<p>Hey guys, I've been searching all through the school year for schools to my liking. I live in North Carolina, but I personally have a disliking for the state. I have no interest in going anywhere in-state, but all of the schools I'd like to go to up north are, well, expensive as anything. Most of the schools I want to attend are more than 50k or near the 50k mark. I've found a couple of liberal arts colleges that give an average fin-aid package of 25k, but my parents don't want me to go to these schools because they feel that they are a waste of time for me to go to. I'm looking to major in Business and attend a prestigious college with small to medium sized classes.</p>
<p>My parents don't want me to be in debt right out of college and have to pay back loans from college for the rest of my life. Now, my grades aren't fantastic, but they're decent. I'm just looking for schools (preferably on the East Coast) that give good aid packages or scholarships that would benefit me immensely. My parents claim that their limit for me is 100k for 4 years of undergrad. I'd like these 4 years to be the best years of my life, so I'm looking for schools where I can excel, enjoy myself and pay 25k or less a year. </p>
<p>If anyone has any colleges in mind, please post them here. </p>
<p>The problem is that when it comes to financial aid, it doesn’t matter what your parents say they can pay, what matters is what the colleges and universities think they can pay. You need to sit down with your parents and run some of the financial aid calculators at [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) and at [College</a> Admissions - SAT - University & College Search Tool](<a href=“http://www.collegeboard.org%5DCollege”>http://www.collegeboard.org) The calculators that produce an Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) using the Federal Methodology will give you an estimate of what your FAFSA EFC might be. The calculators that produce an estimate for the Institutional Methodology yield an estimate of what your expected contribution according to the CSS Profile might be. For more precise estimates of the FAFSA results, print out <a href=“http://www.ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/101310EFCFormulaGuide1112.pdf[/url]”>http://www.ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/101310EFCFormulaGuide1112.pdf</a> and work through it by hand.</p>
<p>When you are talking about money with your parents, find out how they feel about you taking out student loans, and how much money they think you should earn yourself with jobs during the summers and/or school year.</p>
<p>Each college/university posts an estimated Cost of Attendance (COA) on its website. When you compare those figures, pay attention to what each college/university includes. In addition to tuition, fees, housing, and meals, some will include estimates for books, materials, travel, and personal expenses. A COA may look affordable at first glance, but if you don’t factor in everything, that college/university might not be.</p>
<p>If you spend some time in the Financial Aid forum, you will find lots of useful information.</p>
<p>Georgia College - Georgia’s public liberal arts university. About 5,000 undergrads in the historic downtown of the antebellum capital of the state. OOS costs in the low $20Ks.</p>