Email them. I can’t think of one college where health insurance coverage is NOT mandatory for undergrad students.
https://www.tamus.edu/business/benefits-administration/student-insurance/decision-tool/
This is not totally up to date as the ACA individual mandate is no longer applicable. But my reading of this says…you are expected to have health insurance one way or another.
@ucbalumnus
I assume competitiveness is measured on the basis of test scores. I am way above UTPB’s 75th percentile, so should be quite competitive.
However, you do not know where they set the thresholds (which presumably vary each year). So you cannot consider it a possible safety (even before considering the amount of money).
@ucbalumnus
Well, in that case, I’m all out of safeties again.
Maybe I should just take my chances with what I have.
What is wrong with Tuskegee and PVAMU if you qualify for the automatic full rides?
“30 ACT and 1390 SAT, with 3.98 UW GPA”
You have safeties with automatic merit. Go through that thread again and make a list of them. You don’t have to be in love with a safety. You just have to be happy to attend it if all else goes wrong in the application and financial aid process.
You will absolutely need health insurance here. Find out if it is included in the aid package, and if not, what it will cost you. You do not want to get injured or sick here without health insurance.
Don’t forget to factor in your travel expenses. At minimum, you need a one-way ticket to get to the US, and some spare change to cover travel and expenses within the US during breaks when the dorms are closed at your university.
@ucbalumnus
I fail to see how PVAMU’s scholarship is a full ride. Their yearly out of state cost is $36,000. The scholarship still leaves a large gap.
As for Tuskegee, I have reservations about attending an essentially all-black college. I don’t feel like I would belong or be welcomed by students.
@happymomof1
Save for a handful, that merit is not enough.
$10,000 covers the in-state tuition. The out-of-state tuition waiver covers the out-of-state tuition.
“Each Regent Scholar will receive additional scholarship funding to meet the cost for up to 18 credit hours, on campus housing, meals and books ($600 per semester).” This covers campus housing, meals, and books.
If you live in Kenya, aren’t you living around mostly black people already?
@ucbalumnus
Fair enough.
Yes, but this is different. It’s one thing to go to a diverse high school of a few hundred. It’s another to go to a university of thousands where, for all I know, I’m the only white person. Please don’t understand this as some sort of bigotry; it’s more of a fear of being an outcast.
@ucbalumnus
So what do you suggest I do? PVAMU or Tuskegee? I only have space for one on my list. Which one is more reputable for engineering, has higher starting salaries for graduates, conducts more research?
Why only one? Why not apply to both as safeties, so that you can decide later between them if none of your other schools delivers admission with full ride need-based aid or merit scholarships?
If these are your only safety schools and everything else has the possibility of either being unaffordable…or you might not get accepted…then you need to research deeper into safety schools.
A true safety has three components…high chance of acceptance, affordable (which can include guaranteed aid) AND you would be happy to attend if accepted.
@ucbalumnus
Because I already have 17 colleges on my list (Tuskegee not included). Even if most of those applications are free, the time commitment is a bit much.
Tuskegee uses The Common Application, so it should be minimal or no additional effort if you are already applying to other schools using The Common Application.
PVAMU uses ApplyTexas, so it should be minimal or no additional effort if you are already applying to other schools using ApplyTexas.
@ucbalumnus
Except Tuskegee has several required supplemental essays, and those take time. Of course, I could always be honest and just say that the reason I want to attend Tuskegee is because they offer a full ride scholarship.
I don’t know about PVAMU
And do remember that if you raise your test scores a bit, you might have a couple more automatic full ride options.
Tuskegee is more prestigious than PVAMU.
Try to raise that test score, it’d open up more, better possibilities.
You have to make the decision whether you are more likely to be admitted to Tuskegee with a full ride or more likely to be admitted to, say Tufts with a full ride (including transportation, living year round costs, etc). Living in Boston is extremely expensive even in the summer when you will be paying your own way, while living in Tuskegee Alabama is a lot more affordable. IMO, you are more likely to be admitted with a full ride to Tuskegee than Tufts with your CURRENT SAT scores. You can assume your scores will go up, but read the threads about the June scores being a lot lower than people estimated, even when the raw scores were higher. All you can do right now is apply based on your current scores.
I’d say Tuskegee is more well known in the US than Prairie View just because of the Tuskegee Airmen. People know the name Tuskegee. I would drop one of the named schools you have on your list and add PVAMU, or FAMU where you wouldn’t be the only white student because FAMU shares the engineering school with FSU.
Head to the university of Wyoming if you don’t want to go to an HBCU - it’s very white! You’d be a Rocky Mtn Scholar with your stats and pay 150% of instate tuition, or about $6000 per year. There are additional fees of about $1500 per year, but they really do include everything like all sports (D1 football, basketball), student activities like concerts and entertainment every Friday, outdoor activities at a big discount, a new rec center that does, indeed, have a climbing wall. Room and board are about $9000 per year. Total for an OOS student on the full Rocky Mtn Scholar is about $17000. Many engineering students get a $2500 dept scholarship. There are alumni scholarships that vary, but are about $2000 per year (not guaranteed). That’s down to $12,500. If you take the $5500 loan, get a $6000 Pell, maybe a $1000 SEOG, you are THERE! You could use work study to pay your expenses.
You can do this math exercise with any school. The NPC might help you figure out the basic grants available, but you have to figure out a way to pay the remaining. Neither of my kids came close to needing the $3-4k the schools estimated for incidentals, travel, or even books. When you don’t have an extra $4k, you don’t spend it.
The suggested schools are just to help you afford college. If you apply to 17 schools and none of them come back with a full COA aid package, I think you’ll regret not applying to schools where your stats are a match.
@twoinanddone
I have relatives in the US who would take care of me while school is out, so transportation and a place to stay aren’t major concerns.
As for personal expenses, I believe those are entirely within my control and can be minimized.