Why am I not winning any scholarships? :(

Paying for College
61

You asked why you aren’t winning outside scholarships.

  1. Outside scholarships are very competitive
  2. Your test score are low. Many scholarships are based on scores and gpa and yours don't make you competitive. There are thousands of vals, sals, and perfect test score students out there, applying for the same scholarships. They all want to win too.
  3. For the scholarships that aren't based on scores and other stats, how are your essays, your EC's, your community service hours? What makes you stand out to the committee awarding the scholarship? It you are interested in ROTC, what will make you stand out to those groups?
62

No need to go into FAFSA! you can go there:
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/paying-your-share/expected-family-contribution-calculator

You can only borrow 5.5K for freshman year. WIll your parents be able to pay the rest for you to attend Barrett?

You have about 36 hours before deadlines lock you into the colleges you’ve applied to.
Look into Elmira - I think they have a full tuition scholarship for vals/sals.

63

OP, you cannot just ‘do ROTC’ with all rights and privileges. I have seen where they have cut UG programs to where they pay for 3 years UG instead of 4. The students going into paid ROTC as college freshmen have to apply and be considered before their HS senior year. You can do ROTC (for one year unpaid) and hope to have them pay based on the various disciplines whichever branch of service is looking for. My DD did one year of ROTC as a sophomore and then they had budget cuts and she got cut out of the program along with other disappointed candidates (she would have been in if she was applying the year before). The gov’t budgets for various branches of service and what the are yielding with ROTC may affect your opportunities. It is worth looking into if you have the DESIRE and the maturity to give of yourself what is needed to be a good ROTC candidate.

Your low ACT/SAT (don’t know if you took both tests, did any test prep or did multiple times) - I do have a niece that finished BSN and had your ACT score and GPA. She worked hard in HS and college.

The ACT score somewhat correlates with MCAT - so someone that can score ACT 29/30, if they have strong GPA and work hard in UG may be able to test well with MCAT.

If your parents cannot assist you with ASU and you do not have the resources beyond the amount you are able to borrow (there is a low student amount, for F, SO, JR, SR) then you indeed have a financial resources problem.

Can you do a gap year and earn money? Can you commute to a local community college, and work PT to help pay your way through? Do you have local CC with scholarships?

There is a lot to wrap your head around with schools, scholarships, finances, etc. Are you the oldest child in your family?

You want to be able to succeed at school. If your HS was light-weight in preparing you, you may have an issue with the level expected at ASU. That is how CC may be helpful, and also helpful on your budget.

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I already began my Application @SOSConcern and they said I would be clear to go for Fall 201 since i did my ASU application and im en route for my NROTC app on tge website. I juse began today. Yes, I am the oldest.

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@CourtneyThurston
Well I don’t have any other options, really. I hope no one takes this the wrong way, but I have worked incredibly hard just to say I’m going to go to a community college. And I understand that this is not so for everyone. Many people chose to go to CM, for various reasons, and that’s great because CM is a great way to start. I do see it. Whether itd be for financial reasons, a smoother transfer, more one on one, etc. And several years ago, my credits were so messed up because the school I first went to didn’t give me the credits required for an AZ diploma. By the time I realized I could make it into college if I put in extra work and caught myself up, I figured and thought I was going to call a CM Advisor. But many people here are pointing out that while I reached too high and my test scores need improvement, I feel that I need to commit because I did get into Barret. To be honest, I cried when i found out i was accepted, because I saw how prestigous it is and I know I barely fit up there. I also didn’t write on here how I want a military career, for years I have, so ROTC was not moment of the spur. It came up in cknversatiom with my dad some time ago. I realize I might not make it to med school if I dedicate my self to that. Just a few thoughts. But I appreciate everyone who wrote their thoughts/advice. I just feel really alone. Being a first generation student is hard. It’s not that my parents don’t care, they just don’t know! They lived in a time where they didn’t need a degree for a job, and they’ve had the same job their whole adult life.

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NROTC is no longer accepting scholarship applications for 2016.

http://www.nrotc.navy.mil/

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@BelknapPoint Someone at ASU us helping me with it? Maybe you are looking at something else. But I have several PDFS and apps to fill out. But I can double check.

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@lovenetc so have you talked with NROTC on the field acceptance? Have you looked at the various fields of interest, and discussed this with NROTC recruitment office? Have you met with NROTC Command at ASU?

There is a lot to learn in this process. You will need to be successful as a NROTC candidate - physical attributes (doing those - push ups, sit ups, pull ups, distance run etc) - you may be able to see, or can get a copy from recruitment officer/office.

There is a contract. You need to be able to fulfill your end of the contract and Navy ROTC fulfill their end.

We know students that got cut out of the program (Air Force ROTC) and they had to repay some of their $$.

I worked for a physician that was Navy, as was his brother. I also know a physician that was Army - went through UG with ROTC and went through med school with service duty after. However these were all high stats people.

I believe you have a lot to absorb in this entire process.

Do you have a job for summer, or can you get one? Is there any CC courses you can take to get a feel for what is expected? Can you start working out to be able to come in strong on the physical requirements?

You may be piling a lot with NROTC, first term of courses at ASU, and financial problems. And the social scene at school - that is often a downfall for students because when lost, they do what feels good. They do not understand the time element and the academic expectations - reading material before the professor lectures, how quickly material moves, how many hours of study for every hour of class, etc. Absorbing exactly what is expected from the course syllabus. The quizzes and exams.

You want to be able to concentrate well on your academics, and if you can add some of these things in with a ‘learning curve’.

There are many students that cannot make the adjustment from what is expected in college - and you sound like you are willing to do the work, but please look to doing what will get you through UG - if you indeed need NROTC to financially get through UG, set that as your goal. You will need to meet all NROTC things - plus impress your command with leadership, handling responsibility, being what they want from you; also have strong grades.

Many, many students think medicine until they take their first semester of college biology, chemistry, etc. Some students have a desire to be an engineer because they believe it is a good career field, but cannot do the calculus, physics, etc to be a successful engineering student.

If you have an opportunity to have some aptitude testing, or interest testing (ASU will have these resources, in career planning and placement, etc). Maybe even available at CC more locally.

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No, I cannot find a job for my life sake. Sadly. I have gone in person to Target, Eegees, Rue 21, Bed Bath and Beyond for one in one meeting and turning in apps, and nothing. @SOSConcern

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You are not the only student who has been accepted to a prestigious school or program that has turned out to be unaffordable, and have had to walk away.

I’m much older than you, and I think I have a pretty good head on my shoulders. And yet, I can look back on decades of my life and see several MAJOR decisions I’ve made where I now think, “WHAT in the world was I thinking?!”

These were, inevitably, decisions driven by strong emotions, not level-headed rational thinking.

There are many paths to take in order to meet one’s long term goals.

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You work incredibly hard to learn and to prepare yourself to become the adult you hope to become. It isn’t a ticket to college.

I did not read every post so maybe others commented but I am assuming you inadvertently listed your unweighed GPA as your weighted GPA because it is not possible to have a weighted GPA lower that the unweighed one. A problem with your grade score combination is that it gives the impression that your school was not rigorous. That happens when test scores are low but grades are high. If you worked hard on rigorous classes your test grades, especially on the ACTs would reflect that. The SATs often don’t because doing well on the SATs is a matter of knowing how to game the test but the ACT is straight forward. Have a good fund of knowledge should allow you to score high. Your 19 puts you at about the 42nd percentile. For college bound students that his low. Scholarships are competitive so you are competing against people who scored a lot higher. That is unfortunate but reality.

Sounds like you had a rough start to your academic life. You may have gaps that showed on the ACTs. If you are serious about med school then starting at community college may make sense for you. The classes will be easier so you will have an easier time nailing A’s. Apparently med school favors A’s over rigor (at least that is what people on this site seem to claim). So, given potential gaps in your academic preparation, going to community college may make strategic sense. It will give you a chance to ensure you are nailing good grades before being thrown in with a more competitive student body and more rigorous classes.

72

Love- first of all, big hug to you. You sound like an absolutely terrific kid and any of the parents here would be proud to have you as their child! You should be very proud of your accomplishments.

Now reality- you have not been served well by the adults in your life- mainly your guidance counselor and/or any teachers who have been helping you with the college process. But that’s ok- you are here now, and there are some very wise posters who know a lot about financial aid, how loans work, various colleges which might be affordable to a first gen student, etc.

But the next step belongs to you. You need to understand that Barrett is a longshot for you financially. So- spend the next three days figuring out if the combination of your earnings, your parents, and a moderate amount of loans is going to make the numbers work. If it does- then fantastic, and I wish you well. If any of the scholarship programs you’ve applied for come through that’s icing on the cake, but the odds of any of them making a serious dent in your four year bill at ASU is really small.

So if your week is up and you’ve figured out that you can’t afford ASU, come back here. We can help you with a plan. It will involve retaking the ACT or maybe trying the SAT- a higher score is going to give you many more affordable options. It will involve casting your net beyond Arizona, and it will involve you leaving the door open for long term goals that might not mean becoming a physician- but there are dozens of fine careers for people interested in medicine and health care so that’s neither here nor there at the moment.

I don’t think you reached too high- so don’t beat yourself up over that. You were poorly advised (did you prep at all for the ACT or is that your score “cold”?), you didn’t understand how competitive the national scholarships are; your essays for the scholarship competitions likely didn’t emphasize the stuff that gets you money vs. the stuff that is a turn-off, etc. But before you sign on for a boatload of loans that are going to cripple you for the next twenty years- go see if your parents can help you make ASU work, and if not, come back.

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I’m looking at the home page of the NROTC web site that I linked to in my post. You don’t have the necessary baseline test scores needed to qualify for NROTC. While there may be a way around this, in all likelihood it’s too late for this coming school year. I’m telling you this not to be harsh, but to let you know without any BS or sweet talk that you need a better plan. You are not being realistic, and if you don’t provide yourself with some realistic options, and quickly, you will find yourself with no good options.

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You may be able to do NROTC as a freshman, but will do it w/o financial support. Depending on funding for your sophomore year and how you stack up against other candidates.

So do you have a way to have freshman year at ASU paid for?

I have a niece that didn’t apply in time for ROTC as a freshman, but did the training during her freshman year, and had 3 years of paid ROTC - however she had both an academic and athletic scholarship at her school. She was a state level athlete in two sports - Air Force wanted her also for their golf team once she was an officer (she declined).

Military loves these athletes that are also smart students. We have a cousin that was junior olympics runner, and in Navy officer training (she completed her UG degree first before she decided to go into the Navy), she and another gal beat all the guys on the distance run. She is now executive officer on a sizable navy ship. Her H was a state athlete and went through West Point.

Do want you to be aware there is more and more competition for the officer slots with all the military branches.

DD with Air Force ROTC was in the program non-paid as sophomore, had all nursing requirements in, but they nationally cut how many nurses they wanted. If she would have been accepted into field training (between sophomore and junior year) and passed field training, Air Force would have paid her retro for her sophomore year, and she would have had junior and senior school expenses paid plus receiving a monthly stipend. Instead, she had to dry clean and turn in her uniforms once she learned she was not accepted into field training. It was a big disappointment - however DD has a strong academic scholarship and other funds in place for graduating UG w/o debt.

DD actually could have applied for Navy Nursing - they had some limited slots Oct 1 selection of junior year. However it was 40 slots NATIONALLY. Would have been a sweet deal though.

She is now hoping to work for VA Hospital as a RN.

75

Can you afford CC classes this summer? W/O a job, you want to make good use of your time. Some CCs give scholarships - check into this. Then you can gain some college level classes and hopefully get into the college pace of things.

Make a trip with an appointment with the NROTC folks at ASU. Maybe they can see a way for you to apply for scholarship as a sophomore - they can guide you on what is necessary and what the open fields are. If you need a better ACT score (with test prep, that can be raised).

76

On the job scene, do you know anyone that owns a business (restaurant, etc) - maybe know them through your church, parents. Sometimes it takes a connection for a first job. Even some place like McDonald’s. My pharmacist BIL was a McDonald’s assistant manager that helped him pay for pharmacy school. Some start as a restaurant greeter, bus tables, etc. Think about the opportunities in your area. Do you have friends that have jobs? Maybe someone can put in a good word for you, or know of an opening.

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My only other source of $$ is my AmeriCorps grant, which when I finish my 300 hours, I can receive my $1,222.22

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I agree that getting into Barrett is awesome and a great reward for your hard work and resilience. BUT… BUT… what good does it do if you can’t attend?
The issue is that you can borrow 5.5K. If your parents don’t have about 22K (estimating you’ll earn 3K between now and the start of school), there’s no college for you next year. Hence, gap year, or cc, or applying NOW to colleges that offer good scholarships to sals. I agree that cc is probably the least good solution in your situation.

79

While I do not know your situations or circumstances, I don’t see what your post meant? I don’t think not going to ASU or Barrett or even if I do go will make me turn my head back and regret what I did. I think I have a good head on my shoulders even if I’m younger than you. @Midwest67

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OP- people are just trying to help.

Those of use who have been around a while understand that adding up your 1200 to your maximum 5.5K loan does not put you within spitting distance of what you will need for your first year (let alone the next three years) at ASU. So again- you need to find out how much money your parents can contribute- starting in late July/August when your bill comes, to get you paid up for your first semester. If you don’t have a job lined up for the summer yet, you can’t count on those earnings.

Nobody is suggesting that you would regret going to ASU. They are suggesting that you taking on the maximum amount of loans, plus your parents borrowing heavily to make the finances work, is likely something you would regret down the road. You’ll be paying off those loans for a long time, and your parents will be putting off retirement for a decade trying to get their arms around their payments as well.

That’s the regret-- that you didn’t want to consider any options BUT ASU, and are now stuck with a heavy loan repayment schedule.