price is very important to me, and my family and I will (most likely) only be able to swing about 15k a year without loans, and seeing as I plan on going to graduate school, cost is a huge issue. I have a 4.0 gpa, plan on getting a 33+ ACT, and have above average (but nothing spectacular) ecs. what colleges can I count on (or at least hope for) significant merit aid?
University of Alabama.
A “planned on” ACT score is meaningless BTW.
It looks like you’re a rising junior. Is that correct? Study for the PSAT in October. Also take the ACT and SAT when you can so you’ll know what you’re starting with.
Read the pinned treads at the top of the forum to find the automatic merit and the competitive merit lists. Sounds like you need full tuition which isn’t always easy to come by. Other schools may have what could be considered large merit, but not large enough.
Read the links in this thread :
@TomSrOfBoston I knew that “planned” scores aren’t really important, but I’ve been taking practice exams and been getting well within that range.
@mom2collegekids I am a rising junior and will be taking the ACT and the PSAT
@BrownParent I don’t need full tuition- I am willing to take up loans, just don’t want to (like anyone does).
Thanks for all advice!
@hailee8 Are you aware of student federal loan limits?
Your parents need to figure out if your family will qualify for enough financial aid. Ask them to run the NPCs for a sample of schools. Some schools meet full need and some schools don’t.
If you don’t qualify for enough financial aid, then you are doing the correct thing is searching for merit scholarships. Doing well on the PSAT is a huge help. Depending on your home state, the required score may be within reach if you study.
@Madison85 unfortunately, yes, and I’m doing everything to cut costs (taking community college classes in the summer/ ap courses so I could potentially go into college with sophomore status) I know that my grandparents also plan on helping, but I do not know how much. My parents have saved roughly 15000 and told me that they will contribute about 5k per year (but if I end up taking 4 years, they will not contribute as much my last year as my sister is starting college). Also, I will have about 5k in my own savings from working and will be working throughout college.
I will most likely have to take private loans- not the most ideal situation but it will have to do.
@txstella we won’t qualify for fa (as far as I know) unless our situation changes. my family makes about 150,000. However, my dad is talking about retiring during my college years… it most likely won’t happen but do you know how this would affect fa or if it would at all?
@txstella and I live in NH, so the PSAT score is not the easiest, but not the hardest either.
Will your parents co-sign for private loans? You can only borrow $5500 freshman year, for example.
If your parents are retiring, then you need to ask them if they will cosign those private loans. Most parents will not.
You do need a full tuition award. You actually need more than that. You’d still have room, board, books and fees to cover…and those alone could be $15k per year or more.
What is your career goal? How much do you think you’ll be earning upon graduation?
@Madison85 yes, my parents will cosign.
@mom2collegekids I want to major in biology or microbiology, maybe do something like immunology or the likes. the specifics aren’t really clear to me yet. room and board is a good point, but I was actually thinking of going to u mass lowell and commuting. I live less than half an hour a way and after I complete two years I would have the option of transferring.
Would UMass Lowell at out of state costs be less costly than UNH?
unh costs would be about 3.5k less than umass lowell. However, unh is over an hour away from where I live, and when it is snowing, it can take nearly 2 hours. In time commuting, I could be working and making up the difference.
Would you be eligible for any merit aid at UNH? If so, that might cover the difference in cost…and allow you to,live on campus at UNH.
I would, but most scholarships there with significant amounts require you to apply ea, and I don’t think that is something I should do as I need to be able to compare costs with other colleges.
oh never mind i mixed up ea and ed