Crisis! help me find an affordable school

College Search & Selection
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<p>Im an Ohio resident with a 3.51 GPA, 28 ACT, 1950 SAT (first try, will take again) and 30 hours of work exp. per week.</p>

<p>Currently, I have applied to Ohio State, Cinci, Dayton, Akron, and Duquesne. My problem is that I've always known that my family (my dad at least) can afford to send me away to school, but he won't. My parents are divorced, moms a nurse, dads a doc. Last year, I had a complete lapse in focus and my grades severely dropped and my dad concluded that Im not a worth investment and insists he will only pay for me to go to a local commuter school. My mom, who I live with, knows that i have worked harder than ever and am demonstrating my potential in school. However, my dad only sees the old me.</p>

<p>Therefore, I'm looking to add a school or two (probably private) that gives good scholarships and would be under 20/15k per year for a kid with my stats. I desperately want to leave the soul crushing town that i live in and start anew, so going away is extremely important to me and I'm fretting about finding a quality, affordable school. </p>

<p>I prefer a school with over 5000 students and a decent location (not in the middle of nowhere).</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

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<p>*3.51 GPA, 28 ACT, 1950 SAT *</p>

<p>My parents are divorced, moms a nurse, dads a doc. Last year, I had a complete lapse in focus and my grades severely dropped and my dad concluded that Im not a worth investment and insists he will only pay for me to go to a local commuter school</p>

<p>add a school or two (probably private) that gives good scholarships and would be under 20/15k per year for a kid with my stats.</p>

<p>So, what’s the situation?</p>

<p>Will mom pay $15-20k?</p>

<p>Or are you adding the cost of a local public (which dad will pay) to the amount that mom will pay and THEN coming up with that figure?</p>

<p>$15k is about the cost of room, board, books, fees and transportation at many privates. That would mean that you’d need a full tuition scholarship.</p>

<p>Many scholarship deadlines have passed.</p>

<p>I wouldn’t limit to privates. Some publics may still offer some merit…like Miss St, Truman St, and maybe LSU (check their deadlines)</p>

<p>Try some low tier privates. If you’re a boy, look for schools that want more boys. </p>

<p>What is your intended major?</p>

<p>How about making a deal with dad. Ask him if he’ll agree to pay for the first semester of college, if you get X.X GPA this year. And, then as long as you maintain a X.X GPA for Fall semester, he’ll then pay for Spring…and then keep that deal going each semester. Agree that if you don’t maintain your grades, you’ll return home.</p>

<p>If he says no, then ask him if he’ll pay off a student loan if you maintain a certain GPA each year in college (for instance, if you borrow 5500 for frosh year, and then you get a 3.0, he’ll pay of the loan. And repeat that each year.).</p>

<p>If he still says no, then he basically has no intention of paying no matter what and is just using last year’s grades as a cover-up. Is he remarried? If so, is it possible that his new wife doesn’t want him to pay?</p>

<p>What were your grades for junior year? What are your grades for this semester?</p>

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<p>So go to a commuter school. You can get a great education at almost any college if you decide that is what really matters to you. </p>

<p>Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using CC App</p>

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<p>Your stats make [UAB</a> Blazer Elite<a href=“$15,000%20per%20year,%20which%20reduces%20OOS%20cost%20of%20attendance%20from%20about%20$24,000%20to%20about%20$9,000%20per%20year”>/url</a>, but they give those out on a first come first served basis, and it is already late in the application cycle, so they may have run out already (you may want to call and check).</p>

<p>Cheapest option if you don’t get a big scholarship somewhere may be to go to community college for two years, then transfer as a junior to a state university. Check the various state universities’ lists of courses to check which courses you need to take at community college to transfer (e.g. [url=&lt;a href=“Transfer students - The Ohio State University”&gt;Transfer students - The Ohio State University]Transfer</a> admissions](<a href=“Error 404 | Not Found”>Error 404 | Not Found) ).</p>

<p>Be sure to check each school for academic suitability (i.e. they have decent degree programs in the major(s) you are interested in).</p>

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<p>Have you looked into Chapman University in Orange, CA? Their regular admission deadline is Jan. 15, except for their talent majors, such as Film, Theater, Art, Music and Dance, which already had passed on the EA admission date of Nov. 15. For all other majors, you still have until Jan. 15. With your stats, you might qualify for their merit-aid for the Dean’s Scholarship of $15,000, and you will need to file for FAFSA to find out whether you would qualify for any grants. In addition, you can also apply for the work-study program and work on campus, check with the Financial Aid Office for details. Good luck!
[Chapman</a> University - Financial Aid - Undergrads](<a href=“Financial Aid | Chapman University”>Financial Aid | Chapman University)</p>

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<p>You would qualify for some merit aid at Elmhurst College in Illinois. [Elmhurst</a> College: Scholarships](<a href=“http://public.elmhurst.edu/finaid/1288677.html]Elmhurst”>http://public.elmhurst.edu/finaid/1288677.html)</p>

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<p>You could try some of the other OH state schools besides Akron (Wright State COA <$20K).</p>

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<p>You work 30 hours per week as a high school student? Or is this over the summer? </p>

<p>Annasdad: the reason why the OP is posting is because he/she does not want to go to a commuter school, and finds the town “soul crushing.” I’ve been there. I get that completely.</p>

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<p>My DD attends Slippery Rock University. It is a small town but the college has an enrollment of 8800. For oos students the cost is around $21,000 if you have a 3.0 and maintain that. They also offer some scholarships. She has done very well there and was not wanting to go away to college but is so glad she did.</p>

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<p>What is your major?</p>

<p>UCB’s recommendation of UAB is a good one. </p>

<p>It’s not likely too late for their scholarship. They have a “priority deadline,” but they don’t hold to it. UAH and Miss St also do not hold to their “priority deadline” dates. I wouldn’t bother calling because they’re likely going to just say what their priority deadline was. But, I know that they award scholarships long past those deadlines.</p>

<p>What is your major?</p>

<p>I do think that you should pursue some kind of deal with your dad that a certain (reasonable!) GPA must be maintained EACH semester for him to pay for the following semester. Maybe 3.0??? The expected GPA needs to be reasonable for the major. An engineering major can sometimes be more difficult to always have a high GPA each semester. Engineering majors are known to get an occasional C in some of those crazy/hard classes. </p>

<p>If your grades this senior year are strong, that should mean something to your dad. If you can get him to agree to pay for next fall’s semester based on your senior year performance, that seems reasonable.</p>

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<p>I would look into Oklahoma State, nice campus and very well funded on scholarships… Your SAT score would qualify for one already…</p>

<p>University of Arkansas is also reasonably priced even for OS tuition</p>

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<p>Some of the cold weather schools like Bemidji State are ~$15K COA.</p>

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<p>Public schools in the Dakotas are also under $20,000 for out of state cost of attendance.</p>

<p>University of Minnesota - Morris, a small public LAC, is about $22,000 for out of state cost of attendance, but the priority application deadline may have passed.</p>

<p>The Ohio State University in state cost of attendance is about $22,000 commuter, $27,000 on or off campus.</p>

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<p>If dad will pay $10k for a commuter, and mom will pay $10k, and the student takes out a 5500 student loan, and the student can get about 5-10k in merit, that should be enough for many OOS publics and maybe even some cheaper privates.</p>

<p>Look at some of the lesser known Catholics/Jesuits. Spring Hill would likely give you a good scholarship.</p>

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<p>Ohio U. would offer you some merit aid (youd need a 32 on ACT to receive a full tuition ride unfortunately, but you meet the GPA criteria). There are full tuition scholarships you can apply to for the next years there if you do very well! Read through all their scholarships and see what you can apply for as a first year (they have an art scholarship worth 5K, and there are several others, so read through every scholarship!). Pm me if you want to see the campus. I just visited the campus last week and was extremely impressed --I can send you my flicker link. </p>

<p>[The</a> Gateway Award Program: Ohio University Admissions](<a href=“http://www.ohio.edu/admissions/gateway/index.cfm]The”>http://www.ohio.edu/admissions/gateway/index.cfm)</p>

<p>You get 2K knocked off the instate tuition for your stats at Ohio U, which would bring it to $18,500 per year. If you can earn another one of the scholarships through a dept. (like the art, or journalism, etc.) then you may be able to get an additional 5K “stacked” award.</p>

<p>Do not rule out this school bc of the “middle of no where” rep --its absolutely beautiful and also doesnt feel as large as it is —apply by due date of Feb. 1 and visit if you can! my nephew is a junior there and he absolutely loves it.</p>

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<p>SUNY Purchase is outside NYC, not in the city, but it’s an excellent school, as are some of the other SUNYs . . . Binghamton, New Paltz . . . CUNY colleges aren’t highly selective but–they have many outstanding faculty (and also many good students) and–are in NYC. Hunter, Brooklyn College, Queens College (I got my UG at an Ivy but got my MFA at Queens, an excellent experience.) if you look out for yourself (regarding picking classes) you can get a great education at these places. ( . . .even at an Ivy, you have to look out for yourself.)
anyway, i’m struggling to find an affordable art college for my S and i sympathize. best of luck.</p>

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<p>[Undergraduate</a> Scholarship Office | Scholarships for Nonresidents | West Virginia University](<a href=“Scholarships | Financial Aid | West Virginia University”>Scholarships | Financial Aid | West Virginia University)</p>

<p>[Tuition</a> and Cost of Attendance](<a href=“How to Apply - Undergraduate Admissions at WVU”>How to Apply - Undergraduate Admissions at WVU)</p>

<p>West Virginia University has merit aid for OOS Students and seems reasonably priced for OOS, looks like about 26K. I say “reasonably priced” as so many publics and privates run around 40k-60k now.</p>

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<p>Ohio and West Virginia also have a tuition reciprocity agreement via the Common Academic Market:</p>

<p>[Reduced</a> Tuition Programs](<a href=“How to Apply - Undergraduate Admissions at WVU”>How to Apply - Undergraduate Admissions at WVU)</p>

<p>It will be instate rates if you choose one of these majors and go through ACM :)</p>

<p><a href=“How to Apply - Undergraduate Admissions at WVU”>How to Apply - Undergraduate Admissions at WVU;

<p>OP, I hope you had a chance to look at Ohio U --18K per year with your stats…probably one of your best instate options…see my previous post</p>

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<p>Note that the reciprocity for OH only applies to certain majors.<br>
[Ohio</a> Reciprocity Agreement](<a href=“How to Apply - Undergraduate Admissions at WVU”>How to Apply - Undergraduate Admissions at WVU)</p>

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<p>Yes, I get that. But we can’t always have what we cannot afford.</p>