Cheap Colleges for a non-Superstar

College Search & Lists
1

<p>I’ve searched quiet a bit for schools and was wondering which ones you guys would suggest that give good financial aid for my stats. Id need full tuition(hopefully a full ride tho). Id like to major in either computer science or creative writing.</p>

<p>Here is my profile:</p>

<p>College: 8 classes(Botany, Computer Networking, Industrial Safety(ha), Introduction to Business, Criminal Justice, English Composition I, and College Algebra, and enrolled in three more(Psychology, English Composition II, and Oral Communications/Speech)</p>

<p>Current course load: Psychology(DE), Comp II(DE), Oral Communication/Speech(DE), Calculus 2(debating whether I should take the AP test), Physics, and Advanced Python(programming).</p>

<p>GPA: 4.0 UW / 4.7 W(Homeschooled so ehhh)</p>

<p>Class rank: 1/1(Homeschooled)</p>

<p>ACT: Composite 31(equivalent to 2080ish on SAT(Superscore 32)) English 30(32 for superscore) Reading 33 Math 33 Science 28(I just can’t manage the science section)</p>

<p>EC’s:
Volunteering at the library(5 hours a week(total of 100))-Continued
Leader in church youth group(300+ hours)-Continued
Volunteering at the local food pantry(450+ hours)-Continued
Part time job as Little League umpire/scorekeeper for two years</p>

<p>Honors:
Phi Theta Kappa
Duke TIP
No more honors because they are sorta hard to find with homeschooling and the ones available are meaningless(eg Mu Eta Sigma)</p>

<p>Other Stuff:
Im on track to get an associates degree before I graduate ftom highschool.
Income Bracket: 100-120k
Arkansan
White
Male
I think my essays should be pretty good(Everyone does tho).
My recommendations should be amazing(One from English Composition I teacher isn’t in, but the other from my College Algebra teacher is absolutely amazing.)</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

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<p><a href=“Links to Popular Threads on Scholarships and Lower-Cost Colleges - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1678964-links-to-popular-threads-on-scholarships-and-lower-cost-colleges.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>You’re late looking for merit scholarships…many had early Dec deadlines. </p>

<p>I think you should be a CS major with maybe a Creative Writing minor. With CS, you’ll be more employable. The minor will allow your creative juices to still flow. </p>

<p>How much will your family pay? A “full ride” isn’t likely unless you choose a commuter school or maybe a HBCU. </p>

<p>Look at that link above to find some schools with CS that have merit dates that haven’t yet passed. </p>

<p>Hopefully, someone here knows of schools WITH CS that will give at least full tuition merit…and deadlines haven’t passed.</p>

<p>If you had applied to Bama before Dec 15 as a CS major, you would have gotten FREE tuition plus 2500 per year. You could still apply and see if they’ll still award you that merit. (for those with ACT 30+, Bama will sometimes still award merit after the “priority scholarship” date. ) Bama has very good CS. </p>

<p>UAH might give you free tuition. UAH has very good CS.</p>

<p>There are some privates that would give you merit, but not likely free tuition…a half tuition would leave you with about $35k to pay…how much will your parents pay? </p>

<p>I look at it this way…if parents will pay $10k per year, and you can borrow $5500 per year (fed student loan), then that $15k can cover room, board, books, fees, travel, personal expenses, misc. So, a full tuition award is needed. If parents can only pay a few thousand less than $10k per year, then the student might be able to work/save over the summer to bring in more money.</p>

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<p>;)</p>

4

<p>@mom2collegekids‌ Thanks for the help. I know thr next deadline is thr beginning of feb and id like to get prepared. I toured UA and absolutely hated their campus. UAH was my favorite, tho. Would you mind linking me to that CS scholarship at UA anyway?</p>

<p>Are there any merit scholarships left? My parents have the money but want to look at these schools as “free” and dont like the aspect of paying at allso hopefully under $5000.</p>

<p>Thanks for all your help!</p>

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<p>See the link in #1 for lists of scholarships.</p>

6

<p>@ucbalumnus‌ Not very useful as it barely lists any that are not from major unis…(e.g. UALR or A-State). I wouldn’t mind looking at a smaller university if it offered more money.</p>

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<p>It is usually the lesser known schools that offer the biggest scholarships – the best known schools do not need to offer big scholarships to attract students to apply and attend (although some of them do offer good need-based financial aid – check their net price calculators).</p>

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<p>@ucbalumnus‌ is there a good list of small colleges with good scholarships?</p>

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<p>lol…you are probably the first that “hated” the UA campus. What’s to hate? lol I can understand someone not liking “big schools,” but to say that you “hated” one of the most beautiful campuses in the US is quite unusual. </p>

<p>Are you sure that you visited UA in Tuscaloosa? </p>

<p>It sounds like you visited UA - Birmingham (that has a campus that isn’t too attractive).</p>

<p>Here’s the link you requested…
<a href=“Scholarships – College of Engineering | The University of Alabama”>http://eng.ua.edu/undergraduate/scholarships/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Apply to UAH since you liked that campus. </p>

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<p>@mom2collegekids‌ I toured all three while in Alabama. I disliked bama due to the faculty I talked to as well it being an absolutely massive school. I mean, the scenery was nice but everything else was a let down. </p>

<p>Thank you for finding that link for me. Do you happen to know if UAH offers anything similar?</p>

<p>After looking around a bit more, I came across Troy University which offers an automatic full ride to me. Have you been to it/ do you know anything about it?</p>

<p>Thanks for all your help!</p>

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<p>Can’t blame you, I’m not a fan at all of the UA campus either. Any interest in Alabama State U? You haven’t missed the deadline for the Pres. scholarship, which you’d qualify for:</p>

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<p>They have comp. sci. but not creative writing.</p>

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<p>You need to go through the lists linked to in reply #1. They include big and small colleges.</p>

<p>For example, the list at <a href=“http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/”>http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/&lt;/a&gt; contains the following for a 4.0 GPA and 31 ACT:</p>

<p>Alabama - Huntsville (full tuition)
Troy (full ride)
Tuskegee (full ride)
Alabama State (full ride)
Arkansas - Monticello (full tuition + room)
Howard (full tuition + room)
Florida A&M (full tuition)
Morningside (full tuition)
Louisiana - Monroe (full ride)
Prairie View A&M (full ride)
Utah State (full tuition)
Utah Valley (full tuition)</p>

13

<p>@ucbalumnus‌ is there a reason about 1/2 of those are “historically black” colleges? Tuskegee, Alabama State, Howard and Prarie View are all historically black.</p>

<p>Thanks for going through the list for me. I still wanted to ask if you have amy idea about Troy. Its on that list and seems rather nicr but i really have no idea. No ome seems to talk about it on CC.</p>

<p>Thanks again!</p>

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<p><a href=“http://www.uah.edu/financial-aid/aid/scholarships/scholarshiplist”>http://www.uah.edu/financial-aid/aid/scholarships/scholarshiplist&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

15

<p>Not sure if they would offer much financial aid but you should take a look at the Computer Science major at South Dakota School of Mines & Technology because it’s a great university with relatively low tuition for out-of-staters. It’s a tech school so the English/Creative Writing offerings are few but are very good. A specialty in the English Department is the literature of the American West. By the way, Google and Intel have hired new graduates from SDSM&T recently.</p>

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<p>The only reason is that they are on the list because they offer big merit scholarships that are purely stats-based.</p>

<p>You do not have to be black to attend a historically black school.</p>

17

<p>With your scores, you might get some good merit aid at various midwestern and southern liberal arts colleges, but you are kind of late for this cycle.</p>

18

<p>@MidwestDad3 I recognize that, but I don’t want to wait any later or it’ll just get worse! What LAC’s would you recommend? I’ve looked at Morningside, but that’s about it.</p>

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<p>Well, there’s a college called IPFW in Indiana that’s a “branch” of Indiana University and Purdue. It’s really only known locally, but you do get a degree that says “IU” or “Purdue” on it depending on your major. It probably wouldn’t be ideal for you, but it’d be a great safety. I’m fairly positive that you’ll receive a full scholarship–they’d require a 32 ACT for you, I believe, so you’d have to ask if they superscore. You also have until March to apply to receive the scholarship, so you’re not too late for that. They do offer both a computer science major and a creative writing minor. Again, probably not your first choice school but if you need an academic and financial safety, this might be your best bet at this time.</p>

20

<p>@reddr0p I was really impressed by Earlham and College of Wooster. If you like either of their programs, you could just check directly with admissions to see what scholarships might be available. Most of the LACs have to work pretty hard to manage their yields, so IMO it wouldn’t hurt to check in with them about merit availability even if it is after their published deadlines, especially with your scores.</p>