Are my grades/scores good enough for a scholarship?

Paying for College
1

<p>I am a senior and I have NO IDEA of how I’m going to pay for college. My parents do not have a college fund for me nor do they involve themselves with my college process so I am basically dealing everything all alone. </p>

<p>My parents make more than 150grand a year (but after taxes, mortgages and everything else) we barely have enough money to spend, let alone, save. My parents rarely spend on luxuries but somehow paying even 20 grand a year for college seems hard. Chances are I would not get much need based aid, so i’d like to know if my credentials are enough to get me a scholarship. </p>

<p>90.16 GPA (3.6 GPA)
1270 SAT (out of 1600)
29 ACT</p>

<p>Pretty good ECs, leadership positions in a few clubs. I have done a lot, but nothing continuous that I’ve done since freshman year. </p>

<p>I don’t know if my community service is good enough. I have been a sunday school teacher’s assistant since 9th grade, I fundraise for charities with my church and build stuff. I used to volunteer tutor elementary school students in 9th and 10th and now, I tutor students in French. </p>

<p>I work part time 24 hrs a week</p>

<p>Only sport bowling in 11th grade</p>

<p>Only awards/honors are:
French Honor Society and Presidential award for academic excellence in 8th grade (idk if it counts)</p>

<p>Can you please tell me if i can get a scholarship with colleges or if there are colleges that give out enough money to students like me?</p>

2

<p>First look at your local directional colleges. They might have some scholarships and be lower cost. Here is a thread that may help you: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>In order to be in the running for merit, you need to be at the top of the applicant pool, so by definition this is going to mean safety and possibly low match schools. You need to look for schools where your stats are easily above the 75% mark and possibly where you have ECs or other factors that will qualify you for merit awards.</p>

4

<p>If you do not get good aid offers, perhaps you will want to start at a community college. Keep your grades up as much as possible. Unfortunately, many colleges do not give as much aid to transfer students as they do to first-year students, but you can still do well. I went to two private 4-year LACs and I got $12,000 at one and $10,000 at another in scholarships. </p>

<p>Are your parents willing to co-sign loans for you? Stafford loans do not require co-signers so you may want to consider them first. They also don’t always collect interest until after you’ve finished school. If your parents will co-sign then look into other options as well if you still need more funding. I liked Sallie Mae’s loan options. I’m sure there are many more decent ones out there.</p>

5

<p>You need to look at the colleges 25%-75% range. Colleges who accept people with 22-27 ranges will probably have a scholarship for you. My friend had a 29 and 3.83 gpa. He got a 17k scholarship to his college.</p>