<p>I applied to UWM, UM Twin Cities, UW and Marquette. What are my chances of getting a full ride scholarship based off this info? I want to be realistic when it comes to applying for scholarships.</p>
<p>Academic:
3.95 Cum GPA UW
7 out of 235
ACT: 27 Kinda low :/
Honors and AP classes all through out high school
100+ hrs volunteer service
Five office positions in clubs/organizations like NHS, NAHS, VAC, Senate & Class Board</p>
<p>Other:
My mom is a single mom with four kids and makes about $11,000 a year.
We qualify for free/reduced priced lunch.
I am first generation.
I am a girl and a minority- 100% Vietnamese.</p>
<p>Re: need based aid…you should qualify for the full Pell Grant, SEOG (if the school has it), and any state grants that your state might have for low income students. </p>
<p>I’m not sure Asians are considered minorities. </p>
<p>Where are you instate in the above list of schools?</p>
<p>You need to check Marquette’s website for financial aid information. It is the most costly of the schools you list.</p>
<p>Your ACT score really needs to bump up a bit for consideration for significant aid MERIT aid at these schools.</p>
<p>I think with an income of $11K, your family contribution for these schools will compute to $0 but I don’t believe ANY of the schools on your list guarantee to meet your full need. Most will also require some loans in the financial aid package as well.</p>
<p>Please do check to see if your state has any funding for low income students.</p>
<p>Minorities? Yes. Underrepresented Minorities in college admissions? Generally no; however, there are some schools that have a difficult time recruiting and retaining Asians, usually rural LACs. For instance, Asians can apply to paid diversity weekends at Grinnell and Amherst and are likely given some consideration in admissions decisions.</p>
<p>About my ACT, i already took it three times and scored the same. My math score is what’s bringing me down, but sadly I dont think that’s going to change.</p>
<p>Most out of state publics are not going to help you with their high OOS costs. Federal aid is not much money, so that’s not going to cover your costs.</p>
<p>OOS publics dont have much aid to give, so they reserve it for their own state’s students.</p>
<p>You need to apply to your instate publics. </p>
<p>Apply to UW-M, but also apply to some of the other UWis. Do any give merit for stats? If so, those may end up being your free rides.</p>
<p>You need to also apply to some privates that are known to meet need. </p>
<p>Will you commute if you go to college at UW Milwaukee? If so, your Pell grant and stafford loan might just almost cover your bill. Check the costs of tuition only.</p>
<p>Let me rephrase that…I’m not sure Asian students would receive an admissions advantage for college. Perhaps at some schools (as noted above) they would be given an edge because the school doesn’t have a large Asian student population.</p>
<p>*Wisconsin and Minnesota have a reciprocity agreement so both University systems are treated as in-state for admissions. *</p>
<p>That just means for tuition costs. I don’t think that means that a Minnesota school is going to give institutional money or state money to a Wisconsin resident. The student could still be gapped.</p>
<p>Vietnamese are underrepresented in college admissions, though. Asians aren’t a monolithic group and some Asian nationalities are underrepresented in college admissions - Vietnamese definitely are (Cambodians, Laotians, Indonesians and other Southeast Asians may also be included in that group).</p>
<p>It depends on whether those schools treat all “Asians” the same or whether they allow for individual ethnic identification because they want to achieve true diversity, and not the semblance of it. (But I wouldn’t put my money on that.)</p>
<p>Anyway, I would think you need to improve your ACT score to really solidify a full-ride, but like others said they don’t meet need and you might want to spread your net a little bit wider as far as attracting merit money goes. With your stats, try mid-tier LACs.</p>
<p>To other CC members – would it make sense for her to apply to a few test-optional LACs?</p>
<p>Someone else suggested mid-tier LACs. Anyone have some names for her in addition to Grinnell & Amherst? I thought of Bates (in Maine), but I’m not sure how they are with meeting financial need.</p>
<p>To OP – what do you plan to study in college?</p>
<p>How about Lawrence or Beloit? They are LACs located in Wisconsin that usually cover a lot of the cost of attendance with need-based aid. There’s also a Wisconsin state grant program that looks like it applies.</p>
<p>*would it make sense for her to apply to a few test-optional LACs?</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>Which ones meet financial need? She might not get merit at such schools because many do require submission of test scores for scholarships consideration.</p>
<p>Connecticut College, Smith College, Bates College, Mount Holyoke, Sarah Lawrence, tons of other colleges don’t require standardized test scores and I know for a fact that at least Smith offers to bridge the gap between EFC and the amount Smith costs the whole way, but that’s according to how <em>THEY</em> compute your EFC. Most good, test optional LACs have that same offer, concerning fin aid. Those endowments. <3</p>
<p>I have a very similar financial situation as you, and I’m guessing our grades are similar. I scored low-ish on the ACT (29 comp) because math suxxxx, otherwise had 34/35 on Reading/Writing. Applied ED I to Smith, hearing back from Smith tomorrow, and I’m pretty sure that they send their aid offer with their reply (if you’re accepted). </p>
<p>If you want, I’d be happy to PM you what they offer me if I’m accepted. I’m pretty sure most LACs like Smith offer pretty much the same amount, at most maybe one thousand more or less. So that might be helpful in your estimation because the aid from Smith is entirely need based and we have very similar family financial stuff going on.</p>
<p>Anywayyyy super good luck! And really check out LACs more, they tend give really great financial aid to low income families.</p>
<p>Thanks for the recommendations, but I honestly have never even heard of all of the mentioned colleges until now. I guess I just never considered a LAC.</p>
<p>I know my ACT isn’t above and beyond, but idk if its worth taking it again. I mean, I took it thrice and scored about the same. Would it be realistic to score higher? All of my college stuff were sent in less than two months ago.</p>
<p>Do you guys think that they (as in the universities) would at least cover tuition? A girl from my school last year got her full tuition paid off for Madison and she has the same stats as I do, but she is also hispanic; idk if that makes a difference.</p>
<p>that is a little closer to you than the ones in the Northeast is the College of Wooster, which is in Ohio.</p>
<p>LAC = liberal arts college – generally, these schools are quite a bit smaller than your typical state U and feature smaller class sizes and more personal attention.</p>
<p>I think what some here are trying to tell you is that state Us sometimes don’t meet the full financial need of students and some LACs do. If you’ve got the time, research of few of the schools mentioned by folks here and see if any of them appeal to you. I don’t see the harm in submitting a few additional applications. The result might be a few more choices that you’ll have come next spring.</p>
<p>You might find that your state schools that you’ve already applied to end up being your best bet financially, but you might find that some of the LACs end up giving you a better deal. The more I hang around CC, the more I understand that the college admissions process is often a guessing game, and those who hedge their bets by giving themselves the most options often end up better in the long run because no one can predict exactly which schools you’ll get into and how much need-based aid they’ll offer.</p>