My parents will not be able to contribute any money whatsoever to college. My parents are divorced and I am living with my mom right now and she is making $24k/year. I am a white male from California with unweighted 3.82 and 1970 SAT. I was hoping to apply to some good schools but afraid I won’t be able to pay for them.
If I am applying for the 2016-2017 school year when should I start applying to FAFSA/CSS/Other scholarships (where can I find other scholarships btw?)?
If I need my college paid for basically in full do I need to abandon my dreams of getting into a reach school or target school and look for a safety that will give me a full ride (I heard that I could get a full ride from temple university).
I’m really lost on what to do financially and my mom is not very helpful. Any other info you need just ask.
How much does your dad make? If he is also low income and willing to fill out the paperwork, you may have a shot at some good FA. However, your SAT may not be strong enough for schools that meet financial need. What is your SAT breakdown? Did you apply to any schools in-state in CA? Have you reviewed Temple’s website regarding criteria for their scholarships? One thing to look at carefully is that full tuition scholarships still leave you with costs like room & board, fees, and probably health insurance.
If you are already a Sr, you are rather behind the curve. Wish you had asked a year or even a couple months ago.
Did you apply to CA schools? UCs will give you a lot of aid if you are accepted, any UC will be affordable for you with a student loan and some work study and summer earnings. You will get Cal Grant plus university aid.
Did you apply to a commute distance CSU? Cal Grant will pay your tuition and fees.
If you have to do CC to UC that is quite possible. You can get a BOG waiver for your tuition at a CC. Be on the guaranteed track to transfer and you will get good aid from a UC to finish and graduate from.
Now for privates that give a full ride…you have good stats but a bit tough to get full ride with that. You could be able to get some that let you do it with student loan and work study and summer earnings but you are already missing some deadlines. Answer inparents questions.
Also you do the FAFSA after Jan 1. CSS is for generous privates and you do that now if you are applying to some.
Doing Calculus AB right now (have an A). 3 Years of Science (no science offered junior year at the school i went to). Undecided major. 4 Years of cross country 3 years of track so far (planning on 4). Worked last summer at a chinese restaurant as a bus boy and translated for the waiters.
hopefully you’ll get into UCI. You probably should have applied to more UC safeties.
@ucbalumnus If this student gets shut out of the UCs he applied to, will he be offered or be able to get a seat at UCR, UCSC, or UCM?
@zietra since your income is so low, it’s really better for you to get into a UC, rather than a CSU or Cal Poly. The UCs will give you more money. At a CSU or Cal Poly, all you’d get is the Cal Grant and Pell Grant for “free money.” But at a UC, you’d likely get the Cal Grant, Pell Grant, AND some UC grant money.
Students are eligible for the enrollment guarantee if they meet one of two criteria:
They must have a high school grade point average of at least 3.0 in a prescribed set of college preparatory classes and be in the top 9% of their graduating class.
Or they must be in the top 9% of all high school seniors statewide, based on an index that pairs grade point averages with SAT or ACT test scores; the higher the GPA, the lower the required test score.