Advice on paying for college

Right now I am a Junior in Oklahoma who is planning on going to either Okstate or OU, whoever will give the best deal, as has been advised to me, but I have trouble finding a way to pay for college.

Looking at their websites, it looks like I will be able to achieve $8000-$10000 in academic scholarships given my gpa (4.0) and what I plan to make on the ACT (which I have not yet taken, but will in a few months), but that will only pay for half of a single year. Best case scenario is that I make NMF off the PSAT I will be taking, but, you know, that may not happen.

I am not in Oklahoma’s Promise, and my parents will probably pay for very little to none of the fees due to financial issues (they make a combined $70000 a year, but are by no means better off, or in the situation to pay for anything. EFC calculator on collegeboard says “Total Estimated IM Contribution=$4958” but I have no idea what that means or if it is of any help).

Other information that may be relevant: I plan on getting a BS in Psychology and then applying to med school. I have taken an AP test and have earned 6 credit hours so far, and am planning on taking 3-5 more tests. These, assuming I pass, will chip about 20 hours off. At the moment the only school club I am in is Academic Bowl, but I plan on joining a few more clubs this year, as well as StuCo and NHS next year.

Apologies if I have forgotten anything in my anxious stupor, or if it seems jumbled in any way. I do not like the idea of taking out student loans, but if that is the only option, what else am I to do?

“$183,000 is the average amount of medical school debt”

For undergrad, it sounds like you will need to take out student loans since your parents won’t pay. The EFC is the amount that your parents are supposed to pay.

You can borrow $5500 as a freshman. However, premeds shouldn’t borrow much since you’ll have to borrow a HUGE amount for med school.

If you make NMF then your situation will be better. Good luck on the PSAT.