[Patrunjel]

Hi.Like all my topics, this involves a (sometimes retarded) question.What's up with the scholarship thing in the US?
I mean, i have 2 and a half years left of highschool, i'm a complete nerd, and i want to do college in the US.
The point is that i have kinda low grades (the last semester i had something like 7.6 or something, out of 10), but i really don't care.On programming (algorithmics actualy, this is what we do at school) i have straight 10, and i recently got interested in maths and phisics, so i will have straight 10 on them too (in the next semester).
I'm really counting on doing good stuff on the olympics (this is how it's called in my country, it's on area-related stages (something like the town stage, the "state" stage, country stage, and IOI (link: http://ioinformatics.../index.shtml).)
I'm planning to get in the top 5 in my country (my first time) this year.Maybe the next year I will do better.
So, do i have a chance on obtaining a scholarship in the US, based more on my results, than on my grades?


PS: By scholarship i mean just not having to pay the college (not like a free house/donut or something)
PPS:I defenetely want to do CS

PPPS:Now this was an horryfiingly (not spelled right) long topic, i know.

This post has been edited by Patrunjel: 20 January 2011 - 08:59 AM

[BetaWar]

Sure, there is a chance you can get a scholarship, assuming you can find one that you qualify for. Personally, I find there are a few things that can help out in the process:
1. If you are not white
2. If you came from an underprivileged household
3. If you are female

All of the above are categories that I don't fall under, so the number of scholarships that I have available to me are severly diminished (because there are 1 - fewer of them, and 2 - more people competing for the same money).

But that is just my feeling, someone else may have something different to say.

[hookiethe1]

If you really want a scholarship in the USA, give up studying and learn to play American football or basketball. If you're decent at one of those sports you can get a free ride. You can have an IQ of 260 and still have to work 3 jobs to pay for it because they won't give you a cent.

[Patrunjel]

@BetaWar Nothing works for me But i guess I can turn black...Reverse vitilitego or something...Or, maybe, Black Mamba (i can bet this will be edited by a mod:)) )

@hookiethe1 I specified in the first post that i'm a nerd If i'd hold a basketball in my hand, probably i'd need stitches (i'm too lazy for sports )

[hookiethe1]

Well like I said, they don't pay you for being smart or getting good grades, they pay you for bringing in a crowd of slack jawed troglodytes. I guess that's one of the few ways in which college actually does reflect the real world.

[baavgai]

The are scholarships for everyone; you just have to track the buggers down. I mean, just look: http://www.zencolleg...e-scholarships/

Apply to everything that you qualify for. Apply to stuff you just think you qualify for. It isn't a question of "is this what I'm into" so much "gimme teh free cash, k thx."

These little tax write offs must be given away every year. It's like education lotto. You've got to be in it to win it.

[Patrunjel]

Wow.You americans have too mutch money. I'm on my way ! (lol)
Thanks

[dorknexus]

Quote

Well like I said, they don't pay you for being smart or getting good grades, they pay you for bringing in a crowd of slack jawed troglodytes. I guess that's one of the few ways in which college actually does reflect the real world.

I don't know what shitty state college you went too (or perhaps you didn't go to college) but this is entirely false. 50% of my schooling was paid for simply because I got good grades.

[Patrunjel]

@Dark_Nexus By good grades you mean good grades on everything, or good results at different competitions?

[dorknexus]

My grades out of high school qualified me for some financial aid and then my good overall performance once I was in college also gave me more financial aid. I went to school in New Mexico and if you graduated high school with a 2.5 or greater GPA and you go to school the following semester you get the "lottery scholarship" which covers tuition.

My education costs something like ~40,000 US. I paid ~20,000 US. I know plenty of people who had full rides. Also, take note there is no athletics department at my school. My school was purely science, engineering and research.

Of public schools, my school was ranked number 1 in the nation (by the National Science Foundation) for research and proportion of doctorate degrees awarded. That's an amazing value.

This post has been edited by Dark_Nexus: 20 January 2011 - 11:57 AM

[hookiethe1]

That's all well and good if you or your mommy and daddy can afford 20k, the rest of us who have to work our way through are stuck with the shitty state schools, but at least I know the difference between too and to. I'm about to enter my 6th semester at my shitty state school where I had a GPA over 3.5 for the last 5 semesters and academic scholarships here are very rare, and almost never more than 1 or 2k.

This post has been edited by hookiethe1: 20 January 2011 - 12:15 PM

[dorknexus]

Quote

That's all well and good if you or your mommy and daddy can afford 20k

Student loans my man. Which I am now paying off all by my lonesome with my hot shot science/engineering job.

I'm also guessing your education is more expensive than mine as my school is outrageously cheap in comparison to most state schools.

For instance, the University of New Mexico costs about $18,000 US per year.

This post has been edited by Dark_Nexus: 20 January 2011 - 12:28 PM

[modi123_1]

hookiethe1, on 20 January 2011 - 01:14 PM, said:

That's all well and good if you or your mommy and daddy can afford 20k, the rest of us who have to work our way through are stuck with the shitty state schools, but at least I know the difference between too and to. I'm about to enter my 6th semester at my shitty state school where I had a GPA over 3.5 for the last 5 semesters and academic scholarships here are very rare, and almost never more than 1 or 2k.

Wow, bitter much?

[modi123_1]

That's a bit over the line there "guest"...