The FAFSA is the student’s, although it includes both parent and student financials (income, assets, etc.). You need to be in control of your FAFSA and know all the details in it are accurate.
If your mom co-signed many loans for your sister, she might not be able to co-sign for any more loans (loans are often limited as a % of someone’s income).
My sister went to community college, and is 11 years older than me. She’s not even considered dependent on my parents anymore, so idk if all the loans got transferred to her or not. My sister is 28. I’m gonna try to make a FAFSA account, have all the login info, have my mom fill it out, and hope that works. It’s tough living with narcissist parents. I didn’t want to bring that up here, but I have a feeling most people don’t understand my true situation and that my parents want control over me, but that’s my plan for now with the FAFSA. I hope it works.
If you get scholarships from your HS to be used for freshman year…they will need to be used for freshman year. Period. The awarding group likely has these awards for kids as incoming college freshmen.
My one kid got $5000 in local scholarships…all were required to be used for freshman year only and all were NOT renewable for subsequent years.
You need to check this. Carefully.
All colleges will “accept outside scholarships”. The question is…will they reduce your need based aid as a result of getting these outside scholarships. Find out.
Yes, I know that. I’m aware that they’re for freshman year. Still a scholarship…
I will ask an admissions person that as well.
Honestly, though, if I go to a public university, I probably won’t qualify for need-based aid, but I’ll still ask and look around
Florida schools require testing.
I think what all of us are trying to do is help identify a school you can afford for all four years - not just year one. The worst of all worlds is to finish one year and have nothing left but a $6500 loan to cover year 2 and, then, be forced to leave. I’m very sorry that you are in a tough position with your parents and that they can’t or won’t help with college. Because you indicate that they make too much for you to qualify for need-based aid, they have left you in a tough position and it really stinks.
While you are doing your research, make sure you use each college’s website to get COA and NPC… not a third party site which often has outdated information. I mention this because I believe you said upthread that R&B at WVU is around $6k, which surprised me at how low that is. So I looked it up and it is $11,254.
You are doing a great job advocating for yourself and researching realistic options. Keep it up! I just want to make sure you are basing your decisions off accurate information.
Have any of the other suggestions resonated with you? If so, run the NPCs and research the merit opportunities. I suggested Rhodes College in Memphis in an earlier post, but now that we know your budget I do not think that will be a good option as last year their highest merit offering was $35k which leaves the COA over $30k (they used to have a full tuition scholarship but no longer offer that).
This means that you need a full ride merit scholarship.
Maybe this?
Do you know your class rank? Top 10%?
Before you get too far on the list, you really want to find the price of these schools. Otherwise you’re going to waste a lot of time on applications for schools you can’t afford.
If it’s an out of state public school, it’s going to be double or triple the tuition for in-state, and the financial aid is based on state residents. You pay the rest. They don’t offer financial aid for out of state students.
For a private school, you’ll want to run the net price calculator. Most often, it ends up costing more than an out of state school even with financial aid.
I’m usually not a proponent for large college lists. It mostly ends up being a bunch of expensive fluff mixed in with the actual school you’re attending. Just take out the fluff and you’ll be OK. Pitt is a great school.
You asked for several things in a recommendation:
So, here’s why I recommend UNC Asheville:
Affordability - As a public college, cost is lower than private colleges. Out of state tuition, fees, room, & board for 2021-22 is just shy of $35,000 AND the college guarantees that it will hold that initial cost for 8 semesters with no annual increases. Your SAT scores place you at the 75th percentile for admitted students. Combined with your gpa, you could be a good candidate for merit aid here.
Campus - This is not a downtown campus. It is also not an old campus with historic buildings, having moved to its current location only 60 years ago. It is a spacious 365 acre campus on the edge of town in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina.
Student Body - I have no first hand knowledge although most reviews describe it as a friendly campus, so visit and judge for yourself. Enrollment is about 3600 undergrads so it’s small enough to have a sense of community.
Academics - UNCA is a public liberal arts college, ranked #8 nationally in this category. The HQ for the Consortium of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC) is housed here, so they are a leader in this area and clearly they are strong in the humanities. Psych is the most popular major and poli-sci is another popular major, matching 2 of your interests. There is also an Education Dept which prepares students for teacher certification.
Work hard/play hard culture - Again, no first hand knowledge. Princeton Review’s National survey of college students ranked UNC-A as one of the top 20 most politically active campuses. But what are they politically active about? The college is in the forefront of making itself a green campus and the students have the reputation of being passionate about the environment, which is the 2nd most popular major. They are willing to work hard for what they care about and are serious minded about it. This is not a party campus, but students have the reputation of being outdoorsy and getting out into the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky mountains which surround Asheville.
Location - Checks this box.
No grade deflation - Don’t know.
Lots of Activities Nearby - Asheville delivers in spades. This city of about 90,000 population is both historic and a center of Appalachian culture, as I can attest with the “Woodrow” (a locally crafted adaptation of the dulcimer) which I bought when I was there. Down by the French Broad River is a vibrant arts district with working artists engaged with their work in studios that are open to the public. The French Broad is also a resource for kayaking, paddle boarding, tubing, and other water sports. West Asheville is where the 20 and 30 somethings tend to live and where an entertainment district thrives. There are multiple live music venues with first rate acts, many of which are on national tours. The mountains and national forests provide endless opportunities for hiking, mountain biking, camping, and exploring.
I’m fully aware
I could get some aid, just not from a public school more than likely. I honestly don’t know what’s going to happen. I know I can manage WVU
Dorms are $3,000 a semester. That’s what I was talking about. I don’t know what else is included in room and board fees, if anything at all.
I honestly have no clue what budget would be manageable, but I think the highest I could go is 22k, trying to be realistic
I have no clue where I have a good chance at getting a full ride scholarship from unless I pick a good match school and somehow get one.
My school does not calculate class rank, but I know I’m a top student. Definitely 10-20% if I had to guess
Some of the match schools I chose are ones with good scholarship opportunities. I understand that they are hard to get, but might as well try. I’m trying to find schools that are good with first-gen since I’m one. Also, Pitt Pitt may be a bit more pricy than WVU, but I still think Pitt is good as well
I like UNC Asheville, but I was also looking at UNC Wilmington. What do you think about them? I don’t know much about that area, though
Room & board = food & lodging… so it is your dorm and dining cost 
My point was just to make sure you are looking up the most accurate information (each college website vs a site like CollegeVine, for example).
Understanding your budget is important and will help posters give you recommendations that will be affordable. Running the NPC on each college website will give you an estimate of COA.
Once you’ve narrowed down a few safeties, I agree you should try for competitive merit at your reaches. The full-ride Johnson Scholarship at W&L (in VA) is awarded to 10% of the freshman class so better odds than competitive merit at most schools. While a merit scholarship, it places an emphasis on ECs/leadership in addition to academics and is also used, to some extent, to attract a more diverse class.