Over two threads, it seems there was a lot I didn’t know about affording and prepping for college.
Here’s some context about me first: I am in my sophomore year of high school. I have a 4.83 gpa and am taking 4 AP’s. I plan to take 6 next year and get all A’s.(I haven’t failed to yet and I probably will get all A’s) I have started studying for the SAT because I really really want to be a semifinalist for the nmsqt. I’m gonna volunteer at a musuem for children. I play varsity tennis. Also I am a male (my name might have been confusing).
I WANT to go to Brown and maybe some other ivy league school. If not (probably not for financial and acedemic reasons) I was hoping to get into somewhere like Vanderbilt or UCLA that offer merit scholarship and are pretty high rated. These are things I may be able to afford because when in college I do plan to get a job.
My dad and mom are divorced with my mom being my custodial parent and where I spend most time at. My dad says my goal should be to go to UF and that I am not allowed to apply to any other college that is not in Florida. My mom is a little more open minded but still prefers I go to UF. They have a savings account that apparently I can use in other universities not in Florida. My mom makes 65k and my dad makes 210k.
Imagine ALL of the following happen:
- I get a job in college including tutoring and others ($20,000)
- I get as many scholarships as possible ($5,000)
- I get a really good score on both SAT and ACT (act 35,sat 1570)
- I do and get near perfect scores on two SAT subject tests ( Math 2, Bio Molecular)
These things itself might give me up to $25k. To attend a university like Brown I would need around $50k more from loans, grants, scholarships, etc… So the likelihood of that happening is slim to none. As for UCLA, Vanderbilt, and other competitive, less costing, and merit scholarship giving universities, I think they are the types of colleges I will probably attend. Not UF. UF for me is even behind FSU. So unless I get rejected and/or don’t get merit/need based scholarships from any ivy school, high rated merit scholarship giving university, and get rejected from FSU, I probably won’t be attending UF.
So my questions are:
- What scholarships can I get money towards college are there?
- Do I have any hope of attending brown?
- Am I preparing enough for top colleges and what more should I do?
Thanks 
(Also please try to imagine that those things happen. Even if both you and I know know the chances are low)