Where do I start?

Paying for College
1

<p>Allow me to begin by explaining my situation. I am a sophomore currently enrolled at South Georgia State College (or South Georgia College, by its former title), a community college in my hometown (it's an "all admit" school; I'm only here for the low tuition and because it's five minutes from home). I am pursuing an A.A. with a double major in psychology and sociology (though that's liable to change). I have a 3.92 GPA. My SAT composite is 1870, with a 640 in reading, 580 in math, and 650 in writing (I know it's a bit low, but I took the exam as a sophomore in high school and haven't had the need to retake so far; whenever I consider retaking I'm reminded by the six hours of misery). I've made Dean's list each semester. I graduated in the top 5% of my class in high school. I participated in the joint enrollment program my junior and senior year of high school. I am a first generation college student. I am a 19-year-old white female going on 20. My parent's combined income hits somewhere in the $40k range. I have a part-time job for the time being, but I've only had it a month (and it's my first job). I am a HOPE scholarship recipient, and I pull around $3200 in Pell each year. I also received the Georgia Certificate of Merit in high school (not a scholarship - not really sure what it is exactly). </p>

<p>If all goes as planned, I'll be graduating from SGC next spring semester with my A.A. I hope to transfer to either Georgia Southern University (a reasonable option) or either Yale Uni (a pipe dream, although I have received an invitation - COA, COL, and distance are the only barriers in my way). My parents are in no shape to provide any assistance whatsoever, and I'll be losing my HOPE scholarship next semester as I'll have used up my allotted two years. What I'd like to do is be able to pay for my tuition, room and board (or rent if I choose to live off-campus), fees, books, etc. as well as private expenses (groceries, a car payment, cell-phone payment, etc.) with financial aid ONLY. I am not interested in student loans at this point - if I have to take out a few as a graduate student, I'll tackle that when it comes, but for now I don't need to tack on any debt to my name. I feel as if I should be able to pay for all of my expenses with financial aid and not have to work (I would love to quit my job as it's taking a major toll on my schooling - I'm left with no energy or time and find myself procrastinating more than usual. My grades haven't suffered any so far, but I worry that they will soon as I'm finding myself with less time to complete my assignments/study and am not as thorough anymore). I also read about a young WASP male with grades far worse than mine whose parents made well over $100k and was able to pay for all of his schooling with financial aid only. I have never applied for a scholarship - I was told that because HOPE and Pell would pay for my first two years, I wouldn't need to (some misguided information from incompetent high school counselors, I've come to believe). I don't know where to start, and frankly, I don't have much time to spare looking for scholarships. I've tried websites like fastweb, cappex, *****, etc., but I don't feel like the scholarships are of any quality and there's a very slim chance that I'll be awarded with them anyway (plus it's filling my inbox up with spam). I need to find scholarships that I'm almost certain I'll be able to receive and won't waste time filling out applications/writing essays/etc. on less then reputable awards. I haven't been able to talk to any financial aid counselors yet (I have a full-time school schedule, working part time, and it's very difficult to find, contact, or make an appointment with the counselors; I've also heard that they're not exactly helpful, though that is second-hand information). </p>

<p>I apologize for the length of this, but I wanted to be thorough. Any help/suggestions/advice is greatly appreciated. And if you read through this far, you're quite the trooper.</p>

2

<p>Transfer admission is typically primarily based on your college GPA, so you are doing well in that regard.</p>

<p>Transfer admit rates for ultra-elite schools like Yale are extremely low, even lower than for freshmen.</p>

<p>Financial aid and merit aid are generally harder to get as transfer than as a freshman also.</p>

<p>The most generous schools for financial aid are on the list linked below - they all claim to meet the full need of admitted freshmen. They may not meet full need for transfers, however - you will have to check the ones that might interest you.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2012/02/16/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need[/url]”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2012/02/16/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Mt. Holyoke, for example, claims to meet full need for transfer students. Others on the list, such as Columbia, do not.</p>

<p>If you are able to continue to receive the HOPE scholarship at Georgia Southern, you will still have a significant bill for room, board, residual tuition, books, etc. It may not be possible to cover the full cost on your own without loans, although you are certainly wise to try to avoid them.</p>

3

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<p>Did that financial aid include loans? Because yes, if he had parents who were able to get approved as co-signers, he might have been able to pay for all of his schooling with loans. He just has to pay the loans back afterwards.</p>

<p>I’m a financial aid officer, and I absolutely recommend going to school without loans. But you need to be prepared for the possibility that ‘no loans’ means not going to the schools you want.</p>

4

<p>I could be wrong, but I’m fairly sure that he was able to attend without taking any loans out and had no debt after graduating. Again, I could be mistaken as it has been a while since I read about this particular individual, and I couldn’t recall where I found it if I tried.</p>

5

<p>Hope isn’t just for two years, why do you think you are losing it?</p>

6

<p>…for some reason I thought I’d been told that HOPE was only available for around two years in credit hours. I probably heard wrong or was told wrong, I’m not sure. I know realize I still have 75 semester hours of HOPE left after this semester. Not sure how I got confused about that; however, I’m glad you brought that to my attention. That alleviates a lot of my concerns, haha.</p>

7

<p>I’ll be losing my HOPE scholarship next semester as I’ll have used up my allotted two years</p>

<p>???</p>

<p>It might only be good for 2 years at a CC, but it should be good for another 2 years at a Georgia public…check into that.</p>

<p>With HOPE, Pell, and a student loan of $7500 per year, you should have the costs for Georgia Southern covered. </p>

<p>Get your FAFSA submitted as soon as you can after Jan 1st, you might get more aid that way. </p>

<p>Does Georgia Southern offer any merit scholarships for CC transfers? Look into that.</p>

8

<p>Also if you are not already a member you should join Phi Theta Kappa honor society. Many transfer scholarships are based on membership.</p>

9

<p>List of Georgia Southern scholarships:
<a href=“http://admissions.georgiasouthern.edu/ScholarshipList_2013.pdf[/url]”>http://admissions.georgiasouthern.edu/ScholarshipList_2013.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Also, am I eligible to apply for scholarships at the CC I’m currently attending? Say I apply this semester to receive next semester - can I just bank that and use it later? I’ll link to my current CC’s scholarships here.
<a href=“http://www.sgc.edu/prospective/ScholarshipCriteria.pdf[/url]”>http://www.sgc.edu/prospective/ScholarshipCriteria.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Like I said, I’m completely lost, and I’m most likely making silly assumptions when I really don’t know what I’m doing. I’ve had no real guidance when it comes to financial aid, and it’s very difficult to seek out help when you have very little down time and most of it is filled with assignments, errands, and other chores. </p>

<p>And on the note of Phi Theta Kappa - I have received the emails about joining and whatnot, but I never really looked into it and figured that I’d simply be paying $70 to wear a gold stole to a graduation ceremony I most likely won’t participate in. I’m a cheapskate - my father brought me up that way lol.</p>

<p>But the information and advice I’ve received thus far has been overwhelmingly helpful, and I can’t express how appreciative I am.</p>

10

<p>Well, you need to look and see if the colleges you’re applying to give a PTK scholarship. If you get a $2,000 scholarship, then that’s worth the $70 stole at graduation.</p>

11

<p>It looks like only private schools in Georgia award Phi Theta Kappa scholarships. If you are staying in state and going to a public college it may not be of value.</p>