<p>I'm a senior and I've applied to many schools. All but one of them are in-state schools. I have pretty good stats but I don't think it's scholarship worthy. I've applied to all schools that had a scholarship deadline before that deadline, and I've found out about 2 schools but so far no aid packages.</p>
<p>I have done a lot of research on Financial Aid and what options would be best for me financially after high school, since my parents don't make much and don't have any savings. It seems like my best option would be to go to a 4 year university after this year. I was told by the CC Rep that people who transfer to most schools don't get great aid packages, and that I could technically finish at a CC in less than a year, too. I filed my FAFSA already and have an EFC of 2440, which my parents say they should be able to pay each year. I also have 2 siblings, one will be start when I'm in my junior year, and the other will be a freshman when I am a senior.</p>
<p>It looks like all the schools I have a chance at will include loans in my Financial Aid package. Only one of them guarantees to meet need, but I don't think I can get in, and the school isn't one I really want to go to anyway.</p>
<p>I have a "dream school" for after I graduate (SUNY School of Optometry), but we'll see what that happens. I know that the costs of Optometry school regardless will be expensive wherever I go. I'm concerned about what I should do about undergrad if I'm going to take out loans for grad school. I know many people say not to take out loans for both...but that seems to be the only way I'll be able to do undergrad to even get into an Optometry school.</p>
<p>I think the common wisdom is not to take borrow excessively for undergrad…not that you shouldn’t take Stafford/Perkins loans. Many students want to do the whole $50K dream school and then go to grad/med school and that’s where they get into way too much debt. </p>
<p>Are you a NYS resident? If so, you should be eligible for both a TAP and Pell grant, so make sure you do the TAP app on the HESC website. I think the SUNY/CUNY schools do a pretty good job at meeting most of the need for lower-income families, although some of it will certainly be in the form of loans and work-study. Are you intending to live on campus or are you close enough to commute to one of the publics on your list?</p>
<p>I’m not an NYS resident…SUNY is my dream school for after undergrad. That’s why it’s a dream, haha. We’ll see if I can do well enough in college to maybe get a scholarship or something. I haven’t looked tooo much into it since it’s 4 years from now. =) </p>
<p>Unfortunately, the closest school to me is about 45 minutes away and freshman are required to live on campus the first year. All other schools I applied to aren’t close enough to commute to. My parents only own one car too. There is a private, religious school closer to me but I didn’t apply there.</p>
<p>Thanks for clearing up the info about loans. I don’t plan on taking more than what’s offered through the Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans (and Perkins if need be, if offered as a last resort). I’ll definitely be getting a job as soon as I can once school starts as well, hopefully I get work-study too because that will make things a bit easier.</p>
<p>Is it really true that transferring out of a CC after a semester or year will make my financial aid package worse in most cases?</p>
<p>Perkins is actually a very good loan to have.
It is low interest, can be forgiven by some public. teaching or military programs.</p>
<p>Some campuses it is much more difficult to find work. Oddly at my older daughters very small private school, she qualified for a well paying job in the computer lab, but her sister who is attending a middle sized university hasn’t been able to find a job.
They both worked summers, both in high school & after, but one was able to save more than the other ( her job also paid more)</p>
<p>I expect that at some schools, more students are interested in working, and it doesn’t necessarily have a lot to do with how expensive the school is.</p>
<p>The loans you want to take for next year, by order of preference are: Stafford Subsidized (3.4% for 11/12), Perkins (also subsidized, 5%), and Stafford Unsubsidized (6.8%). </p>
<p>I would say the SUNY grad programs are probably very affordabe…the tuition is fairly low even for OOS and you can apply for instate rates after a year. It’s much easier to claim NYS residency once you’re considered an independent student.</p>
<p>The problem with starting at a CC is that you won’t be eligible for the freshman scholarships once you transfer. Colleges that offer merit aid almost always give higher awards to incoming freshmen. However, if you don’t receive a merit award for next year and would like to start at a CC to save money, you’ve really lost nothing. Many schools do give small transfer scholarships, sometimes they’re fairly decent for PTK members (which would only apply if your CC has a PTK chapter).</p>
<p>Thanks for the info about the loans! Also, the info about being able to get in-state at SUNY after a year makes me feel better about going there for Optometry school if everything works out in 4 years.</p>
<p>I’m not sure if I would be qualified for any major scholarships at any of the schools I applied to…and I don’t really have a “top choice” school so I’ll probably end up going to a school that is cheapest overall =)</p>
<p>I have a pretty good GPA and ECs (in my opinion) but my SAT score isn’t so great. My superscore is 2000. My GPA is 3.83 UW and 4.3 W (not including Senior year, and my grades are a pretty much the same). I don’t think I’m super competitive for scholarships, because my school is in a less competitive area where the SAT averages are just that…average. Even though I’m probably one of the top of my class, it’s nothing compared to other areas of the state. They seem to have students who all have really high scores and stats.</p>
<p>I’m not sure if CC is still a good option; maybe someone here can give more advice? I have taken two IB exams so far and have 8 more this Spring, and I am very sure I’ll get college credit for the IB courses. If I continue to the CC, it looks like I’ll transfer in with over 40 credits based on what teachers predict my exam scores to be and what I have already received. In a case like this, I won’t have many required classes to take for the degree to transfer…would it be worth it?</p>