<p>My niece (through my husband) is a 10th grader in NC. Her family is very low income (parents divorced when she was 5, lives with father in very marginal economic circumstances). She is a very bright go-getter girl. Has straight A's and great EC's (lots of volunteerism). She and a friend started a new youth volunteer group that has actually expanded to 2 chapters. She was born with a cleft palate and now volunteers for Operation Smile. Plays varsity tennis.
She is very 'edgy' in her dress and manner, but underneath the exterior is a really nice girl.
She has told me that her goal is to be a doctor. I want to do all I can to help her reach her goal. (told her I'd pay for her test fees etc.) Her family will not be able to contribute a dime to her education. This is so different from my situation I really don't know what the options are for her as far as financial aid. I don't want her to start off life burdened by tons of loans. What kind of schools should I suggest to her.
any info you can share will be appreciated.</p>
<p>She really ought to look into Questbridge right away. They have summer programs in addition to the college program.</p>
<p>Other than that, she should look at her instate financial safeties–she’s lucky to live in a state with a good flagship–and at the need-blind schools with deep pockets. She sounds like exactly the kind of kid they like. You can help her by advising her on her academic schedule, and on standardized testing.</p>
<p>Please look at Questbridge. She’s exactly the kind of student they help.</p>
<p>In addition, look at schools that meet full need. There are other posts in College Confidential that list these schools. My daughter is at Wellesley, and they are one.</p>
<p>Other schools with generous aid I’ve heard about (would require some research): Berea College in KY and College of the Ozarks.</p>
<p>Best wishes!</p>
<p>Trinity College in Hartford. They offer very good merit to try to attract top students. They also claim to have very high med school placement rate. I wouldn’t necessary limit search to state schools, many top private schools have better FA. Very nice of you to want to help out.</p>
<p>This: [Project</a> on Student Debt: What’s the Bottom Line?](<a href=“http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org/ncoa_chart.php]Project”>http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org/ncoa_chart.php) is a good place to start finding schools with “good” financial aid.</p>
<p>She can probably also get test fees waived if she is low income. I believe her guidance counselor should be able to advise on that.</p>
<p>Questbridge is a good place to start.</p>
<p>I am not sure that paying for testing is a good idea. If she qualifies for fee exemption on tests, I think she should take that, as, i think, it will also serve as exemption from application fees at many schools (I am not sure about it, but this was my impression)</p>
<p>If her goal is medical school, she should aim for no or minimal dept, and high GPA.</p>
<p>I didn’t know about fee exemptions. She gets a free lunch so I assume she’d qualify. Do you know ifshe can take the SAT more than once with a fee exemption? I assume she can qualify for application fee waivers. I will have her look into Questbridge. She is very proactive , much more than my D ( probably by necessity).</p>
<p>I’ve heard good things about Warren Wilson, and they have a work program that helps defray the cost of attendance. </p>
<p>Smith College (my alma mater!) has a rather large population of low-income students, good pre-med advising, plenty of “edgy” folks, and a promise to meet the full demonstrated need of everyone they accept (of course, “demonstrated need” is done by a formula and what they expect you to pay might be different from what you think you can pay). </p>
<p>Since she is likely to get fee waivers at many schools, I would encourage her to apply to a fairly large number of reach schools, especially those that have eliminated student loans (Harvard, Yale, Tufts, UPenn, Haverford, Stanford, Columbia, Davidson, Bowdoin, Claremont McKenna, Princeton, etc.) These schools are all very different, and she probably would prefer some over others, so she doesn’t have to apply to them all. But since she’s likely to get good aid at all of these schools and won’t have to pay to apply, why not? </p>
<p>Finally, it would probably be a good idea to get the highest possible PSAT score in hopes of being a National Merit Finalist. Many schools give large scholarships to NMFs (see <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/113-schools-full-tuition-national-merit-finalist.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/113-schools-full-tuition-national-merit-finalist.html</a>). Paying for a prep course might turn out to be a good value (some offer scholarships, too).</p>
<p>I agree that if she’s low income and even considering med school (though tons of pre-med folks change their minds!) avoiding excessive debt is crucial. Borrowing a couple thousand a year is one thing. Being 80 grand in debt at the end of undergrad is crushing.</p>
<p>oh, one last thing. I know you mentioned her parents are divorced. Some financial aid forms will still ask for the mother’s info, even if she’s been out of the picture for a long time.</p>
<p>Evergreen State College is an affordable school that welcomes “edgy” types. It’s a long way from home (Washington State) but is well regarded.</p>
<p>Stacy- her mom is unemployed, though her current husband works. My bro in law ( nieces dad) is marginally employed atbest. Do they consider non custodial step parent income. My bro in lawhas full custody and exsis in law is always behind in child support.</p>
<p>Colleges that use the CSS Profile (many but not all private schools - including most of the top schools mentioned here) will consider all the “parents”, whether they are involved or not. Mom’s current H would be included.<br>
Make sure that she includes several schools that only consider the FAFSA since non-custodial parents aren’t included in that figure. That’s not to say she shouldn’t apply to the schools mentioned above - just be aware that the need might not be calculated in her favor if stepdad has a fairly normal or higher income.</p>
<p>I think UNC is one of the schools that offers free tuition to low income students - no-loan aid packages?
[More</a> programs offer free tuition - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/articles/060910/18free.htm]More”>http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/articles/060910/18free.htm)</p>
<p>(Questbridge is great, of course.)</p>
<p>Since your niece is currently a 10th grader, she could qualify next year for the QuestBridge College Prep Scholarship–the 2010 aplication will be available on the website in February to get an idea of what is required.</p>
<p>She should visit the website to get acquainted with the organization:</p>
<p>[QuestBridge</a> College Prep Scholarship - Overview](<a href=“http://www.questbridge.org/cps/info.php]QuestBridge”>http://www.questbridge.org/cps/info.php)</p>
<p>Through this program, HS Juniors can earn free college counseling and financial aid advice, and possibly a full scholarship to a summer program at either Harvard, Yale, UPenn, Stanford, Notre Dame, Emory. </p>
<p>This college prep program also sets applicants up to participate in the National College Match Scholarship for college admission. The National College Match Scholarship application is made available on the website in August prior to the senior year of HS and is due near end of September. The application is free. You can select up to 8 colleges from the list to be matched with or just go to the RD round and choose for yourself from acceptances. Difficult to be matched but RD acceptance rates are pretty good. Financial aid is very good.</p>
<p>[QuestBridge</a> National College Match Program](<a href=“http://www.questbridge.org/students/program.html]QuestBridge”>http://www.questbridge.org/students/program.html)</p>
<p>Current partner colleges are: Yale, Princeton, Brown, UPenn, Columbia, Stanford, UChicago, Northwestern, MIT, Caltech, Rice, Emory, Notre Dame, Wesleyan, Amherst, Williams, Bowdoin, Swarthmore, Wellesley, Pomona, Vassar, Haverford, Scripps, Oberlin, Trinity, Parsons, and Washington and Lee. (This list could change in the future.)</p>
<p>Remember, there is opportunity to be matched early through QuestBridge (binding like an ED app for most of the schools except for some-- mostly ivies) or participate in the RD round at these schools with the same app. Also, some schools will require supplements plus QB app. I’m not an ED fan, I think it’s better to have choices in the Spring. I recommend the RD round, especially if the applicant cannot visit all the schools because of financial limitations, and isn’t 100% certain. The QB applicants will most likely qualify for subsided visitation at accepted students’ weekends.</p>
<p>First of all, would she/her family consider going to far flung colleges if the opportunity was there or does she want to stay in NC or very close proximity? All the great programs in the world won’t matter if she wants to stay in her home state. There are good choices in NC if she wants to stay.</p>
<p>I have kids in college cross country. It is very expensive. Generally speaking I would not recommend that someone in this situation go to college in another part of the country. That can be done in medical school. Look into Questbridge and schools in or near NC.</p>
<p>step dad apparently has money (even though mom never pays child support on time or at all!), so that is a concern. The family definitely doesn’t have the money to travel across country, so I think we will concentrate on east coast or slightly west. Great info on QB, I will pass it on.</p>
<p>Since she can probably qualify for fee waivers, maybe something you can contribute is some test prep or at least guidance. If she goes to a not so great school which a lot of low income students do, she might not be adequately prepared for the SAT/ACT. Her best shot at generous schools will mean having good scores.</p>
<p>Have her take a look at the McNair Scholarship at the Honors College at the University of South Carolina/main campus at Columbia.Its the top scholarship for out of state kids ,theres a # of NC kids there who choose it over the scholarships at their own states schools, it can pay for all their costs (tuition,housing/board,etc) it can be combined with other scholarships, they love kids who have good stories and volunteer work, and it wouldnt be too far from home.If she can ace the PSAT with a high enough score for a National Merit Finalist designation, USC has a scholarship for that (called the Lieber) which can be COMBINED with the McNair!The Honors College also has close ties with the USC Medical School.</p>
<p>I agree with Hmom5 that SAT or ACT prep would be an excellent gift. It sounds as if she has everything else, but she is absolutely going to need strong scores to get into the kind of school that will give her the money she needs. (Or to qualify for the big scholarships at state schools, another way to get the big $$.)</p>
<p>She also needs to make sure that she is taking a rigorous courseload. And she needs to take at least 2 SAT IIs. It is a good idea to try to take one sophomore year to take some of the pressure off testing junior year. If, for example, she is taking an honors science class such as chemistry or biology, this spring would be a good time to take that SATII. She should get the prep book, and study the material presented in it as well as take several practice tests. She might also talk to her teacher about it. At our HS, the honors chem teacher held some after school sessions to cover some material that he knew was typically on the SAT II but not covered in his course. Even if her teacher wouldn’t do that, s/he might be able to point her to such material for self study.</p>