Feeling lost and breaking down

Hello everyone. I’m just another junior in a sea of juniors fretting over college. I feel so lost. I am visually impaired, first generation, and low income. My unweighted GPA is 3.83, and my weighted GPA is 4.46. Also, my GPA shows a downward trend. Compared to my peers who have near flawless academic records and are relatively well off, I feel like the odds are stacked against me.

I live in California, and I will apply to some UCs (I feel I will be rejected because of the downward trend in my GPA, and the UCs only use sophomore and junior year GPAs, but it can’t hurt to apply, can it?)

However, I am in desperate need of financial aid, and I know that the UCs will not meet my full need.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what colleges I could apply to?

Two years at a community college would be affordable and could lead to a UC transfer. Good luck!

Your GPA is not that bad, IMHO. You could try UC Santa Cruz

Have you contacted Questbridge? You sound like a great fit for the program. Go to your counselor asap. Get the process started. Your grades are good. Stop feeling so low, you need to stay focussed and positive. Questbridge apps are due in August or September I think. You have plenty of time to raise your grades for the rest of the semester.

If Questbridge isn’t going to happen for you, then starting at community college is a great idea. I did that in CA. I have a degree just like anyone else with a degree from a more prestigious college. You are lucky, at least you are in Cali, where cc credits easily transfer to the universities. You have to stop feeling sorry for yourself and think of how you can proceed rather than standing still and fretting.

OP, I would plug in your family’s income into the Net Price calculators on some of the UC and Cal State websites to get an idea of your approximate costs. UC’s and some Cal States can be very generous with need-based aid for in-state students so it is definitely worth your time to run some numbers before striking many good schools off your list.

Have you calculated your UC GPA? https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/

http://www2.ucsc.edu/finaidcalc/

If you’re lower income, the UC’s will cover a lot. They will expect you to take on loans and to work the summer before. But they’ll cover a lot.
Do our know your EFC?
Are putting Pell eligible?
Have you taken the sat?
Look at Pomona, Pitzer, Occidental, Reed . Those are very different and ‘meet need’.
Check out accommodations for your disability, as it’ll likely vary college to college. Ask the AFB as they may have suggestions.
Depending on your test scores, you could apply through questridge. If Pinterest selected, you’re guaranteed a full ride.

What is your UC GPA? Depending on your area of interest, one of the top Cal States might be better fits for you…and less expensive. Smart and focused kids in California routinely turn down UC acceptances to attend Cal Poly, SJSU, or SDSU.

But absolutely check out Questbridge too (lol at @MYOS1634 's autocorrect).

Oops… Lol :smiley:
A worry about the CSU’s is that the state’s financial aid doesn’t cover room and board, as they’re primarily designed for local residents, unlike the UC system. So, while they’re very good, they may not be as affordable, depending on how low income the OP is.

^^^Thanks. I didn’t realize that.

^Well, it depends how low-income the student is, because the CSU’s are lower cost than the UC’s to start with. But if OP is admitted to a CSU where s/he can’t commute and can’t afford the R/B fees there’d be no state grant or CSU grant to cover that (as far as I know). Whereas if OP is middle income, CSu’s would be a good option, and of course if OP’s parents make more than 100K they’d be cheaper than UC’s. I hope OP comes back and tells us his/her EFC and parents’ income so that we know what kind of income bracket we’re talking about. :confused:

@MYOS1634 My parent makes far far below 100K, around 20K or so. I am Pell Grant eligible. I do plan on applying to a local CSU, where I can commute to there and it’s an academic safety for me. I did look into Pomona and Scripps and Harvey Mudd, and really liked Harvey Mudd. Also, I’ve looked at some LACs on the east coast, and liked Colby College and Wellesley. I’m Asian and first generation, would those two factors be slight hooks for me if I’m applying to LACs, such as Colby or Bates?

@Dustyfeathers Thank you for your suggestion of UCSC. I ran its NPC, and found that I have to take 11K in loans.

@Gumbymom thank you for your links!
My UC unweighted GPA is 3.75.
My UC weighted and capped is 4.08.
My UC weighted and uncapped is 4.42.

@lindagaf thank you for mentioning questbridge. As a matter of fact, I want to apply for its College Prep program, and have been looking into its College Match program. Also, my counselor mentioned a program called Phoenix Scholars, where college students help mentor low income high school students. Since it’s only for high school students in California, I was thinking of applying for that. You are absolutely right that I have to stop feeling sorry for myself. Thank you for that reminder.

If your family makes 20K, then you’re better off applying to top “meet need” colleges. For kids in your income range, they not only cover room&board + tuition&fees, but also know you don’t have enough to buy a plane ticket or books, so they cover that too.

Being Asian is a hook only for some colleges in the Midwest and perhaps the South. Not so on the coasts, where it can even be considered an “anti-hook”. In the Midwest, check out UChicago, Northwestern, Carleton, St Olaf, Macalester, Grinnell. In the South, Davidson, Vanderbilt.

Being first gen is a hook at the top “meet need” colleges.

Also look into “fly in” programs. This is an example from a website dedicated to 1st gen students. Application deadlines tend to be 6 weeks to 2 months before the date of the fly-in. You need to apply to a lot in order to have a shot at one or two.
http://blog.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/blog/college-fly-diversity-programs-2016-2017/#sthash.2vMJB9Qf.dpbs

Absolutely apply for Questbridge’s College Prep and do plan on participating in CollegeMatch and PhoenixScholars.

You’ll also be eligible for Cal Grants, which is based on a formula of GPA and need.
http://www.csac.ca.gov/doc.asp?id=905

Award amounts vary by type of college — for 2016-2017, Cal Grants are up to $12,240 at a UC campus,
up to $5,472 at a CSU campus, and up to $9,084 at independent colleges.

As someone mentioned above, the CSU might be a better academic fit, depending on your major.
Try not to compare yourself to your classmates, as based on the numbers you’ve reported, your academic performance stands up on its own. You should feel good about what you’ve accomplished.

Something else to note is that for ALL of the UC’s, housing is only assured for the first year.
After that you’re on your own.
Depending on the area, the housing costs could have a negative impact.
For either the UC’s or CSU’s, be sure to check into being an RA after your freshman year.

Many helpful posters are giving you great advice on schools, money, and directions to take. What I would like to tell you, after raising several kids in a highly competitive area in CA (which most are frankly) - don’t let this place psych you out. Your grades are up there, do well on the ACT or SAT tests, get the grades back up if they are falling. Do not cave to the California pressure cooker where it seems everyone has a 4.0+ and gets perfect test scores. Your peers with flawless records are unlikely that flawless - are they showing you all their grades and scores??? There is so much fluff out there and it just freaks kids out and prevents great kids like yourself from applying to schools that would love to have you, and give you lots of help to get you there. Also use caution on this site, it can freak you out too, so don’t obsess on here, learn what you can from the sincere posters and get back to work.

So don’t fall for it, don’t cave to the “everyone is better than me” syndrome that plagues kids your age. I constantly read about kids who don’t apply to schools because they think they are not worthy, then realize they were all along, but when it is too late. You are doing great things by coming on here and getting some great advice for free - use what you can and keep finding out more. You can go places, but you have to believe it first.

@Kelvin82 , do you know what you want to study?

@aquapt at this point, I’m not sure yet. But, I’m leaning towards something in STEM or economics

Well, @Kelvin82 , one step in narrowing things down is deciding what range of options you need. Especially, do you need a school that has engineering programs, or not necessarily? And conversely, could you get a wide enough range of options at a school that is primarily STEM-focused?

@CADREAMIN is absolutely right - you’re letting the achievement-inflation mindset psych you out. You’re doing great - keep developing your strengths and bringing your interests and passions into focus, so you know what you are looking for and so you don’t get sucked into excessive preoccupation with who is or isn’t looking for you.

That said, I definitely understand that financial pressures amplify all of these concerns, because you not only have to find a “fit”, you have to find a fit with funding. You’re right to plan ahead and think strategically, in order to make this happen. While you should qualify for a good aid package at a UC or CSU, it really can be true that private colleges farther afield can end up offering a better deal, both because of their commitment to meet full need and because of their desire to attract students who will enhance the diversity of their student body.

As this thread has already covered, Questbridge may very well end up being your best bet. But also think through what kind of schools have the greatest shortage of students like you. Hard as it is to believe, growing up Asian in California (my own kids are Eurasian and can barely fathom that there are parts of the country where this rates as unusual), there actually are schools where this will give you a boost… but not on either coast. Lehigh (in Amish country in PA), actually includes CA Asian kids in their all-expenses-paid “diversity” recruiting events. I have a friend, of South Asian descent, who once lived there while her husband was teaching at the university - she recounts being literally unable to find a store in the Lehigh Valley at which to buy black bobby pins. That was some years ago and has likely changed, but nonetheless - there are places where you are an underrepresented minority. (And Lehigh is an excellent STEM school, and also has some great interdisciplinary programs that might span your interests.) Your visual disability is another diversity factor, and if you are sufficiently STEM-focused to consider gender-skewed STEM schools, being female can be too. (Check out Rose-Hulman’s Operation Catapult summer program. You would have to find local scholarship funding for the $2750 cost, but attendees are offered significant automatic scholarship $ if they attend the school, and it’s a fantastic summer STEM program. Also, being a midwestern school with a shortage of both women and Asians… this is the kind of college that might really go out of its way to make things work for you.) Does your high school participate in the Rensselaer Medal program? (If not, they can sign up to do so.) This is awarded in the junior year of high school, and makes you eligible for an automatic $25K/year scholarship at RPI, special recruiting events, etc. etc. This is another “it helps to be a girl” STEM school.

Anyway… keep doing what you’re doing as far as looking ahead and getting your ducks in a row, but don’t panic - it’s the kids who are not doing the legwork you’re doing now, who will have reason to panic later. :slight_smile:

These schools purport to meet 100% of financial need (link below). We started with this list to narrow down schools to which my nephew should apply because he knew he’d have to find funding. Also, while there are some schools that are nearly impossible to gain acceptance to, others have more reasonable acceptance rates (e.g., College of the Holy Cross, Connecticut College, Occidental College) http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2016-09-19/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need

Also, some things I’ve learned from my nephew applying to private colleges that meet full financial need: Start early-sign up for interviews early (most have alumni interviews so you don’t have to travel to the school); if the college visits your school or holds an event in your area, go to it. Certain colleges, like College of the Holy Cross, track demonstrated interest so participate in online student chats for the college in which you’re interested, follow them on Facebook, etc.

Yep, there are some great colleges on that list. Grinnell is especially known for fantastic need-based aid, and they have the midwestern geographic/ethnic diversity boost factor. (No engineering, though.)

Don’t limit yourself to such a list, though. There are a lot of schools that don’t necessarily meet 100% need across the board, but will still do so for those on the low end of the income scale. It’s the kids in the mid-range who often don’t get their full need met. Or, they’re counting on merit aid to cover some of their costs after need-based aid, and then they learn that merit and need-based aid do not stack - every merit scholarship they get just comes off of the top of their need-based aid, and their costs (which are untenable in real life for their families) remain the same. Each “slice” of the financial-demographic continuum has to strategize accordingly - it’s a very different picture depending on where you fall.

This lists also reminds me that on the opposite end of the spectrum from the male-dominated schools I suggested, it’s definitely smart to consider women’s colleges (both on and off @Emsmom1’s 100%-of-need-met list). Some very high-quality women’s colleges can be easier to get into than comparable co-ed schools for no other reason than single-gender schools being less popular. STEM at Smith, for example, is fantastic (plus all the resources of the five-college consortium) and actually has stronger stats for various measures of post-college success than for women at co-ed STEM schools. Not on the list but with some excellent aid opportunities is Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, which ranks #4 on the US News list of “Most Innovative” schools. #3 on that same list is Berea College in KY (not a women’s college - shifting gears), another excellent school which does not charge tuition but rather offers a work-study program for all students.

Basically, if you think outside the California-feeding-frenzy box, there are tons of amazing opportunities out there.