College bound, but how does one pay for room and board?

Pre-College Topics High School Life
1

<p>Hi!
I'm a high school junior, and my school and counselors are pushing for us to look at colleges and majors seriously (as they should, like any high school, but this one is a private college-preparatory school). I've known before this sudden push that I'm extremely interested in Electrical Engineering and wish to pursue that. However, I've also become interested in the Air Force and the AFROTC because I do want to serve my country, and I value morals that the Air Force values (integrity, education, personal development, etc.). I've narrowed down some schools:
MIT (reach, out-of-state, about a thousand miles away from home. Also my dream school.)
UC-Berkeley (reach, out-of-state, about two thousand miles from home)
U of I U-C (safety school, in-state, only 2 hrs from home)
Purdue U-Calumet (safety school, out-of-state, only 45 mins- 1 hr from home)
Purdue U-West Lafayette (match, out-of-state, about 2 hrs 30 mins from my home)
North Carolina State (safety school, out-of-state, over 800 miles from my home)
All of these schools have good engineering programs and fit most of my needs, but almost all of them (except Purdue Cal) require me to have room and board.
<em>Hypothetical situation, but still useful to know if this doesn't happen</em>
Say I get the Type 1 AFROTC scholarship for having a technical major. I then have to worry only about room, board, meal plans, and miscellaneous things. I noticed that most of these schools have a similar room and board price tag, perhaps only a couple thousand dollar's difference if I don't count all those different choices of room and meal plans.</p>

<p>My parents told me that they'll help me out with minor costs, maybe a few thousand to help with room and board if they feel generous, but I'm basically on my own. They don't want to pay for much more after high school because they are putting me and my siblings through private school. They're tired of paying for those costs and I don't blame them.</p>

<p>So, here's the question: How should I pay for room and board? Are there scholarships? Will the AFROTC stipend offset some costs? Is it best to just get a part time job in addition to my studies and AFROTC? </p>

<p>I'm up for any suggestions. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Here’s how it goes:
First you take the amount for room and board + tuition</p>

<p>then you subtract from that figure all of your scholarships and grants. If any costs are still there then you have to pay those either through loans or out of pocket.</p>

<p>If you can’t take out enough loans yourself then you need to get a job which will probably give you an extra $3000 per semester.</p>

<p>The costs are due at the beginning of the semester so if you don’t have enough money before that first semester then you will need to work over the summer.</p>

<p>*Just know that if you work during the school year you will see a reduction in your productivity in terms of GPA and organization involvement. One story I know is of a guy who consistently had GPA of 3.75 then worked part time for a semester and got a GPA of 3.2.</p>

<p>P.S. I would be more worried about out of state tuition. That number an be very high.</p>

<p>P.S.S. After you pay for room and board and tuition you will need about 2-3 grand for food and other costs.</p>

3

<p>Since it hasn’t been mentioned yet, and not applicable for freshman year, but becoming an RA is how some students pay for R&B.
It’s a demanding job though, and calls for a certain kind of personality, imo.</p>