<p>I'm hoping to be accepted to these schools:
Carnegie Mellon
Harvey Mudd
Rensselaer</p>
<p>And of course if I get deal the right cards it would be cool if these schools accepted me:
CalTech
MIT
Cornell</p>
<p>Im 1/330 students with an OK SAT (M790 R710 W710) getting recruited to D3 schools for running, im an active environmentalist, peer mentor, musician blah blah--you get the picture. But my mom (custodial parent) has lived off disability/child support/lawsuit settlement ever since she broke both her wrists 5 years ago at a work-related function (that's how she got the lawsuit settled). Now her total assets are $200 in the bank along with about $600,000 on our house (she bought it for 30,000 30 years ago, but she still owes 160,000 because of refinancing to pay for court battles she had with my dad over custody) etc. etc.
On the other hand, my dad (noncustodial parent) makes about $30,000 and has a brother that has offered to pay about $5000 between the two of them to schools.
Therefore, if Im serious about going to private schools I need scholarships/grants/loans--basically anything. I've tried Fast Web but there is way too much frivolous crap on there. Where have you guys looked? Any hints? I've decided to call some of the schools' financial aid offices because my mom hasn't filed tax returns for two years because her lawsuit money wasn't taxable, so they have barely anything to go off of for her for that reason (She had to file because even though she was worse off than my dad, court papers and custody evaluations still made her the custodial parent). Which leads me to the FAFSA and the CSS Profile--we barely had any info to describe. So our final attempt at making this whole thing work is to talk directly with fin aid offices. Any ideas? Who should I contact or what should I sign up for or how can i seach for more direct scholarships easier?</p>
<p>As long as your SAT II Math IIC score is above 750, you have a $10,000/year automatic scholarship to Mudd (your SAT sections and your rank are over the requirements). Congrats.</p>
<p>congrats on the math ii! if you're into environmentalism, particularly new energy sources, dupont does an essay contest with some good small prizes...yes it's from fastweb, but it's one of the more credible ones (my dad used to work there) and since it's more specific, you have a better shot.</p>
<p>atomicfusion:
I think I have a better chance at Mudd b/c I match their "feel" more than Cornell's; also, their team, though D3, is recruiting me. Cornell is D1 so I haven't even bothered to try and get in touch with them.</p>
<p>If your mom has not made anything (since insurance doesn't count as income) during the last two years, you can put down the income as zero on the FAFSA and your only problem is the fact that she has so much equity in the house. Still, this should lower your EFC significantly. Shoot for a school that has good financial aid packages with lots of grants and few loans for those with need-based packages (Rice, Stanford, and George Washington fall into this category). </p>
<p>Try to get work-study also. Next, see if the school you go to has a low-cost dorm for those who pitch in and help out (Indiana Univ at Bloomington has one of these, perhaps others know of ones at schools in your SAT range).</p>
<p>Try to pick a school not too far away from home, if possible, to save on trips home during the holidays (or one near your dad or relatives where you could stay during the Christmas and Spring breaks--and maybe they could come visit you). Possibly there is a good college close to where you are that would allow you to live at home and commute.</p>
<p>In other words, look for all the creative ideas you can think of--and best of luck.</p>
<p>The only downside is that my number one school is MIT, and if I'm accepted, I hear their fin aid is pretty good; it would be hard to pass them up.</p>