@SOSConcern No, that’s not what I meant by “weird”. I have attempted to ask them about finances for college, and they would always say things like, “Don’t worry about it.” “That’s none of your business.” “Wait till you’re older.” I just hope they someday decide that they can tell me just a little bit about something that will impact my education and my life.
Can someone just point me in the right direction?Sophomore looking for safeties matches and reaches.
@bbbaaa784 what you can do is start printing off some college costs - room and board as a basic. Then show them a range on how much various schools would cost at full price. That may help with some of the planning of college visits.
Do you have siblings? Are you the oldest?
Let them know that with the merit process at some schools, even with a high award, there is almost always going to be a level of payment. You don’t want to go through all the work and then find out the college is ‘un-affordable’.
My parents were very supportive of the school I went to (WI, in-state, private) - it was the only school I applied to (back in the dark ages). There were 3 of us going to college at the same time (I am the middle of 5); my older sis studied abroad, and my brother took a gap year to work abroad. My parents helped pay what I could not (I had saved money from working in HS and summers).
Approach it the best way you can. Ask them what ideas they have for you attending college - what they see as a potential match. If you involve them in the discussion and the process, they may give you more financial guidance on limitations.
Printing “college costs” isn’t very useful. Lots of students don’t pay full price, and there is no surer path to Rutgers than handing the Stanford cost page to the OP’s parents. Not that Rutgers is a bad option, though. OP, your parents may not know about the net price calculators. They are new in the past few years. You might ask if one of them can sit down with you to run a few just so you can get an idea of your options.
How about you run the NPCs with income 75k and then again with income 140k for Stanford, Denver, TCNJ, and another one. Approach your parents by saying you’re not sure how much they make so you guestimated and ran the NPCs for a 75k income and a 140k income, do they want to look at the estimates. Make sure they’re sitting in their chairs because it’ll likely be a shock.
@MYOS1634 That’s a really good idea,thank you! :-bd
Does anyone know how my grades/ECs/test scores stack up with other prospective applicants at top schools?
Your grades are great so far. You don’t have real test scores yet… Shoot for at least a 2200, and preferably higher for some of the schools on your list. Your list of ECs is long for a soph, but you need ‘pop’ for some of these schools. Go read “How to be a High School Superstar” by Cal Newport for some ideas on how to think about your ECs.
@intparent Obviously, I couldn’t go buy the book in this short timeframe, but I read a bit online and it brings up some veeeery good ideas.
You may be able to just get it from the library.
@bbbaaa784 sometimes parents are “weird” about discussing college costs because they truly have no idea how they’re going to pay, and therefore they don’t like talking about it…it makes them nervous, sad, guilty, etc.
So…just in case your parents are weird for the same reason, protect yourself and apply to at least two schools that you like that will give you HUGE merit. HUGE. Those two schools can be your financial safeties…just in case you need them.