Jay Said:

college/scholarships/grants and such?

We Answered:

Some scholarships will award before completing the FAFSA because they are not need based scholarships. These scholarships are based on how well academically you have done and other strengths such as sports and leadership.

Scholarships that are need based, requre that you fill out a FAFSA and may ask certain financial questions, among regular scholarship questions. These are awarded later in the year usually after you recieve your W2's.

Scholarships locally are easiest to obtain. I would start with any throughout your school and county. Counties usually have County Foundation scholarships. State are then next best to have a chance for. National are most difficult, but you should never not try. There is a chance yours may stand out!

Grants are usually given by the government and they are need based. Scholarships are given buy agencies and may or may not be need based. To recieve most grants, you must fill out the FAFSA.

Lance Said:

grants, scholarships and general college questions?

We Answered:

1) Do I need to wait until I get my SAT scores to apply for colleges, grants and scholarships?

Most 4 year colleges and universities require your SAT or ACT scores along with your high school transcript in order to determine if you will be accepted or not. While most 2 year community colleges do not require a SAT or ACT score, only your transcript, since you're almost always going to be "accepted'.

Grants do not require your SAT scores, since it is need-based and not academic based.

Some scholarships require an SAT score, those are academic scholarships, while others do not and may only require an application and essay.

2) My GPA is below 3.0 right now. By the end of this semester it should be above that. BUT I will have to apply for college in November and my grades for the current semester won't show up on my transcripts. Does this mean all the colleges I apply to will not even see my current semester and not include the grades I have now?

Right, your current grades will not show up on your transcript, only grades from 9th to 11th grade.

3) I am going to apply for the Pell Grant and need to know what exactly does that cover? I know it depends on my parents income, but will it cover my living expenses if I choose to live on campus? if so, is that all it will cover?

The most you can receive from the Pell Grant is $5,550 per year. It's a small amount and if you choose to go to a university, it's not even enough to cover for tuition, not to mention living expenses. You will have to rely on loans to cover for most of your tuition cost.

4) I currently attend Faith Academy high school. One of the teachers advised me to have scores of my SAT sent to them via the college board website. Faith Academy did not show up on the list of places I could have my scores sent to. does this mean I should/will have to have my scores and transcript sent separately? As in, I will have to send colleges my SAT scores through college board and my transcripts through my high school.

Some high schools include your SAT scores on your transcript, and if it does not, you can request your SAT score sheet and send it together with your transcript to the universities. Submit/send your transcript and test scores YOURSELF, don't rely on your highschool to do it for you.