<p>Here are my stats: </p>
<p>3.5-3.9 GPA (my situation is complicated; each university calculates my GPA differently)
1200 SAT score (M + CR)</p>
<p>I need to get an Out of State adjustment and a yearly tuition of less than 10K dollars (through scholarships) </p>
<p>Should I apply for private universities or will I not stand a chance? I am a US citizen but I am not a resident of any of the states.</p>
<p>I will be applying for Engineering majors.</p>
<p>With a 1200 SAT, admission to any engineering program is going to be dicey, let alone with a substantial scholarship. You might consider moving to the US, working for a year to establish residency somewhere, and then doing two years at a CC followed by a transfer to a state engineering school. Here in Illinois, all the public university engineering schools have articulation agreements with all the CCs.</p>
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<p>I don’t think your chances of getting instate tuition if very high. Schools that award this typically do so for students who are receiving significant scholarships. </p>
<p>You talk about “yearly tuition” of $10,000 or less. What about room/board? How will you pay those costs? They can easily be $10,000 or more…depending on the location of the school.</p>
<p>Re: engineering. Applying as an incoming engineering student is usually very competitive…more competitive than applying undeclared arts and sciences, for example.</p>
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<p>From your other threads, it seems you have or are currently taking college courses in Jordan. College applications here REQUIRE that you list ALL college courses previously taken AND send transcripts for those courses. If you do not put these on your application, you ARE lying and you not only risk losing your admissions offer but also any financial aid you do receive. Fraud…it’s considered fraud to lie on these application.</p>
<p>You also indicate on another thread that your aid needs to be based on academic achievement. Does this mean that your family’s finances will not qualify you for need based aid?</p>
<p>As mentioned above…</p>
<p>Your stats aren’t high enough to get enough scholarship money to get your annual costs down to $10k per year at most schools that have engineering. That would require more than a full tuition scholarship.</p>
<p>Perhaps someone knows a regional/directional school that has engineering and would give you a very large scholarship, but I can’t think of any.</p>
<p>Does the $10K figure include the amount you’d be eligible for in student loans? Have you calculated an expected EFC to see if you might be eligible for Pell grants?</p>
<p>Could the OP please clarify whether the $10,000 is for the TOTAL cost of attendance? They keep talking about “tuition” but there are costs for food and housing as well…and books, transportation and personal expenses. ALL of these costs must be factored into attending college.</p>
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<p>Well I don’t think that a 1200/1600 SAT score categorizes as “dicey” for admission. Maybe so for a merit scholarship. I did consider moving to Texas and establishing residency but my father couldn’t come with me to settle me down there before September. If I go now I would still have to pay out of state tuition by the time Fall 2012 arrives.</p>
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<p>Again as I’ve posted in my other thread, I’m not asking for a scholarship that will take down my OOS tuition to below than $10K but I’m asking for an “out of state tuition adjusment” like the example I have provided in my other thread. </p>
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<p>Actually I haven’t even considered studying loans and how much I could qualify for because I don’t want to put myself in potential trouble that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I haven’t calculated the EFC because I know that my fathers salary will not be very helpful to my situation number-wise. Also, his salary isn’t really going to help me financially… as I said, he will provide about $10K for tuition and other expenses. </p>
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<p>Yeah well I mentioned in another thread that my father will pay around $10K to $15K for ALL my expenses, including food and housing. I don’t want to pay for room and board in the university since I will try to manage with a roommate somewhere near the campus. The scholarship UT-Arlington is willing to give me will cut total annual tuition down to around 4000-5000 dollars maximum (more info on this scholarship on the other thread). What other expenses are there?</p>
<p>Federal student loans are capped at reasonable limts - $5500 - $7500. Many students use them to cover funding gaps and many parents feel that their kids should have some “skin in the game”. The normal payback period is 10 years and it generally results in a payment of a few hundred a month…not exactly an albatross for most people.</p>
<p>Living off campus may or may not be cheaper…it will definitely make it harder to meet people freshman year and if you’re not accustomed to grocery shopping and cooking for yourself then you may end up eating on campus a lot anyway. You will still have rent, utilities, groceries, transportation, books, personal/misc expenses (like entertainment, hair cuts, etc.) to budget for. Would you need a vehicle in order to live off campus?</p>
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Good question. Well in the UT-Arlington case I can probably find me a room nearby campus and maybe take up a job that I can cycle to (or work-study?). </p>
<p>But if I were to find a better engineering university with a similar scholarship award I will have to check the situation then. I think I can get an okay car that can run on 4 wheels for $3000 though, right? I heard gas prices are CRAZY nowadays over at the states, which is a big bummer. How much for gas per month on average?</p>
<p>Again as I’ve posted in my other thread,* I’m not asking for a scholarship that will take down my OOS tuition to below than $10K** but I’m asking for an “out of state tuition adjusment” like the example I have provided in my other thread. *</p>
<p>I’m not understanding you. If your dad will only pay $10k-15k, then your tuition HAS TO BE BELOW $10k for this to work. </p>
<p>What good does it do to get a scholarship “tuition adjustment” that means that your tuition is STILL more than $10k per year???</p>
<p>In the case of UT-Arlington, a $6k scholarship still leaves you with $12,500 in tuition and fees and another $1k for books…PLUS your food and housing costs wherever you decide to live. </p>
<p>I think I can get an okay car that can run on 4 wheels for $3000 though, right?</p>
<p>No…and then there’s still car insurance, gasoline, parking permit, etc.</p>
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<p>You might check out the average SATs for admission to typical engineering programs. What was your math score?</p>
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<p>No in the case of UT-Arlington a $6K scholarship will leave me with around $4000 tuition. The “tuition adjusment” means that I will pay IN-STATE TUITION, and the $6000 scholarsihp will reduce this in-state tuition (being $9152 according to this: [Financial</a> Aid: Cost of Attendance](<a href=“http://wweb.uta.edu/ses/fao/content/financialaid/cost_of_attendance.aspx]Financial”>http://wweb.uta.edu/ses/fao/content/financialaid/cost_of_attendance.aspx)) by $6000. Thats how I will pay around $4000 tuition per year. </p>
<p>When I said “I’m not asking for a scholarship that will take down my OOS tuition to below than $10K” I meant that I am not looking for a scholarship that is equivalent to 30 thousand dollars, but a scholarship that will WAIVE my out of state tuition and will be equivalent to $5000 to 10 thousand dollars. </p>
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<p>Well according to this link I can find used cars for less than $3000 [Used</a> Cars Under $3000 in San Antonio, TX | Texas Cars Under 3000](<a href=“http://www.findcarsunder.com/top-searches/used-cars-san-antonio-under-3000/]Used”>Used Cars Under $3000 in San Antonio, TX | Texas Cars Under 3000) </p>
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It was 690. My critical reading was bad: 510. I’m going to do the ACT on the 22nd of October and I need a lot of practice on the reading section. I don’t know why I’m so bad at it :(</p>
<p>Unfortunately, cars that are cheap to buy aren’t usually cheap to own - they usually have high mileage and need more maintenance than newer cars though some people buy them as “disposables” or “fixer-uppers”. When you buy a car here, you’re going to pay sales tax, registration fees, and have to pass a state inspection for safety and emissions in order to get license plates. You also have to have insurance which can be a bit pricey for young people, especially if they aren’t going to be on their parent’s policy. Gas expenses vary widely, of course, depending on the model and miles being driven. Where I live, gas is currently around $3.75/gal. My D drives only a mile or so to campus and stores and spends about $15 a week on gas, but has an average of $100/month on maintenance and insurance.</p>
<p>*No in the case of UT-Arlington a $6K scholarship will leave me with around $4000 tuition. The “tuition adjusment” means that I will pay IN-STATE TUITION, and the $6000 scholarsihp will reduce this in-state tuition (being $9152 according to this: Financial Aid: Cost of Attendance) by $6000. Thats how I will pay around $4000 tuition per year. *</p>
<p>Maybe I’m misunderstanding the UT-Arlington website. I don’t see where you’d get an OOS tuition waiver. I’m just seeing where you’d get a scholarship of $6k that would go towards the $18,000 in OOS tuition and fees. (and the scholarships are not assured.)</p>
<p>Can you show where it says that you’d get the tuition waiver AND the $6k per year? I may just have overlooked it.</p>
<p>[Scholarships[/url</a>]</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://wweb.uta.edu/ses/fao/content/financialaid/cost_of_attendance.aspx]Financial”>http://wweb.uta.edu/ses/fao/content/financialaid/cost_of_attendance.aspx]Financial</a> Aid: Cost of Attendance](<a href=“http://wweb.uta.edu/ses/fao/content/scholarships/]Scholarships[/url”>http://wweb.uta.edu/ses/fao/content/scholarships/)</p>
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<p>I mentioned in an earlier post in this thread that I gave you the UT-Arlington (out-of-state tuition adjustment) scholarship details in another thread that you have responded to. The link I provided in that thread was this: [Scholarships:</a> Out of State Tuition Adjustment](<a href=“http://wweb.uta.edu/ses/fao/content/scholarships/out_of_state_tuition_adjustment.aspx]Scholarships:”>http://wweb.uta.edu/ses/fao/content/scholarships/out_of_state_tuition_adjustment.aspx)</p>
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<p>Then you have an option. UT-Arlington has your annual tuition at $5000 or so. If your dad is willing to pay your other costs…an additional $10K-$15K per year…then this is a viable financial option. </p>
<p>Remember too…that you will be able to take a Stafford loan for $5500 for your freshman year.</p>
<p>To be honest, with your dad contributing his $15K and your Stafford loan, you should be able to find an instate public university that will be affordable to you. Why do you want to go to Texas where you will be an OOS student?</p>
<p>^ I believe the OP has no “instate” options.</p>
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<p>Well because whatever state I go to in the US I will still be considered as an OOS student. I live abroad. What other options are there? The reason why I’m focusing a lot on Texas is because my father lived there for about 20 years and we know some people there that can help me out once I set foot in Texas.</p>
<p>Oops…sorry, I missed that you were an expat with no instate status.</p>
<p>I would agree that UT Arlington is a good option for you IF you are sure the numbers are as you are stating.</p>
<p>Have you considered University of New Mexico? I honestly don’t know anything about their engineering programs but my understanding is the costs aren’t that high, and they do have scholarships for OOS students.</p>
<p>MQ…thanks for the clarification. :)</p>
<p>And, as Thumper mentioned…the New Mexico publics have some good scholarships for OOS students. </p>
<p>Look at the NM Institute of Mining and Technology University…good engineering and good scholarships. </p>
<p>[Scholarships</a> for Entering Freshman](<a href=“http://www.nmt.edu/scholarships/181-scholarships-for-entering-freshman]Scholarships”>http://www.nmt.edu/scholarships/181-scholarships-for-entering-freshman)</p>
<p>[Tuition</a> Reduction Scholarships for Non-Residents](<a href=“http://www.nmt.edu/scholarships/183-scholarships-a-tuition-reduction-programs-for-non-residents]Tuition”>http://www.nmt.edu/scholarships/183-scholarships-a-tuition-reduction-programs-for-non-residents)</p>
<p>[New</a> Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology: Science Engineering Research University](<a href=“http://www.nmt.edu/]New”>http://www.nmt.edu/)</p>