UF is in there because Bright Futures covers full tuition and I’ve heard of some seniors at my school getting paid through the Honors program. Not a big fan of the Florida part, but it is still probably the best option in the list financially.
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I grew up in South Florida, OP, so I hear you. And also attended attended a “small, very high ranking public HS.” Almost tempted to ask if it might be the same one 
I actually ended up going to Fordham for undergrad, one of the options that has been suggested to you.
So, small world?
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Starts with an S, ends with an S? Haha
Ah, not the same one then. Mine was two words with the initials PV (on the west coast of the state).
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Ahhh. I actually dont think ive ever been to the west coast. Florida’s been growing on me, but i could never imagine spending four more years here.
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Can your family pay $35k per year? Or is your budget in the $18k range you mentioned earlier?
Finding schools that will meet your budget with need-aid or merit is going to be key, and that may require some compromises on your part. Once we know your budget, we can help with more suggestions.
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There are things I will always love about Florida, but I will never move back. Especially not now with the hateful politics that have taken over. The west coast is really nice, though - we have some beautiful beaches and nothing beats the Gulf.
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I spoke with my parents and reasonably they can only really contribute about 10k per year. The rest would have to come from scholarships or financial aid.
Our beaches here are always crowded and dirty. Especially shocking considering the “sunshine state” reputation we’re supposed to have lol
Before you leave the state, take a trip across to the Gulf Coast. Try Siesta Key or even Venice Beach. Unless things have changed dramatically since I was last there (which is a possibility, of course), there are some really nice spots.
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I have a few friends in Tampa, so it could definitely be a fun road trip. Thanks for the idea!
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So your budget is $10k per year then.
You will need to stick to auto/big merit schools that provide a full or near-full ride. The “meet need” schools won’t work for you if they expect your family contributions to be $30k+.
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What about external scholarships? (E.g. Amazon, Coca Cola, etc.) Would those help lower the price to a reasonable range? I realize 10k from 30k EFC is hard to work with but I really dont want to take off schools like CMU with how much I love their programs.
The thing to be careful about is that sometimes when a college sees an external scholarship, they use that as an excuse to reduce your need based aid (if they awarded any).
Oh damn. What if I can prove to them that my EFC isnt really my budget? How strict do financial aid offices tend to be?
Good point. But I don’t believe elite schools like CMU will do that. However, I also don’t know if these external scholarships provide $20k+ per year for 4 years.
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As much as I hate loans, I think they could definitely help cover that last portion. I’m guessing elite schools dont really do merit based scholarships?
They will use your FAFSA and in some cases, if your financial aid offer isn’t sufficient, you can submit an appeal. Aside from that, it really depends on the school. They all operate a bit differently, I think.
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The private elites don’t. Many of the top CS schools are public flagships and do provide merit scholarships, but they are limited, especially for OOS. UMD for example, gives out a few full ride merit scholarships.
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The woes of wanting to go OOS 