<p>I live in Illinois. I have done well in HS and have gotten a list together of all schools I want to apply to.
2 of those are public schools are in IL.
4 are VERY expensive private universities (over 50k a year).
2 are out of state Public universities.
The in-state schools will total around 25k~26k per year.
My parents already have 5 semesters of IL state college tuition paid for (which CAN be given to my sister or sold. These aren't the issue here.)</p>
<p>The problem is, I have almost no interest in attending public college in Illinois.
My first choice school is 59,000 a year (it's actually only a 45 min drive from my house). My second choice will be around 38,000 a year. My EFC is high... my parents haven't told me, but they vaguely said something about low 30's. I'm guessing it's around 33,000.
They don't want me to go to an expensive school, and they believe any school other than he two $26,000 publics aren't even worth the money.</p>
<p>Are they right??? Is paying a lot for a more expensive school not worth it? The two public colleges in IL are good, but the out of state ones are better... Am I being ridiculous by wanting to pay more for a better-fitting and more quality school?</p>
<p>It sounds as if your folks have a pretty clear idea of what they can and cannot afford…or at least what they’re willing to spend. While you might want to pay more for a different school (and there’s no guarantee it will be a higher quality education or better fit), that’s not really the issue unless YOU intend to pay the increased cost. If you can find scholarships that would negate the difference, that may be a good solution if cost is the only concern your parents have.</p>
<p>Cost is the only concern they have. They don’t doubt my ability to do well. They just don’t want to pay $150,000 for me to go to school. And I will go check out scholarships.</p>
<p>Well most people don’t want to pay $150K to attend or send their student to school.</p>
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<p>If you really want to attend one of these schools, research and find out how much you could get (scholarships, grants). Have your parents do a fafsa4caster and get an idea of the EFC. Show them the money…</p>
So far it seems you WANT THEM to pay and they told you their answer. Everyone should go to a school that fits them…but you have to do your research.</p>
<p>If your parents have set some financial limits on your college costs…then you will HAVE to attend a college within those limits. Sure…you can apply to some of those more expensive colleges but you may not be able to attend if the finances do NOT work out there (in the form of merit awards). </p>
<p>You will not be able to secure loans in your OWN NAME beyond the Stafford loans ($5500 for freshman year)…unless you have a cosigner.</p>
<p>I would suggest you find one or two public universities in Illinois that you would like to attend UIUC is an excellent school. I got my masters at Western Illinois University and I loved it there. No it’s not for everyone but it’s a great college town, in my opinion.</p>
<p>Then see if there are guaranteed merit awards at those private schools…maybe there are. If the money works out…you might be able to attend but if it doesn’t…well…you won’t.</p>
<p>Your parents are giving you a HUGE gift by funding your college education as they are…graduating without debt is a gigantic gift that you probably don’t appreciate now…but you will once you are done with college.</p>
<p>UIUC is where they want me to attend (my uncle also works and lives there).
I’ll look for the guaranteed merit stuff, I hadnt really though about that, just sticker price.</p>
<p>I assume your parents are willing to pay the UIUC COA, since any type of FA at the Illinois public universities is iffy at this point. Comparing the price of the $38,000 second choice’s COA to UIUC’s estimated COA ($27,000 and up, depending on program), you’re $11,000 short. Half of that ($5500) you can make up with a Stafford loan. If you qualify, you can make it the rest of the way with a small merit award or with a job. That seems to me to be within reach for you.</p>
<p>Absolutely. Anybody from Illinois who has the chops to get into UIUC and wants to go to a mega-university who turns it down to go elsewhere is either wealthy or foolish (maybe both). But there are lots of us in Illinois who aren’t wild about out kids getting stuck into 500-student lecture halls when there are other types of schools available.</p>
<p>Edit: let me qualify: given the current IS cost of UIUC and limitations on financial aid, I would not call “wealthy or foolish” anyone who picks an OOS public with a lower COA (as we may in fact do). And I also acknowledge that some OOS publics have programs that are not available at UIUC. But for the run-of-the mill engineer or English major or whatever, UIUC is clearly the big public of choice for Illinois residents.</p>
<p>*My EFC is high… my parents haven’t told me, but they vaguely said something about low 30’s. I’m guessing it’s around 33,000.
They don’t want me to go to an expensive school, and they believe any school other than he two $26,000 publics aren’t even worth the money.</p>
<p>Are they right??? Is paying a lot for a more expensive school not worth it? The two public colleges in IL are good, but the out of state ones are better… Am I being ridiculous by wanting to pay more for a better-fitting and more quality school? *</p>
<p>You have to deal with your circumstances.</p>
<p>Your $33k EFC may be your FEDERAL EFC. Who knows what your CSS Profile EFC may be. It could be more.</p>
<p>Also, you can’t use a student loan to make up for EFC shortfall if you attend a school that already has a student loan in the aid pkg to meet need.</p>
<p>What are your stats? We may be able to direct you to where you can get merit scholarships.</p>
<p>It sounds like your parents are expecting the college to not cost more than $26k. Is that right? Are THEY willing to spend $26k per year…Or are they willing to spend about $20k per year and expect you to pay about $5500 per year in student loans? **That makes a big difference. ** </p>
<p>How much do your parents expect you to contribute - some families expect their kids to take out a loan and perhaps work a summer job to pay for books.</p>
<p>Ask them how much they are willing to spend each year. </p>
<p>These aren’t YOUR stats, but you indicated on a thread that these starts are “scary close” to your stats…so these give us an idea of your stats…</p>
<p>My SAT score was a 2160 with a 760 on CR, 730 on Writing (11 on essay), and unfortunately a 670 on Math</p>
<p>I have a 31 ACT and 3.75 GPA.
Also, my parents have the money to pay for all of the EFC (yes, 33k is the federal one).
My parents will not allow me to take out a Stafford loan.
My biggest issue with UIUC is that it’s in IL. I really would like a change of scenery.
Honestly, my biggest fear is that I’ll end up at UIUC with the same people I went to HS with. At this point, I would rather go to UIC that UIUC- I just cannot accept the idea of going there. (I mean, at least UIC is in the city…)</p>
<p>UIUC is so big, it’s unlikely you’ll ever see the people you went to high school with.</p>
<p>UIC is not a bad school. You could have a successful college career there. I’d have two reservations about it: (1) with your stats, you’re going to be one of the smartest kids there. That’s good for some reasons, but you may find yourself in classes that have to be taught down to the level of your classmates. (2) the graduation rate is very low - 24% in four years, 54% in six years. I do not know the reason, but before I committed to going there, I’d sure want to find out.</p>
<p>I don’t plan on taking intro classes at UIC. I’ve already placed out of 3, and plan on having at least 30 hours of credit there if I decide to go. (So, almost sophomore standing I believe). So I think I’ll be fine as far as academics are concerned. The grad rate is something to look into though…</p>
<p>A problem with these statistics is that they count transfers (people who transfer from UIC to another school) as drop-outs. UIC has a higher than average transfer rate and that makes the numbers look not as good.</p>
<p>Not bloody very likely to be different, I’d wager. Probably lots of flat land with lots of corn and soybeans. (Hey, there are those of us that love it!)</p>
<p>I think you are very lucky that your parents planned for college costs and have a clear idea of what they want to pay. Too many folks these days tell their kids not to worry about costs and find out that there is alot of worry there.</p>
<p>We gave our kids a firm figure as to what we would pay. My one son is going to a school where he had to come up with some money since the cost is more than that amount. Basically, you have an amount that your parents have told you they will pay. If you want to attend a school that costs more, you have to come up with the additional money through financial aid, loans, scholarships or work. </p>
<p>I suggest you come up with a few colleges on your list that are sure to accept you and are affordable. Then you can do some research and add some schools where chance also plays a role. My son got merit money from the private college he wanted, got some private scholarships and works summers and during the school year to make up the gap. He was poised to borrow if he had a shortfall, but has been able to make it work. You might be able to do the same. Both he and his brother were accepted to some schools that were in the high $50K range and didn;t offer any money, and those they just immediately eliminated from their list since they knew the cost gap was too great for them to cover.</p>