Your list does not have to be heavy on “lottery” reaches. Look at schools where your stats would put you in a position to receive full or near full aid (a school where your stats are “creme de la creme”). When you have scores from October’s SAT, you will have a better idea of a possible list. The schools you mention above have tons of applicants from kids with even better stats than yours, so you do need to find a “likely” that is also affordable. A gap year could be a great idea – depending on how you use it. I think, honestly, that your attitude and lack of humility will be more of an obstacle to you than your financial situation. Given the stats you’ve shared, you are certainly a very capable student… so make the most of what you’ve got, and don’t shoot yourself in the foot.
@blossom
Honour for me is fulfilling my family’s expectations. Part of that is money. I grew up being told that I was to be the one to bring the family to the US; that I’d be a name in my field; that I’d be rich. Do please understand the pressures I am under. It’s almost a prophecy.
I live in Kenya. My family had to move away due to financial issues, so I live with a foster family on my high school campus (with my physics teacher).
You can become a name in your field by starting at an affordable community college and graduating from Rice et al. If you can’t afford four years, think out of the box.
Your family’s expectations can either be the rocket that propels your focus and ambition, or a trap which suffocates you. That’s your decision to make.
@cameo43
I have no idea where so many people get the notion that having “good stats” is enough to get a full ride. That’s a fantasy. Like I said, I have no true safeties. There was a lengthy CC discussion about that, and eventually even senior CC members conceded that I had no true safety options.
@blossom
It is the ambition you speak of that has gotten me where I am. Failure now would end that ambition, for it would demonstrate my inferiority.
OP: I was referring to schools on the Automatic Full Tuition/Full Ride list in this forum. I didn’t realize that you are an international student. I know that adds some difficulty. Best of luck to you.
You wrote the above in June when asking about University of Michigan.
You wrote this today.
Which is it…$20,000 or $6000 family income.
And this…
This is just plain poppycock. My husband is an engineer, and Vice President of his company. He did two years of study at a community college before transferring to a four year school to complete his masters. He has a very very successful career.
Stop comparing yourself to others. It’s just plain pointless. Counting other people’s money is pointless too. It’s not going to help you pay for college.
Answer this…
How do you plan to get here…and pay for your college expenses if you do NOT get accepted to a college that meets full need for all? Remember, their acceptance rates are low on most cases…although some have accceptance rates that are 20% or so.
Even colleges that meet full need DO expect a student contribution. How will you pay that…and transportation.
Your college list is very top heavy. Frankly, your SAT score is not a slam dunk for admissions to the long list of elite schools you have on your list.
You need a plan B.
A co-worker started at our hometown state university. The specialties of this school were education and forestry. After 2 years he transferred to MIT. He then went to Harvard Law. My kids went a very good college prep school in California. There were 235 seniors and many went to Notre Dame and TCU and Brown, but 50 (yes FIFTY) went to the California community colleges. There was no disgrace to their families.
@testprepishard, you’ve said you need massive financial aid. You aren’t going to get it at Purdue or Georgia Tech. You have to be realistic for your financial situation. You can try for ‘meets full need’ schools with engineering (Cornell, Columbia, Notre Dame), but it’s tough to get into those schools, and you need the NCP waiver.
I know you’re not interested in journalism, obviously. I just used it as an example of how there’s no shame in community college and that you can end up working alongside people who went to “elite” schools all four years.
You have many obstacles.
- Your SAT score, although commendable, is frankly low for the colleges you desire. What was the breakdown math/verbal? Are you lopsided, with 800 in math and 590 in verbal?
- You are international. There are even fewer spots for internationals at the most selective colleges than there are for U.S. students.
- You are international. Yes, I am saying it again because it applies to financial aid. Not all schools meet full need for internationals, even if they do for domestic students.
- You still will need money well beyond the aid the university gives you. Travel to/from Kenya. Housing during school breaks. Living expenses. Medical insurance. Winter clothes if you are in a cold location. (Have you ever been in the kind of cold that’s a Troy, NY winter?) All of this could add up to $5k to $10K. And this is AFTER your tuition, room, and meals are paid for.
- You are under tremendous unreasonable pressure from your parents. That is an obstacle because you can’t see your way clear to take the easiest path rather than the most prestigious path.
- It’s not so easy to get into the United States permanently nowadays, let alone bring your whole family with you. Have you been reading the news?
@brantly @cameo43
Sorry, there might have been a miscommunication. I am a US citizen, but have no state of residence. I am not an international student.
What I meant to say was that there aren’t full rides based solely on academics. They are all competitive and are, therefore, reaches in that sense. As for full tuition, it’s almost never enough. The closest to being enough is UAH, but I’d still have to ask for more aid.
I’d ask that you refrain from judging my chances of getting into at least one elite school. Students are not accepted on the basis of academics alone. My story as a person is a bizarre rarity among Americans, and I will make certain to capitalize on that in my essays. I’d argue that I am more likely than not to get into at least one meet-full-need school on my list.
@thumper1
Yes, right now my family’s income is indeed $20,000 (on paper). By the time I have to pay for college, it will be reduced to $6000 (if we’re lucky) in child support.
I am not interested in corporate games. My goal is to become a name in the academic field.
Whatever student contribution they ask for will be in the form of work study; they can ask for nothing more. Health insurance we’ll deal with when we get there. As for transport, my ticket to the US will be one-way. After that, I’ll be living in the US with some relatives.
@brantly
As for score, it will increase, as I’ve said. However, I am a QuestBridge Scholar, and I’ve seen a student with scores similar to what I have now get into Cornell, Northwestern and UC Berkeley all at once. Another got into Harvard with a 1350. Clearly, there are things more important to getting in than test scores.
No you won’t. You will either need to waive the school health insurance because you have your own that complies with the college…or you will need to purchase the school plan. And this will need to be done BEFORE you get here. Frankly, that will be a challenge as you don’t have instate residency…and you need that for ACA plans. Purchasing the school plan could be your best bet.
So…you are a Questbridge Scholar? And did you mention that earlier in this thread? If this is true…just hope for a Questbridge match…that would be your best bet for getting a full ride. But remember…not all Questbridge Scholars get elite schools…just remember that.
You have some options to study here…but you don’t seem to like any of them. At this point…pare your list down to a reasonable number, and apply. Apply for the non-custodial waiver as well… the financial aid forms will be available for completion and submission on October 1. Get this all done…as close to October 1 as possible.
Who is paying you $6000 in child support? and why is the income reducing? Is it because child support will be reducing? You mentioned getting a non-custodial parent waiver for the Profile. If you are collecting child support, clearly you can find the person sending it. And get them to complete the non-custodial parent Profile. What makes you think you qualify for a waiver?
Here is your thread about University of Michigan…where you really got good advice, explained the divorced parent situation, and mentioned Questbridge. Maybe it will help some folks understand your situation better.
But FRANKLY…you got very good advice on THAT thread but don’t seem to be listening to it…at all. Why?
@thumper1
The child support is for my brothers, sent by my stepfather.
I’ve had no contact with my biological father since 2003.
I did listen; I added Tuskegee and UAH even though neither is a true financial safety. What else could I do?
It is possible to apply to 53 HBCUs using the common black college application for a single application fee of $35 https://commonblackcollegeapp.com/cbca-poster-request/. Tuskegee is already on your list. Alabama A&M offers a presidential full ride you might get and might be a good selection as one of the other top four you’ll be asked to identify for the application since it offers abet accredited engineering degrees. http://www.aamu.edu/admissions/fincialaid/pages/scholarship-information.aspx
“The AAMU
Presidential Scholarship
Renewable for up to 8 semesters. Covers
the cost of tuition, room, board and fees.
Also includes a $1,000 book allowance per
semester. (Total annual value of up to
$36,000.00 )
CRITERIA
Applicant must have a High School
GPA of 3.75 or above.
Applicant must have an ACT Score of
28 or above/SAT score of 1310 or above.
Applicant must be a United States Citizen
or Legal Resident of the United
States.
Applicant must be a graduating high
school senior planning to attend Alabama
A&M University and seeking an
undergraduate degree.
Must be fully admitted /accepted
through the AAMU Admissions Office.”
You have to download the “2018/2019 ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP BROCHURE” listed in the left hand column at the aamu link above to see the quote above. I knew they had it and it took me a while to find. Not sure why it is so hidden.
If you want to attend a selective US university, which are the ones that can afford to offer full rides, you need to develop some critical thinking skills. Attending a college that’s affordable for their family – whether a community college, state flagship, or some other affordable option – doesn’t make a student inferior to other students.
Are the family members you intend to live with in the US relatives of your dad? If you know where his family is and know them well enough to live with them then it seems like you could find out how to contact him if you wanted. If that’s the case, I wouldn’t assume that you can get a financial aid waiver.
What state are the relatives in? Are there schools you can commute to from their home? That might be a safety.
Another thought…you say your custodial parent is no longer in Kenya? Is that right? Where is she? Are there colleges there you could consider?
Where do your stateside relatives live? Another thought would be to move her…work until you are old enough to be considered independent for tuition purposes there…and then apply to instate colleges in that state. It might be a bunch of years…but could make college affordable at the end of the day.
@thumper1
My mother is with my brothers in Turkey (the country of my stepfather). They had to leave due to financial and medical reasons (mother has cancer).