I live in Ohio, and I want to study Psychology with a minor in Social Work. I’m open to other similar majors as long as I can reach my goal of becoming a mental health counselor to low-income areas who normally couldn’t afford such care. State aid is more or less hit or miss with us. I don’t know all the details, and I’m not sure my parents do either. But my father is contract worker who is paid by an employer in another state. He is employed 4-6 months, and then has to find a new contract, usually the same employer will hire him but that can be and usually is a different salary. So, for instance, my family has been on food stamps sometimes, but also is sometimes middle class. With federal aid, there’s a way to make it even out and have my aid be what it needs to be but not with State Aid. And the fact that my brother will be entering college at the same time as me complicates things so much. I can’t count on my parents or the State to make college more affordable, which is why I’m so focused on guaranteed merit aid. But, nonetheless, I’m always willing to learn more about it! So, if you would like to share your wisdom with me, I’d really appreciate it! @mommdc
@Girlwitharabbit, it’s great that you are so proactive about your college future. With fededal aid, having two in college might help, not sure how that works with state aid in OH.
We are in PA and I was surprised that we received a state grant when we did not qualify for Pell.
You are wise to focus on merit aid, especially with your dad’s fluctuating income. That way you have a plan for 4 years independent of income changes.
Does Ohio University or Miami of Ohio have your major? Would you qualify for merit there? U Dayton?
You can run a few net price calculators on instate schools just to see what the costs would be.
But if you get that NCCU scholarship, that would be hard to beat.
You do know that federal aid is basically limited to a $5500 loan and a Pell grant <$6K, right?
If you’re very low income (Pell eligible), with these stats, apply to a college such as Bryn Mawr or Mount Holyoke, your odds are high you’d get a full ride if admitted.
@“Erin’s Dad” Yes, sir. The difference is about 12,000 a year. That minus loan, work study and pell grant would be about zero. My EFC is 0. Plus, those who work study are supposed to get an OOS tuition waiver, anyway, but I’m still waiting on confirmation from the college.
@MYOS1634 I’ve looked it up, but there isn’t alot about it. Can you tell me more about it or direct me to a link?
Try this
https://barnard.edu/headlines/use-our-net-price-calculator
https://npc.collegeboard.org/student/app/brynmawr
https://npc.collegeboard.org/student/app/mtholyoke
Application fee waiver:
http://www.nacacnet.org/studentinfo/feewaiver/documents/applicationfeewaiver.pdf
I know this thread is focused on financial-aid/scholarships, but have you looked at other career options apart from “Psychology with a minor in Social Work” (Mental Health Counselor)? Your SAT scores are good and you score 700 on the math section is impressive. You could do a Nursing degree (BSN) and then a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP - MSN) degree. Psych-NPs make a lot more than mental health counselors, much higher demand and more autonomy/scope of practice.
https://www.discovernursing.com/specialty/psychiatric-nurse-practitioner#.Vj9KxNLnsdU
I think you should look at FAMU. They have a BSN program (2+2) and also a PharmD program (another good alternative to Psychology/Social Work) . How did you do on your science courses in high school? Any AP courses?
http://www.famu.edu/index.cfm?Recruitment&PresidentialScholarships2010-2011
Is your brother older than you? Interesting that you are both starting College at the same time. I think you should make another attempt at the SAT, preferably with a good commercially-available review course. Shoot for a CR+M of >=1400! Did you take the ACT?
I also like the suggestion @MYOS1634 made about other colleges that you should be looking at.
In another thread, it was noted that an area of psychology that is much in-demand is industrial/organizational psychology, especially if you have a bit of CS/computational math training, which is how to help people use computers, machines, etc, how they interact with them, how they can be helped in companies…
I agree that a psychiatric nurse is a great help and in great need, too.
A Psychologist with a PHD or a clinical degree is very useful too - with a criminology minor (NOT “criminal justice”) they can work for the Correction System (where as many as 1/3 to 1/2 of inmates have psychological problems).
@Jamrock411 Thank you, I’d never considered that, I’ll definitely look into it and discuss it with my parents.
As for the SAT, on my practice tests I consistently received above 700s on CR. A 660 was the lowest I ever got. But, I spent too much time reading the last section and when they called 1 minute remaining, I freaked out and just filled out random answers on the scantron. I know, that was really stupid, but I was a nervous wreck. But, when I got my scores back and saw I qualified for the full ride at NCCU, I decided that I didn’t need to retake it or take the ACT. At this point though, isn’t too late to take it and have the schools look at my scores?
My brother hated school and didn’t take SAT/ACT. He took three years off and now he’s interested in getting his degree. Although, he changed the major he wants about 8 times so honestly I don’t know if he’ll complete his degree. But, I haven’t seen him this excited about something since his junior year, so I’m supportive. My parents, less so.
6 IB+ToK+CAS junior year, 3 IB(all HL) and 1 AP Senior Year.
I’m not bad at science classes per se, in fact I was a ST for biology, Physical Science and OGT Science in 10th grade. I just hated IB Chem. Absolutely. It was terrible. NEVER AGAIN.
@MYOS1634 Isn’t it better to just get a bachelor’s in Psychology, so that way I can learn a bit in all subareas and then choose a specification for graduate school. Or is that not how this works?
Yes, if you plan on going to graduate school, absolutely.
In that case, classes in statistics + biology/neuroscience will come in handy.
If you’d rather have a job right away, you can take the “I/O Psych + some CS” route - it doesn’t prevent you from going to grad school of course.
Have you run the NPCs in #26? What are the results?
Yes you can still register for the SAT AND the ACT (with late registration), in December. Considering that you’re likely to score higher in CR and that a 1400CR+M “unlocks” LOTS more scholarships, I don’t see a downside.
I thought to get scholarships, you had to have submitted your scores by October. Scores afterward won’t qualify you for new scholarships.
As for #26 the estimated remaining costs are
Barnard: 4381
Bryn Mawr: 3305
Mount Holyoke: 4570
They don’t list scholarships though, but a grant from the school. Are those the same things? If I get outside scholarships to cover the remaining will the reduce they aid they gave me? @MYOS1634
Grants and scholarships are the same - money given to you so that you can attend the school because they want you to attend. Typically, these schools include in their costs the fact you’ll need to buy a coat and heavy winter boots, transportation, books, etc, so there’s a way to cut down on remaining costs (for instance, buy used books and not new; plan your plane tickets in August for Christmas, or even consider if sharing a ride or finding a bus is feasible. Don’t skimp on the coat and boots though :p).
You need to ask about outside scholarships. Some of these schools may not offer you loans, so that you’re free to take on loans for that portion, if need be (but typically you can cut those costs in two if you live frugally and don’t buy new books etc.)
The OP’s concern was her father’s fluctuating income. If the aid is need based rather than merit she might not get enough aid the years her dad makes a lot more.
Do you have schools in commuting distance that are definitely affordable?
However, she said that on “good years” they’re middle class… which at universities like the above means above 75K", for a family of 4 roughly. So… even if some years they have 40K and some years have 80K, OP would still get a lot of FA.
OP can run the NPCs with the highest her dad has made, and with the lowest.
@MYOS1634 Thank you very much for your help. I’m definitely going to learn all I can about these schools.
(Just saw new message.) Wait, I thought middle class was 55,000 for a family of four. Do colleges do it differently?
@mommdc The only college commutable that’s definitely affordable is community college. But I can only get an associate.
Also run them with one and two kids in college.
NCCU is a college education, but if you could get into some of the colleges above (or Wellesley, or Smith), you’d get a peer group and classes that will challenge you, much more resources, networking, etc. You run a risk of being alone at NCCU since the top 25% don’t even hit 500 in either section, 80% students are in the 300 to 500 range in either CR or math, and only a literal handful hit 600 or above on either section. Only 10% have 500 (or above) in Writing. It means many courses wouldn’t be adequately targeted to your level.
If that’s your only choice, then it’s a free ride.
But if you have other choices that are affordable, you should try and explore them.
Test scores are accepted up to the month of the application’s due. So, if you apply RD (Jan 1), they’d even consider your January scores. December scores would be accepted for December applications (almost everywhere).
Well the NPC from Bryn Mawr with $80k income and two in college came out to $14k net price. Student loan and work still left $7 k unpaid.