<p>I think we should work with the assumption that this student will not be eligible for merit scholarships – and then if she does exceptionally well this year academically or with the SAT, it will be gravy.</p>
<p>Cpt, it’s possible that the merit aid has increased in recent years (don’t know how old your younger son is) as UB’s endowment has certainly increased dramatically in the past few years! I’m only reporting what the experiences were for my rising sophomore at UB and others we know who started last year. I do know four Acker kids, one from our town and 3 that are now close friends of D whom she met through her HS friend…they said that did not have especially great stats, just over 1200 and in the top quartile for grades, and although the one from our town was a good student, he definitely not in the top 10 in HS. Anyway, it’s that type of program, not necessarily UB itself, that I was suggesting that fendrock could be on the lookout for - the combination of services plus financial aid would be great for any first gen student, but particularly one with non-English speaking parents!</p>
<p>It certainly is. When my current college student applied to colleges, we did not look at UB’s website and missed out on the Presidential award, though I doubt he would have been a contender given that he got the minimum amount even for the automatice merit money.</p>
<p>Until we know what the girl’s stats are, namely the test scores, and things like what difficulty level her courses are, we have no idea what is possible for her. </p>
<p>Many of our local colleges work closely with kids that have a low EFC and show them how they can afford college with PELL, and other government aid. Are there any college to which she can commute? That would be the ultimate safety; a commuting college that is low cost.</p>
<p>[College</a> Now - University of Massachusetts Dartmouth](<a href=“http://www.umassd.edu/collegenow/aboutcn/cnprogram.cfm]College”>http://www.umassd.edu/collegenow/aboutcn/cnprogram.cfm)</p>
<p>It is a fedreally funded program that offers support for low income and/or first generation students. UMass Drtmough located between Fall River and New Bedford and has LOTS of experience with children of recent immigrants. College Now is a highly successful program. </p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>She currently has a 2.8 GPA.</p>
<p>(But her lowest grades are in English, not in science or math.)</p>
<p>She will take a practice SAT to have a ballpark.</p>
<p>She would like to work in television.</p>
<p>Fendrock, I don’t believe that anyone has mentioned Questbridge yet. That’s a program that she should definitely look into. It sounds as if her grades may be too low, but the child of immigrant parents who works in the family business is just the kind of student Questbridge helps.</p>
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<p>This describes her exactly – and that is what I am hoping to find - schools that are looking for students like her.</p>
<p>The Questbridge schools don’t really look like they would be a good fit, with the possible exception of Northwestern (and I’m not really sure the family can afford to have her flying away anywhere to school).</p>
<p>I suspect GPA is too low, but this might be worth looking into: [The</a> Posse Foundation](<a href=“http://www.possefoundation.org/]The”>http://www.possefoundation.org/)</p>
<p>Our local community college, which has an outstanding rep, does an exceptional job supporting kids just like OP’s young friend. If she is still struggling with English, this may be an option until she gains more facility, and she would still be around to help w/the family business. A good number of CCs have articulation agreements/guaranteed admission (w/a decent GPA) to flagships after the first two years, too.</p>
<p>Her English is excellent, totally fluent.</p>
<p>I mentioned community college to her, but I think she wants to consider other options as well.</p>
<p>I DID emphasize the need to start by determining how much they can afford, told her about EFC, gapping, etc. - told her it would not be good to have her heart set on something only to find out they couldn’t afford it - and that many FA packages include loans she really will not want to take on.</p>
<p>OK, I took from one of your previous posts that English might be where she struggles.</p>
<p>Apparently her fluent spoken English does not necessarily carry over to the written work she has to do for school.</p>
<p>I had a 0 EFC and I will be attending UW-Madison. I got enrolled in the FastTrack program which covers full COA, with only a $1500 loan and a $2000 work-study. It is guaranteed for four years. Each year the loan and work-study will each go up $500, but the rest is grants. It’s nice because after freshman year when I get an apartment, I can use that money to help pay for it, and even this year I should be getting some money back. The program I am in seems to be more need than merit-based.</p>
<p>Perhaps UW-Madison is doing something different than other schools, but I am willing to bet some other well-respected state schools do something similar.</p>
<p>If they are immigrants, they either have a green card (through sponsorship by a family member or wining the green card lottery (I do not think they could have come on a employment category). Even if they are not Permanent Residents (i.e. green card holders) they still may be able to fill out FAFSA if they are a Refugee or have asylum. Else they cannot be immigrants as far USCIS is concerned.</p>
<p>Generally, if they are green card holders, they will eligible for the same federal benefits as citizens as determined by FAFSA. </p>
<p>So if they have a EFC of zero, they will get the same Pell grants, work study, subsidized Stafford loans etc, than any citizen would get with a EFC of Zero. That does not change. </p>
<p>If this does not meet the COA, then schools can meet the need in several ways (loans, grants, scholarships, etc.) If the child still does not speak much English, it is unlikely that child would have high SAT scores and the profile to get in to a top college. Hence, we would need to the stats (SAT, grades, EC’s) and the schools the student is looking at before any one can hazard a guess.</p>
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<p>The student does speak English fluently. 
It sounds like it just isn’t her best subject.</p>