?
She’d definitely need a financial safety or two, but she may want to consider trying for something else.
Are you suggesting this student wait until she is 24 years old? Because that is when her parents will no longer “be involved” for residency purposes.
At the risk of repeating what has already been said, I would look towards ASU as a top choice - partly because of Barrett Honors and cost, but also location. I know many young people with higher stats than the OPs daughter who have ended up at ASU Barrett and have been very happy there. Secondly - Phoenix is a major hub and it would be relatively easy to get non-stop, relatively cheap flights to modeling gigs in LA or NY. Or to hop to a major international hub to go farther afield.
Option #2, UNM, which also has an honors program that is growing in strength but not in the same category as Barrett. As mentioned upthread, NM has a robust film industry, not sure about modeling. OP’s daughter would certainly qualify for instate tuition through Amigo scholarship or WUE plus. However, the Regents full ride is EXTREMELY competitive and difficult to predict. I am also located in the West and I know of valedictorians with 99+% test scores and perfect GPAs who did not get it. I know of one girl in the top 1% of her class with a rigorous courseload who did. Yes, definitely worth a try, but keep expectations reasonable.
There are many many hardworking, ambitious students who end up at their state flagship or community college for reasons of cost. I was one such student. I enjoyed my college years immensely and graduated with the skills and knowledge to achieve my goals.
I have a female relative in a similar situation. It sounds like you do NOT want to get into a situation where negotiating with the ex is required. Financial aid forms must be completed annually. Do you want to have to chase him down and rely on him to fill out the forms in a timely way? Do your entire family a favor and apply to FAFSA only schools. There also is a list of CSS profile schools that do not require non-custodial parental information on the College Board’s website. However, you would need to check with those schools individually to make sure that this is truly the case.
I feel for you and unfortunately I have heard many stories like this where a parent and kids are left to pick up the emotional and financial pieces. Best of luck to you.
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She is interested in health field possibly Physician Assistant or engineering. She is a math/science girl. <<
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I read this and i thought UAH. It’s a good engineering school and she would automatically get full-tuition. They also have a good nursing school.
http://www.uah.edu/admissions/undergraduate/financial-aid/scholarships
With tuition fully covered for 4 years I think room + board, books and other expenses could be covered with school job,
summer job, and loans. If she does engineering, she could make $ at the many many co-op opportunities in Huntsville.
I don’t think NYU and the UCs were realistic options before dad’s midlife crisis – now even less so. I think you need to look at automatic merit aid schools that will translate her stats into cash. UAH is one and you can look thru this list for other options:
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
if she can squeeze out one more point on the ACT to a 31, at New Mexico she becomes eligible for the Regents + Amigo scholarship which is basically a full-ride.
Kent State was an interesting suggestion.
i agree with others who suggested U Arizona and Arizona State honors colleges – might want to check out other AZ
publics as well.
i second looking into the WUE schools
http://www.wiche.edu/wue
i think you should start with a list like this:
UAH
New Mexico
U Arizona - honors college
Arizona State - honors college
and build on it based on your research on the good advice you are getting from others on this thread.