<p>A good place to start for information on financial aid is [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) You also might take a look at some of the threads here in the Financial Aid Forum - there is a quick link on the left-hand side of this screen. Several parents who are also financial aid officers post very useful answers to some of the questions.</p>
<p>You can help yourself a lot right now by sitting down with your parents tax returns, and running both a FAFSA calculator and a CSS Profile calculator. There are several of these on the web including at [College</a> Calculators - savings calculators - college costs, loans](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>How Much Will College Cost – BigFuture | College Board) Once you know your EFC range, talk with your parents about how they expect to pay for your education. How far are they willing for you to go into debt, and how much money do they expect you to come up with from summer and school-year jobs?</p>
<p>If your EFC is very low, look into [QuestBridge</a> Home Page](<a href=“http://www.questbridge.org/]QuestBridge”>http://www.questbridge.org/) Students who are successful in this program end up with full-ride scholarships. Even if you don’t land a scholarship, the process of preparing your application early on will get you set for any other applications that you might file.</p>
<p>Going from a small school in a rural area to an inevitably larger school in a different part of the country will be a big cultural change for you. You can succeed, but it will require a strong sense of self, and a good sense of humor to get through the inevitable shocks. My favorite reading on this is “The Art of Crossing Cultures” by Craig Storti. What he has to say about moving from the US to another country is equally valid for moving from one culture within the US to another.</p>
<p>My last advice is to do a bit of review for the ACT. Pick up a prep book at the library, and work your way through the sections. Try to identify any patterns in your mistakes. Don’t kill yourself over this, but devote a bit of time to it. Xiggi has a proven do-at-home method for test prep <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/68210-xiggis-sat-prep-advice.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/68210-xiggis-sat-prep-advice.html</a></p>
<p>Wishing you all the best!</p>