Damn you $$$$

Paying for College
1

<p>Income just above $100,000, but little to no college savings due to the fact that my family has moved back and forth between countries, not expecting my to study in the U.S. My parents are still pushing me to go back and study in Israel for nearly free, but I'm pretty set on studying here.</p>

<p>My father agreed that he will pay for me to go to state public university because of Hope Scholarship covers a lot here in Georgia. But nothing is ever enough for me and if I get in I would much rather go to better universities.</p>

<p>My list:
Claremont Mckenna College
Emory
University of Rochester
Georgia Tech
Babson College
UGA
Oxford Emory</p>

<p>Comparing Claremont with UGA, is two different financial extremes and I almost feel I shouldn't apply to Claremont, because I wouldn't really be able to say yes even though going there would be unbelievable. Difference between going to Emory and GT is a 30k+ difference per year, is it worth it? I know it is a dangerous question to ask but I really feel it is important to be at the best collge I can get into with the best reputation with the smartest peers possible so I can make connections etc.</p>

<p>for the record, my interests
economics
business
business law</p>

2

<p>Are you a US citizen or legal resident or do you have another visa status? This will effect whether or not you are eligible for federally based financial aid, and whether or not you can establish in-state residence.</p>

<p>Has your family established residence in Georgia, and if so, will they maintain it while you are in college? This will affect whether you are eligible for in-state tuition or not.</p>

<p>Have you run your family's financials through one of the FAFSA calculators to get a good, solid, estimate of your EFC? Can you and your family come up with that much money through work, savings, loans, etc.? If you and your family can't, then you need to be sure that you can find a school that you can afford whether because of low fees or because you scare up an awful lot of scholarship money.</p>

<p>When you truly know your financial situation, then you need to look at your stats - that is your coursework, grades, test scores, etc. Are you competitive for admission at any of the universities on your list? </p>

<p>How good are each of the schools about coming up with financial aid packages that make up the difference between your EFC and the total cost of attendance? How much of the package at each school is loan money that you would have to add to the loans you might be need to take out to meet your EFC?</p>

<p>Do you qualify for any merit-based scholarship money at any of these schools? How close will that scholarship money bring you to being able to cover the cost of attendance?</p>

<p>If you think about these questions for a bit, you will see that most of the answers can't be discovered until you have actually applied to the schools in question, and have had a chance to compare their financial aid packages.</p>

<p>No, it is not worth it for you to have to come up with 30k more each year in order to attend Emory instead of GT. That is an additional 120k over the course of 4 years. You can run some of the pay-back-your-loans calculators at FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans to find out just how long it would take to get rid of it.</p>

<p>The state universities in Georgia are fine educational institutions. You can get a great education at any of them. In college, as in the rest of your life, how well you do is mostly up to you. Going to a more famous school full of the "smartest peers possible" is not a sure fire way to change your personal fate. There will be plenty of extremely smart peers at any of the state universities in Georgia who are there for the very same reasons you would be - a fine education at an affordable price.</p>

<p>Wishing you all the best.</p>

3

<p>Thank you for your quick response. It's really helpful. </p>

<p>I don't have answers to all of your questions but thinking about them helps. I seem to have a very fair shot at most of the colleges I listed, Mckenna being an exception as a reach (for a small faraway expensive college).</p>