<p>^^ About the schools listed above, my older son was accepted at Quinnipiac as well as Northeastern. He received a generous merit award from NEU, but neither of those schools ended up being affordable for our upper middle class family.</p>
<p>I just wanted to say thank you for all the input and advice -- and give you an update.</p>
<p>My niece and I read all the posts and then we had a very long discussion -- talking about goals, finances, possibilities and difficulties. All the advice we got really helped! </p>
<p>This is what she has decided. </p>
<p>She will not be doing CityYear -- she will reevaluate whether she wants to do that after graduating from college. She will volunteer locally and pursue various opportunities during college.</p>
<p>She will attend community college this Spring and also take one class this fall -- she will take math, composition classes, geography and a lab science (those classes she will need some extra support in. The community college has very small classes and lots of extra help available). That will allow her to take a lighter load her first semester of college. She is also going to do a one month NOLS course this summer.</p>
<p>We talked about continuing to take classes at the community college -- but she really wants to live at the dorm and become completely involved in campus life. I agree -- for her, this is a good direction. Right now she is socially isolated living with me and the community college doesn't provide the clubs/activities/socialization that she needs at this point. </p>
<p>So -- after looking at multiple colleges (both admission stats and financial aid) she decided to apply to the local school in Colorado Springs -- the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. We took a quick tour of the school and went in and spoke with both the admission's office and a financial aid officer. She has a tour of the dorms set up for two weeks from now and a "Experience UCCS" day in March (where she sits in on a class, eats lunch, listens to a panel, etc). I think the school is a good choice for her -- close enough to us (and other friends and family) to provide the support she needs. The school is small (8500 students/1500 freshman) to be able to provide the attention she wants (I just don't think that she can afford a small LAC). One of the nice things about UCCS is that many of the students are non-traditional (older, working full-time, married with kids) so that the students who do live on campus and get fully involved have lots of opportunities (student government, club leadership or creating clubs, mentorships, one-on-one with professors, etc)-- yet there are enough kids who are traditional for her not to be the only one. The school is growing and is really working hard to become a more traditional residential school -- so they budget time and money to develop programs for those kids. The dorms are very nice -- only a few years old -- with a very nice library, small campus, and a new rec center. She really liked it and was very excited to apply.</p>
<p>I think she has an excellent chance of admission -- she doesn't have automatic admission, but she misses it only by a single point on the ACT. The fact that she is first generation and low income will get her an extra review of her application and she is including an essay and 2 letters of recommendation (they aren't required -- but recommended). The chart on the UCCS website shows that her stats make her a "strong candidate".</p>
<p>She will have an EFC of $0 and after talking with the FA officer, I think we know how to make a strong case for a dependency override. The fact that she testified against her mother in a custody battle something the FA officer said to mention -- and she will be including about 6 letters testifying to the neglect and abuse from her parents. If she gets the dependency override, that will allow her to be a Colorado resident (her parents live in Kansas). UCCS is about $16,000 (total cost of attendance) and the FA package from UCCS will include the Pell, ACG, probably some SEOG and Colorado State Grants -- plus possibly a small amount of institutional aid. </p>
<p>Her plans are to keep loans at a minimum -- probably borrow money the first year and then work as an RA the rest of the years to minimize borrowing. She will work very hard her first year so that she can apply to the Chancellor's leadership class at UCCS -- which brings with it $4000/yr. She will also be looking at any other scholarships she might be eligible for.</p>
<p>Anyway -- I will let everyone know how things work out. She is busy filling out applications, asking for letters and getting ready to fill out the FAFSA. It will be a busy couple of weeks -- but she is very excited!</p>
<p>Again -- thanks for the input!</p>
<p>Wow, that is fantastic! It's just wonderful that you've supported her in this and that she is taking it so seriously. I know she can do it and with you to remind her of that, she'll be on her way.</p>
<p>Thanks -- I think her past problems have been lack of guidance, lack of goals, and lack of anyone else caring what she did. She seems so excited to have a plan -- something to work towards. I think that she will have more issues academically than she thinks -- her ACT scores indicate to me that she is lacking some of the academic preparation she needs to really do well in college. We have talked about it -- and she understands the importance of using all available resources (tutors, labs, study groups, teachers) and to stay on top of things. I plan to really reinforce this the first year -- but I personally know the two professors who are in charge of the first year seminars and first year experience, so I think they will help keep an eye on her and make sure we get her on her feet. I also am encouraging her to enroll in a class called "academic fitness" the second semester of freshman year. It is required for kids who don't do well first semester -- but open to all students. It teaches time management and study skills and I think she would get alot out of it.</p>