<p>More and more often my mom keeps telling me that I have to find somewhere around home to go (which is hardly anything) and that it has to be really cheap. My parents are even more clueless when it comes to money. From what i understand they make less than 70k combined.</p>
<p>Somebody please help me. All i really care about in life at the moment is going to a good school. It's going to crush me if money is an issue. Someone please give me as much info about paying as possible. </p>
<p>What year are you in high school? What state do you live in? What do you want to study? </p>
<p>Money is an issue always...your parents are doing you a favor by letting you know that finances will play a role in what school you can attend. Often parents don't have this conversation with their student until it is too late. The student is accepted at a great school and then told that the money just isn't there. </p>
<p>You need to look at schools which fit your interests and which offer good financial aid. </p>
<p>If you provide some more information (as my questions above ask) you will have people post with suggestions of those schools.</p>
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<p>All i really care about in life at the moment is going to a good school. It's going to crush me if money is an issue.>></p>
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<p>It really bothers me that some folks equate a quality education with the cost of the school. The reality is that there are some VERY fine public universities...most states have at least one good flagship U....that offer a very fine education at a reasonable cost for instate students. If a student has the stats to get accepted to an elite LAC or the like, this student would also be a good candidate for the instate honors college program at the flagship U. </p>
<p>I agree that it's good that your family is discussing the finances of college now. I would encourage you to have at LEAST one school on your list that meets the financial requirements for your family. If any of the others you apply to offers you a great finaid package in the end, that would be great too. But have options.</p>
<p>And by the way...it does NOT sound like your family is clueless about money. The reality is that a $70,000 income per year cannot likely support your family AND a college bill in the $40K per year range (what some of the higher priced LAC's and OOS schools would cost you) without significant financial aid. It is VERY sensible and responsible of them to be discussing this with you now.</p>
<p>If you can get yourself in the position to have strong academic profile -- SATs and grades -- you can be competitive for schools that meet full need. With 70K income (unless your family has a lot of assets), that can be very, very good aid.</p>
<p>Also, please take some time to investigate how financial aid works. You can go to a bookstore and read the guides there or borrow them from a library or read a lot from this site or other good sites. </p>
<p>See the thing is I get lost in all of this jargon. Sadly momfromme when i went to those links I felt pretty lost and clueless (hey what do you know the name of my thread). But yeah.....is there somewhere i could go that i can learn about all this stuff?????</p>
<p>This explains it all, and will only cost you $14. I buy the new edition every year, and refer to it regularly. Spend a few hours reading, and learn how it works, and you can save thousands, and perhaps even afford what you consider a "good" school.</p>