@gleeguy if commuting is a requirement, I’d just set my sights on UMB and be done with college admissions. It has really improved in the last 10 years.
Well my parents want me at home at least for the first two years of college, then i will go to med school wherever.
And I feel like I’m selling myself short by going to UMass Boston. A lot of my friends who care much less about education go to umass without much aspirations. I don’t want to sound snobby but I think I can do better than that. Are there talented kids who deliberately go to state school for better GPA opportunities or financial benefits? That was the whole nature of my question.
Yes, there are. Including the children of at least one poster on this thread. But don’t be so sure about the “GPA opportunities”. Grading is, by one study at least, harder at public than at private schools:
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/19/want-a-higher-g-p-a-go-to-a-private-college/
@gleeguy are your parents lowish income?
How much are they going to be contributing towards college?
They do not want you to live on campus even if the college gave you a full ride?
Gleeguy…yes, you likely could get accepted at one of the gazillion other colleges in the Boston area. Before you apply, however, check the requirements for freshman living on campus as noted upstream here. There are a bunch of schools on your current list that require freshmen (and some sophomores too) to reside on campus…and while they might give an exception for a very good reason, part of what makes these schools what they are are the residential college systems they have.
So you will live on campus for two years of undergrad…after living at home for two years?
If so, you are asking for a tough college choice…one which embraces commuters, and one which also embraces residential students.
And another thing to consider…many college students live off campus after their second year of college.
There is nothing wrong with getting a four year degree while commuting.
Will you have a private place to study in your home? Seems like that could provoke a chanllenge with your 10 siblings (are they all still living at home?).
Re: money…are these siblings younger than you? Are they still living at home? Have any completed college? All of this factors into how much these siblings “count” in terms of the financial aid calculation.
You should feel like you are selling yourself short by not looking beyond Boston.
OP- try this thought experiment- you take organic chemistry (at U Mass or anywhere else) and decide you don’t want to go to med school (which is what happens to a majority of premeds). Then what?
I understand you wanting to/needing to come up with a plan which works for your long term goals. But if I had a dollar for every HS kid I’ve known who claimed they were going to med school who ended up NOT in med school… I’d have a LOT of dollars.
If you feel like you’re selling yourself short by going to U Mass Boston, your gut may be telling you that you’d like to stretch yourself in college beyond just getting your ticket punched for med school admissions.
Which is a perfectly legitimate goal.
So maybe you need to do some thinking around what you’d like to get out of college, putting your professional goals aside for the moment.
U Mass is a very good option for a kid who plans to commute, and who hopes to go to Med school. It is a less good option for some other goals-- and before you lock yourself into the next ten years of your life, maybe your gut is asking you to think about those other goals.
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And I feel like I'm selling myself short by going to UMass Boston.
You should feel like you are selling yourself short by not looking beyond Boston.
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Exactly! You’re the one who isn’t challenging your parents parameters that you must commute to school. By just accepting that w/o explaining to them that you need to try to get enough aid at other schools to cover R&B, you’ve allowed a situation where you’re “selling yourself short.”
You mention that your parents say that you must be at home for 2 years. They probably do not realize that the BEST aid is for incoming frosh. If you were to try to transfer later, you will likely find that you’ll get lousy pkgs.
It looks like the OP’s parents are selling the OP short.
To gleeguy.
On one hand you say your parents want you to live at home. On the other you say it is your choice to do so (even if you receive sufficient financial aid to support living on campus). Could you please clarify this position? Is it your decision, or your parent decision that you reside at home while attending college?
Can your parents contribute to your college costs, and if so, how much?
Are your siblings younger than you or older?
Are all ten siblings dependents of your parents, and do they reside with you?
Will your parents allow you to reside on campus if your aid is sufficient to support this?
What is your annual budget from your parents for college costs?
My parents simply don’t think it is the right age for me to leave the house. I am not American, and the classic Americana mentality of moving away to college doesn’t bode well with my parents, they think it’s dangerous being so young.
DON’T TRY TO CONVINCE ME TO LIVE AT COLLEGE, I’M NOT THE ONE DECIDING, CHANGING MY MIND WILL DO NOTHING.
If it were up to me, I would stay near my parents to come home once or twice a week, but still sleep at college. It has literally nothing to do with money. Their reasoning is that if I leaved in the midwest where there are far fewer colleges, then it would be a different story.
Then again, I live near a lot of awesome colleges, so it’s not so bad that I have to commute. It’s not like I live an hour away from these schools, in most cases they are about 30 minutes or so on public trans. So when I say that I also choose to stay at home it simply means that I’m going to do what my parents think is right for now rather than rebel and break family ties, which is nowhere in my foreseeable future.
My parents typically help with college costs, and we take out loans.
Not all ten sibling are dependents, only seven.
My parents are paying for two of my siblings’ education at UMASS Boston, but I’m not sure the amount.
Well, your task is to find out which colleges within commuting distance allow freshmen to NOT live on campus. Start there. Clearly there are some that won’t allow this unless there is a really good reason. So check that first. No point in applying if the school will require you to live on campus and you absolutely won’t do that.
Another thought for you…some students do start at community colleges, and then transfer to a four year university to complete their bachelors degree. Would this be an option for you? You could commute to a CC. If this is worth exploring, make an appointment to talk to the transfer advisor at the CC you might apply to…and find out where that CC has articulation agreements with four year schools. This could be a good option for you.
No one here is trying to convince you to live on campus. They are pointing out that living on campus is required at some of the Boston schools you listed in your posts.
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I am not American,
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Are you an international or green card holder?
Tufts is not required on campus, and bu has exceptions for locals. Northeastern seems very strict though.
Why is it required anyways? Again, kind of silly to sleep 30 minutes near my house and having to pay and without parental support\food and laundry etc etc.
Because they are residential colleges, not commuter schools.
Kinda critical piece of information to omit if you’re asking for help picking feasible schools…
What is yr visa status?
@gleeguy are you saying your family is not of American origin…but YOU have U.S. citizenship? Or are you here on some kind of visa? Or do you have permanent residence status?
Please clarify. The answers and help you receive could very well be different depending on the response.
I’m sorry for being unclear, I was born here, i am a citizen. My parents are immigrants but now citizens. By not American I mean they don’t subscribe to a lot of the cultural foundations that exist here.
Also, the more I think about it, the more I realize that it’s probably better to go to whichever school gives me the most money, as I don’t have a huge preference towards one vs another.
NO…you go to the school with an affordable NET cost to your family after your financial aid has been applied.
Example. School one costs $30,000 a year and you get a $20,000 financial aid award, that school will cost YOU $10,000 out of pocket.
School two costs $60000 a year and you get a $30,000 award, the remainder would be $30,000 out of pocket.
Even though the second school gave you more and, your net cost is three times what the first school would be.
Net cost is what matters…not the amount of aid you get.
And the very first thing you need to know…what CAN and WILL your parents contribute towards your college costs annually.