<p>What little savings my parents had has been depleted. I have no savings from working because all my money goes for my own expenses around the house, car, insurance, etc. My parents do have home equity which many schools will count. </p>
<p>Last year my parents' AGI was $75K and his year will be less due to a downturn in the economy (very small family business). Should I even bother to apply to out-of-state colleges? </p>
<p>I'll be receiving state scholarships (paying roughly half cost) and everyone tells me to stay in-state, but I wanted the out-of-state experience. Any hope? Thanks.</p>
<p>If you are talking about an out of state public U I would drop it. Public U's don't tend to offer much financial aid to out of state students and you can get a similar education via your own state U. If you have some good stats you might consider a private school which has a good endowment.</p>
<p>Avoid out-of-state public schools unless you have excellent stats and the school offers merit-based awards to out-of-state students. Generally, public schools offer little to no financial aid to applicants whose parents' household income exceeds $50,000.</p>
<p>Do apply to private schools with large endowments who can afford to offer you a more generous financial aid package to offset/reduce the costs.</p>
<p>dude apply to both in state and out. you don't know how much in grants and scholarships u can get from out of state institutions. im going to usc, and they gave me enough aid so its cheaper to go there than my state school at oregon</p>
<p>So that we all can know what we are talking (writing) about.... what are your stats??</p>
<p>GPA?</p>
<p>SAT?</p>
<p>ACT?</p>
<p>SATII? (if any)</p>
<p>AP classes? (if any)</p>
<p>What state do you live in so that we can recommend some locations that aren't too far away. (BTW.... did your mom post a similar story in the Parent's section? I saw a similar story there from a mom.)</p>
<p>Ok... I see that you're a girl from AZ. (Boys are sometimes able to snag some $$$ at LAC's that want more males on campus). </p>
<p>Now, I know that you want to go out-of-state, but your SAT's are not that high (M + CR = 1200, right?) to get much merit money. </p>
<p>So.... in case the "FAFSA route" does not yield the type of aid that you will need to go out of state, you need to pursue a few different options NOW, so that you won't be left "empty-handed" come spring.</p>
<p>Along with all the great options that others have offered here, you need to apply to state schools as well (again, so that you won't end up "empty handed" in the spring if the other options don't "pan out".</p>
<p>AzSt and UArizona offer some pretty generous merit scholarships that as an "in-state" student, you should qualify to receive. I know that you want to go "out of state," but if either (or both) of these universities are not close to your home, then you will have the "going away from home" experience - just in your own state. (My son goes to an in-state school that is 250 miles away. He still is getting the "going away to school" experience.)</p>
<p>I strongly advise you NOT to ONLY apply to "out-of-state" schools. My friend's child did just that (she refused to apply to state schools during the fall of her senior year) and when the F/A did not come thru from her "chosen colleges", she ended up having to apply late to a state school, However, it was too late to get any merit money from the state school (often there is a Dec 1st deadline for apps if you want a scholarship). IF she had applied to the school on time and did the scholarship app on time, she would have gotten a full tuition scholarship. Her stubborness has costed her parents thousands of dollars each year. Of course her mom wishes she had filled out a state app behind her d's back!</p>
<p>Also, if AzSt and/or UArizona will accept December SAT scores for scholarship consideration, please consider taking the SAT again.... I can send you our family's "tried and true" method for improving your test scores. :)</p>