Hi guys - I’m really hoping for some advice here. After finally hearing back from all my colleges, I was accepted into several with full tuition covered: ASU, Alabama, OSU, WSU. I was accepted into all the honors engineering programs they had such as Barrett for ASU, CBH for Bama and the honors for the others. These, of course, are great options for engineering and financially. I also was accepted into USC, UCLA , UW, Cal Poly and wait listed at MIT. I got a 32,500 scholarship at CWRU, except these is still very costly since I live in WA. My ‘dream’ schools - or where I really wish I could go - are USC or UCLA. I only got half tuition at USC, and some small programs for UCLA (Fast Track and CEED) that offered very small stipends compared to the cost of attendance. My problem is that I have no financial aid whatsoever because my parents refused to fill out the FAFSA. My parents essentially told me if I chose to attend one of the California schools I would be completely on my own as they would not pay for any of the costs. This would mean almost 250k of student loans which I know is completely INSANE. I’ve read articles about people struggling with just 30K. I’ve been trying non-stop to find ways to afford these schools, but also try to understand that it’s not worth it since there are other great schools offering full tuition- I just don’t want to give up just yet. I’ve played soccer very competitively all my life before I suffered a bad knee injury in HS. I was on track to play in college and believe I could have gotten recruited somewhere (for frame of reference my coach was in contact with Harvard recruiters back in HS). I thought if I tried to be a walk on I could get something there. Just to note, I would not be playing soccer just for a scholarship. It’s always been a dream of mine to play collegiate soccer and I’ve been working for this forever There are also ways to declare myself as an independent to help with the whole FAFSA side of things. I’m just very lost right now and trying to figure out where my future is going to take me. It’s been extremely tough with my parents so if someone could provide some perspective or their POV, it would be very much appreciated and help give some clarity.
USC requires PROFILE, not just FASFA. Congrats on Presidential Scholarship. If it’s any consolation, with that, you likely wouldn’t have received much more need based aid depending on your parent’s income.
Your odds of both playing as a walk on and getting a sholarship for soccer at USC are about the same as getting in at HPYS. The women’s team is reigning national champ - far above soccer at Harvard. For men, it is a club sport.
You can only take out $27K/4 years in loans as a student. Anything beyond that amount would have to be cosigned by your parents. If they will not fill out the FASFA then I doubt they will cosign loans.
If you attend a non-CA school, will your parents pay?
@Gumbymom It really depends- if they approve of it and set limits such as not letting me play soccer then they would for some. If I choose to play soccer then they’d pay none of it so I’m trying to figure it all out 
Honestly, if you’re in engineering, I’m not sure you will have much time and energy for competitive soccer. If I were you, I’d check to see what requirements there are to keep the scholarships all 4 years, what % of engineering students kept their full funding all 4 years, what % of engineers graduate in 4 years and choose one of the fully funded options with ABET accredited engineering program and don’t look back. Graduating debt-free will give you loads of options!
Surely you can find an acceptable choice among the four full tuition awards you received. It’s likely that they far surpass any financial aid you would have received at ANY school, public or private, even if your parents had completed the FAFSA.
I know nothing about soccer recruiting but think it very unlikely that you could walk on at any of the schools you listed, especially after a bad injury. So why antagonize your parents over something that probably won’t happen?
With eng’g, you wouldn’t likely have time to do a sport. You’d also need to be working since you’d need money.
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thought if I tried to be a walk on I could get something there. <<
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Nope. Walk ons don’t get athletic awards, at least at first. Rarely, after the student has excelled after a season or two AND if an athlete with an award leaves, then"maybe" a school might award some scholarship money.
A walk-on should assume that no money will be awarded.
Also…for a school of USC’s athletic level, walk-ons are invited to walk-on.
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This would mean almost 250k of student loans which I know is completely INSANE.
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don’t worry, this will never happen because any parent who won’t fill out FAFSA certainly wouldn’t cosign loans. No bank will lend you the funds w/o income-qualified cosigners.
There are no ways for you to become independent for FAFSA unless you marry. Also, USC is a CSS Profile school and they will still expect to see your parent info.
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I've been trying non-stop to find ways to afford these schools, but also try to understand that it's not worth it since there are other great schools offering full tuition- I just don't want to give up just yet. <<<
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There are no ways. If there were, there are millions of kids in similar situations who would have used those ways.
I’m sorry that you’re getting dead-ends here, but the sooner you realize that your desire is impossible, the sooner you’ll focus on deciding about your realistic choices. You’re just butting your head into a wall trying to find a path that does not exist.
Tell us about your realistic choices.
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really want a college that offers the whole “college experience” with big sports teams and a large campus,
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I just saw this your other thread…
Since there is no way for you to get most of the money you’d need, you’d have to work a lot.
HOW would you enjoy the “college experience,” “big sports teams,” etc, when you’d need to be working much of the time that you’re not in college?
How much would your parents cut you off? Cell phone? Car insurance? What else? Clothing? Health expenses?