College Worries

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I'm a hard working Senior in high school. I have a 3.8 GPA. I've been in many science and technology clubs; Solar Boat, Particle Physics, Interact, Robotics, Science Olympiad. I'm taking the SAT (a college test) in November.

I feel after all that work that I won't get into the college of my choice. I really want to go to University of California Riverside since they have awesome engineering and research programs. The main issue is money. My family is struggling financially. My dad had to use my college savings to keep us a float.

I'm entering science and software contests in November to hopefully get enough money to pay for my first year. I now know an education, like everything else, requires money instead of personal commitment and abilities.

There are a lot of scholarships and grants out there for women going into science/technology fields. Fastweb might be a good place to start.
Also, if your family struggling financially, you should be eligible for the full amount of grants and loans through the government (fill out the FAFSA as soon as it is available for next year).

Your GPA is very good -- if you test well, with a good SAT, you should be able to get in to Riverside. Start taking the SAT as soon as possible, and if you can afford it at all, take it as many times as possible, if you think your first score is not good enough. If you can, you should try to get in to speak with somebody in the financial office of Riverside, to see what your options are for pell grants, scholarships, and any other financial help you could get. You may be able to get some of this information from your high school -- see if a talk with your high school counselor can give you some direction.

Thanks for this information. Do you happen to know if there is a scholarship for women who have disabilities for engineering? I would like to go into electric engineering.

Your grades are excellent, and from the few posts of yours that I've read on this forum, you seem intelligent and devoted and will deliver a compelling personal statement. With good SAT scores, you should definitely be illegible for scholarships and financial aid.

UC Riverside sounds like a great choice, and your credentials make you more than a qualified applicant, but don't put all your eggs in one basket. Remember, the more schools you apply to, the greater chance one of them will present you with a scholarship or financial aid package. Just like the others have said, talk to your councilor and research a variety of viable schools with good engineering programs and cost-saving opportunities.

Best of luck to you.

I can deliver a compelling personal statement. I use the laws of logic in order to make a universal truth. My favorite I use when people try to decieve me; "If you know the truth, you know the lies."

My other choice beside UCR is UCSD and a USC school which specializes in science. I still have a lot of research to do. Thanks for giving me ideas on where to start.

If I get good grades this year, my GPA will be a 3.90

Don't worry about it. Researching options and getting good grades are about all you can do at this point, but you seem off to a great start.