ACT/SAT Scores: 1530 SAT (740 Reading, 790 Math) (Retaking in August for better English score)
List your HS coursework
(Indicate advanced level, such as AP, IB, AICE, A-level, or college, courses as well as specifics in each subject)
CBSE board, not recognized internationally
English: 96
Math: 90
Physics: 90
Chemistry: 91
Language other than English: (including highest level completed): French, grade 10. Hindi, native.
Other academic courses: Random Coursera courses, Google analytics course that gave me 12 college credits
Awards (SUPER WEAK)
Principal’s award for Academic Excellence, grades 9, 10, and 11 (expecting one this year too)
that’s it…
Extracurriculars (MID-ISH BUT KINDA OKAY)
Research with MIT alum with 100% financial aid under program that otherwise costed $2000. Will also give me LoR.
Mentor at research organization, guided other students in publishing their first research.
Math Project Based Competitions 3x winner. (presented idea on issues such as traffic problems and elaborated on how math could be applied to them, etc)
Chemistry Quiz distinction
Aptitude Olympiad, qualified for Regional round
Volunteered for 230 hours at an art gallery in the US. Received LoR from their President (of the gallery).
Editorial Head of the school for the past 4 years: managing the school magazine, drafting reports for all school events, etc.
Literature Club President, super involved: Published anthology (300 pages) with write-ups of all school students and teachers.
Founder of school’s journalism and media club + school newsletter.
Semi-finals qualifier for National Spelling Bee competition.
Organized school events such as national and international college fairs at school, Round Square and AFS events etc.
yeah that’s it…
Essays/LORs/Other
Physics and Math teachers, very strong.
Schools (List of colleges by your initial chance estimate; designate if applying ED/EA/RD; if unsure, leave them unclassified)
If your father lives in the US have you checked to see if the state he lives in makes you eligible for in state tuition there?
Because qualifying for in state tuition depends on the state’s policies I’ve known US students living in the US with no in state option (weren’t living in current state long enough and the move to another state disqualified them from previous state) and others with multiple states they can qualify for in state tuition because of parents living in different states that give in state tuition regardless of student’s address because they base it on parent’s residence.
Florida also has the grandparent tuition waiver, if you happen to have a grandparent in Florida then that might be another way to get in state tuition.
Last time I checked, Utah allowed students to become in state tuition eligible after a year of residency. Many states have merit programs that discount their out of state tuition charges to in state or lower rates.
Even with in state residency a $10,000 budget will generally mean you are looking for at least a full tuition award. You do qualify for the $5,500 federal loan. Perhaps someone else @kelsmom with more knowledge can comment on the FAFSA changes. I’m not sure whether or not you would qualify for Pell which if award the maximum would also increase your budget by up to another $7,300ish. If you do qualify for these and those amounts weren’t already being counted toward your $10,000 budget then you may be working with a $22,800 budget, although your health insurance and travel costs will be a lot.
Run the net price calculator at Harvard. You can guess your father’s income to run it. Net Price Calculator | Harvard If the net price is in budget, then it’s possible that the most generous meets needs colleges might work for you. If the amount is not within budget, then you need to look at schools that provide merit.
Because your father pays alimony, he is considered to be a part of your family’s life. Your mother earns no money, so your father is the one who supports you most. He is your parent for FAFSA, and his income information is needed. If the reason you have not been in contact with your father has to do with escaping abuse, you can appeal to each school, requesting that they use your mother’s information. This is determined on a case by case basis by each school, and documentation by outsiders (counselors, doctors, clergy, legal documents, etc) will be required. Note that a choice not to see or talk to your dad - either by you or by him - isn’t reason enough to waive the requirement that his information be provided. The alimony points to involvement in the family.
Thank you for doing this chance me using this format.
I’ll comment on this first. Most of these colleges will want the info from both of your parents without that waiver.
And that there is alimony means your family knows where this non-custodial parent lives.
Are you saying your only family income is the alimony?
On an income of $7000 a year, how can you afford $10,000 a year for college?
As a U.S. citizen, you can take the Direct Loan ($5500 for freshman year) and it sounds like you would be eligible for the full Pell grant (about $7000). So…you would need a full tuition scholarship at least.
Places to research…
Colleges that have auto merit like all of the University of Alabama campuses. They might be more costly freshman year, but off campus housing is less costly so you would save money after that.
Look at the Arizona publics…University of Arizona and Arizona State. They might be above budget, but check. Also, look at University of New Mexico, and Mexico Tech @WayOutWestMom can tell whether these might come in as affordable. College of Charleston if you got the Charleston Scholars in addition to other merit aid is a maybe. Utah and Montana are also worth checking.
There are some competitive merit awards ar some schools…worth pursuing…Washington and Lee (Johnson scholarship), tOhio State University (Morell), and there are many others. Hoping @DramaMama2021 can post some. And that @Mwfan1921 will make some suggestions as well.
Your father may not be willing to give you money for education, but he might be willing to fill out a FAFSA/CSS form for you if you ask. If he is making $100,000 a year then the most generous colleges may very much be within your budget. If he is making $300,000 then they are not likely to be in budget.
Do you know what he does for a living? You can guess his income if he has a job by looking up salaries on the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. If he runs his own business then it is much harder to guess and you may need to stick to FAFSA only schools. Creating a list hoping for CSS waivers may leave you without any viable options.
If your father’s income is an issue, you might want to go on a hunt for colleges with strong merit aid. This doesn’t consider family financials.
BUT if your father IS the custodial parent, then he will need to complete a FAFSA for you to be eligible for the Direct Loan, and any portion of the Pell grant you might be eligible for (if dad is higher income, that amount could be zero)
And it really sounds like the father IS the custodial parent as he provides the majority of support…and custody is legally 50/50. So…HE would need to complete the FAFSA. And for Profile schools, he would need to complete the Profile and the mom would need to do the non-custodial parent form. This is ALL for need based aid consideration.
This student might be better served hunting for merit awards. As a strong student, they could score a significant one!
There are many HBCUs that provide automatic merit awards and that have competitive full rides. You can apply to 66 of them for a single application fee ($20) through the common black college application. These schools provide an excellent value. Look for abet accredited programs through the abet website https://www.abet.org If you find one that fits your budget and you would attend then you have found the most important component of your college list, the safety school. Finding a safety school means that no matter the results of your other applications you know you will be able to study engineering in the US.
Unfortunately, University of New Mexico will not work for the OP. Although eligible for the Amigo and LUE+ Scholarships, that still leaves approx $24,000K/year in direct costs (Add mandatory health insurance, travel and books to the direct costs) Unless the student qualifies as a African American, Indigenous American, or Hispanic National Scholar ((which will get him a 100% tuition scholarship) or is one of 20 students awarded the competitive Regent’s Scholarship (which pays for tuition fees, housing and meals for 4 years) UNM will not be affordable.
NMTech also will not be affordable. The highest scholarship the OP will be eligible for is the Gold Scholarship which is $5k/year off the cost off tuition. NMTech does not stack scholarships and will award only 1 scholarship per student.
Tech has several endowed scholarships worth up to $15,000/year that can be stacked, but these are competitive and only awarded to continuing students. (Students must have earned at least 24 credit houre st Tech in order to be considered.)
I agree with those who have raised the question of your father’s state of residence.
Even if that state’s laws didn’t allow you automatic residency for tuition purposes, you could look into options for spending a gap year in that state, and establishing residency before starting college.
You are more likely to be able to get to your price point at a public U in a state where you are a resident, or a school in another state that has both a reciprocity agreement and merit.
I don’t think the waiver strategy is going to work. Your household is receiving financial support from your father, even if it’s alimony and not child support. I don’t see how the case can be made that he has no connection to you and your household. It’s unfortunate, but it’s no different from any other situation where a parent simply refuses to pay what the financial aid formula says they “can.” Paths to being considered financially independent before you turn 24 are basically things like joining the military (which would also give you access to additional funding for college) or getting married, which is to say, only good options if they’re things that you actually want to do for reasons other than qualifying for financial aid.
I went through the cbca colleges and only found two that offered abet accredited Mechanical Engineering Alabama A&M University in Huntsville https://www.aamu.edu and Tennessee State in Nashville https://www.tnstate.edu Ohio’s Central State in Wilberforce https://www.centralstate.edu offers an abet accredited Manufacturing Engineering.
Have you ever lived with your father, or since age 13?
Did the divorce settlement include anything about college?
I think your case would be stronger if you could say “I never lived with the person who fathered me, I haven’t seen him since age 9 and since then my mother receives the amount agreed upon during the divorce but there is no communication between him and her, or him and me” AND you have several officials who can vouch for that - father never attended a parents night, gyani vouches for his absence from your and your mother’s life in every possible way, etc. If there are court documents they can be requested but you can also produce copies to support your case.
I think you can argue that a parent you’ve never lived with isn’t quite a custodial parent…
That being said
your test score will help you
if your father makes 150k and under you would likely get a lot of FA at colleges that cost 85-90k and meet need.
Vanderbilt or UChicago ED may be your best bet though. AFAIK they don’t consider the non custodial parent at all and they don’t use FAFSA but CSS.