I recently received a full ride scholarship from a private university in my home state. While the amount of majors are limited, it’s a small school in a huge city that I fell in love with. On the other hand, before finding this school, I planned on moving across the country to attend a large university. I do have a scholarship interview for this school, but if I receive it, it would be no more than $10,000 for a school that is around $22,000 just for tuition. While I still have financial aid, I will not receive enough to even come close to a full ride. The difference is, I’ve met so many people at the large public school and the idea of moving across the country is enticing.
Does the small school have the majors you are interested in? If do, that seems like the obvious choice, since it looks like the other school will be too expensive.
If not, then do you have any other academically suitable and affordable choices, because a choice between one academically unsuitable school and one unaffordable school is like no choice at all?
Can you afford the other university? Although cost is a major factor it is not the only factor. I wouldn’t recommend going to a school you can’t afford but that is not the same as going to the school that will cost you the least. You and your family have to decide what you can afford and then chose from there. Do consider what the saving might mean in the long run. Neither of my kids chose the cheapest school but they did have to chose what was within our budget.
I’m on my own for paying for college- no help from my parents. It’s not something I’m upset with, but it does mean that I want to choose something that isn’t going to put me in a hole financially for the rest of my life. My family’s income is going to lead me to not getting much in aid, but their income itself isn’t going to help me pay for college, either.
They have the exact major I want while also having a good graduate program for it, as well. I’ll be perfect there academically, it’s just that I’ve grown attached to the people I’ve met at the other school and the idea of being there, on and on. Both schools would be a big life change for me.
If they have your major and it’s a full ride, then I don’t see how you can turn it down. Without help, it seems unlikely that you could afford the other option. You are aware that you are limited in how much you would be able to take in loans, right?
Take the full ride. Move to the other area when you graduate if you want. Never move because of other people…they may or not be your friends, stay at college, and then you have $40,000 in debt.
If you are paying for it on your own a full ride is something hard to turn down and I strongly would encourage not going into debt. You will feel the excitement for both schools and it sounds like even the smaller school is in a big city so you will have a many new opportunities and experiences. Good luck to you and Congratulations. I am sure it took a lot of hard work to get you to where you are right now.
If the other school is $22,000 for tuition, it is probably around $35,000 to $40,000 for total yearly cost of attendance ($25,000 to $30,000 if you do get that $10,000 scholarship). So that will be $100,000 to $160,000 total. Without parental help, you cannot afford that school. Borrowing that amount is a bad idea, and you cannot borrow it without parent cosigner (which is a bad idea even they are willing).
So take the full ride to the school with your major.
OMG _ Take the free ride. Do the math and include travel costs. See what your monthly loan payements will be if you go across country. The choice will be easy. Then go away for GRAD SCHOOL if you still have the itch
“I’m on my own for paying for college- no help from my parents. It’s not something I’m upset with, but it does mean that I want to choose something that isn’t going to put me in a hole financially for the rest of my life.”
You can only borrow $5,500 for your freshman year, $6,500 for your sophomore year, $7,500 for your junior year, and $7,500 for your senior year in federal student loans. Anything more than that you will need to find a co-signer for. So unless you have a whole bunch of savings, or a skill set that means you can make an awful lot of money in a part-time job while you are in college, even the potentially large merit scholarship is not going to make the OOS place affordable.
Most places do not stack need-based aid on top of merit-based aid. For example, if the institution determines that your family can pay $15,000 out of a total bill of $30,000, and you get a merit scholarship for $20,000, that will be it. You won’t qualify for any further aid - other than an unsubsidized student loan.
Is the small school reputable? If there’s accreditation, is your major accredited? How many professors teach full time in your major? Is there scholarship linked to maintaining a specific GPA and if so, what is it?
It doesn’t sound like it’s worth the cost. Basically you’re getting an out of state tuition waiver. Congratulations, you get to pay the same sticker price all the in-state people pay! It doesn’t sound like a bargain at all. I would go for the full ride! High student debt can sabotage an early career.
To answer some questions: the school that gave me the full ride is a very small women’s university that ranks in the top 100 of the midwest. My major is accredited and there is a 12:1 student ratio with 81.5 percent of the classes being 20 people or less. There are three full time professors for my major. The scholarship itself requires that I maintain a 3.5 GPA and not only covers my tuition, but my room and board also.
The other school, on the other hand, just recently accepted me for in-state tuition since my living situation has me split 50/50 in two states. Now that this is a thing, their cost for me went from around $33,000 to around $19,000. Not a big difference at all, but worth mentioning.
Take the full ride. Of course, I wish I knew the schools that you were considering. The only possible reason that you might not take the full ride were if the school wasn’t accredited or is in some sort of very serious financial trouble (read: its doors might be closing soon).
I’m also unsure what the attraction is to the large university across the country. Is the issue getting away from home? Prestige? Is the private university not only in-state but in your immediate area (and, thus, you’re sad to be commuting rather than truly going away to college?).
Take the full ride. You stated that the full-ride university is a “small school in a huge city that I fell in love with,” and though there’s a potential misplaced modifier there (is it the school or the city that you fell in love with?), it sounds like you are quite happy with this option. Take it.