i am really good at math (algebra and geometry included) but go to a really crappy school that doesn’t offer hardly any extra curriculur or special programs such as advanced math/trigonometry. so, to make your record look good for college, about the only thing you can do is take home-ec or play a sport. but i can’t sew worth crap and DEFINITELY can’t play sports - geez, i must’ve got hit in the head sixty times with a basketball i didn’t see coming in P.E. (i do like kickball… too bad it’s not an official sport.) so, my mom suggested i take an online trigonometry course or something advanced like that at Tech. i’m not sure how much that would cost, but one of my sister’s books alone there cost well over $100. so, i was wondering, does FAFSA pay for high school students with exceptional grades and low incomes (my mom’s income qualified for it when my sister went to college a year ago.) to take courses? or maybe i could just do it the summer after 12th grade if not, i guess.
If you can get into the school you want you should qualify for financial aid. You might try to find out if you can participate in theupward bound program at FDTC.
Here they are.
Ask your guidence counselor if your school district has a Post-Secondary Education program.
Since last summer, I’ve taken Calc II, General Physics I, Calc III, and am now taking Differential Equations and General Physics II, all as 12th grader. The school district didn’t pay for the Calc II class because it was during the summer, but for the others they covered the price of tuition and of the books.
To quailfy for PSE the class you want to take must not be offered by your school, and I believe you have to be in the 11th or 12th grade.
If you live near a private college/university/community college, and if the class you want into isn’t full, there is a good chance you can get in. It doesn’t really matter what type of college you take the class at because, for example, I take Diff EQ at a community college and Physics at a private college.
I’m not sure if this is just a regional program, though. I live in Iowa, and I know someone from Minnesota that has done the same thing, but my guess is that it’s a nationwide program.
i checked out that upward thing, and it said to get into the program, you have to go to one of about six public schools around here. but i go to a private school. why is this? i livie in one of the qualifying school’s districts, and my mom pays taxes. shouldn’t that be enough? or are they concerned we might bless our food in the program if we go to a private school? is there some loophole or exception that could get me around this?
Go and talk to your school guidance counselor/principal, but particularly the guidance counselor. S/he may have some information about programs like you’re thinking about.
And the FAFSA stands for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid - and that’s what is used to determine your eligibility for need-based aid. From the FAFSA site, some of the requirements are:
That doesn’t mean there aren’t programs out there that could help you out with this though.
I took Calc I & II while I was a senior in high school. We had a college in my home town, I talked to a couple of my math teachers and they had connections at the college. I only had to pay for my book, and I didn’t even have to fill out any forms or anything (amazing!!!). I’m sure I got some kind of special deal, but you should definitely ask around at your school. Good luck.
They write their grant for specific public schools. So that’s the way the Dept of Education makes them work. If they serve people from other schools and get caught they will loose their jobs. This is too bad for other students.
Actually being at a private school could be disadvantage in this case. Like the other posters said have you talked to a guidance counselor at your school? Also there is an office of academic advisement on the campus called “The Success Center” why not call them up?
you mean in many cases. and, no, we don’t have a guidance counselor or anything of the sort. do you guys think there’s any way i could associate myself with a public school without actually going to one? (by maybe taking a class or two there or something?)
who writes what grant, and why can’t they just make the program free for public school kids and make private school kids like me either pay for it themselves or through a program like FAFSA? that’s just plain stupid. is the program actually part of Tech? if so, how come kids who have graduated from a private school can go there if they’re so prejudiced against us?
oh yeah, let me stop ranting. can anyone help me find a similar program or anything cheap or free that’ll look good on my record? like i said, i’m good academically but not at sports.
i’m legally blind (20/200 in my left eye and 20/400 in my right). there used to be a guy in my church who was involved with the SC commission for the blind. he said they would help me get into college (i think pay part of the costs). does anyone know exactly how much they’ll pay (amount or percentage)? we haven’t actually gotten involved in it yet, but hopefully we will by this summer (before my senior year in high school).
agh. i meant to make a new thread with that last post. i’m used to the other vBulletin boards with “NEW THREAD” buttons on the page that pops up after you post a reply.
In many cases the program director wrote the grant in other cases the institution hires a professional grant writer.
Yes but Tech doesn’t pay for it, Upward Bound is funded through the Department of Education and must abide by the regulations the Department has created for program administration.
The Department of Education created programs like Upward Bound to increase college enrolment of students meeting certain criteria. In this case those with a low income, a disability, or whose parents do not have a bachelor’s degree.
If I remember correctly from the grant-writing some of my high school teachers did, they had to write up a specific program they wanted money for and weren’t allowed to use it for anything else or the money could be taken away. I assume it’s similar in this situation.
Secondly, FAFSA isn’t a program. It’s just the application to get federal student aid. Generally, you send your FAFSA to your college of choice and they use that information to dole out the gov’t-provided money they have. Some also use it for consideration for private scholarships.
Third, if you’re interested, there are quite a few fairly inexpensive summer programs offered by various colleges. My university has a week-long summer program for $450 with some scholarships available, for one. The colleges tend to use this sort of thing for recruiting, so try looking at colleges you’re considering to see if they have any programs. It’s just a summer thing, but it’s better than nothing.
I don’t know about SC but here in GA the Department of Human Resources Vocational Rehabilitation office will pay for your school if you have a disability.
SC Voc Rehab
Because you have a disability if you get into Tech you qualify for their Student Support Services Program. If you demonstrate financial need they can help you out with money (“Grant Aid”) and provide academic support. SSS is funded in much the same fashion as upward bound except rather than being enrolled in certain schools public schools you must be enrolled at FDTC to use their service. They are right here