<p>Im going into my junior year but i have already fallen in love with chicago and i really really really wanna go there. The one thing that really makes me wonder though is the 40,000 dollar cost. im not eligible for need based aid i think but my parents will only pay about 17 thousand. What i want to know is how many oppurtunites there are to raise the money. I really dont want to be in debt so i dont want to take a loan. By the end of this year i will have a 5.1 GPA and i havnt taken the SAT yet. Im in 2 sports, a member of 13 clubs, ive done 60+ hours of community service and im in the american red cross junior society. I really want to go here and thats why im doing all this work. If i do well on the SAT and have good essays what are the possibilities out there to raise that much money becuase i know it is a substantial amount. does U of C have many programs for people who arnt need based? thanks in advance for your time</p>
<p>Ian,</p>
<p>You need to have a long chat with yourself AND with your parents.
You can only borrow a few thou per year yourself, and earn at most a few thou more per year for expenses, and that's if you work your bottom of during the summer AND during the school year.</p>
<p>You need to work on your parents, help them to realize it is their borrowing power that would make this possible. They need to look at college like they do buying a car - paying for it over time.</p>
<p>what about scholarships are alumni programs? i need someone to help in pointing the way</p>
<p>u of c has some merit scholarships, but one cannot count on them. Beyond that, check the scholarship boards here.</p>
<p>Expecting to pay $17,000 for a top teer education without having financial need and without taking out any loans is completely unrealistic. (sorry if this sounds mean!) You either:
A. want to look into State Schools
B. Want to look into less presitgious schools which are more likely to offer you merit-based aid (check out Vanderbilt, USC, and others). I hear Chicago only offers 30 merit scholarship.
c. Reconsider taking out loans. The average student graduates with nearly $20,000 of debt and lives with it.
d. go to fastweb.com and double check if you are eligible for aid.
e. talk with your parents. If you are definately not eligible for financial aid, your parents can probably afford to pay more than $17,000. Top schools wont pity you much if your parents can afford to pay full tuition but wont because they are cheap.</p>
<p>One minor point of clarification, The University provides about 30 full tuition scholarships a year, there are another 100 or so merit awards in the $9500 range awarded as well. Still, that is not many, and not to be counted on.</p>
<p>thanks fastweb.com is a good website.. im just gonna have to work my butt off but im sure itll be worth it.</p>
<p>Ian,
You need to use one of the financial aid calculators to determine what your EFC (expected family contribution) is. Unless you are an international, financial aid is available well into to 6-figure incomes (unless you have significant resources such as a business or a lot of home equity). We parents are expected to contribute out of pocket income as well as past or future savings. If the $17,000 you parents are currently willing to contribute is significantly less than your EFC, you can apply to U of C and hope for the big bucks - but you must also apply where the initial cost is less (a public institution) or you would be likely to receive merit aid.</p>