<p>3.75 unweighted
4.35 weighted</p>
<p>ACT 36
English 36
Math 36
Reading 35
Science 36
Essay 8</p>
<p>8 APs
5 calc bc
5 stat
4 lang comp
4 chem
taking 4 senior year</p>
<p>2 Community College Classes
6 Honors Classes</p>
<p>SAT II
Math lvl 2: 800
Chem: 660... retaking</p>
<p>3 sports for 4 years.</p>
<p>lots of non profit work.... non profit internship. president of non profit organization. went to developing country to help out and learn. board member of a philanthropy organization. raised lots money individually starting at a young age.</p>
<p>FA refers to need based aid, so it is based on the financial and other factors of your family, not your academic and EC accomplishments. Merit scholarships are based on the types of factors that you listed.</p>
<p>Look at the merit scholarship sticky at the top of the PArents Forum list.</p>
<p>what about for me personally?</p>
<p>You need to give more information. What are you interested in? What type of college: big, small, medium? Where: city, college town, south, north, east? </p>
<p>Your grades are good; your ACTs are perfect (isn’t 36 the highest?). </p>
<p>As entomom says, financial aid is based on parents income, so if your family income and savings are very low, many colleges would give you aid. Likewise, there are a number of colleges that will give you money for grades and scores. There are more than 3000 colleges in the U.S., we need a little information.</p>
<p>MD MOM is right…you haven’t given sufficient info to answer your question. </p>
<p>Another few questions…HOW MUCH financial aid are you looking for? What CAN your parents contribute to your college education. Do you want a “no loan” school? What school ideas do you already have?</p>
<p>I am interested in engineering. </p>
<p>I am flexible as to size of college. I would prefer a school on either one of the coasts… or at least close to a coast. I do not care city vs. college town.</p>
<p>I want to find a school where I can get close to a full MERIT based scholarship.</p>
<p>What are some of the best schools that could give me close to a full merit based scholarship?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Check out University of Pittsburgh. They have an engineering scholarship that’s a full ride.</p>
<p>What state are you from and what is your EFC? If your EFC is low, you may not need a full merit scholarship and could look at schools that give good need-based aid instead…like UVA, UNC, and many other very good schools. Here’s a link to the thread on automatic merit aid, but many of the “full rides” that are available that are not listed here as they are limited and require a selection process:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html</a></p>
<p>You could look at the Peterson’s guide for additional merit opportunities.</p>
<p>If you live far from NY in an underrepresented state, or you are a minority, you might look at the University of Rochester. They have some full tuition merit scholarships, and they offer engineering.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>An ACT of 36 might put you in good position to be considered for a McNair Scholarship at the University of South Carolina. It is a full ride scholarship including a laptop.</p>
<p>The McNair requires the completion of the U of South Carolina Honor College/Scholarship application which has an EARLY deadline (you would need to check the date). It’s quite a rigorous application but well worth it if you are selected. </p>
<p>If selected as a finalist, you are invited to an inteview weekend paid for by the university.</p>
<p>How much will your parents pay?</p>
<p>There aren’t many full ride scholarships (tuition, room, board, plus).</p>
<p>Are you a likely national merit finalist? What was your PSAT?</p>