Rob1995

Hello! I am a rising junior who needs to start looking into colleges, but my family is not very well-off. I apologize in advance if I'm a little bit broad, but I do not know anything about financial aid or loans or any of that, and my parents do not wish to talk about it with me at the time (my family does not like to talk about money ... My dad gets mad if I do something as trivial as ask about tipping the pizza delivery guy lol. They said they will be willing to talk more next summer but I would like to start before then. They do not know much about the college admissions process, by the way)

So I am looking for good, competitive colleges. I attend a small, uncompetitive HS in the southeastern US. I received a 28 on my ACT as a freshman without any studying and a 204 on my PSAT without any studying. I usually receive a 2200+ on my practice tests though and plan on taking the real SAT next year. My school does not offer any honors or advanced classes until junior year where we can take AP classes, but I take the most advanced classes available to me anyways. I am also Hispanic.

As for what I'm looking for, I need to find colleges that will be easy for me and my parents to pay for. My parents always say that education is important and that they will pay as much as they are able to, but we do not have a lot of money (I think my stepdad makes somewhere between 25k and 40k a year but I am not sure). I also have a part-time job. I will apply for as many scholarships as possible. My ideal college is mid-sized, diverse, not very WASPy, and has solid STEM programs.

Thanks in advance and sorry if my request is too broad. If there is any information that you might need about me I'll be happy to answer, but like I said I know next to nothing about finances.

menloparkmom

Study as MUCH as you can for the PSAT over the next few months! Scoring at or above your states NMSF cutoff number could mean AUTOMATIC Full or half Tuition scholarships at many colleges and universities! [ see link below, and scroll through the thread] This one short test can mean THAT much! So order a SAT study guide from the Collegeboard, read as many books and newspapers as you can [ that will help your CR score], and take many practice SAT tests this summer! Your scores WILL go up!

NMF Scholarships: An Updated Compilation

I will apply for as many scholarships as possible. My ideal college is mid-sized, diverse, not very WASPy, and has solid STEM programs.

USC has a diverse population, a very generous FA program, and great STEM programs. They also offer NMF 1/2 tuition scholarships. There are other, less competitive U's that offer full tuition scholarships to NMF's such as U of Alabama.

beyphy

You should be able to get decent aid with that amount of money. All colleges are required to use a net price calculator on their website to allow people some idea of how much the college would cost them, so you could use that if you want to peruse around some colleges.

tk21769

Possible strategies:
1. attend a low cost public school that is close enough to commute from home (to save on housing costs)
2. try for a selective private school with generous need-based aid and the programs you want

The University of Southern California is a need-blind, full-need school with strong STEM programs and a relatively large hispanic student population (~15% of enrolled students). This would be a reach school (ACT median band is 29-33).

happymomof1

There is a lot of useful information for you in the Financial Aid Forum. Start there. You also should pay a visit to FinAid! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans. If your dad doesn't want to talk about money, maybe you could start with your mom instead.

Lots of parents have no idea how they will be able to pay for their kid's educations - or even if they will be able to help their kids at all. It is a really scary situation to be in, and often their first response to any question is anger. Do your best to be patient with your parents while they sort through their feelings about this.

mom2collegekids

It sounds like you have two sets of parents. The schools that give the best aid, will look at your mom/stepdad's income and your dad's income (and stepmom).

Rob1995

Thank you for the advice so far!

Yes, I forgot to mention that I am definitely aiming for NMSF. I have been studying and doing practice tests and have been getting in the 2200s every time so far and I hope to continue to improve. I do not want to count my chickens before they hatch but I would be pretty surprised if I scored below a 220. Regardless, I will continue to study because that scholarship is very important to me and I do not want to get too sure of myself just yet. Hubris and all that.

USC sounds like a very nice school from the sound of it, I will need to look more into it! Like I said, 28 was my score as an early freshman without any prior studying, so hopefully I should be able to get my test scores within a more acceptable range as soon as possible. The sole problem is that it is out west, while most my family lives in the southeast. Nevertheless it atill seems like a great opportunity and will look a lot into it. Thank you! (I also have a 3.9 UW GPA if it matters)

Edit: Yes, I live with my mom, stepfather and two younger half-siblings, while I live with my dad for the summer, usually. He will contribute a bit as well. He does not make very much either but he lives alone most of the time so he has just a little bit of extra income. Thank you for telling me this!

mom2collegekids

Since you have high need, you need a careful list of schools...

1) Reaches and matches that give full need.

2) Safeties that you like that give HUGE merit. Not just "some" merit, but HUGE merit.


You need to find out from your parents how much each will contribute.

ucbalumnus

Some big merit-for-stats schools are listed here: Automatic Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships

That thread also has a link to a thread about large merit scholarships guaranteed for National Merit Finalists (or sometimes Semifinalists).

Need based aid is often best found at in-state publics and highly selective privates. Check the net price calculator at each school's web site, but note that if your family situation is more complex than what it asks about, it may not be as accurate as for those with "more common" situations.

Rob1995

Thank you. My stepfather is in the military which makes it a little different because the military has their own way of doing things. Additionally, the military is cutting jobs, meaning he could be stuck without a job starting this summer, without a house, and forced to move which just conplicates further. So I suppose it might be easier to wait and see what happens this summer, and hopefully everything goes well, maybe they will be more open to discussing these things. Thank you for the help, everyone.

swattiechick

You might be in the running for QuestBridge. It's a phenomenal scholarship program that allows high achieving low-income students to pay nothing for college.

An Unprecedented Scholarship Application | The Collegiate

wavylays94

Dude all the best colleges let you go for free in that income bracket...
My mom makes 30k, and I'll only have to pay 1k a year to go to my top school