Even if you were to get an ACT 32+ you won’t likely get nearly enough money at the schools you are looking at. You’d need to look much lower
@mom2collegekids I did better on ACT because my high English score brought up an abysmal math score.
I’m retaking the SAT because I got about the same score on both (high 600s range), and I felt way more confident and less anxious while taking it. Additionally, Khan Academy, my main form of studying, is specifically geared towards SAT.
@mom2collegekids Yes, I’m sadly becoming increasingly aware how vital the test scores are for college.
@mom2collegekids 3 people, about $60,000 is income… but the maintenance of a sucky house and car, among other financial issues, makes it hard to save money that isn’t going to immediate needs.
My parents have already set aside some money for applying, thankfully.
Applying to colleges can cost about $100 per school when you figure app fee, sending scores and may be having to send CSS profile. It is not wise to waste money on schools that won’t work. How many applications can you send out with the money your parents have saved for that purpose
I got a 30 on the ACT and 1360 on SAT, I plan to retake the SAT to get a higher score.
Thank you for this information!
I got a 30 on the ACT and 1360 on SAT, I plan to retake the SAT to get a higher score.
There are 2 types of money: need based and merit.
You can figure out what you are likely to get in the way of ‘need based’ aid by doing the calculator on each college’s website (though if your parents are self-employed / own their own business / own a lot of property / have complicated legal arrangements the calculators are less reliable). Within ‘need based’ there are 2 camps: the colleges who consider your need before deciding whether to accept you and the colleges that are ‘need blind’ (no surprise, there aren’t many of those).
Merit aid is basically money that the college offers to encourage student that they really want to come.
Typically, the better your stats are compared to their admitted students the more likely this is to end well for you.
Public (state) universities rarely have much funding for out of state students, so Maryland, Georgia and GMU are unlikely to give you much - if anything. GWU is private, but has a reputation for being stingy with merit aid.
The website collegedata (.com) has detailed info on every college. For example, for GW you can see:
40% acceptance rate, more than 75% in the top 10% of their class
25% have an ACT score of 33+
66% (1699) of admitted students asked for need-based aid; GW agreed that 70% of those (1204) needed aid; and gave almost all of them (1188) some aid.
COA is $70,000; of the ones who got need-based aid, 87% of the their need was met, and the average award was $42K.
Average amount of merit aid was $19K
Average debt of graduating students was $33K (remember that the average is for the whole class, not just those who need aid, and that 35% had 0 debt, so the average debt for students who needed aid is rather higher).
Hope that helps you get started figuring out your options. If USC honors college is on the cards for you, that is a great option, btw. They are really attracting some good students from far afield.
@collegemom3717 Yes, I am already planning on applying to USC honors, thanks for the tips, I didn’t know that about GWU, yikes
What was your PSAT score? If you get a certain score, have a gpa of 3.5 or higher and are Hispanic, you could qualify as a National Hispanic Scholar under the National Hispanic Recognition Program. Look at the Hispanic Student forum for more details. Some colleges like University of Nebraska and South Carolina give substantial scholarships for it. There is a list in that forum.
I would avoid out of state public universities unless they have the potential for substantial merit money. Most public out of state universities do not give financial aid to OOS students. Two exceptions are Michigan and UVA.
Also get the guide sold by the organization, I’m First. It is very good for first generation students like yourself. Look for the partner colleges, the scholarships for first gen. students and first gen support listings. Website is www.imfirst.org. sign up also for their newsletter.
I would take Georgia off your list. The only scholarship is Stamps and I don’t think your test scores are high enough.
Good luck.
American University gave one of my first gen students enough financial aid to attend two years ago so look at that school. Reach out to every admission officer and financial aid office for colleges on your list and inquire about how much aid and scholarships you are eligible for. Do not apply to unaffordable colleges.
Look at Trinity College in Connecticut. They have 15 full tuition scholarship and gave one of my students with similar stats one. Reach out to Angel Perez, he is Director of Admissions and a good guy.
@itsv Thank you for all that info. I’ll definitely look into that First Gen and Hispanic Recognition stuff 
You should really look at CofC…It is urban, they have a good international relations program . Retake your ACT or SAT and apply to the Honors College at CofC. It’s a great program with many of the opportunities that you’re looking for . My son attends there. Many of his classmates have done semsters abroad and in DC. Something to consider. If you’re first gen or an URM they also have scholarships available.
You should ask your high school and community college if there are any additional benefits to your Early College Program. Your state’s 4yr schools may accept the credits more readily if they’re all part of the same state college system (including your community college). Our EC students matriculate as sophomores with an extra scholarship, and graduate within 3yrs.
@lyndonws Yes, the community college credits transfer very well to many of the in-state universities. I don’t know if I could graduate earlier though, thanks for the information.
@carolinamom2boys Thanks for that info!