Will I get a full ride?

Paying for College
1

<p>I'm soon to be a senior at high school and am starting to look into colleges (USF in St. Pete specifically). I was wondering if my stats would allow me a full ride to the university, and if not what I should do to make that happen.</p>

<p>31 ACT
3.9 gpa unweighted, 4.5 weighted on their scale
top 2% in my class of 500
Took 2 AP and 2 D.E. classes this year, all other core courses have been honors
Will take 2 AP classes this year with 1 D.E.
In NHS, SNHS, art club, and senior executive board
Played basketball freshman+sophomore year, will probably do it senior year as captain of the varsity squad
550+ community service hours (youth sports league)</p>

<p>Also, my father recently passed away, leaving the financial burden on my previously stay-at-home mom, so now my mom is earning between 10-20k a year to support her, myself, and my sister. I think i could receive financial aid because of this, but I'm unsure.</p>

<p>I qualify for Florida academic scholars, but don't know if it will cover all expenses.</p>

<p>I also have this thing set up by my Dad a while back where it will either pay for all my tuition or I can cash it out for 10 grand.</p>

<p>Another question is how does all this scholarship funding work? Like can I use some of the money on daily living expenses such as apartment rent, food from a grocery store or restaurant, vet visits for a dog, personal electronics, etc.?</p>

<p>My mom would be willing to take out loans for me, but I refuse to let her do that seeing how she is under enough stress as it is. I know I am privileged to be in the situation I'm in, so I apologize if I come off as entitled in this post. Thanks in advance.</p>

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<p>First…I’m sorry for the loss of your parent. Does your mom have any life insurance or other survivor benefits from your father?</p>

<p>It sounds like you might have a Florida prepaid (you need to find out ) for college, and that you qualify for bright Futures as a FL resident. You need to find out how much in Bright Futures you qualify for. </p>

<p>College financial aid money is supposed to be used for COLLEGE expenses. This can include your housing and food. But it would NOT include your vet bills, personal electronics not required for college, and the like. If you are really strapped for money, you should try to significantly limit eating out at restaurants, and also other very discretionary spending. </p>

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<p>I appreciate it thumper, and the situation with his death is complicated so she received some, but not nearly as much as she should have.</p>

<p>And yep, Florida prepaid is what it’s called (couldn’t remember what the name was). And I qualify for the FAS (<a href=“Home - Florida Student Scholarship & Grant Programs”>Home - Florida Student Scholarship & Grant Programs). There’s a link to what it covers. USFSP says tuition is $193 per credit hour so it looks like I would only get half tuition paid for if I am correct.</p>

<p>USFSP is saying housing/meals is only $4600 a year, which if I were to be living in an apartment and buying my own food would be completely unreasonable. Do you think the university could pay me this difference considering my academic history, or do they only pay what they claim housing/meals will cost?</p>

<p>I guess that’s really my main concern. Whether the university will cover me for a full ride for all college expenses (including actual rent+food cost), and how much bright futures will cover. I can always cash out the prepaid plan for generally expenses, it will be tight, but I can manage.</p>

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<p>Between bright futures and the prepaid, your tuition should be covered, as long as you do your 100 hours of community service. Apply by the January 2 deadline. If you can bump the ACT to 32, you’ll get $5000 presidential a year instead of $4000. There’s an honor scholarship of $500 a semester, which looks automatic as long as you take 1 honors class.
When did your dad die. If it was in 2013, you should get a full Pell grant of $5700 based on your mom’s income. If 2014, his income will be taken into account to determine eligibility and amount. </p>

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<p>Awesome, thanks for the scholarship info. And he did in January this year, but I won’t be enrolling to college until next year seeing how I am just graduating my junior year of high school. Don’t know if that makes a difference.</p>

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<p>Yes it makes a difference. 1) you have time to look at all your college options and do a proper search for the best value and best place for you, 2) for financial aid, your family 2014 income will be used, which helps you from a ‘need’ eligibility perspective.</p>

<p>For USFSP total estimated COA is 10,000 per semester. So if you are given aid that exceeds the low tuition of 2,900 then you will be given the excess up to the COA to cover the expenses listed of room, board, transportation, books and other. The 4,600 room and board is PER SEMESTER, so 9,200 per year. </p>

<p>You might like to look for automatic full rides you qualify for. Just to have some options. Scroll half way down to Bob Wallaces’ latest update:
<a href=“Automatic Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - #271 by teskeyben - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-p19.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Sorry for your loss.
Your stats are good but nothing to give you a guaranteed spot. That being said apply to the school but have very solidified safeties and other options.
So, look at colleges that meet 100% of students demonstrated need, and in particular Berea College.
Bets of luck to you.</p>

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<p>take the ACT and practice for a 32+…also take the SAT.</p>

<p>I know that you have a prepaid…is it the Florida prepaid? If so, doesnt it cover all tuition for a FL public? Isnt the per credit amount for a Fl private or OOS school? or am I confused.</p>

<p>you should get a Pell grant, perhaps a full one around 5700
if you can get at least a few thousand per year in merit, then along with your Prepaid you should have most/all school-related costs covered.</p>

<p>HOWEVER, you had a long-list of expenses…an apt? maybe if you share with another and the cost isnt too much. Groceries? if you shop economically. Vet bills and other animal expenses? I doubt that. you need to get a summer job and maybe a part-time job during the school year to help with uncovered expenses…which may also be health insurance.</p>

<p>Apply to all the Florida publics, including UF…which is starting to give better aid to low income students. </p>

<p>The other FL publics, like UCF, UNF, USF, and FIU give nice merit awards.</p>

<p>Does your mom receive social security for you and your sibling in addition to the income from her job?</p>

<p>if so, I’m not sure how that is handled on fafsa, but since any payments for you will cease when you turn 18, you will have to ask your univ for a Professional Judgement adjustment to your EFC.</p>

<p>File your FAFSA as early as possible in Jan 2015. tell your mom to keep her last pay stub for 2014 and use that. any adjustments can be done later. Then when you get your EFC, contact your schools about the adjustment for the SS for you that will be ending. </p>

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<p>What about the income his Dad made in January until he passed away? And the life insurance proceeds, does that have to be included in 2014 income?</p>

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<p>Life insurance proceeds paid upon death are not taxable income.</p>

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<p>Just to clear some stuff up: I have Florida pre-paid for 100% of tuition costs. My mom currently does receive social security for me. I would have to live in an apartment at least after freshman year seeing how they only have a dorm capacity about as big as the freshman class. And I won’t have to pay a vet bill, I was just using that one as an example.</p>

<p>So it looks like bright futures will only cover $3090 a year (This is at $103 per semester credit hour, assuming I take 15 credits a semester) which seems odd seeing how I remember teachers talking about getting the highest bright futures scholarship and being “set” for college.</p>

<p>Assuming I receive a Pell Grant of $5700 every year that would leave me with $5560 left over to cover their COA. I’m sure merit scholarships combined with financial aid will cover this.</p>

<p>Let’s just say I get more than that in financial aid+merit scholarships+regular scholarships, will they just put that money towards college expenses first, and then deposit the rest in some account so i can use it on daily expenses?</p>

<p>Also, a question about applying: How do I apply for a merit scholarship from the school? Is it a separate thing after admission or do they just use what I say in the general school application? Also, should I start doing all these applications for merit scholarships now or do I have to wait until next year?</p>

<p>Thanks for all the help thus far guys :)</p>

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<p>Why do you want to go to USF? Is it for a specific program; because you want to be close to home? Both good reasons. Or is it because you don’t think you can afford anything else? If it’s for the money, don’t limit yourself.
You have good stats. You can find full rides elsewhere. My d is a 0 efc kid. When we looked at schools, she was limited to schools with full tuition + schools and meets 100% need schools, and nothing where the gap would be larger than a Stafford loan, and we didn’t really want those. She applied to 7 or 8 schools. Accepted to all the merits, one of the full needs, and wait listed at another.
She also applied for a few scholarships - IMHO she could have done more- and won 2 of them. Each of those was local. Get a program from your school’s senior awards day. It will show the available scholarships in your area. Use your summer to find out what is needed to earn them. Look into Questbridge. Ask you guidance counselor about fee waivers for applications and SAT and ACT testing. Re-take the ACT in September. Good luck.</p>

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<p>It’s really the university’s location. I love the coast, the small college feel, and the city of St. Pete. The financial aspect of it definitely is a big plus too, seeing how I’d be the big fish in the small pond and would have a higher chance of receiving merit scholarships. I don’t like the feel of big colleges such as UF, FSU, and even USF in Tampa, plus going to a well known college won’t help me in my career anyways.</p>

<p>I’m going to go ahead and apply there and see what they can do finance wise now, so if they can’t make it happen I’ll look elsewhere in Florida. And local scholarships is a good idea, I never even thought of that. I have signed up for the ACT in June and suspect to raise it to a 32-34 seeing how the 31 was my first time taking it and I didn’t study.</p>

<p>Thanks again.</p>

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<p>Good for you for finding your school and knowing it is what you want and will be affordable. Good luck in all you do.</p>

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<p>@MrTallGuy‌
I’m a graduating senior this year that resides in Florida. My family also did Florida Prepaid for tuition and I received the full Bright Futures scholarship. I’ll try to share some insight from what I’ve learned in the college admissions process this year.</p>

<p>I don’t know a lot about USF specifically, but I’m attending the University of Florida next year for about $2100 a semester (including room and board). UF doesn’t do very many merit scholarships, but being an in state public, and having FL Prepaid as well as Bright Futures, should make your costs similar for attending.</p>

<p>I am sorry to hear about your parent. My mother has severe medical problems, and as I researched in the past year I’ve learned that there are a lot of scholarships for students with a disabled/deceased parent. You really should look into it - it will help you to cover the few thousand that you may have left over. </p>

<p>I strongly recommend applying to the major public in state universities, including UF, FSU, UCF, despite the fact that you don’t really want a large university. I definitely didn’t either, but when finances are a concern it’s something that might need to be sacrificed. A smaller college in Florida that does great merit aid (if you qualify, they are competitive so you may need to raise your ACT) is Stetson University. If you do end up at a public, find comfort in applying to and joining the Honors College within the University - it will offer you smaller class sizes and a smaller peer group.</p>

<p>Some out of state universities that you really should consider applying to are the University of Alabama and Troy University. If finances are your number one concern, Troy offers automatic full rides if you meet the requirements (I believe it’s called the Millennium Scholarship) to students. UA has the Presidential Scholarship that, along with FL Prepaid (which you will still receive money from, just not to the same degree as if you attended a FL school) will cover most if not all of your expenses. In addition to an Honors College, UA also has the Blount Initiative, which is pretty much a smaller liberal arts college within the University.</p>

<p>I am dearly sorry about your loss. Please feel free to message me if you have any questions/concerns about the process, I’d love to help however I can.</p>

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<p>Here’s the thing, USF will NOT give you a full ride, BUT you can pool in your resources so you do not need to pay out of pocket which is your own full ride. ;)</p>

<p>You have FPP. That’s a great start. This will cover your tuition except for maybe $50 to $100 a semester. This is minor change and can easily be taken care of by your other resources. </p>

<p>You have the top Bright Futures. Even better. You’ll get $3090 for the year. You can use it on any if your college expenses. </p>

<p>Currently you qualify for the USF Director’s scholarship which is valued at $16,000. Raise your ACT one point and you get the USF President’s scholarship which is valued at $20,000. Do that. Raise your GPA one point. </p>

<p>Your stats get you accepted into the Honors College. That’s another $2,000 with your current stats. Raise your ACT and that’s raised to $3,500 plus research opportunities. </p>

<p>In total you’re at free tuition and $8590 per year in scholarships which will help cover your standard expenses for the year (i.e. housing, meal plan, books) and that’s WITHOUT grants and such. </p>

<p>The way USF scholarships and Bright Futures works is that say your expenses $4600 for housing and meals, and your books are books are $1,000. On a semester basis that is $2800. If they see that you have a set amount of funds coming in more than semester expenses they will give you a deferment until those funds come in. In your first week of school they will pay all the fees and then afterwards you get whatever excess funds that are left. That is what you get to pocket. As long as the amount of funds coming in aren’t greater than USFSP’s COA you can receive as many funds as you can and you will not experience a reduction in your Pell Grant or other Grants. </p>

<p>Breathe. Everything is set and there is nothing to worry about. Just make sure you apply. :wink: </p>

<p>Go BULLS. </p>

<p>(Don’t be afraid to post more questions as you get them. Very experienced with the financial aid process with USF and can put you in contact with those that can help you even more specifically with your case.)</p>

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<p>CORRECTION:
The way USF scholarships and Bright Futures works is that say your expenses $4600 for housing and meals, and your books are books are $500. On a semester basis that is $5,100.</p>

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<p>Wow, you’re awesome!</p>

<p>I got a few things I could use some clarification on:</p>

<p>1) all the things you are saying about USF goes for USFSP correct? Basically if someone says some policy regarding USF does that go for USFSP too?
2) I pocket the COA minus tuition, housing/meals, and books and then it’s my responsibility to use it for daily expenses correct? That pans out to be transportation plus “other expenses” which would be $4100 a year as deemed by USFSP’s website. Any more money than that and they just cut down the amount I am receiving from grants?
3) How do I receive this scholarships from USF? Do I just apply and they let me know or what? Because if that’s the case then I think I should hold off until I get my second ACT scores back to get the President’s scholarship. </p>

<p>It’s nice to relax a bit and realize it will work out. I got a bit scared there thinking I’d have to take out loans.</p>

<p>Really looking forward to going to USFSP :slight_smile: It’s a shame that I still have another year to go.</p>

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<p>1) all the things you are saying about USF goes for USFSP correct? Basically if someone says some policy regarding USF does that go for USFSP too?
Yes, what I stated applies for USFSP. There are certain things that USFSP does differently; however, I don’t know them from the top of my head. </p>

<p>2) I pocket the COA minus tuition, housing/meals, and books and then it’s my responsibility to use it for daily expenses correct? That pans out to be transportation plus “other expenses” which would be $4100 a year as deemed by USFSP’s website. Any more money than that and they just cut down the amount I am receiving from grants?
Yes, you pocket COA minus, tuition, housing/meals, books, and whatever else shows up on your OASIS account. It is the your responsibility to use it for your expenses to last you through the semester. Correct again, if the amount you receive is greater than your COA, then your grants is the first to be reduced. </p>

<p>3) How do I receive this scholarships from USF? Do I just apply and they let me know or what? Because if that’s the case then I think I should hold off until I get my second ACT scores back to get the President’s scholarship.
When you apply to USF, they automatically consider you for scholarships up until scholarship consideration date, which is generally in January. It is best for you to wait until you get your new ACT scores so you don’t have to resubmit anything and they don’t have to go back and change your award and the like. First you’ll get your acceptance and then at a later date you’ll get your scholarship award letter if they have awarded you.</p>

<p>In the meantime, you can check out the USF Foundation Awards for more funds you might qualify for. There are some for incoming freshmen. </p>

<p>Go BULLS.</p>