<p>I’m in a weird situation ever since my bright idea to take a ‘‘year off’’ before i go to college. By the end of senior year i was quite upset because i got NO scholarships. Right now I’m trying to apply but honestly the ones i find are either a no essay scholarships or one that i don’t qualify for. Does anyone know any quality scholarships that i at least qualify for? I just turned 19 and if it matters i would be considered one of those with ‘‘strong financial need’’.</p>
<p>The best scholarships are ones that schools give out themselves. Find schools you would like to attend where your SAT scores, GPA, etc, are toward the tip top of the student profile stats and apply. Those schools may offer great money. The scholarships you have to apply for through diff organizations, businesses, etc, are simply huge competitions and with so many people applying your chances are low. Stick with finding schools as I described instead.</p>
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Most scholarships and financial aid are coming from the governments and the school.</p>
<p>Outside scholarships are difficult to get and may impact your financial aid negatively. For most schools, your overall financial aid would stay the same level regardless of outside scholarship.</p>
<p>That’s the main problem I’m having. I’m considering just going to a CC and transferring to a university. I thought about applying for FAFSA but I’m not sure if i would receive more than just a grant.</p>
<p>Join Fastweb so you can be alerted about scholarships they find. Look around for some local scholarships. Ask your high school guidance counselor about what is available locally and keep your eyes and ears open.</p>
<p>But as others have said, most scholarships come from the schools themselves. </p>
<p>As for financial aid, that is a whole other process. You must complete FAFSA after January first, using your family and your tax information for 2012. To get most any financial aid you have to have that form submitted. I suggest you get PIN for your parents and yourself now, so that you will be in shape to fill out the form next month. FAFSA is just an application, and if your family is truly low income, you may qualify for the federal PELL grant. WHen you fill out FAFSA , you get a family EFC–Expected Family COntribution, based on family income and assets (assets as of the date you fill out the form so make sure it isn’t on a day that your accounts are loaded. ALso transfer or spend down your money because 20% of that will be hit up towards the EFC whereas your parents’ assets have a protection allowance and less is hit up even over that). The only grant money guaranteed is PELL which is a max of $5550 a year with a zero EFC, with the amount decreasing as your EFC goes up. But you are also allowed to borrow up to $5500 in your own name without a credit check through Stafford loans for freshman year, and your parents could apply for PLUS if they so please.</p>
<p>That same EFC will be used by some colleges for consideration for financial aid. Few colleges guarantee to meet it, but you might get something. So by all means, complete the FAFSA. Look at your CC financial aid site and see if there are any awards that you might qualify for, and talk to the fin aid counselors.</p>
<p>What is your home state, what are your stats from high school (GPA, ACT/SAT), and what do you want to study in college?</p>
<p>I live in Chicago, Illinois and my stats are:</p>
<p>GPA: 3.1
ACT: 19 composite
Major of interest: General engineering</p>
<p>This is perhaps the most embarrassing part. I’m ashamed of what i accomplished in high school and with an interest in a major like engineering i don’t match the ‘‘criteria’’ for scholarships because they expect me to have a high ACT score. The only thing i really had going for me was a lot of community service hours (100+) but that’s it. Also i tried to start a club but my stupid school gave me no support. I’m OUT of HS and can’t imagine what i can do to remedy this situation.</p>
<p>With your stats, I would go to a CC for a year or two, gain a good GPA, and then try getting transfer/departmental scholarships if you don’t qualify for financial aid. If you have ‘strong financial need,’ however, apply for colleges normally and try to get financial aid as a freshman-- you often have more opportunities there than has a transfer.</p>
<p>Transfer scholarship often less than the Freshman scholarship. However, your financial aid may cover your expenses at CC.</p>
<p>You can still take the ACT or SAT now even though you are out of HS. I think if you are interested in engineering, you need to improve those scores.</p>
<p>What are you doing this year?</p>
<p>OP, having trouble qualifying for a scholarship is the way it is for most everyone. It is very difficult to get a scholarship that covers substantial costs. My first son was a recruited athlete with a profile that made him a mid range candidate for most of the top 25 schools, but he only got a $100 award from his school, and one package from a college probably due to his athletic status. No outside scholarships at all other than that $100 that he got after he enrolled. My other son with nearly perfect SAT scores only got one outside scholarship, and he applied to about 30-40 of them. And he got the one as a cancer survivor. It is not easy to get any of those awards so please do not be down on yourself about the situation. Your year off from school is not a big factor, if at all in terms of getting any outside windfall.</p>
<p>Did you fill out FAFSA? If so, what is your EFC?</p>
<p>If you apply to local publics and you’re low income, then fed and state aid should cover most of your costs.</p>
<p>Since your ACT is very low, then that might suggest that you didn’t get a very good education at your K-12. It may be best for you to start at a CC so that you can take the “basics”. It’s doubtful that you’re prepared to start at college-level Calculus (or even pre-calculus) at this point. At this point, you may not do well in Gen Chem either. You may need to play “catch up” at a CC.</p>
<p>Eng’g is one of the most difficult majors. It requires a LOT of math. If you don’t have the foundation, you need to get it. Otherwise, you’ll be setting yourself up for failure. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>im in the same boat you are. curios to see what others say–i am also taking a year off and most scholarships are either for hs seniors or college freshman. i would say this–if you find any scholarships you qualify for, contact the people who evaluate the applications to that specific scholarship and explain a little about your situation. ask if you can still apply as a ‘gap year student’. if they say yes, then kudos. do you have any special characteristics? (ie minority status, special interests, career interests?)</p>
<p>@ BMEPREMEDgirl </p>
<p>Yes. I’m apparently a really talented writer based on what every English teacher in high school has ever told me, i plan on using that to my advantage when i write my essays. In junior year i came up with an idea for an organization based on robotics, math, science, etc. I wasn’t able to get support from my school because there were a lot of apathetic people there. I’m going to start the process of actually creating it. But first I’m going to establish it as a local robotics club. As far as career interests go I’m convinced (general) engineering is what i want to do. Down the line i think I’ll delve into something involving cognitive science. I also have some original research i want to do and i think I’ve got some really good ideas.</p>
<p>And yes, i have ‘‘minority status’’ although I’m not sure how that’s gonna come in to play. Basically I’m trying to utilize my time as productively as possible.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids</p>
<p>That’s exactly what I’m planning to do. I’m not gonna go through that ‘‘remedial class that gives no credit and delays my education for a year’’ trap. I’m going to self-study for as long as possible or at least until i feel that i won’t need to take those classes. I realized my ACT score didn’t reflect what i was capable of (at all). I’m very determined to redeem myself at a CC and retake it.</p>