@twoinanddone
I’m pretty sure the Wyoming Alumni Scholarships are for children of alumni, which I am not.
Apply wherever you want to…but cast a wide net. There are colleges that meet full need that are less competitive than some. Include some places where you have the potential for significant merit aid as well.
- You mention upstream that you are applying to 17 colleges...but that the applications are free...how is that the case?
- Even with free applications, you will need to send the Profile to many of these schools. IIRC, there is a limit on the number of free submissions @mommdc or @sybbie719 ??
- You say you have 17 schools already. That’s already a lot of supplemental essays. However, having said that, the supplemental essays are similar from school to school. You will need to make some changes, but I doubt you will need to write from scratch.
@thumper1
If I’m a QB finalist, 12 of those are automatically free. The others are free because of my low income status.
As for the CSS Profile, we’ll just have to bite the bullet and pay whatever is needed.
Being a prep scholar does to mean that you are guaranteed to be Quest bridge finalist. While there are many who become finalists, there are still those that do not become finalists.
There are more requirements to applying as a finalist than there are in applying for PrepScholar.
You must still submit the income and sets of your non-custodial parent or be approved for a waiver. If you ar not approved for a waiver, then your financial aid application is incomplete and you will not receive aid.
Please remember that the SUNY Alfred Distinctive scholarship gives free tuition up to the cost of NYS tuition. It does not give a tuition waiver. The scholarship is a last payer after all available NYS AID (TAP and Excelsior - neither which you are eligible for) are applied first. Your chances of getting this scholarship is extremely slim.
what happens if you do not become a QB Finalist?
While you may get free application fee waivers, through CA , you will still have to pay to have your scores sent to the various colleges. These cost can add up quickly. US citizens living abroad are not eligle for CSS profile waivers as your custodial parent must have a physical presence in the US or one of its territories . You will either have to pay a couple of hundred dollars in processing fees or you won’t get aid.
Your list is very top heavy and you are not in the position of tossing apps everywhere in the hope that you land somewhere. You need to make sure that you have a true financial safety. While you said you will not have increased transportation cost, you will health insurance in order to attend school and live on campus. This will be a few hundred dollars.
@sybbie719
I do believe that I will get an SAT fee waiver for sending scores, so that shouldn’t be a problem. As I said, I’ll just have to deal with the costs of the CSS. I will have to apply for the Noncustodial Parent Waiver. How does it work, exactly? Do I physically print out the form, complete it, get third party documentation, and mail it to each college?
No, I am not guaranteed to be a finalist, but the odds are overwhelmingly in my favor. The Prepscholars that don’t become finalists tend to be those at the bottom end of the pool. I am not at the bottom end.
Yes, I should have one safety, so let it be Tuskegee. The rest, I just have to hope for the best.
Have your school include test scores on the transcript.
Have more than one safety - FAMU was a great idea. The school of engineering is shared between FAMU and FSU but the FAMU scholarships are better.
If you’re truly low income (65k and u see) apply to Berea now.
Run the NPC on Union, Clarkson, Bucknell, Trinity Connecticut.
@MYOS1634
Truly low income? Is $6,000 a year not “truly low income”?
I don’t see anything on FAMU’s website that says they have a full ride scholarship that I am eligible for.
Each college and university that requires the CSS profile NCP has its own policy about waivers. You need to contect each of them directly and find out what they require. Some do not grant NCP waivers at all, so if you find out that any of those are on your list, just take them off your list.
I agree that you should identify two truly safe options. That way if everything else goes wrong, you will be able to dig a bit deeper into those programs and choose the one that really does suit you better.
If your high school school is affiliated with any particular denomination, look at colleges and universities with that same affiliation here. Some might be able to offer you the kind of aid you are looking for. Even if they only offer one scholarship a year, provided you are the one who gets it, you will be fine.
Also do take a good long look at Berea and the other work colleges at workcolleges.org. They have a special mission to serve low income students.
Yes, that income would qualify you to apply to Berea. Do so now.
Go to freshman merit scholarship on FAMU.
If you are willing to put together a Pell grant, federal direct loan, and earnings from part-time work during school, you may be able to make a full tuition merit scholarship work. But that is less favorable than a full ride merit scholarship (like at Tuskegee and PVAMU), since you would be taking on debt and having to work (reducing the amount of time to study), and such things as travel expenses would make that a stretch.
It looks like additional schools that could fall into this category are:
University of Alabama - Huntsville: https://www.uah.edu/admissions/undergraduate/financial-aid/scholarships/merit-tuition-scholarships
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, if the GPA recalculation gives you a 4.00 or better: http://www.famu.edu/index.cfm?Scholarships&DistinguishedScholarsAwardScholarship . Note: student on scholarship cannot change majors.
@MYOS1634
Yes, I’m looking at their scholarships. I’m not eligible for any of them. I’m not a US resident.
I know Berea. However, they don’t have my major (engineering).
@happymomof1
My school isn’t affiliated with a denomination.
How many of your teachers are expats? Where did they go to college, and do they have good contacts with those admissions offices? A connection like that might give you more match and safety options.
You are. a US citizen, you don’t need to be a permanent resident
Which ones offer engineering majors that the OP is interested in?
Re-check the specific wording about US residence. Contact the admissions office for clarification.
You are a citizen. Is it absolutely necssary that you be living in US territory in order to qualify? Is any US territory OK, or must it be a US state or the District of Columbia? If so, how long must you be living in a US territory/state? Does a parent also have to be living there? Can you qualify if you move here and live with a relative or family friend during a gap year?
@happymomof1
Are you asking how many are Americans? Most. And most went to religious colleges like Bethel, Wheaton, Eastern Mennonite, George Fox and De Paul.
@MYOS1634
I don’t think it’s that. Normally, they say you have to be a US citizen or permanent resident. Here, they just say you have to be a US resident, which implies that you must live in the US.
You have to ask specifically what they mean by “resident”.
Maybe “resident” means that truly international sudents are excluded, and immigration status (visa, no visa, citizen, whatever) doesn’t matter provided applicants currently are physically in the US.
As a US citizen currently outside of the country through no fault of your own, it is worth your time to investigate. If physical presence in the US is necessary, ask how long you would need to be there in order to qualify. A senior year in the US at a relative’s house, or physical presence during a gap year or semester might be enough. Remember, we are looking for good Plan B through Plan Z options for you. These are back-ups for the back-ups.
And yup, just checked De Paul (no engineering, just computer science) and Eastern Mennonite (mechanical and computer engineering but not ABET accrdited), so you were correct. It doesn’t look like your teacher’s almas maters are going to be much use for you.
@happymomof1
Another problem with FAMU is that, in order to be considered for the scholarships, you have to be admitted by November 1st, which is impossible for me.