College: How do you pay for it?

[Fushichou]

One year left of high school and, if I want to go out of state, I've still got to figure out where the heck I'm going to get the money for it. Even if I get any scholarships (which is unlikely because I'm white and from a wealthy background, but since there will be three kids in college at once, that 'wealthy' status becomes useless), I'm still going to have to work a job as often as possible and maybe (probably) take out loans.

How do (did) you do it?

[b0mb3r]

Well my situation was a bit different. Since I'm an artist I got myself an art scholarship by just showing off my work to the art schools of my choices. The rest my folks payed for it. If you're fro ma wealthy background how come your folks can't pay for it?

[TheGiftedMonkey]

I took out loans and owe over $68,000 without interest now...

[Fushichou]

Well my situation was a bit different. Since I'm an artist I got myself an art scholarship by just showing off my work to the art schools of my choices. The rest my folks payed for it. If you're fro ma wealthy background how come your folks can't pay for it?

I have two other siblings in college. We're not millionaires, we just make enough to the point where I don't qualify for any financial aid besides academic or merit.

[Beware the talking cat]

Other than backup schools, only look at schools where you know they give large enough merit scholarships. There's no point if they don't.


Don't apply for a bunch of 1k-2k scholarships, unless you're going to apply for hundreds of them. Your odds of winning one are low, and your effort is better spend elsewhere.
Look at schools below you(in terms of GPA, ACT, etc). They will be more likely to give you money, since they will want you, rather than just be indifferent.
Take both the ACT and the SAT. You will do better on one.
If you have a lot of AP classes, try to graduate in 3 years if you are going to have to take on loans. It's one less year of loans.

If you're going to have to take more than 10K loans per year, don't go out of state. It's just not worth it.



(currently on full-tuition scholarship at a 34K per year school, so I do know what I'm talking about)

[Fushichou]

Other than backup schools, only look at schools where you know they give large enough merit scholarships. There's no point if they don't.


Don't apply for a bunch of 1k-2k scholarships, unless you're going to apply for hundreds of them. Your odds of winning one are low, and your effort is better spend elsewhere.
Look at schools below you(in terms of GPA, ACT, etc). They will be more likely to give you money, since they will want you, rather than just be indifferent.
Take both the ACT and the SAT. You will do better on one.
If you have a lot of AP classes, try to graduate in 3 years if you are going to have to take on loans. It's one less year of loans.

If you're going to have to take more than 10K loans per year, don't go out of state. It's just not worth it.



(currently on full-tuition scholarship at a 34K per year school, so I do know what I'm talking about)

What the hell was your transcript to the point where you got a full scholarship to a school that expensive?

[Beware the talking cat]

Other than backup schools, only look at schools where you know they give large enough merit scholarships. There's no point if they don't.


Don't apply for a bunch of 1k-2k scholarships, unless you're going to apply for hundreds of them. Your odds of winning one are low, and your effort is better spend elsewhere.
Look at schools below you(in terms of GPA, ACT, etc). They will be more likely to give you money, since they will want you, rather than just be indifferent.
Take both the ACT and the SAT. You will do better on one.
If you have a lot of AP classes, try to graduate in 3 years if you are going to have to take on loans. It's one less year of loans.

If you're going to have to take more than 10K loans per year, don't go out of state. It's just not worth it.



(currently on full-tuition scholarship at a 34K per year school, so I do know what I'm talking about)

What the hell was your transcript to the point where you got a full scholarship to a school that expensive?

GPA: 3.86(unweighted) 4.21 (weighted)
SAT: 21something
ACT: 34
National Merit Finalist

So yeah, my transcript was pretty good.
But just having a good transcript isn't everything--all three of the other National Merit finalists at my high school had higher GPA's than me, and two of them also had 34 ACT's, but I'm the only one with full tuition to a private school. Not because they aren't as good as me but because they applied to the wrong school. (two of them are at better schools than me but having to take out a bunch of loans, and one of them is at the local state university because he didn't want to take loans)

The key is looking for schools that offer enough money. Now matter how compatible the school might be, if you can't afford to go to it, it doesn't matter.

If you want my process for finding schools, it's actually pretty easy.
Go to the princeton review.
Fill out their automated whatever that recommends schools to you.
Start at the top, checking each and every school for whether or not they give merit-based aid, and how much it is (don't count scholarships they only give one of. It's not worth applying if they only have ~10 scholarships that would give enough money, as with a couple hundred/thousand applicants and only 10 scholarships, your odds of getting one are really low.)
If they don't give enough money, or if they only have one or two scholarships that are good enough, or if they don't say how much they give, cross off that school and go to the next.
Take the list of schools you get this way, and find which look good to you.


One more thing: if you're looking to pay for school mostly with scholarships, then it doesn't matter how much the school's tuition is. A $30K school where you can get a $20K scholarship is no more expensive than a $20K school with a $10K scholarship. And expensive schools seem to be a lot better about giving money than the cheap ones.

[Fushichou]

It's quite depressing how clueless I always was as to what colleges wanted to see in their applicants. I'll be graduating with a 3.35ish GPA (3.8 or 9ish weighted), a 29 on the ACT (so far, taking it again), still need to take the SAT, and very little extracurricular activity other than a couple of clubs, none of which were academic. I don't know why my parents never considered the idea that I would want to go out of state, or even, at least, a distance from home; I don't think my chances are very high as of now.

[b0mb3r]

(currently on full-tuition scholarship at a 34K per year school, so I do know what I'm talking about)

damn my school's like 50k per year and the reason is so expensive cause is so hard to manage a school campus in a middle of a valley of nowhere, not because of the education. Sometimes I feel a bit ripped off cause I don't really feel like I'm learning anything.

[Haze]

Hmmm. What tests would I have to do if i wanted to go to college in America but lived outside of it? Would I still need SAT?
(Actually, WTF does SAT consist of anyways?)

[chrnno]

Well, I am lucky. Here in Brazil public university are the top(though a few private are as good as), I do have to pass exams but it's not like it's hard.

[Beware the talking cat]

Hmmm. What tests would I have to do if i wanted to go to college in America but lived outside of it? Would I still need SAT?
(Actually, WTF does SAT consist of anyways?)

Yeah; SAT/ACT and I think the TOEFL English test.

The SAT/ACT are both general knowledge tests. Math, Grammar, etc.

[Teh_ping]

Funny...I'm thinking about taking SAT as well. Of course, since I have to wait for two years before I can get to university (we don't call it college here), there's still time for me. But let's see whether I can spare the time in the Army. Kinda in the same boat here...

[b0mb3r]

Funny...I'm thinking about taking SAT as well. Of course, since I have to wait for two years before I can get to university (we don't call it college here), there's still time for me. But let's see whether I can spare the time in the Army. Kinda in the same boat here...

Enjoy your freedom as much as you can my anime comrade.

[Haze]

Funny...I'm thinking about taking SAT as well. Of course, since I have to wait for two years before I can get to university (we don't call it college here), there's still time for me. But let's see whether I can spare the time in the Army. Kinda in the same boat here...

Enjoy your freedom as much as you can my anime comrade.

Heh. Freedoms pretty much gone already. All I hear all day these days is 'STUDY' coming out of my parents mouths. But I've only got about a year.