The stress is setting in...

College Search & Selection
1

Please help me. Reality has just set in…
I am a junior in High school, and ever since my freshman year, I have been searching for potential colleges. All was going well during freshman and sophomore year, I had these grand fantasies about going to schools such as UCLA or University of Washington, and I would just sit around thinking about how great it would be when I got to these schools. But then, come Junior year, I decided to start looking at the price tags. And now, I’m here. I never realized before junior year that OOS students had to pay so much more money than in state students do. This would not be such a big problem if my family had money to help me with, but alas, they do not. I come from a low income family, so I am almost positive I will get the max for pell grant and stafford loans, but that would still not be enough to cover the costs most of the schools I have looked into (UCLA, University of washington, etc).
My question to you people is this: do you guys and girls know of any schools that are not terribly expensive for OOS students (or ones that have good OOS financial aid, preferably need based)? I am so dead set on an out of state school for I would prefer to not stay in Illinois for the next 4-5 years. It does not matter to me whether the school is public or private, and I would prefer a school in the West, but the Mid-West is not bad either. I currently have a 3.4 GPA and am in APUSH, AP psych, AP Physics, Honors Eng 11, AP Bio, Geometry (not remedial, just my HS’ wonky 4 year plan), and French 2 and I have a 32 on the ACT. My weakest point is likely my EC’s: Environmental Action Club 1 year, Volunteer work at expo center, Work at a grocery store, and volunteering at an animal shelter. If push comes to shove, I would certainly enroll at an in state school, for education is very important to me and I know there are some great schools in Illinois, but as I said, Illinois is certainly not my first choice.

Thank You all in advance.

2

Okay, let me get this straight. You can’t pay, but you don’t “want” to stay in the state for college?

3

The OP doesn’t have to if he/she qualifies for aid at other schools. For instance, at the University of Alabama a 3.5 GPA and a 32 ACT can give him a full tuition (note: full tuition is different than a full ride) scholarship. There are also a bunch of other schools that offer something similar. I’d recommend looking at the thread below checking out the competitive/automatic scholarships thread, schools with low OOS tuition, and schools that claim to meet full need and running net price calculators through their website

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1678964-links-to-popular-threads-on-scholarships-and-lower-cost-colleges.html#latest

4

Okay,you don’t want to be looking at OOS public universities. They are expensive for OOS students, as you have figured out, and don’t usually offer much FA to OOS students. You could look at University of Minnesota, which is cheaper than many OOS colleges, but likely it would still be too expensive if you are low income. If you want the large university experience, than your best bet probably is to go with your in-state options. Remember (1) your state flagship is a BIG school, and you would rarely see anyone you know if you went there, and (2) you can always move out of Illinois after you graduate.

Regarding your stats, your ACT is pretty good, but your GPA is weak if you want to apply to private schools that meet financial need. That is a bigger concern than your ECs, IMHO. Do you have any hooks you haven’t mentioned (for example, are you an underrepresented minority?). Also, what do you want to study?

Also, do you know about net price calculators? They are on each school’s financial aid webpage, and they give you an idea of what your cost of attendance might be for each school. You will want to run those for each school you are considering.

5

Look at Louisana Tech. I think you would qualify for full ride.

6

I am a bi racial student (Black and White) @intparent‌ if that helps at all.

7

“I currently have a 3.4 GPA”

Is that your WEIGHTED GPA including ALL classes?

8

I know you’re just beginning this process, however, it may be helpful to prioritize your goals NOW. To begin, let me offer a simply “question and answer” approach – there are only two question, but they are both very important – in a hypothetical “discussion” between the two of us;

  • Me #1: You understand how critical it is for your LONG future to attend and to graduate from college?
  • You #1: Yes, it can be fundamental to my future and it can change the course of my entire life.
  • Me #2: Can you afford college without financial aid?
  • You #2: No, I will certainly requires substantial FA.

Okay, we agree (don’t we) that these fundamental premises are correct? Therefore, you really need to focus on two areas. First, schools that will admit someone with your qualifications (and remember, there are LOTS of colleges, so there are many). Second, a PLAN that is AFFORDABLE (this cold mean CC first, with – in some states – guaranteed admission and credit transfer to a reputable public university after two years, or it could mean a public university in your home-state immediately after high school, or even a out-of-state public university that offers large financial grants to individuals who meet specific qualification).

You need to begin research the options NOW; your Guidance Office and Google are your allies. You also need to WORK HARD to increase you GPA, to study for the SAT/ACT examination, and to take courses that will convince colleges that you can perform well academically.

I wish you the best of luck.

9

I agree that a higher GPA would be a very good thing. I am assuming you are giving us an unweighted GPA, if your 3.4 is weighted your options are more limited. But by 2nd semester junior year, the student already has 5 of the 7 semesters that count in the GPA (in some cases 6 semesters, depending on when apps are due) in the bank. Mathematically it is hard to do too much with GPA. However, OP, colleges do like an upward trend, and a stronger GPA this semester and in the fall could give you a boost. If you want out of Illinois, hit the books harder. I would also study and take another shot at the ACT, see if you can gain a point or two. Your score is solid now, but a better score can help offset your GPA. I’d say focus on grades during this semester, then study for the ACT this summer and take it again in the fall (because a small GPA boost opens up some options, as you will see in the link at the very end of this post).

Being biracial is going to be a boost for you at many schools, you would be considered an underrepresented minority

Do you know what you want to study? Are you set on a larger school, or would a liberal arts college also suit you? If you aren’t sure, try to visit one of each. It is okay to visit locally, you are just trying to get a feel for the type of campus. Liberal arts schools that aren’t too far away to check out would be Lake Forest (in Illinois), Carleton or St. Olaf (in Minnesota,both in Northfield), or Beloit or Lawrence (both in Wisconsin).

However… you also want to apply to colleges that meet need (at least by their definition). Here is a link to a US News list of colleges that “meet need”. So you are more likely to get the financial aid you need to attend if you are admitted. Some of these are also “need aware” in admissions, so they don’t always admit students who have high need, but you do have the hook of being a minority IF you can get your stats to a level they want.

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2014/09/15/colleges-and-universities-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need

A few colleges that commit to meeting most need (over 95%) that aren’t on this list because they want to say they meet 100% of need are Babson, Bucknell, Dickinson, Lafayette, and St. Olaf,

So… you still need to run net price calculators on each school you are interested in early in the process of looking at them. No point in pursuing a school you can’t afford. And what you want to find is a list of safety, match, and reach schools where you could be happy at any of them, and you are quite certain of being admitted and having your safeties be affordable.

It is hard to make specific recommendations without knowing what size college you want, your proposed area(s) of study (it is okay to list a few possibilities, we get that juniors aren’t sure yet!), and whether the GPA you have given us is unweighted.

Also, here are some automatic scholarship links. You can see that boosting your GPA to a 3.5 opens up some possibilities (like a full ride at Howard):

http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/

10

If I can add on to what intparent has suggested, the point of net price calculators is to show that the “sticker price” on most colleges is not the price most people pay. My son is like you in not wanting to stay in-state, but we went to a financial aid workshop early in his search process and learned that, because we are not rolling in money, a majority of private schools will in the end cost less than your in-state public schools. Private schools have access to funds from alumni gifts, etc. that public schools don’t. And there are many many private schools that would find you an attractive candidate BECAUSE you don’t want to stay near home. While your GPA and your test scores are certainly very important, many private schools on the West coast will find you more attractive than a West coast student with the same GPA/test scores because you are from a different region. So don’t lose hope yet! Keep studying hard, and start looking at West coast schools in the “selective” and “very selective” categories – they will be thrilled to hear from you.

11

You haven’t said what you DO want.

As said above check each colleges net price calculators (and put in accurate numbers). Your parents need to be involved. 3.4 and 32 ACT keeps you in the mix for many schools - and yes state schools might cost more than private due to financial iad.

Do you want a big school? small school?
How far from home do you want to be?
Do you want to be in a city or the middle of nowhere?

Have you thought about a major?

Start with those 4 questions? and see where that takes you - then look at tests/gpas to see if you in the mid range - then run net price etc. -then visit schools, web sites etc

12

I would definitely prefer a larger school, and I plan on majoring in micro biology. And yes, 3.4 is my un-weighted GPA. Also, I would like to thank everyone who has answered; your insight is appreciated.

13

Have you visited any smaller schools? You might want to, as some of your better options in terms of cost may be smaller schools.

14

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I would definitely prefer a larger school, and I plan on majoring in micro biology. And yes, 3.4 is my un-weighted GPA


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WHAT is your weighted GPA??? @Spose4president‌

15

My schools doesn’t do weighted gpa @mom2collegekids‌