<p>3.4 gpa UW
28 ACT (retaking in Sept)
2 best school in state
White Female
8 classes a semester
16 honors
IB Diploma Candidate
will take 4 AP tests
4 year marching band; section leader
1st Chair in highest band at school
Volunteer work 300 hours </p>
<p>Major is unsure...I took a philosophy class and fell in love, but IDK what type of job that would get me. Might go into English, but that feels safe. </p>
<p>I want schools in the midwest to east coast. Those with good scholarship are fantastic, for I will be paying for college on my own with loans! I know my stats aren't the best, but I love to interview and write. I have a way with language.</p>
<p>Please be aware that it is unlikely OOS public universities will provide you with enough merit and/or need based money to be affordable. Public universities are responsible for providing education opportunities to their own state residents. </p>
<p>Usually, merit money is given to top incoming students so you will want to focus on schools where you will be at the top of their applicant pool.</p>
<p>Also, if you really plan to finance your education with loans it may be wise to begin at a community college or a school you can commute to so that costs can be held down. You as the student are limited in the amount of money you can borrow each year. Your parents or another adult who will co-sign can take out more but if they are lower income it generally isn’t considered wise.</p>
<p>Michigan does participate in the Midwest Student Exchange Program which does help limit costs for certain programs in particpating schools.</p>
<p>Although I have a fantastic upward trend in my GPA (VERY rough freshmen year, death of 3 close family members, terrible grades), I don’t expect a gpa change to make or break me as a candidate. My counselor thinks my ECs and verbal skills will get me wherever I really want to go, but then again I have never set sight on the ivies. </p>
<p>& I will check out those schools you mentioned… I have a thing for Kalamazoo College with the small LAC feel, but I know I need to dig into financial safeties. I know Hiram wants to give me a full ride from Ohio, but I don’t know a lot about them. So does Carthage (WI).</p>
<p>Yes, Kalamazoo could be a great place for you if financial needs were worked out… Check out this place too, I’ve known several grads who speak highly of the quality of teaching and campus life, not too far from MI:</p>
<p>If you’re funding on loans, you need to look hard at your in-state public universities. You cannot borrow more than $5,500 per year as a freshman, unless your parents agree to co-sign Plus loans.</p>
<p>I got a great financial aid package from Knox and I’ll be starting my freshman year in about a week. I got $10,000 in merit aid. I also got good packages from Earlham, Juniata, Ohio Wesleyan (on the higher side), Clark, and Wheaton (MA). I applied with a 3.389 W GPA (but graduated with a 3.521). You may also want to check out other CTCLs and Truman State/U Minnesota-Morris. Hiram gave me one of the worst financial aid packages.</p>
<p>If you’re paying for your education, forget privates or OOS publics. Even with substantial FA you’d be looking at tens of thousands of dollars per year. You won’t be able to borrow that much. Which is a good thing: that’s a ridiculous and highly unadvisable amount of debt for a bachelor’s degree.</p>
<p>My parents are willing to cosign for loans, and they have offered to help pay for my college, but I want to plan on paying for it, just in case. I don’t want to burden them.</p>
<p>I will second Knox for merit aid. Also, Creative Writing is the most popular major at Knox, so if your interest in English is writing they have a fantastic program and a really supportive community.</p>
<p>I want schools in the midwest to east coast. Those with good scholarship are fantastic, for I will be paying for college on my own with loans! I know my stats aren’t the best, but I love to interview and write. I have a way with language.</p>
<p>You may think that having parents co-sign loans is just what you need. However, that is the road to hell. And, as other students have posted, sometimes parents qualify the first year or two, and then can’t qualify after that.</p>
<p>Federal student loans have limits BECAUSE it has been determined that newish grads CANNOT afford to pay back big loans. If you borrow the max federal student loans, then your payments will be about $350 per month. That will be difficult enough to pay back without adding a huge burden of co-signed loans. </p>
<p>How much do you think you’ll be earning after you graduate? </p>
<p>Do you have any idea of what your monthly loan payments will be if you borrow a lot? </p>
<p>Most OOS publics and many privates will be unaffordable without taking on ridiculous debt. </p>
<p>Instead, do this…</p>
<p>Find out how much your parents can comfortably pay each year. Then add a $5500 student loan to that amount. Then find out which schools will give you merit or need based aid that will make college affordable to you.</p>
<p>Are you going to marching band in college? If so, then apply to UMich, MSU and any other instate publics that have such bands…they might even give you some scholarship money.</p>
<p>Hmmm. Very interesting, mom2collegekids. I don’t know much about the whole financing college process. I have read 2 books on the subject, but the advice wasn’t really practical, just how to fill out fasfa and stuff like that. </p>
<p>Any other advice on where I can get info about this?</p>
<p>Look at Ohio University as well. I live in central Ohio, and I’ve heard great things about their journalism program. You can probably get in easily with your ACT. Good luck!</p>
<p>Sadilly - there should be a pinned post that contains useful resources like you just posted!
People keep having to say the same thing over and over when it comes to pointing out useful books, websites etc.</p>