<p>
Really? Literally every highschooler? I think you will find that there are actually a significant number of high school students who do not have an iPhone (mine, for example…) as well as a significant number of adults (me, for example…).</p>
<p>Haradonia, schools and other institutions have limited funds to dispense. So, they take what they have and allocate it to those who need it the most. There are many students from families that have far less. And many students whose families who make what your parents do, who have saved, live on less, so they have more money to put towards college, and can borrow. Plus those folks are willing to do all of those things to pay for their kids’ college costs. There are also parents making far more who have sewn up their earnings and assets to the point where they cannot pay for college without making a drastic change in living style which they do not wish to do. So these are life decisions people have made. </p>
<p>Just as you went to the high school that your parents allowed you to attend, paying what they could pay in terms of tuition or school taxes, so it works with college.</p>
<p>If your parents aren’t willing or able to pay much towards your colleges expenses, the reasons behind it probably don’t matter much at this point.</p>
<p>A school is only a match if you can afford it.<br>
I’d be looking very carefully at the scholarship link ucbalumnus posted up thread. Also, I’d find out if there is time to retake the SAT.</p>
<p>Other option is looking into schools within commuting distance and scouring their websites for financial aid possibilities. If you are within walking distance to decent public transportation, all the better. </p>
<p>Id try not to be concerned about what other kids in the school are doing or going. That really doesn’t matter for YOU. Where you are going and how you will go about doing it is your concern now. Good luck!</p>
<p>Idk, basically there’s three ways to make college affordable:</p>
<ul>
<li>low sticker price</li>
<li>high merit aid</li>
<li>high need based aid.</li>
</ul>
<p>We’ve established that the third choice isn’t an option for you. That means you either work off the first method - do CC or come up with 10k in loans + earnings + ??? to make GMU work. Or you do the second one, go for a big automatic scholarship at some school from the list ucbalum is always posting, if you qualify.</p>
<p>Not much more for this thread to do.</p>
<p>I wish college was cheaper.</p>
<p>Oh please! I don’t have an IPhone…and my life is just fine. One of my kids is 25 and JUST got an iPhone. The kid survived.</p>
<p>And so what IF others you know have IPhones. You are concentrating MUCH to much effort on what OTHERS have, which is completely irrelevant to YOUR college search. Do you understand that what others have and do does NOT relate to what you do?</p>
<p>You need to look at family finances for college and find schools that meet their price point.</p>
<p>Jrpfisher, what college do you want to be cheaper? There are inexpensive college options out there. It would cost you a good $7-10K a year for you to move off any where on your own and live. That’s the cost of living for doing that, and yes, that is what it costs for sleep away colleges. What do the private nursery and kindergartens cost in your area? What is the cost to educate a kid in your school district each year? You just don’t see those cost broken out When it comes to college, you can CHOOSE to pay them or not . Not so with public K-12 when it is built into taxes and rents.</p>