The Questbridge College Match application is due in three days - Sept. 28th. That would be tough as far as the applicant’s portion, and I’m not sure if there are recommendations due at the same time, that would be nearly impossible to get that quickly. Could be a good idea if it’s possible, though.
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You have good grades and extra curriculars. You might get a good scholarship from a less selective school. There are some where your grades would bring up their averages and you might also bring up their diversity. You could also look at some other HBCUs that aren’t Howard or Spelman. Maybe somewhere like NC A&T? Schools that are good solid schools but not tippy top schools will give you more $$.
Also Florida has the Bright Futures program too. Right?
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PVAMU is unlikely to be affordable to a low income non-Texas resident without a 1260 SAT or 26 ACT score along with a 3.50 HS GPA that could get the full ride scholarship: University Scholarships - Financial Aid
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As she says she can’t go unless it covers all, outside of the state scholarships she really needs to only apply to schools on the meets needs lists. Of course she should run NPCs to see if the school agrees. There’s also the Dade Community to Miami option.
Berea College.
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Look at Marquette.
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You dont have awful grades at all. Go test optional to schools that allow it.
Questbridge, a (full four year scholarship) deadline is in two days. You mentioned you have been working on essays so if your essays are done, you may be able to complete the app in time. The scholarship app IS your college app, so make sure its your best. You also may be able to reach out to them to get an extension. LOR can be received after the deadline as long as you applied.
https://www.questbridge.org/about/contact-us
There is also the Jack Kent Cooke scholarship
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Seconding an application to Berea.
Questbridge is a long application, with extra questions compared to CommonApp, not sure it’s doable in 2 days. If everything else is ready, go for it.
Bright Futures covers tuition only which makes college affordable for a low income student only if they can commute to the university that admitted them. (Only 18% FL students benefit, for a host of reasons).
Im tagging @EconPop because I think he may be able to offer guidance
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Throwing out another option: Have you thought about ROTC? That would require several years of military service, but is a good option for some.
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Just a suggestion, but I knew a girl in a similar position, and this is how she made it work. She lived at home and got her Certified Nurse Assistant certificate her first semester in community college. With that, she was able to work part time to put herself thru the rest of community college, and did well enough to get merit scholarships to transfer to the local 4 year public college for her junior and senior years. She now has a PhD.
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That would work if OP enrolls in programs such as tcc2fsu.
Outside of Florida and BF (which covers tuition only but the CNA would help pay for housing) the best aid often goes to freshmen so it’s one of several paths available to OP.
ROTC scholarships are competitive, and the minimum SATs are above 1060.
(Yet another reason to consider whether the 1060 was an aberration or if it accurately reflects where the OP stands)
I still think this is an avenue to review especially with its meeting demonstrated need.
Hi @Slawshie , congratulations on that great GPA! I think you’ll have a great chance at being admitted to a lot of schools. Unfortunately the prestigious HBCUs (Howard, Spelman, etc) won’t likely offer enough FinAid to you. It’s worth a shot, but definitely apply to other places.
Messaged
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Great list and great advice.
One small nitpick. With low-SES applicants, if some of the schools on your list strongly appeal to a low-SES student, I recommend applying regardless of the NPC result. For us personally, after being accepted, several of the official offers were substantially less than the NPC estimate. EDIT: To clarify, the COA was substantially less than the NPC indicated.
It’s very difficult to predict which of these schools will identify HER as the applicant they want so badly they offer extra FinAid to. I’d hate for her to research and fall in love with a couple of these schools (specifically the types of LACs you listed,) but not apply because the NPC comes back too high.
She is an impressive candidate and I think her dream school (not the one she might have been dreaming about before now, but the one she will love attending) is out there.
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I’d look at the Morrill Scholarship at Ohio State if you are a strong essay writer. Apply to business there since it can be very difficult to transfer into their Fisher College of Business, but easy to transfer out of in order to pursue a science major in their College of Arts and Sciences if you decide later that is a better fit.
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I agree with the recommendation for Agnes Scott if you are open to a women’s college. It is very diverse and they have a great STEM focus, too. Like many LACs the tuition is high at first glance, but they give everybody some kind of scholarship and I think they really want to help young women afford college. They are very diverse (not majority white, more black women and Latina women). Also very LGBTQ friendly. I would reach out to them. I think they will personally contact you and be able to tell you more about what they can offer you.
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Have you looked into women’s colleges? I had similar stats and ECs as you, and i went to agnes scott because of the money. Fordham is a stretch, and only because of their financial aid. As a low income student, they gave me all loans basically, more than what my family made in a year. I’d say spelman, but again, poor financial aid. agnes scott might be worth looking into based off of your EC surrounding helping women. They have a guaranteed $22K scholarship for the upcoming class I believe.
Edit: i didnt see the replies already suggesting agnes. hm, might want to look into it even more! If you’re interested in science, they have dual degree programs with georgia tech and emory in nursing, engineering, and computer science. i say this because while you are decided now on what to do, that may very well change as you take more science classes in the future