<p>I know that each university differs on what their requirements are, but on average, what are the requirements for (by requirements I mean what SAT score/GPA do I have to achieve?):</p>
<p>1) Out of state tuition fully covered.
2) Two thirds (OOS) tuition covered.
3) <30% (OOS) tuition covered.</p>
<p>This is not something that you can look for an average. There is wide variability depending upon the school. My son received offers of merit scholarships at 3 of the 4 schools that he applied to and they ranged from from about 1/3 to full tuition (which he took). My daughter had superior stats and applied to more selective schools so she only was offered merit money from 3 of the 9 schools she applied to and the top one only covered about half of tuition (and she chose to attend none of the three).</p>
<p>You’d probably need to be a National Merit finalist to get the kind of offers you want. It is increasingly difficult to get merit aid from OOS publics because due to the bad economy, they are strapped for funds and are attracting an increasingly high caliber of in state students.</p>
<p>*1) Out of state tuition fully covered.
2) Two thirds (OOS) tuition covered.
3) <30% (OOS) tuition covered. *</p>
<p>For the limited number of schools that offer…</p>
<p>… full OOS tuition (not many do), sometimes an ACT 32+ or SAT 1400+ (math + CR) is needed. </p>
<p>…2/3 OOS tuition (again, not may do) sometimes an ACT 30 or 1330 SAT (M+CR) is needed</p>
<p>…less than 30% tuition…probably at least an ACT 28 or 1250 SAT (M+CR)</p>
<p>These estimates might apply to national universities that are likely ranked below #75 or similarly ranked Masters/LAC schools.</p>
<p>What are your stats?</p>
<p>From another thread…</p>
<p>*My likely major will be Engineering.
I got a 1500 in total (550 Math, 490 critical reading and 460 writing)</p>
<p>I didn’t really study for that test and I think I have to do better than that to be eligible for a lot of scholarships.</p>
<p>No “need-based aid” It seems unfair to be honest but oh well.</p>
<p>My dad WILL pay for school but he probably won’t pay over 9100 dollars.*</p>
<p>Are these still your highest stats? If so, your stats aren’t high enough.</p>
<p>I see that you’re an American living abroad. That means that you’re probably OOS for all publics. With your dad’s small contribution and a student loan, I think the only schools you might be able to afford are some of those North Dakota or New Mexico (??) schools that are very low for non-residents.</p>
<p>Where did $9100 come from?</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>I know that sounds like an odd amount.</p>
<p>Well I posted what you quoted “mom2collegekids” not too long ago, and in order to get my stats higher I would need a bit more time than that don’t you think ! I will take the SAT test on January and hopefully be eligible for a merit scholarship after. </p>
<p>Well yes 9100 dollars does seem odd; it was a really pessimistic guess. I live in Saudi Arabia and my dad pays just about 34000 Saudi riyals for my school (= 9 066.678 U.S. dollars) so I was assuming he wouldn’t pay more than that for my college study (due to the constant complaining about how high the expenses of our (2 siblings and I) schools are).
Like you said “mom2collegekids” I’ll discuss this with my dad and get a more accurate number from him. </p>
<p>Most merit scholarships that I have come across require a minimum GPA of 3.5. Now I would count this as totally unfair if A-level A/B/C/D grades are equal to that of A/B/C/D grades of American high schools, and I found this link while searching this issue :
<a href="http://www..co.uk/showthread.php?t=1080425%5B/url%5D">http://www..co.uk/showthread.php?t=1080425</a>
And according to the person that created that thread, my B B and C grades that I got in my AS (unfortunatley) are equivalent to a 3.97 GPA in America. IS THAT TRUE? Please someone say it’s true. (He is saying that Alevels are equivalent to AP’s, if anyone knows otherwise, then what I assumed true is actually not, so please correct me if I’m wrong!)</p>
<p>I don’t know why the link I posted is coded O.O
try this: <a href="http://www..co.uk/showthread.php?t=1080425%5B/url%5D">http://www..co.uk/showthread.php?t=1080425</a></p>
<p>SORRY ! Also coded, for a STRANGE reason.
This should work : [http://www.**************.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1080425</a> - Google Search](<a href=“http://www.**************.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1080425 - Google Search”>http://www.**************.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1080425 - Google Search)</p>
<p>ALSO CODED !!! But its partly coded so click on it and choose the first link that says exactly: “Converting CIE A-Level grades to 4.0 Scale GPA - The Student Room”
Thanks for your help people !</p>
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<p>If the stats you posted are really your stats…those SAT scores…it is highly unlikely you will get much of a merit scholarship anywhere. </p>
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<p>These scores wouldn’t gain you acceptance at many flagship universities, if that is what you are considering…never mind merit aid. </p>
<p>You would have a better chance of acceptance at some of the smaller and less well known state universities within a state’s system. For example, I doubt you would get accepted at Penn State main campus but you might get accepted at one of the regional campuses. Same with CT…you probably would not get accepted to the main UConn Storrs campus but you might get accepted to one of the UConn branches.</p>
<p>You should read the thread by momfromtexas who found very decent money for both of her kids. One was not a high achiever and she was able to find him good funding to attend college. Check out her threads…great info even though it’s somewhat old now.</p>
<p>What states are you interested in? If you give us a location, it will be much easier to provide advice and someone on this board just might have some experience with the public universities in those states.</p>
<p>The amount your parents will be expected to contribute is NOT determined by the amount they currently spend on your private schooling. It is determined primarily based on their income and assets.</p>
<p>A GPA is the grades you have in classes for the semester or year you were in the class. It is not the score you receive for a one off test. So if you are talking about your actual A level test results, rather than the grade you got in your school for the class, then it does not convert into any sort of GPA any more than a 5 on an AP test converts into a GPA. If someone takes an AP class and gets a C in the class and a 5 (top score) on the AP test then the C in the class will be their GPA for that class (a 2.0), the 5 on the AP test might help get them credit for the class at some colleges but will not affect their GPA for scholarship purposes.</p>
<p>There are different grade scales and many variations in different US schools but an example could be the following grade scales for your class (remember class grade = (not your A level grade or AP test grade but the grade you got in the class from your school):
A = grade of 90% or more and is a 4.0
B = grade of 80-89% in the class and is 3.0,
C = grade of 70-79% and is a 2.0
So say you take 5 classes and get 3 Bs and and 2 As - your GPA would be (3+3+3+4+4)/5 = 3.4 GPA</p>
<p>“thumper1” yes those are my scores, but as I said I wasn’t serious when I took it, was TOO confident, and I didn’t study much, so I’m pretty sure I can get a few hundreds above the 1500.
As for where I would like to study, I would prefer Texas, anywhere else is fine though.
And I’m not looking for one of the top universities, a typical public one like UTD or UTA would be just fine.
And if there is no hope for that then I’ll definitley consider -a good- community college. </p>
<p>You said my parents are “expected” to pay a certain amount of money, who expects so? Are you talking about financial aid? I don’t think that would do me any good since my dad hasn’t been paying taxes for I don’t know how many years. Or does that not matter?</p>
<p>“swimcatsmom”… ok that is definitley a shocker ! Everyone hasn’t been paying attention to school grades since they said it doesn’t matter and that only our A-level results do.
Are you sure about what you said? Do you have a source? </p>
<p>And if you’re sure you’re right, is the way they calculate the GPA in the U.S the same way they do in any other country ?</p>
<p>*I will take the SAT test on January and hopefully be eligible for a merit scholarship after. *</p>
<p>That may be too late for some schools. Some won’t use scores after Fall for scholarship consideration…but some will. </p>
<p>Can’t you take the SAT in November?</p>
<p>Since you live in Saudi…does that mean that you’re an int’l? If so, that means less scholarships are available for you.</p>
<p>The reason I asked if that is your latest scores is because sometimes when we copy/paste previous posts with stats on them, students get indignant if the scores are outdated.</p>
<p>There are different grade scales and many variations in different US schools but an example could be the following grade scales for your class (remember this is your class grade not your A level grade or AP test grade but the grade you got in the class from your school):
A = grade of 90% or more and is a 4.0
B = grade of 80-89% in the class and is 3.0,
C = grade of 70-79% and is a 2.0
So say you take 5 classes and get 3 Bs and and 2 As - your GPA would be (3+3+3+4+4)/5 = 3.4 GPA </p>
<p>In the US GPA does matter. I was raised and educated in the UK (mostly) where the GPA was not really important (well back in my day anyway, don’t know if it has changed) and the GCE scores were what mattered. I never even saw a transcript with all the grades from my school years. But in the US they look at your high school transcript showing all the classes you took in 4 years of high school and the grades you got in them. That is where the GPA comes from. It totals up alls the grades for the 4 years and gives you an average GPA. And it is important for college admissions and for scholarships.</p>
<p>I don’t know how US colleges treat grades from foreign schools. You would have to ask each school. The GPA scales vary so much from school to school over here that a college will often convert a students grades to their own standardized scale, which is often a 4.0 scale.</p>
<p>At my daughter’s school the top scholarships require high SAT or ACT scores and good GPAs in classes. I think hers required a 3.75.</p>
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<p>You would have a better chance of acceptance at UT Dallas than at UT Austin. But I don’t think you will get the financial aid you are expecting at either.</p>
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<p>There is nothing wrong with the community college for general education requirements. Keep in mind you will need both housing/board and tuition covered. Will your family be able to help you? </p>
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<p>You will need to apply for financial aid. As a U.S. citizen you will complete the FAFSA. It doesn’t matter if your dad files taxes here or not…unless he is REQUIRED to do so (is he a U.S. citizen working abroad?) Your parents will have to convert their income into U.S. dollars…and put that on the FAFSA form.</p>
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In the US, GPA is the grade point average for classes. Not a test average. Google it. </p>
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Is this a British international school perhaps? For British colleges this may be the case (don’t know, I am out of touch with British colleges as I have lived here in the US since my kids were babies).</p>
<p>Are you a US citizen (or green card holder - same thing for university purposes), or an international student?</p>
<p>Swimcatsmom is correct. If your school doesn’t compute a GPA based on your final grades in each course, MOST colleges here will do so.</p>