My only caveat is that several of these colleges (UTD, UA-Huntsville) that are mentioned and give great merit are also on the list of colleges that are on the “perish” list published by Scott Galloway.
During this pandemic I would definitely factor into the equation the ability of colleges to still be around 4 or 5 years from now?
@socaldad2002 Galloway favors the expansion of online higher education over traditional (and increasingly expensive) learning so I would take his predictions with a grain of salt. While I could see regional LACs with small endowments as being vulnerable, UTD and UA-Huntsville are not schools I’d see as imperiled. Based on what I see on CC and among fellow parents, they have been increasing in popularity because they are perceived as offering good value for the money and being located in areas with robust internship and job possibilities.
I hope @kindamediocre (who is not!) comes back with some budget info so we can help her to find affordable options.
Agree, my point is that prospective students should do their due diligence to make sure that colleges that have offered great value in the past will be able to continue to provide that in the future?
@momofsenior1 I haven’t taken my SAT yet but I’m hoping to get above a 1500 (my 10th grade PSAT was a 1470), and I’m currently top ten percent of my class. However, I’m worried that merit-based aid will decrease due to the whole coronavirus situation.
@BelknapPoint @thumper1 I honestly have no idea. I just tried asking them how much they can pay for and they refuse to give me a number and got quite mad at me for asking. I live in Texas, and UTD is in driving distance for me.
@Lindagaf Like I said above, my parents are refusing to give me an estimated number that they can contribute towards my college education. However, CC is also not an option for me, as my parents look down on community college and could very well refuse to contribute anything at all towards my future. And yes, my parents are immigrants from China. I think they understand the costs of college but are sort of refusing to accept that right now.
@Sybylla I’m definitely prepping for SAT and PSAT. I’ve been doing practice through Khan Academy and doing practice tests almost daily. And about BYU HI, that was just sort of a random dream just because it was in Hawaii and beaches and all, but it’s not a college I’m considering anymore.
@socaldad2002 To reiterate what I said above, community college is not an option for me, unfortunately, if I want any support from my parents at all.
And an update, during the conversation in which my parents refused to give me an estimate of how much they could contribute towards my college education, they stated that the reason they didn’t create a college savings account was that it would make it difficult for me to get need-based financial aid. I find that a bit laughable as I no longer qualify for need-based financial aid either way now.
@kindamediocre - A lot of parents don’t understand how financial aid works. Some truly believe that all of the colleges and universities will meet student need at the level that they imagine their family’s need is. You are ahead of the game to have started to figure things out. Your parents might need more time to get there.
You are a strong student. If you look around, you might find a place where you are guaranteed an automatic scholarship that would mean that you don’t need help from your parents to pay for college. It’s entirely possible that your local CC has one like that too. If they aren’t paying for the CC, then they can’t stop you from attending.
@kindamediocre your parents will not tell you how much they will be able to pay, and do not want you to attend a community college. So why not ask them which colleges would they be willing to pay for, rather than how much they would be willing to pay?
However, as you wrote, you are just a rising Junior. Based on your PSAT 10, I would say that there is a very good chance that you will make National Merit Semifinalist, and with your grades, you should have no problem advancing to finalist. As a NMF, there are a number of colleges which will provide you with good scholarships.
You got 1470 on your PSAT 10, which is, in fact, an amazing PSAT 10 score. It would also mean a SI of anywhere between 218 and 223. The cutoff for Texas this year was 219, so it is quite possible that your PSAT score is already at the level required for NMSF. Almost everybody improves their PSAT score between their PSAT 10 and their PSAT/NMSQT. So I would say that you have a very good chance there.
My kid got lower than you did on her PSAT 10, and then got a score on her PSAT/NMSQT which was high enough fer her to be a NMSF in Illinois, and then a NMF.
In general, you are just a rising Junior, and you are doing very well, academically. So I think that you should put your worries about funding college aside for now, and focus on doing your best at school and outside school.
Good luck!
“@socaldad2002 To reiterate what I said above, community college is not an option for me, unfortunately, if I want any support from my parents at all.”
Community College may have to be an option for you if your parents won’t pay what it takes to go elsewhere. That, or another state college that is within commuting distance , with you living at home are the lowest costs for you. With this pandemic changing the way a lot of schools are operating, you may even not have to commute at all or restrict your school choice to a place nearby as you may have online options for many schools. But your best deal in terms of sticker price will be your state schools.
Look up what the costs are for your state schools, starting with your local community college, local UT or other state school, and estimate what commuting to those schools will cost. That gives you some basic dollar amounts on what it costs if you go to the least expensive college options. Then work your way up to possibly going away to school. Start with the the UTs and other state schools. Some of the satellite state schools like A&M have some very inexpensive options even including room and board.
Then look at commuting to some private colleges like SMU or Baylor if you are in the Dallas area. Get a good idea of what your costs are going to be. Then work your way up to some OOS options, public and private right up to the priciest schools.
Make a list of these costs. Then start looking at what merit money is available for them. With a scholarship some pricey schools might come in less in cost than those with lower sticker prices. However, unless the scholarships are automatic with grades and test scores, they do become reach schools since you not only have to get accepted; you need to get what’s likely a competitive scholarship to be able to go.
You can share your list with your parents so that they can see what costs they are facing if they have aspirations of you going away to a private school.
Once more…the very very very vast majority of students in this country do NOT have college savings. Their parents have no dedicated savings for college costs. Regardless of your parents’ reasons for not saving, you are part of that vast majority of students.
So…you need to look at options that will be affordable for your family. Each college site has a page where you can see the full cost of attendance. Print that out for each college of interest, and give a copy to your parents.
At this point, you are a full year away from even applying to college, and your family financial landscape could very well change. The financial landscapes of the colleges could change as well.
It is possible that you might need a full ride scholarship. In your position, it might be a good idea to start looking at that option soon.
I don’t know if this site has been updated recently, but you can at least check with colleges to see if these scholarships are still available. http://competitivefulltuition.yolasite.com/
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
Check out the official NMS site too: https://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/start.aspx?gid=2&pgid=61
There are also elite colleges not listed in those pages that offer very prestigious full ride scholarships. And there are outside scholarship programs that are nationally known and competitive, such as Jack Kent Cooke. I can’t link it, but google Fastweb, prestigious scholarships and fellowships.
Bear in mind that there could be a LOT of upheaval in all of this over the next year. But if the scholarship route is in your future, now is the time to be aware of how the scholarship programs work.
That Yolesite link is incredibly out of date. I wish folks would stop sharing . It hasn’t been updated in years and many of the awards on there have changed or eliminated. @Lindagaf
Getting a completely free full ride is not all that easy. This student should look at the less popular and costly instate publics in Texas as well.
Also, check places like the public colleges in Utah, Wyoming, Montana. They are more modestly priced than many for OOS students.
Without an actual SAT or ACT score, it’s very very hard to even predict merit aid potential…and IIRC correctly, this student is entering their junior year. It’s even harder to predict for students enrolling fall 2022.
The landscape of financial aid, but need and merit based, has the potential to change in the next year due to declining revenues at many colleges. Predicting what will be available in 2022 is really not possible. My opinion.
But good to check out lower priced options.
It’s too bad this student has no idea what parents can and will pay. That could have an impact on their college shopping budget.
@thumper1 , yes, that’s why I said I wasn’t sure if it was current. Nevertheless, this student can still do research to see if there are viable options at schools listed. Nothing is predictable right now, but if OP decides to aim for scholarships, he or she needs to be proactive about it well before senior year.
Many of the most competitive scholarships look at leadership and community involvement, etc… @kindamediocre , I suggest getting into touch with your school guidance counselor, who might be able to steer you in the right direction. Hopefully they are responding to students right now.
Considering the fact that many states are looking for passage of the heroes act just to meet their day to day expenses, i think there are going to be less full rides at public universities.
Endowments are down so some schools are not going to have money to give as merit is shifting to need based aid and fewer schools meeting 100% demonstrated need.
NYS just opened its excelsior scholarship last week stating at every student who his eligible will not get it due to funding constraints.
Op really needs to make sure that there is an adorable option. Whether or not there is a college fund, parents are first in line to pay for college
“adorable option”
We all want her to have an adorable option, for sure ?
Did NYS say how they will decide who gets Excelsior monies? First come first serve, or something else?
Really worried in Illinois about the students who rely on MAP money too.
@Mwfan1921
Nope.
They are going to start with students who received excelsior last year. The catch is if you did not successfully complete 30(60,90,120) credits, you will not be eligible for continued excelsior. I think you will need some really extenuating circumstances to get an appeal.
The NYC DOE is talking layoffs for next year (something that has not happened in decades) dur to the short fall in tax revenue.
I did advise families to get the application in asap. I read on my CNN feed that the next package has 105 billion for education.
@kindamediocre Have you considered one of the academies like USNA or maybe ROTC? D20s bff was in the same position; she matched (ROTC) to 3 great engineering schools and will be heading to TAMU for engineering in a couple weeks on a 4 year scholarship. It took a lot of discussions with my family to explain military life in the U.S., but they came to appreciate the opportunities. It may be an option to look into, especially if you don’t make NMSF, if the merit landscape gets worse than it already is, or if you don’t want to commute to UTD.
The corp at TAMU is for the very committed that love this idea, not some cool late plan to get money. Frankly I am not sure how corp manage engineering, I wouldn’t mind seeing some stats.
I am well aware of the dedication and commitment of CofC and engineering. Some schools are more intense like TAMU, others are more laid back. I am also well aware that many first gen are not aware of academy or ROTC opportunities. Many like “other daughter” or my own family immigrated from countries where there is a fear of military and would most likely never investigate the option. I was using her journey as an example; there are hundreds of ROTC schools. No, it is not something to do on a whim; again, many kids are not even aware of the option, which is why I suggested it as an option to research. Although it is a small sampling, based on my own family and friends, I would anecdotally say it is possible to major in engineering at TAMU, USNA, USMA, GA Tech, ERAU, VA Tech, NCSU, Cornell, Purdue… and do well in both. Obviously, one should contact the school to get statistics. No, military commitment should never be done on a whim; yes, it is an option for many.
My brother was career Air Force and ended his career as a recruiter. He wishes people would quit telling teens they should join one of the branches of the armed services to get college money. The military is not a scholarship service. It’s a career that should only be chosen by those whose career goal is to serve in the armed forces.
@austinmshauri As a “brat” myself with a retired career dad, 2 career grandfathers, a retired career brother, 2 career uncles, and many, many career friends, I am well aware of both the sacrifice and professional opportunities, which was why I made the suggestion. In my experience, outside of our military circle, many are not aware of the college and career opportunities available through ROTC and a military career. My point was she (other daughter) had no idea those opportunities existed. She is going ROTC with the intention, like my family, of being career. She did not know she could achieve her career goals through the military, since that was never considered in her family. Like the OP, my family members had no college funds; I took the path of working 3 jobs; my family members took the path of ROTC/career military; yes, in engineering. You don’t know what you don’t know; we take for granted the opportunities are common knowledge. In our local community they are not; a large number in our current community consists of first or second gen, educated professionals. There is no recruiter in the school, and military opportunities are only discussed with students who are not “college bound.” The professional opportunities are never discussed with college path kids, especially high stat students like “OD.” I do not know the OPs home situation and am trying to provide additional information that could be a possibility. I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear. I was not suggesting trying to get an “easy” free education. Perhaps I should’ve given more background info in my initial response.