Scholarship Help + Questions

Hello! I am a junior right now and I’m wondering about scholarships. I have a lot of questions and I am going to talk to my advisers later. I don’t wanna ask “How you do you get a full ride” because I feel like that’s too broad of a question. I defiantly don’t want my parents paying a lot of money for my college because I know they are going to give it all they got, especially since I come from a lowish family income (I wanna say around 30k of a family of four). I’d feel awful because we don’t have a lot of money to begin with. I want to know how to get a lot of money for colleges and when I should start applying. My top schools so far is Virginia Tech and I know they don’t give out a lot of scholarships. I don’t think my stats are high enough for a scholarship for them (4.3ish GPA and in all Duel Enrollment /AP Classes - Taking SAT this month). What’s the best way to get a lot of money for colleges?
Thank you!

The best way to get scholarships for colleges is to apply to colleges where YOUR stats will earn you significant scholarship money.

OR get sufficiently high grades and SAT or ACT scores to gain acceptance to a college or two that meets full need for all accepted students.

So…prep for that SAT…and hope for the best.

Are you instate for Virginia? There are other VA public universities that are less competitive where you might get some merit aid…if you are a VA resident.

If not…what is your state of residence?

The best way to get a lot of money for college…is to apply to colleges that will give give it to you. Are your parents able to contribute anything? I would ask them this question. I would also try hard to prep for your tests.

Use the net price calculators for schools that meet full need and ask your parents if those numbers look affordable. You can also research schools and choose some that will give you significant merit based on your stats.

I would begin by asking your parents if they can contribute anything. This number, combined with summer earnings and a student loan ($5500 your first year) will give you an idea as to how much money you will need, and will help you craft your list.

Just clarifying…do the net price calculators for every single college you have an interest in applying to. Don’t assume that the net price from a generous meets full need school will match any other college net costs…including other colleges that meet full need.

And keep in mind that many, if not most, of the generous schools that meet full need for all are also highly competitive for admissions and should not be viewed as a slam dunk for admissions…at all.

What is your home state

Don’t look at sticker price. Your concern will be NET cost.

UVA promises to meet need, so you’d get a lot of aid there as long as your family’s situation is simple low income. If they own a business or take business deductions they may have more income than you realize.

I just met a 0 EFC single mom who is paying $12k per year for her child’s room and board. I was puzzled how she could afford that. She admitted that she has a home business and deducts so much that her AGI is very low. Obviously, her income and access to money/spending is MUCH higher. So if your family takes business deductions then a CSS Profile school like UVA may expect your family to pay some.

Once you have test scores, we may also be able to recommend schools that would give you lots of merit.

What is your major and career goal? Can you commute to any VA schools?

Take both the ACT and SAT to see where you test better. DDs were able to move their ACT scores to better scholarship levels.

Post 5 has very good advice - and answering the questions can lead to more helpful information.

In terms of interest in merit scholarships, you just need to look for superstar schools – schools where you are the superstar, where your stats are far about their average to guarantee they’ll give you money.
The key to merit scholarships are test scores. Everyone talks about community service, leadership positions, extracurriculars, but tbh none of that matters unless you’re trying to go to an ivy-level school. If you’re looking for money, make sure your gpa is good and your test scores ■■■■■■■ fantastic.
I agree with post #6 that you should try both ACT and SAT to see where you test better, cause you don’t know till you try, but if you’re wondering what your test scores can get you let me give you some real life examples:
I am one of two people I know who got presidential scholarships with a 32 ACT (me for UCincinnati, and my friend for Simmons, so you know it’s not just one type of school), which means full tuition, room, board, and books covered. My friend had a 3.5 and I had a 3.72, so you know there’s range with your gpa. Someone else I know got a presidential scholarship that only covers full tuition to UAlabama with a 33 ACT (because UAlabama is a slightly better school). I got about half my costs covered to every other school (private and public alike) I applied to with my 32 ACT.
It definitely depends on the school, but the point is that if you rack up enough superstar schools, you’re bound to get a lot of money and options.
Good luck with your tests! Don’t forget about outside scholarships, don’t rely on schools for everything, because those mini scholarships out there are where it’s at!

You should also look into Questbridge and possibly apply over the summer/early fall.