<p>My extra curricular aren’t all that amazing. My SAT score is 2160. In school, my grades are an average A, but in my external exams, they average out to an A+.
What colleges should I apply to as back up? Colleges I’ll surely get into.
And what college do you think would give me a good scholarship?</p>
<p>An SAT score of 2160 is the 98th percentile. You will have plenty of college options.</p>
<p>Are you looking for need-based aid, or also hoping for merit aid?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>This depends on many factors that you haven’t addressed
(such as what state you live in, your budget, intended major, etc.)
If you are a US citizen, a good place to start often would be the public universities in your home state.</p>
<p>If you want to shop in a wider, national market and cost is not a factor, then colleges ranked outside the US News top 50 or so (National Universities or National LACs) should be pretty safe for admissions. If you want a substantial merit scholarship (full tuition or more), then you may need to go lower in rank. The University of Alabama is often suggested on CC. Their application deadline for merit scholarships is December 15.</p>
<p>Need and merit. I’m hoping to cover my college costs completely with a comination of the two.</p>
<p>I’m a US citizen, but don’t live there anymore. I go to a British school. So, I don;t think I have a home state.
Thanks, I’ll look up U of Alabama. :)</p>
<p>a british school in England or india, Kenya, Jamaica etc?</p>
<p>England, but I move around ALOT. The curriculum’s the same everywhere.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-20.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-20.html</a></p>
<p>Do you want big or small? What subject do you want to study? Do you like rural or urban? Cold or warm weather?</p>
<p>With those stats you can afford to be picky!</p>
<p>Also do you need a full ride (everything paid for) or just looking for a bargain, so something like 1/2 tuition would be quite doable?</p>
<p>The best thing to do is to apply to state schools from your home state. They will be much less expensive than out of state schools or private colleges, and they are usually willing to accept in-state applicants.</p>
<p>Definitely not a safety school, but you might consider Emory’s Oxford College ([Home</a> - Oxford College](<a href=“http://oxford.emory.edu/]Home”>http://oxford.emory.edu/)) as somewhere you might be able to get good merit aid.</p>
<p>Usually, institutional merit aid does not “stack” atop institutional need-based aid. It reduces the amount of determined need. As a general rule of thumb, the most selective private schools offer the most generous need-based aid, but relatively little merit aid. Most state universities do not offer good need-based aid to out-of-state applicants (and may not grant any aid to offset the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition). The best merit aid can be found among both public and private schools, but to have the best shot, you need to be among the most qualified applicants (say, top 25% or better). Alabama is one of the highest ranked schools that guarantees large merit scholarships (half tuition or more) for specific stats, regardless of whether you’re in-state, OOS, or even an international student.</p>
<p>If your family does not own a home in and pay taxes to any state, then you probably won’t qualify for in-state tuition anywhere. For your stats, your best financial aid strategy may be to apply to a combination of rich, selective private schools ([Colleges</a> That Claim to Meet Full Financial Need - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2013/09/18/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need-2014]Colleges”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2013/09/18/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need-2014)) and less selective schools with guaranteed big merit grants. State schools with low sticker prices are another option.</p>
<p>[National</a> Universities That Offer Full Ride Scholarships](<a href=“Loading...”>http://www.thecollegiateblog.org/2012/12/09/national-universities-that-offer-full-ride-scholarship/)
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-20.html#post16451378[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-20.html#post16451378</a>
[10</a> Public Schools With the Cheapest Out-of-State Tuition - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/the-short-list-college/articles/2013/06/25/10-public-schools-with-the-cheapest-out-of-state-tuition]10”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/the-short-list-college/articles/2013/06/25/10-public-schools-with-the-cheapest-out-of-state-tuition)</p>