<p>I am trying to help this student find some LACs that might provide financial incentives because he’s a black male. Some LACs are trying to increase their male popluation and their diversity. So, please, if you can make some recommendations, do so. He won’t be receiving any financial help from family, even if their EFC expects them to.</p>
<p>GPA is a 3.6 and SATs 1870 (MA-650, CR-620, WR-600)</p>
<p>Lives in GA, likes Rice, but is open to other suggestions that might provide some scholarship or F/A.</p>
<p>SATs MA-650, CR-620, WR-600 (taking for third time this Dec)
SAT II in Bio and Hist in Oct awaiting scores
Last year took AP classes in Gov, Hist (4) , and Bio(3)</p>
<p>Senior Schedule
AP Cal AB
Environmental Sci
AP Economics
AP Literature
AP Physics B
AP Psychology
Anatomy and Physiology
GPA is only a 3.6 and ranked about 50/500 (just about top 10%)
Taken THE MOST demanding schedule including Three yrs of French and a yr of Latin</p>
<p>EC’s
I was a MIT (minister in training) at church
Sunday School Teacher
Co-founder and leader of Teen Ministry
Choir Director
Heavily involved in Total Man Ministry (our outreach/missionary/homeless group)
-Ran numerous clothing food drives. Was at the shelter every other Sat. morning
Pres of Latin Club
Founder of Environmental Sci Club
Blood Drive Team Leader
Pro-Life Club VP
Peer Tutor
Elementary School Tutor
Mentor to boy with autism
Horseback riding (LOVE IT!)
Designing houses
Attended National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine</p>
<p>Hooks
black male
went to Africa this summer on a medical mission
Overcame abuse, rape, death of grandmother resulting in move from OH to GA in the middle of junior year
Worked 15-20hr/week </p>
<p>Awards
Nothing special
Honor Roll
Commended Nat’l Merit Scholar
Published Poet
Gold Metal on Nat’l Latin Exam
Some church awards</p>
<p>I think his profile would be appealing to many, many LACs. Does the young man have preferences? Urban, rural, suburban? Small, medium? Region? Weather? Degree of diversity? Etc.</p>
<p>Kenyon, Bowdoin & Macalester. Trinity College in Conn. may be an unusually good fit if your student wants to continue working with homeless ministries. Macalester is also in an urban location.</p>
<p>He looks like a fabulous candidate, regardless of URM status. I’m going to raise two issues: (1) If the young man’s family has a significant EFC but will not be contributing, he may have to cast a wide, wide net to find a college with full-ride (or near full-ride) merit scholarships that aren’t focused on test scores as a selection criterion. (2) Given his test scores, he may have to decide whether he wants to go to the most selective college available, where his scores may be meaningfully below those of most other students, or to a college where he is more in the mainstream. I think he could probably succeed at either type of college, but it’s a question of comfort.</p>
<p>I know that there are several external scholarships for African-American students. He should be researching those and applying for them – that may be an important part of his ultimate ability to attend college.</p>
<p>If he’s National merit commended, he’s probably also a national achievement semifinalist. Many colleges that offer free rides to national merit also offer the same to national achievement, although maybe not lacs. How about Denison, Carleton, Southwestern (not a LAC but small masters university).</p>
<p>I’ll put in a plug for Haverford. Looks like he is interested in medicine and they have great med school placement. Also a great INCLUSIVE place. Many times it is not the academics that sink the ship it is the environment. He should look for someplace where there is a wide variety of people (in terms of geography, socio-economic status, world view, etc.) Good luck!</p>
<p>Trinity may offer the homeless ministry, but of all the schools suggested, Trin is the only one with recent, publicized racial discord. I also remember being surprised by the low black enrollment at Trin (low considering it’s proximity to large black populations in NY/NJ/MA).</p>
<p>If this student received any NMS commendation, he ought to also have scored high enough to be a finalist in the Nat Ach Sch prgm. I agree w/ NewHope, most LACs would find this student very appealing. </p>
<p>Money could be a problem if, as OP suggests, the family has resources but is unwilling to contribute. Many of the top schools offer gernerous finaid packages (no loans, loan caps, etc.), but only limited merit aid. And if this candidate needs merit aid, he may need to go down a peg or two (and check out the merit aid thread).</p>
<p>(oops - - crossposted w/ pretty much everyone.)</p>
<p>If he is Pell Grant eligible, he should look into the Gates scholarship. It generally covers all unmet need, including work study and funds for a computer.</p>
<p>Macalester. Though, be warned, the student body is generally quite liberal; being pro-life isn’t a very common trait around here, but at the same time, Macalester is very diverse, and the people are nice and friendly, so if he’s willing to go to a school where he’d be in the minority in respect to his views on abortion, he should definitely check it out.</p>
<p>Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. may be quite generous with financial aid as the school is actively seeking URMs. An oasis of a beautiful campus offering the challenges & opportunities of gritty urban life. Traditionally, Trinity College has been a preppie haven.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice so far… (keep the ideas coming )</p>
<p>Ethnic diversity isn’t a huge deal for him. He lives in the southeast (Georgia), but he hasn’t restricted himself to a region.</p>
<p>He likes to be around smart people.</p>
<p>He prefers schools that are not “too big”.</p>
<p>He can only seriously consider schools that are likely to provide most/all of his COA thru F?A, grants, scholarships, etc. He may need to take out “some” student loans, but he can’t take out LARGE amounts for undergraduate, because graduate school is next.</p>
<p>His family’s EFC might be significant because of his step-mother’s income, but she refuses to pay one cent towards his schooling (his dad makes little money). Therefore, he won’t necessarily qualify for grants and/or work-study, so he really needs to consider colleges that have scholarships for minorities because they are seeking more diversity on their campuses.</p>
<p>I asked him about this (cuz I wondered the same) and he said that he’s never heard about national achievement. Would that mean that his school “dropped the ball” or what?</p>
<p>JHS >>> He looks like a fabulous candidate, regardless of URM status. I’m going to raise two issues: (1) If the young man’s family has a significant EFC but will not be contributing, he may have to cast a wide, wide net to find a college with full-ride (or near full-ride) merit scholarships that aren’t focused on test scores as a selection criterion. (2) Given his test scores, he may have to decide whether he wants to go to the most selective college available, where his scores may be meaningfully below those of most other students, or to a college where he is more in the mainstream. I think he could probably succeed at either type of college, but it’s a question of comfort.</p>
<p>I know that there are several external scholarships for African-American students. He should be researching those and applying for them – that may be an important part of his ultimate ability to attend college. <<<<</p>
<p>His family’s highish EFC is due to stepmom’s income and she won’t contribute one cent towards his schooling. His dad doesn’t have a high paying job and neither does his mom.</p>
<p>As a financial safety, he might want to consider Georgia College and State University. It is the “Liberal Arts College” of the University of Georgia system.</p>
<p>As a GA resident he could use the Hope scholarship to cover tutiton there and be competitive for the merit scholarships they offer to offset the cost of room and board. The Presidential scholarship is worth $16,000 over four years plus entry to the Honors program and stipend for study abroad. It requires h.s. gpa of 3.5 and SAT at least 1250 to be considered. There is an application and a scholarship weekend that includes an interveiw process.<br>
There is another merit scholarship offer (not as competitive) that is worth $12,000 over four years.</p>
<p>He might want to look at Wake Forest University. Closeness to Georgia would allow for cheaper visits home. </p>
<p>Yes, predominately white, wealthier, greek oriented student population. Lots of entitlement kids - but they are academically gifted entitlement kids. And Greek/non-Greek population mixes partly because no seperate Greek housing, they are assigned floors of the regular dorms. </p>
<p>WFU has recently become SAT optional, partly to increase diversity. Similar in size to Rice with an emphasis on undergraduate. Although no longer part of the Baptist Church, a definite conservative vibe. And, although their minority population is small, they have one of the highest graduation rates for African American students in the nation. And they promote social service involvement as a part of their university mission. They have several grant opportunities set up by the college and alumni specifically for students/faculty to engage in socially conscious activities. </p>
<p>Have him look at the Joseph G Gordon scholarship in particular. Geared toward both minorities and lower income and covers room, board, tuition and $1500 for books and expenses. They will also help find money for a semester overseas which they strongly encourage. </p>
<p>Here is a recent article on their Office of Multicultural Affairs.</p>
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