When are you notified of a "full ride"?

Paying for College
1

<p>Will colleges notify you that everything is covered in the acceptance package in the spring? Besides athletics, how can one score a full ride and at which schools is this likely? Do you recommend applying to lower-tier state schools to compare packages?</p>

<p>3.87 UW GPA, 4.40 W GPA
-9 AP classes, rest honors
-AP Scholar with Honor
-1940 SAT (retaking Oct 1 for 2000-2250)
-a few leadership positions
-not too many volunteering hours</p>

<p>What does an average profile of a full ride recipient look like at 1. Top-tier schools, 2. State flagships and 3. Lower state schools?</p>

<p>Thank you soo much!</p>

2

<p>First, are you talking about need based FA or merit scholarships? I can’t tell because you give stats, but also talk about comparing packages.</p>

3

<p>Both, haha! Do full rides depend on need, too? My family income is about $60k, if that helps. Does need play a factor in a full ride? I know my chances are super low at the private universities that guarantee full coverage of CoA, so that’s why I’m wondering what qualifications one needs to secure a full scholarship at a state university or the like that is still respected by employers.</p>

4

<p>crossposted…</p>

<p>Entomom is right.</p>

<p>What state are you in?</p>

<p>How much will your parents pay? Usually with a $60k income, your family will have an EFC.</p>

<p>What kind of schools are you applying to?</p>

<p>Some schools “meet need” if you have need. Some schools give merit scholarships. </p>

<p>Many schools don’t meet need and don’t give much in merit either.</p>

<p>Do you know if you’d qualify for need-based aid at the schools that give them?</p>

<p>Do you know if your family will pay what they’re asked to pay?</p>

<p>If you’re asking about full rides, does that mean that your family is lowish income and can’t pay anything?</p>

<p>or does that mean that you want/need a full ride because your family won’t qualify for much aid, but they won’t pay much either?</p>

5

<p>if you are talking about merit based full ride, you have to look for 2nd or 3rd tier private or some times off beat public colleges with a first rate stats. In other words Ivy quality candidates applying for USNWR 100+ schools. Or goto States like the Dakotas where not too many students want to go.</p>

6

<p>It will vary hugely from school to school. If by full ride you mean everything covered, including tuition and fees, room and board etc - very rare and very hard to come by including at most state Us. I doubt you will find a full ride. The closest our state U comes to a merit based full ride is for national merit scholars. After that their better ACT based scholarships (33 ACT and 32 ACT) involve full tuition waivers plus some cash - good, but by no means a full ride (my daughter has a full tuition waiver, plus cash scholarship, need based federal grants and will graduate with about $22,000 in loans – not bad, but not a full ride - she was very fortunate to be in school during the SMART and ACG grant period which kept her debt level down by around $10,000). </p>

<p>You would really need to look at each school you are interested in to see what they offer. I think you are unlikely to find a full ride at a 4 year school. As far as need based, your income is probably too high for federal need based grant money such as the Pell (unless you have siblings in college at the same time).</p>