Amherst Financial Problems, Tranfer

Colleges and Universities A-Z Amherst College
1

<p>I have a familial dilemma that might force me to transfer from Amherst College, and I’m trying to get some advice. My household income is over $200,000, with almost all of it coming from my father’s income. Amherst is cutting us some financial aid, but we’ll still have to pay (after fin. aid and FAFSA loans) $36,000. I’m not sure if that’s a good package, but we had way more last year (brother was still in college, and father’s income was less). The financial issue is not that he can’t pay it, but that my father is having an affair with a woman who lives in South Africa (his home country) and he is giving this woman a HUGE amounts of money. He brought this woman a nice-sized house, he’s paid large amounts for her daughter’s college education, he’s given out thousands to family members as well. Helping family members isn’t so bad, but a lot of them just leech off of him instead of actually trying to make a living for themselves…and he’s not putting his family over here first. Given the situation with this woman who he’s devoting a large percentage of our income to, he’s made some indications to my mother that he might leave us out to dry. By all indications, I have his support for this year, but I basically feel like at some point over the next three years he’s going to bail and we’re not going to be able to handle the tuition at Amherst. I know Amherst is need-based, and my mother is a working woman (makes around $30,000), but I’m still afraid.</p>

<p>I have a full-ride football scholarship to a JUCO (two-year college), New Mexico Military Institute. I would go here, play for a season, and then (if all goes as planned) transfer and play on scholarship at a D1 school. I had a few others over the past few months, but because of circumstances I deumurred and either declined or lost them. I was once a nationally ranked (by ESPN and Scout.com) football recruit who had 7 or 8 division-I offers. I went to Delaware in 2010 (before I started at Amherst), and left because it was absolutely miserable (it had to do with more than football, won’t get into it). Now, I have a chance to play D-I football again–if I do well at NMMI. It’s a risk. I could get injured, which would make getting scholarship difficult. And as skilled a player as I am, I could still possibly underperform and wind up with no offers. Because of eligibility, I have a small window of time…this window is actually going to close now for these JUCO opportunities. I may not even have a week at this point, since Fall camp actually starts tomorrow. I’ve been trying like crazy to decide since Spring, but circumstances keep changing which stresses me out and makes it more difficult to decide. I would not be able to attend JUCO next year because I have only 3 years of NCAA eligiblity left and you need at least 2 to transfer back up to D1 (after spending 1 at a JUCO). So it’s not as if I could wait and see on my father and then jump ship if necessary.</p>

<p>I’m just not sure what to do and I want some advice. I’m extremely confused and it’s taking a toll on me mentally. Amherst is a great school, but it sometimes happens that students dropout of college because of cost. That would be an absolute nightmare for me…to have my father bail, to not have a degree, and to basically have to live in indigence with no way to continue school, and slim prospects of getting a decent-paying job that I can support myself on. I’d probably wind up in a mental hospital. The scholarship is tempting, but then JUCO may not pan out either, and if I finish my year at NMMI without any offers, it’s sort of all for nothing basically. The possibiliy of financial self-sufficience is attractive…wish I could roll back the clock a few years, but there were circumstances that made those times difficult.</p>

<p>Any advice would be greatly appreciated.</p>

2

<p>First of all, I’m sorry about your family situation. You seem to taking it rather stoically, but I’m assuming your parents are either contemplating divorce or are separated - not that that would make any difference as far as Amherst is concerned.</p>

<p>I’m a little confused by your statement

Does this mean, you were looking forward to a career in football after playing for Amherst for four years? That was a risky career move, IMO and you should probably separate the two issues by asking yourself which is more important, playing professional football or getting a college degree? If it’s the latter, you should probably wlden your search to include a larger assortment of financial safeties. If you’re willing to lose a year (i.e., start over as a freshman) I’m sure there are schools out there that would offer you merit aid that would not be contingent upon playing a sport. Also, talk to Amherst. Maybe, if you take a gap year and show that you are financially independent from your parents, you could qualify for financial aid on your own? </p>

<p>If your priority is the career in football, however, I don’t know what to tell you. It sounds from your description that that ship is about to sail. Would starting over as a freshman reset the clock at all?</p>

3

<p>The cited statement about NMMI regards my concern about potentially finishing up without getting any full-ride scholarship offers to DI football programs. So I would do a year at NMMI, and ideally get a scholarship somewhere. The point is that above all else I need a way to finance my education. Playing football can do that, and also potentially enable me to have a professional career. But of course that isn’t guaranteed, and neither is getting a scholarship anywhere (which my performance has done before). Nothing’s guaranteed…that’s what’s so terrible about this situation on both sides. No, when I transferred to Amherst I pretty much decided that football was going to be out of the picture. You don’t get drafted out of a place like that (DIII school). Amherst was a purely academic choice. There is no way to reset your eligibility clock for the NCAA. With injury, it can be prolonged, but those are only in specific cases and obviously I cannot (and would not be willing to) inflict intentional injury on myself for such a purpose.</p>

<p>Starting over as a freshman is out. I graduated high school in 2009. I’m not about to roll back the clock, it’s just too much to lose at this point. I already did that once, actually, when coming to Amherst. My priority is being self-sufficient and getting my education, but in this case it looks like football is the path to that. I just don’t know if Amherst is going to have my back.</p>

4

<p>Oh, I see; NMMI is the JUCO (I assume that means, junior college) you were referring to.</p>

<p>Applying to a junior college (or, CC) just to finish out your sophomore year seems a little crazy; your back-up, financial safety should be a four-year college, not a CC (or, JUCO). Have you eliminated all of your home state public four-year colleges? You might actually qualify for some in-state merit aid.</p>

<p>Also, I wouldn’t go any further before having a talk with Amherst; they’re supposed to have pretty deep pockets; let’s see whether they really do have your back.</p>

5

<p>.Amherst is very generous with their aid. That being said, you should be asking if your DAD is going to have your back, not Amherst.</p>

6

<p>I would advise against another transfer if you are otherwise happy at Amherst and can work it out. It doesn’t look great to list 4 schools on your resume as an undergraduate, regardless of which circumstances made the transfers necessary. Future employers may be worried about your staying power…</p>

<p>I completely agree with GA2012MOM – have a heart-to-heart with you father about the financial issue before making a move. If you are injured along the way, your award at Amherst remains. Good luck!</p>

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<p>John, the point is I’d be going to a JUCO for a year to try to get a football scholarship to a four-year school. Then I’d have two years to play football and study for free. I haven’t explored in-state options, and that would be an absolute last resort.</p>

8

<p>^^Buggering on at Amherst for another year, even if you can’t pay for it, makes better sense. A gap loan of 15-20 grand would still leave you in no worse shape than the average American student.</p>