College is upsetting and stressing me out. Please help?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm currently a high school senior. I've applied to 2 colleges so far and I have 6 more that I'm planning on applying to. I feel really bad having my parents pay for the application fees though. I wanted to get the number of college I'm applying to down to 6, but I just don't know what to do anymore. I'm so stressed out and can't decide what colleges to take off of my list. I have some colleges that are far away (4-8 hours away) and then some that are closer (30 min. - 1 hr. 30 min. away). I just don't know what to do. Sometimes I feel excited for college and I tell myself that I'll go to one of the colleges far away and be independent and get the "college experience". Then other times I tell myself that I should go to community college for a year or two because if I go away I'll miss my family too much and probably cry. I get 2 years of college paid for for free because my dad transferred his 911 gi bill to me. I will also have 17 credits when I graduate high school from AP classes. I'll have to pay for a year and a half of college. Some colleges on my list are a lot cheaper than others and if I pick those then I'll hardly have any debt when I graduate, but some of the colleges that are more expensive I like better.</p>

<p>These are the 6 colleges I'm looking at:
- University of Delaware (1 hr. and 15 min. away)
- Villanova University (55 min. away)
- Richard Stockton College of NJ (1 hr. and 15 min. away)
- James Madison University (4 hr. 50 min. away)
- University of Pittsburgh (5 hr. and 30 min.)
- Monmouth University (1 hr. 5 min.)</p>

<p>I applied to already:
- Rutgers University (45 min. away)
- Ohio State University (8 hr. and 15 min. away)</p>

<p>Could anyone give me some advice?</p>

2

<p>Yes. Talk to your parents about your feelings. Is there one parent you have gone to in the past when you were wigged out? Talk to your friends about your feelings. Some of them are having them, too. It’s a BIG deal to think about leaving your family and moving hours away. Talk to your teachers about your feelings.</p>

<p>When you talk to your parents, talk to them about your money worries. Show them the colleges to which you’re applying. If you haven’t already done so, get their help in using the net price calculator on the financial aid page of every college to which you’re applying. Show them the Expected Family Contribution and ask them if you together can afford that kind of expense each year. You are VERY wise to be concerned about paying for college. More applicants (and their parents) should be so concerned, OP. Without learning your EFCs and talking to your parents about them, you will have no idea which colleges you can afford.</p>

<p>If you need help picking colleges you can afford, after you take the above steps get back to us, okay?</p>