Scholarships for CS

Paying for College Scholarships
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Scholarships for CS

So my parents can’t really pay for university, but they would still like me to go to uni for CS.

I’m pretty decent at programming, and I love CS so I was hoping if people in the community with more experience with Scholarships can help me to figure out which scholarships are good for CS and other general scholarships that I could benefit from.

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National merit?

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National Merit Scholarship?

This sounds like something I could do, but it would be difficult to get the scholarship right?

And are there any national scholarships that are more focused on Comp Sci and my chances of actually getting the scholarship?

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It involves some heavy essays and a good SAT and PSAT score. Do you have any documented disabilities? If so, the Google Lime scholarship is a great one! I think it’s 10k per year. Sadly, I don’t have one of the disabilities on the list that I’m aware of so I didn’t qualify. Otherwise, I’d advise running Net PRice Calculators at any of your desired schools and checking their merit scholarships. Questbridge would also be a great one for you also if your family is low income/first gen too.

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Hmm, I don’t have any documented or known disabilities, but the Questbridge opportunity sounds interesting.

I’ll have to check it out more later.

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ok! sounds good!

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How much can your parents afford, what state are you in, and what profile/stats do you have?

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You are limiting your opportunities by only looking for scholarships for CS. You should look for scholarships. Period. And meets need colleges.

The knowledgeable posters here can be much more helpful if you provide basic information on your grades/test scores, class rank, state of residence, approximate family income or EFC. This will allow them to give guidance on need-based aid as well as merit options.

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My parents can’t afford much(Like barely anything), but we are still striving for me to get into a good college.

I live in MD, and my school doesn’t give UW so my W GPA is 4.06 ish.

I get straight A’s and usually 1/2 B’s.

And I was only able to take one AP class this year(AP Gov), but next year Im taking 4.

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Thanks for the advice, I’ll add my Stats etc. rn.

Demographics

  • State/Location of residency: MD*
  • Type of high school (Regular school, doesn’t have great rankings):
    (African-American(Born in Africa):
    (first generation to college, URM)    :

Intended Major(s): Computer Science

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: IDK(School only shows Weighted)
  • Weighted HS GPA (so far I have a 4.06, but will at least be a 4.1 before the end of High School):
  • Class Rank: School doesn’t rank
  • PSAT Score: 1070(This was really bad but was during my freshman year)

Coursework
(AP/IB/Dual Enrollment classes, AP/IB scores for high school; also include level of math and foreign language reached and any unusual academic electives; for transfers, describe your college courses and preparation for your intended major(s))

9th Grade:
English(Honors): A
Geometry: A
US History(Honors, there was no AP US History in the school I went to):A
Biology(Regular):A
Spanish 1:A
Foundations of Comp Sci: A
Chorus: A
Personal Fitness(This was only for a semester): A
Health (This was only for a semester): B (this was because they didn’t count the last quarter that I got an A in because of COVID)

10th Grade(END OF YEAR PREDICTIONS):
Algebra 2: A
Chem (Honors): A
English (Honors): Pretty sure I’m gonna have a low A/High B by end of this year
Spanish 2: Pretty sure I’m gonna have a low A by end of this year
Chorus: A
AP Gov: A
Homeland Security: A
Physical Training: A

Awards
Principal Honor Roll

Extracurriculars
Founder and President of CS Club in my school
Debate Team(1 yr)
Participated in many hackathons
Volunteering This Summer(Tutoring Math)
(I know that I need more, I’m doing the Congressional App Challenge, and may start a school newsletter)

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Have you run the net price calculators at a bunch of colleges you are thinking of?

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Good point.
@UniMDTop-Choice, get with your parents and run the NPC at a few schools to get a general idea of your family’s expected contribution. Make sure to include your in state public (UMD). I don’t know a lot about CS but maybe start with GaTech, UIUC, VaTech, Purdue and any other schools you are interested in.

Definitely look into Questbridge.

Thank you for sharing the additional information. That will get you more specific advice.

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Thanks for the advice, I’ll ask my parents later today.

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I’ll have to do this with my parents too. thank you

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@PurpleTitan Who are the QB experts on CC? @Mwfan1921 ? @Lindagaf ? Sorry if I’m tagging the wrong people!

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I’m not a QB expert, but have helped a few students thru the process.

A few questions for OP before we can give better advice: you say your parents can’t pay for college, I assume it’s because your family is low income? For QB, family income would have to be lower than $65K or so (a bit dependent on how many siblings you have).

You also said you were born in Africa…are you a US citizen or Permanent Resident? If not, you will be applying to colleges (and QB) as an international student…which makes things more difficult because you won’t qualify for any Federal Financial Aid.

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Thanks for the quick response!

So yes My family is low income(about 65K, but I have siblings)

And I am a US Citizen, so international aid isn’t applicable for me.

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Great that you are a US Citizen.

You should definitely look into Questbridge based on your family income, you would start the application process next summer, when you are a rising senior.

Meanwhile, study for the PSAT this fall. A high score will open doors for you. Use Khan Academy to prepare (it’s free).

Please calculate your uwGPA on a 4 point scale, where any A=4, B+/B/B-=3 and so on, in core courses only (E, M, Science, SS, FL).

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@Mwfan1921
9th grade (4.04)
10th grade (3.93)
TOTAL: 3.985

Im not sure why 9th grade is still above a 4.0 but this is my unweighted in both years(MATH,ENG,SOCIAL STUDIES, SCIENCE, SPANISH)

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Your 9th grade can’t be above 4.0, if all iterations of As are assigned a max of 4 points (nothing extra for A+), maybe your denominator is incorrect?

Regardless, it won’t make much difference as you have a high GPA. What classes do you have junior year? Continue to work hard and challenge yourself, and study for the PSAT.

1 Like