Looking for Matches/Safeties

happymomof1
Sun, 13 Jun 2010 12:34:46 +0000

You need to sit down with your parents and run the EFC calculators at [FinAid! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](http://www.finaid.org) and [College Calculators - savings calculators - college costs, loans](Calculate Your Cost – BigFuture | College Board) Talk with them about how your family can meet that EFC. Can your family pay more than that EFC each year if the college/university you choose gaps you for financial aid? How much debt is your family willing for you to take on in order to pay for your education? How much money does your family expect you to earn during the summer vacations and during the school year?

With your stats, there may be some merit aid opportunities out there. Take a look at the Financial Aid Forum for ideas, and check out these threads:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/148852-what-ive-learned-about-full-ride-scholarships.html
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/291483-update-what-i-learned-about-free-ride-scholarships.html

Every applicant, even the strongest and the richest, should take the time to identify a rock-solid True Safety. This institution is one where you are guaranteed admission based on your stats (many public institutions post this information right on their websites), that you can pay for with no aid other than federally determined financial aid (FAFSA), that offers your major(s), and that you are happy to attend if all else goes wrong in the admission process. Right now you want to get out of your home state, I can respect that because that is exactly how I felt when I was in HS! However, for most students the True Safety (or the Nearest Thing To A True Safety) is a home-state public community college or university. Once you identify one or two institutions that meet (or come close to meeting) these criteria, apply early to get in line for any goodies that may be on offer (preferred enrollment, scholarship money, etc.). Knowing that you do have a place to go if none of the other institutions works out will make the whole year a lot less stressful.