Hi everyone,
I’m currently a junior girl in my high school and i really want to get a full scholarship to go to college. Paying full tuition isn’t really an option for my family and I’m not really “needy” enough to get financial aid.
I have a 4.5 GPA (top 6% of my class), got a 33 on my act (will be retaking them). I’ve also taken the US history SAT subject test, which I’m pretty sure I’ll get above a 700 on. I’ve never gotten a B and this junior year i am taking 4 AP classes, and 3 honors ones. Next year i will be taking 5 AP classes. I’ve also been accepted to governor’s schools (which is a month-long college-like program) that looks pretty impressive on an application. I have over 200 volunteer hours, am the founder of my own club, am the fundraiser coordinator of another club, and belong to my school’s NHS. I am also a pretty good writer so my college essays will be good. I have strong bonds with two teachers who I know will write me excellent recommendations. However, I’m not an underrepresented minority and I don’t play any sports. I also come from a pretty wealthy area, so I’m not sure how that will look on my application.
Where are some realistic places that will offer me a full scholarship? (preferably on the east coast) I’m really leaning towards Syracuse University, but their website doesn’t provide much information on the statistics one needs to get a full scholarship.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Start by reading the links in this thread. Check the colleges for current info as it may have changed.
In addition, EVERY college has a net price calculator on its website. You can enter your family financials (accurate information) and you will get an estimate of your need based aid, and net costs.
This thread is going to be your bread & butter: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-p1.html
Note that these are all competitive scholarships, so there are no guarantees, though there are some “less competitive” schools where you’d have a stronger shot if your stats are way above their average. In many cases, you’re automatically considered for these merit scholarships just by applying, but in other cases there are special applications/essays. Syracuse is an “automatically considered” school, so the best you can do is apply and see what happens.
I would advise you to cast a wide net, and especially to consider schools outside of the Northeast. You’ll find there are some schools in the South with very attractive scholarship opportunities–some of these may be good safety schools for you. (look at Alabama) In the Northeast, I can personally recommend BU (my alma mater), though it’s sometimes kind of arbitrary, re: which students get merit scholarship offers and which ones don’t. There’s the prestigious Trustee Scholarship you can directly apply for (requires application/essays/recommendations), but BU also automatically considers applicants for other merit aid. ie: if you don’t get the Trustee’s scholarship, you’d still be considered for other aid. I also am a fan of UMD–they have a lot of merit opportunities.
I have a friend in Boston who suggested Emmanuel College for my D. (D has decided not to go to Boston., though.) Emmanuel is a small Catholic-affiliated liberal arts college near Fenway Park. When I looked into them last fall, i remember they had nice merit scholarships and I think there was one for full tuition if you had stellar grades and high test scores.
Lesley University in Cambridge might be worth looking into, as well.
Consider some of the small, lesser-known private schools in the Northeast, there are a bunch of them around Boston, Connecticut and upstate NY.
I’m in the Midwest, and not familiar with the Northeast, but it does seem that there are more opportunities for full-tuition and full-ride scholarships at bigger schools in the Southeast and Midwest.
U of Alabama has a full-tuition scholarship that’s mentioned on CC a lot. I think U of Kansas might have one, too.
Check out the links shared above, too.
Good luck!
http://www.emmanuel.edu/admissions-aid/faqs.html
“Emmanuel offers a variety of scholarships ranging from $2,500 to full tuition awards. To be considered for scholarships, your admission application for the fall semester must be complete by February 15.”
Thought I’d post the link to the page, as this info is buried within the website.
You may want to call admissions office (here, and any other school you are interested in) to make sure, as well.
How much will your family pay each year?
You need to apply to a MIX of schools…
Some with ASSURED full tuition scholarships (those will be your back ups)
Some with competitive full tuition awards.
OP, everyone would like to go to college for free, but if that was possible there wouldn’t be 1.5Trillion dollars in outstanding student loan debt. With your stats you might get a full tuition ride guaranteed at some southern schools, but you’ll probably be on the hook for full room and board, books, transportation etc which can total 10-15K per year. I know a few people who got 35-36 ACT w/ 4.7 GPA’s who still ended up paying 25K per year. But there is a large difference between not wanting to pay full tuition and getting a free education, how much can your family pay? You have to do your research ahead of time and apply to a range of schools.
I think this student wants a full ride, including tuition, fees, room and board.
To the OP. Can your parents pay for your other costs outside of tuition and fees? Those other costs…room, board, transportation, books, etc, can easily add up,to over $10,000 a year. More in some places.
Temple University would give you a full scholarship based on your stats. You’d still have to pay room and board but I think you’d get two $4000 stipends for study abroad, internships, etc. I know a lot of kids who’ve recently chosen it and will be attending T’s honors college. To be honest, most of these kids had other schools as their first choices (BU, Northeastern, and NYU are the ones I’ve most often heard mentioned), but the money for those schools just wasn’t there. I believe Temple’s a school on the rise and think everyone with high stats who’s willing to go urban - and Temple’s definitely urban - should consider it.
What do you want to study? Have your parents told you they won’t contribute for college? Or are you trying to keep COA to room and board?
I just want to get as much money as possible. My parents can pay for room and board, but with three other siblings in college, i’d much rather get a full scholarship.
Thank you! I’ll look into Emmanuel
How were your PSAT score? Any possibility of National Merit?
Just a tip: When you look at any given college’s website, you will usually find scholarship information under “Admissions”, then look for “Financial Aid”. Usually, the listed tuition fees are buried here, as well as info about Scholarships.
Sometimes, a school will be vague and give a range of monetary amount given; others will be more exact, and give specific grades and scores that will qualify you for the scholarship.
Another suggestion: Miami of Ohio, in Oxford OH. It’s in Ohio, but it is a very well-respected school, and they give half to full-tuition scholarships for students with a 32 ACT and 3.5+ (uw). I have heard this school has the vibe of an elite East Coast school. Miami of Ohio is a larger school with about 10,000 students.
Another one would be Ohio Wesleyan, a small LAC in Delaware, OH.
If you are okay with smaller schools, most of the colleges in the Colleges That Change Lives group (they have website under that name) give merit scholarships. Some are in the East or eastern Midwest.
who doesn’t want as much free money as possible? But anyways here is an excellent link for OP…
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=zero+sum+game&l=1
There are no full rides for perfect test scores. Everyone has them at the upper schools - that’s a minimum requirement. You’ll want to find a way to stand out against your competition by doing something at school that shows your leadership and involvement in the community. Volunteer hours are great but this goes beyond. It’s like a job interview - you need to create a picture that makes YOU the best person to pick for the best scholarship. Remember everyone else will be doing the same.
I got a 219 on my psat. So national merit is a possibility, i suppose
What is your home state?
Have you checked previous cutoff scores for your state for NMSF?