<p>Hello,
I am a high school senior living in FL on the Gulf Coast. I wish to attend Ole Miss so that I can study Geological Engineering. There is not a college or university in my home state that offers this degree that I feel called to study. Although I can't attend an in-state university and get this degree, I also can't afford to pay out of state tuition at Ole Miss. I discovered the Academic Common Market Scholarship and was elated to learn that Florida residents who wish to major in geological engineering qualify. Unfortunately, I was later devastated to read on the Southern Regional Education Board website that Florida residents only qualify at the graduate level.</p>
<p>I am an A+ student with a 4.0 un-weighted GPA and a 29 ACT with a 36 on the reading portion. I plan to take the exam again to get a higher score. I have been very involved in community service and have held several leadership positions. I have also received numerous calls from Ole Miss to congratulate me on my academic success.</p>
<p>I believe I would be an asset to the university, but I can not attend and complete my desired area of study in Geological Engineering without having the out of state tuition waived. I would be so disappointed if I was forced to major in another area at another university simply because there is not a university in my home state that offers Geological Engineering or that Ole Miss could not offer me to opportunity to study there.</p>
<p>I realize that I qualify for the STEM major Non Resident Scholarship, but 2,000 dollars a year toward out of state tuition, even compiled with other academic scholarships, will not make Ole Miss affordable to my family due to the large increase in tuition because of my residency. My father is civil service with the United States Military. We did live in Mississippi at one point, and his entire family is from Mississippi, but because of his profession and service to country we move nearly every two years.</p>
<p>I'm trying to figure out if there is ANY way that I could study Geological Engineering at Ole Miss. It is so not fair that I might not get to study what I really want to study simply because I'm living in the wrong state and there aren't any schools in my state that offer the degree. I'm so close. Do you think there is any way I can make this work?</p>
<p>You currently qualify for $7500 scholarship at Ole Miss. $2500 - tuition, $5000 - partial OOS tuition waiver. Take the SAT and ACT again and get your scores up and you could have 90+ of your tuition covered.</p>
<p>Ole Miss is pretty generous with merit aid, so the best you can do is work on your scores and apply to see what happens.</p>
<p>If it’s strictly about the degree and not about Ole Miss, you could look at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. The OOS COA there is only $16K.</p>
<p>You are eligible for the academic common market (ACM)scholarship which waives the non-resident fee. Click on the link provided by tag3pam and scroll down. It specifically states that your major and state (FL) is eligible. </p>
<p>It appears as if you could also get the merit scholarship in addition to the ACM</p>
<p>They continue to accept scores through the spring? That is great. I haven’t heard of other schools doing that, usually the deadline is around Dec 1</p>
<p>OP has it right: “Florida, North Carolina and Texas participate in the Academic Common Market only at the graduate level. Residents of these states must be pursing graduate studies (master’s level or higher) to participate.”</p>
<p>Then that’s out. The same thing if someone from my state wanted to do this. My one son applied and was accepted to Georgia Tech, and I know that they have some nice reciprocity deals with some states but not mine. He got in there but would have had to have paid full OOS freight.</p>
<p>I know several kids who went to OOS schools or to their chosen schools due to highly specialized majors and every single one of them changed their majors, as most kids do–age 18 is so young to pick something like that. To pay a premium for something like that when the likelihood of change is high might not be the best idea. What about going instate for something more general from which you can transiton into the specialty field later. FL has some good state choices at reasonable prices. Maybe transferring to Old Miss or like school for a specialty major after two years, or for graduate or other post UG specialiation is a better way to go.</p>
<p>Sally305…your information is inaccurate. Living with a relative in another state will NOT gain you instate residency. That was a very misleading post.</p>
<p>Mississippi does have good merit aid options for this OP. And if she can increase her standardized test scores, merit aid could increase as well.</p>
<p>You really should consider the possibility that some schools may offer all of the same coursework, just calling it something else as a major, or that you can design your own major/minor in such a way as to achieve the same goal. </p>
<p>I’m sure you can get there in Florida, however it may be that the desire to go to Ole Miss is what is really driving this bus. :)</p>
<p>Very sorry about contributing incorrect information! (thumper: I only need to be told once, but thanks. :))</p>
<p>For anyone who is interested, here is a list of residency requirements for all 50 states. Apparently they vary far more than I had thought. In some states students can live and work in a state for a year and demonstrate their residency by voting, getting a driver’s license, and paying taxes. Apparently that is not the case in Mississippi.</p>