<p>I was just wondering if any of you are out there besides myself. I can afford any college of my choice thanks to a nice inheritance left by my grandpa. However, I think it would be very poor of me and unwise to blow it all in 4 years on a 45000/year school. That is why I am applying to only schools that have merit scholarships(that I can win)to reduce the bill to a max of 7000 a year for tuition + room/board. Anyone else in a similar situation?</p>
<p>Keep in mind that any merit-based aid will reduce need-based aid.</p>
<p>You are not alone! I know someone who can afford to attend the college/university of his choice and who has the qualifications to be considered competitive at the college/university of his choice and he too thinks he can procure a terrific education elsewhere without spending his inheritance.</p>
<p>Funny how kids get careful when it's their own money, huh? ;)</p>
<p>Define "rip off."</p>
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Keep in mind that any merit-based aid will reduce need-based aid.
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<p>some schools only give grants in the form of "merit-scholarships" - i.e. there are no "need based grants" - they only make this clear sometime in April when you get your financial aid award.</p>
<p>Jclay2 - go for it. Are you saying you would pay tuition of $7000 plus room and board OR that the net total of tuition and room& board with the merit scholarship would be $7000?</p>
<p>Madad,Because of my parents income, I can't receive need based aid.
JustaMOmof4, Net Total would be 7000.
UCLAri: Rip off as in for the career I want, I don't need anything but a plane old math major, couple of actuary exams, and an internship. Not a 200,000 college bill.</p>
<p>I haven't seen many schools where you can get room, board and books and all those add on fees for $7000 - at least not here in the northeast where r & B is over $10,000. Please post the schools where you find it. At the schools where my son was offered full tuition (merit $), we were surprised at how much it cost even with "free" tuition - not complaining, just an observation.</p>
<p>The schools I am looking at include Maryville, St. Louis, Carthage, Wisconsin University of Utah,</p>
<p>jclay2,</p>
<p>The problem with your plan is that you're assuming that you will not change career goals at all. This is a very dangerous assumption for someone just starting undergrad.</p>
<p>With no ECs except varsity tennis, your chances of admission probably are low for top 25 colleges except perhaps for some LACs, which tend to have a hard time attracting males. </p>
<p>Still, with your 3.9 gpa and good ACT, I think that you could get merit aid to better colleges than you're considering.</p>
<p>While I've seen empirical examples that would suggest that it's not worth spending a lot on college (or even going at all, once you factor in lost wages), it seems to me that the typical person, some colleges may be expensive, but they're worthwhile investments. If you're really better off saving the inheritance that would put you through a $45000/year college, why not skip school entirely, work at McDonalds for a few years, and just work on investing the money wisely?</p>
<p>jclay, my son attended an expensive private LAC for 2 years. He has transferred and is finishing college at in-state public, annual tuition ~$3500. He has had far more opportunities at the in-state public, and his second/final year there is essentially tuition free due to merit awards he has received. </p>
<p>I think if you are a strongly academic/intellectual type person, then you might be disappointed in the quality of instruction at the public colleges you are looking at. However, my son is a National Merit finalist -- extremely bright -- and he really likes the faculty and the way classes are taught at his state U. It is not the same level of academics as the elite private, but my son isn't bored, either. At one point he commented that he felt the reading lists at his state U were sparse, saying "If I were still at X LAC, we would be reading all of these works" (and listing specific writers & their famous works -- the class in question was a political theory course, so it was easy to describe the presumed reading list. I asked, "what's stopping you from reading those books on your own?" The answer was that he was too busy with his half-time job, which he absolutely loved --- but the point is the same: you can go to a less prestigious college and if you find that the demands of any given class are not challenging enough you can supplement the reading on your own. You can actually get a better education that way -- and you will find your mid-range university profs will be absolutely delighted to have a student who is smart and engaged; they will be very open to meeting with you and giving you guidance and suggestions. (Believe me: the profs at most of these colleges are intelligent and accomplished -- they often are more focused on teaching than profs at more prestigious colleges, as they are not under the same pressure to publish and do not have the same sort of opportunities for research).</p>
<p>total cost with merit scholarship $7000? wow.
I agree with jerzgrlmom - hard to find room and board for $7000 in the northeast.</p>
<p>take it. take out student loans and invest the money. you will get a decent college education and a good investment.
then spend your money on grad school. when you figure out what you want to do.</p>
<p>jclay2: It's more than a "couple of actuary exams." It's like 10, and they are not easy. It can take a decade to get through them all.</p>
<p>Get the best education you can. And spend the least on it that you can.</p>
<p>By a couple of Actuary Exams, I mean the first 3 or 4 by the time I graduate College. I hope to have them all done by the time I am 25 though.</p>
<p>Why is it a waste of money? Just because the school is expensive they're ripping you off? Then why do people go there instead of going somewhere cheaper? That doesn't seem right.</p>