<p>Yes a full ride includes all expenses. There are also full tuition, which you may be able to afford with a part time job, PELL grant and student loans.</p>
<p>Merit Scholarships are offered to students from colleges based on your grades and test scores. Most outside scholarships are for high school seniors, and they are usually only for freshman year. One thing you can do now is search the scholarship forum here on CC. Make a list of the local scholarships the seniors at your school are winning and see if you qualify. Apply to all that you can. You can often check nearby high schools for other scholarships that your GC doesn’t know about. </p>
<p>Begin studying for the SAT or ACT and take one or both this spring. Your guidance counselor can get you fee waivers for those. Do not wait until the last minute to ask for fee waivers or register for the tests. Fee waivers can not be used for tests with late fees. You can take 2 of each for free. When you have scores, we can point you towards schools that may offer you merit scholarships. </p>
<p>When your parents do their taxes in 2014, make sure they keep a copy handy. If you apply to CSS profile schools, you will need this information in the fall. You’ll want your parents to file their taxes ASAP in 2015. Fill out your FAFSA early next January. Use estimates until their taxes are done. </p>
<p>You can get fee waivers for college applications. College Board gives 4. After that you or the GC can ask the colleges directly for a waiver. Private colleges are easier to get waivers from than state schools. But remember you’ll still have to pay to send score reports; use your free ones by listing them to schools your interested in when you sign up for the ACT and SAT.</p>