<p>Sigh. the problem is that Northwestern isn’t going to give her half, or anything other than the Direct Loan option for $5500 if FAFSA is filed. Doesn’t work that way.</p>
<p>"That’s what I suspect. Unless they’ve been saving purposefully for college, 220k doesn’t seem like it can easily afford even 30k. "</p>
<p>You are kidding, right? Our EFC is far more than 30K on far, far, far less income and we are going to try to find a way to pay it if that is what it comes down to. </p>
<p>She is not going to get a half scholarship at NU or any other top school. and, since the parents want a half-ride ((not half tuition), she practically needs a 3/4 tuition award from a private in order for half of COA to be covered. </p>
<p><<<<
KiaraInNYC wrote:</p>
<h2>However, my PARENTS want me to go to a private school.</h2>
<p>If they want to choose your school, shouldn’t they pay for their choice?
<<<<</p>
<p>again, the parents need to either come on CC or read a thread with the OPs relevant questions, so that they can realize that they cant have their cake and eat it, too. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Ask parents to run net price calculators on several schools (NW, SUNY’s, etc) so they can see what their expected family contribution would be–so they can be clear about if they really mean “half.” Make sure they have the chance to figure you can’t borrow much and are only going to get merit at places where you are in the top of the class. </p></li>
<li><p>Study for ACT.</p></li>
<li><p>Sit down with your parents and come up with a reasonable academic and financial list. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Many OOS publics wii cost as much as some private universities. UVA and UNC-CH are the only ones that meet full need… But you don’t have need. Your current stats would nit guarantee you admission to these anyway.</p>
<p>There are merit awards at some OOS publics… In Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama that you might qualify for. Check those out.</p>
<p>I’ll bite, I was saying that you would end up at a CC in a flippant manner. You and your parents are very naive about the college admissions process/COA. They have told you that they will pay half of your college costs and that you can get merit aid. Do they know what college costs these days? Your stats probably don’t put you in the range for Northwestern and if they did, will they be paying $30,000+/year. Do they know the sorts of stats one needs to get merit aid?</p>
<p>That’s why I suggested an HBCU. But you shut that idea down completely, even though you would probably get some merit aid. The merit aid world is extremely competitive. You have to add schools to the list that you will A.) be accepted and B.) get $$$. HBCUs are an option.</p>
<p>And I was able to help my dd with her admissions process. I took the advice here on CC(sometimes it wasn’t what I wanted to hear) and ran with it and she had a very nice outcome. So yes, I do know a thing or two about this process. Why? Because of what I learned from the other members of CC. </p>
<p>DD was accepted to UNC-CH. She has high need and still had to pay a significant amount. They favor their home grown kids over OOS kids in admissions AND FA. </p>
<p>@ccdd14 You really have no clue what it is like taking the SAT or being a student. How could you say that a middle class, 3.5 GPA student should be getting nothing less than 2000? The SAT is made so that the students who excell in school cannot do well on the exam. You clearly don’t know the SAT. The SAT measures aptitude not intelligence. People like you are part of the reason why students are under so much pressure. Forget the scores for money. Sending someone to community college because they only have a 90 average is beyond outrageous. I can’t possibly imagine a scenario where your children are pleased with your attitude towards their education. Anything above a 3.0 GPA is good. And no offense to the adults who have been very informative, but the classes high school students have today are nothing compared to what you had as a kid. Getting an 85 average today is probably the equivalent of a 100 average back when you were in school. I think when it comes to analyzing my grades, you need to use the context of today’s class rigor, not yours.</p>
<p><<<<
DD was accepted to UNC-CH. She has high need and still had to pay a significant amount. They favor their home grown kids over OOS kids in admissions AND FA.
<<<<</p>
<p>was that this year? If so, I think UNC changed its OOS FA policies and no longer meets need for OOS. that makes sense since it probably took some UNC tax dollars to do so.</p>
<p>You better check the current admission stat of the schools you have in mind. It does not matter how the GPA was measure in the past. The current admission stat is for now. You are compared to other students taking the same test within the same time frame, not to the last generation anyway.</p>
<p><<<<
You really have no clue what it is like taking the SAT or being a student. How could you say that a middle class, 3.5 GPA student should be getting nothing less than 2000? The SAT is made so that the students who excell in school cannot do well on the exam. You clearly don’t know the SAT
<<<<</p>
<p>that poster said UPPER middle class with no learning disabilities…and that is somewhat true assuming that the student had good access to the kind of schools that upper-middle kids go to. </p>
<p>I have no idea what you mean by: “The SAT is made so that the students who excell in school cannot do well on the exam.”</p>
<p>??? </p>
<p>my kids excelled in school and did very well on the ACT and SAT. If they had gotten a 1700 (even with no practice), I would have been very concerned. when they took the SAT cold, they both scored over 2000…when they took the ACT cold, they both scored in the 30’s. </p>
<p>Kids who excel in school (and do not have LDs or significant test anxiety) and go to a quality HS, should have high test scores. </p>
<br>
<br>
<ol>
<li><p>Study for ACT.</p></li>
<li><p>Sit down with your parents and come up with a reasonable academic and financial list.
<<<<</p></li>
</ol>
<p>very good advice.</p>
<p>i would add that they all should learn which schools give large merit w/o super-star stats and some amazing hook.</p>
I didn’t have any of these classes that you have:</p>
<p>“We have weird classes and things. Like, we have a 3-D printing class, a class on Fairytales and Fantasy Literature, and Global Feminism. All of which would make me well rounded, but they aren’t that demanding.” </p>
<p>The reality is 1700 on the SAT is at the top 73% of all test takers. To be qualified for considerable merit to any school or just to be accepted to such school like NU, you need to be AT LEAST at the 98% percentile to be competitive. How hard is it to understand that? Is the OP a ■■■■■? If she is, then I’m feeding her. I guess.</p>
<p>OP, I would recommend doing a prep class for the ACT if your parents will pay for it. That sounds like your best opportunity to score well. If they won’t pay, self-study really hard. The real test usually scores a little lower than the practice ones due to question differences, nerves, timing problems, etc. The ACT is very time based so practice getting the questions done fast and looking for ways to read fast. </p>
<p>If you can get a 30 on the ACT, your GPA will get you a half tuition scholarship at Alabama. A 32 will get you a full tuition scholarship at Alabama. You also would get a half tuition scholarship at ASU or Arizona with an ACT in that range. Good luck!</p>