How can I get a full ride scholarship to a college?

How do I get a full ride scholarship for an out of state college?

• I'm a 16 year old, home educated, high school senior. I'm currently attending community college (dual enrolled) and will continue at this college for another year or two following my graduation until I get my A.A. I'm on a Florida pre-paid tuition plan and I've got the Bright Futures Scholarship; those only work in-state. I don't want to limit my options to only Floridian schools. My composite ACT score is 30 (which I'm not really happy with, but I can always take it again). I just don't know how to go about applying for colleges out of state, nor how I can get scholarships to counteract the expensive out of state tuition fees. Here's what I want in a nutshell: *I want to attend a good, reputable college somewhere out of state where the average ACT score is lower than 30, so I have a chance of getting scholarships. *I want to know what it takes to get a full ride, or at least a generous scholarship to colleges. *I want to know how to go about applying to these colleges, because frankly, I'm clueless.

• Answer:

  1. You will need to identify which colleges/universities offer the types of academic programs that interest you. Your local public library probably holds some books that provide guidance in selecting the right schools for you. Ask a reference librarian to help you find some to check out and read. 2. Some of the articles in the Education section of the well-respected publication and web site of US News and World Report will prove useful to you in identifying colleges/universities: * http://www.usnews.com/education You can also learn about the colleges/universities that interest you by asking a reference librarian at the public library to direct you to books that provide recent evaluations of many schools of higher education in the USA. Also, you can learn about US colleges/universities through the info on US colleges/universities offered through the well-respected College Board: * http://www.collegeboard.org Information for each college/univ. includes the ACT scores and other criteria accepted by each school, including the percentage of students who receive financial aid. 3. If you wish to be considered for not only scholarships but Pell Grant funds (offered through the U.S. Dept. of Education) for your post-community college studies, you may not wish to obtain an Associates Degree. For undergraduates, the Pell Grant funds are not available if the student has already earned a degree, even if that is an AA degree. If you transfer from your community college before finalizing your studies for the AA degree, you will still be eligible for Pell Grant funds (if the info you provide through the FAFSA - Free Application for Federal Student Aid - http://www.fafsa.ed.gov - qualifies you to receive Pell Grant money) as an undergraduate until you earn a Bachelors degree. Your local public library should hold books that will give you more information about finding and obtaining scholarships, grants, and loans for your higher education. 4. Be aware - depending upon the school where you will continue your undergraduate studies, not all of the credits you have earned at the community college may transfer and be accepted by the new college/univ. You will need to check into that once you determine which schools interest you. Often state universities in the state where the community college you now attend (Fla.) have an agreement to accept all comm. coll. credits. 5. Obtaining enough funds through financial aid that does not need to be repaid (scholarships and grants) to pay all the expenses of a college/univ. may not be possible. There are not many full-tuition scholarships around. Here is a link to one online article that discusses a few full-tuition scholarships: * http://www.scholarships.com/financial-aid/college-scholarships/scholarships-by-type/full-tuition-scholarships/ QuestBridge – offers some full-tuition scholarships to some schools http://www.questbridge.org/ If you are big on science or mathematics and plan on majoring in a science, mathematics, or engineering you may wish to investigate the S.M.A.R.T. (Science, Mathematics And Research for Transformation) Scholarship. * http://smart.asee.org/ It is a chance for students pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees in identified sciences, technologies, engineering, and math disciplines to receive a full scholarship and be gainfully employed with the U.S. Department of Defense upon degree completion. Read more about it on the web pages through the home page link I gave above and in this PDF (Adobe Reader) document: http://www.me.vt.edu/academic_programs/graduate/ASEE%20SMART%20AWARD.pdf For students meeting the minority qualification, there is the Gates Millennium Scholars Program: * http://www.gmsp.org/ Librarians--Ask Us, We Answer! Find your local Public Library at: http://www.publiclibraries.com/ Find your College/University Library at: http://lists.webjunction.org/libweb/Academic_main.html Best wishes