Depressed...4 years of work for nothing

Parents Forum
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<p>To cut to the story this is what' happening righ tnow. My dad's a dentist had about 120,000 dollars saved for my brother (in 8th grade) and I for college. Then my dad (who is 57 right now) invested our college money a year ago in an office because he knew that he couldn't afford to pay for both of us witth that money. So know that money is spent, and my dad says that i have to take out loans and that he can't pay anything until the dental office starts picking up. I understand that and I"m willing to take loans until he's ready to help me financially. To make things worse, my dad's a dentist, and he makes 100,000 dollars a year (not always only for hte past 5 years, he works for the state of NY).</p>

<p>My stats: American born Pakistani, 1380 SATs (730 verbal, 650 math) single sitting, 710 chemistry, 720 math ic, 600 writing, 690 biology. CLASS RANK 25/276, 3.72 GPA out of 4.000 UNWEIGHTED</p>

<p>I'm retaking sats in january (i'll probably end up with 1400 or so, so it will not make a big difference and I cannot retake SAT II writing because new SATs are coming)</p>

<p>I've served over 100 hours in community service, a majority of it in a hospital setting, animal shelter, key club etc and i'm a mamber of NHS and a various number of other clubs 2 sports etc etc</p>

<p>I'm considering not even going to college next year, and even taking a year off because i'd be too emabrassed to go to our community college for two years and transfer afterwards...personal issues or w/e but i just couldn't go to this community college its too bad.</p>

<p>What are my options? I'm applying to SUNY Geneseo, Binghamton, Case Western, Siena, Furman, Ohio Wesleyan after cutting alll other good schools like Emory, Colgate, Brown, George Washington University etc etc.</p>

<p>Please help, I feel like i've been robbed of a good education</p>

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<p>good parenting skills. You could get financial aid of some sort possibly. Scholarships are a possibility. You could also just go to a state school. You'll be fine.</p>

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<p>Jawaad, I'm sorry and know how disappointed you must feel. But, all is not lost. The schools on your current list are all very good schools - you can get a great education at any of them. So, don't look at this as a set back so much as a curve in the road. I agree with your decision not to go to community college, but at the same time, I think you may be very happy with any of the schools on your list if you let yourself be. Best of luck to you.</p>

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<p>I think you should work to figure out how much aid you are likely to get and work around htat. EVen if you take a year off, things aren't going to change financially. Will your Dad pay anything? parents here can recommend some schools that might offer you good merit aid and you may get more need-based aid than you expect. I suspect you'll be counseled to target schools where your SATs are in the 75% percentile of admitted students. Are you male or female?</p>

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<p>carolyn, how will he/she pay for schools like those on his/her list?</p>

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<p>Momsdream, Many of those schools offer generous merit scholarships for students in his/her stats range. SUNY Binghamton is very reasonable for in-state students (actually even for out of state students). Loans are not the end of the world, and there is a good chance that he/she will get some financial aid, especially if his father's dental business shows losses or other problems.</p>

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<p>I posted to him on the Financial board. A SUNY education with room, board and sundries is about $15k per year. If he finds a job for winter breaks, spring breaks and a few hours after work each week and works like a fiend during the summer, he can come up with half of that. His parents do not sound like the sort that have no intention not paying a dime. They will likely be able to pay the other half, or borrow. He needs to have a long talk with them about his options. I also recommend that he add a couple of more colleges to his SUNY app.</p>

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<p>I am male, my dad can't pay anything right now, basically we live from paycheck to paycheck nowadays and our standard of living is a lot lower than it used to be considerably (not that i'm complaining but it doesn't reflect in the CSS Profile/Fafsa). I had more schools in mind but i realized that even if i got thousands of dollars from several schools, i would still end up having to pay something like 15,000-20,000 dollars total and this is just not feasible.</p>

<p>Realistically, I think i can only end up gaining 1,000-3,000 dollars in private scholarships for one year, but I don't know how willing my parents are in co-signing since they already have so man y loans for the dental office that was opened last year.</p>

<p>My dad wants to pay for my colllege but the ways things are going, i think my future is very bleak...</p>

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<p>You have not been robbed of a good education. Nor are the last four years wasted. What you learned in high school will help you for the rest of your life.
Sit down and talk with your dad about how much he could contribute toward your education. With a salary of $100k a year, he should be able to contribute something, though not a full ride. Then consider some schools that are likely to offer merit money for someone with your stats. You already have Case Western on your list. Perhaps add Rochester? I don't know SUNY Geneso, but Binghamton has a very solid reputation.</p>

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<p>I can see why you're disappointed, but don't give up! With your stats, you should be able to get a merit scholarship somewhere - you will have to adjust your standards, perhaps - but you can still go to a very fine college. Look for schools that are generous with merit aid and where your SAT/GPA put you in the top 10-25% of applicants. Start with this website: <a href="http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/privatecolleges/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/privatecolleges/&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p>

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<p>Jawaad, Re-read JAmimom's post again. She has very good advice about the SUNY schools --- that's pretty much how I paid for my first two years at a SUNY school. If you want something badly enough, you can make it happen, even if it means taking out loans. It may sound trite but sometimes the things you have to work for are the things you appreciate the most in life. And, don't give up on the possiblity of merit awards and financial aid from the other schools on your list.</p>

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<p>You can also start looking at some of the catholic schools with excellent scholarships. I see Siena is already on your list. Look where you are way up there in the stats, and you will likely get some aid. I can tell you that my son went to a very expensive school and though he did get a nice merit award, he reduced his cost by quite a bit by working double, triple jobs in the summer, and looking for every opportunity to make a buck and being extremely frugal. He lived in a cheap house with 5 other guys which brought his rent down very low. My D applied for a RA position this year (which she rescinded when she got a great merit award) which would have paid a portion of her board as well all of her room. She worked two shifts a week at the cafeteria, and that gave her a couple of free meals. She also looked for "on the spot" type of jobs always being advertised. My kids pooled rides home and elsewhere saving transportation costs, and I used this strategy when S2 was looking at colleges. There are a number of ways to save money. And also there may be some excellent schools where you can commute and save some money. Fordham used to offer $4k off tuition if you commuted. Don't know if they still do that. But some local colleges may offer you some grants for your stats, you can live at home, and you can work. The gap you can borrow, but it may not be all that much. I worked a number of jobs to pay for my college as I got a full ride my first year but subsequently lost some of the grants and had a big gap that I did not want my parents to have to pay.</p>

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<p>Search this site for threads about merit aid. You won't get any at a top 25 school, but there is merit aid available at many very fine schools. Two that come to mind for someone with your stats are College of Wooster and Franklin & Marshall.</p>

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<p>If you declare yourself financially independent, which would probably be appropriate, your financial aid offers will swell.</p>

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<p>Everyone always has such good advice.
I think you should not focus on a prestigious college for undergrad work. Many , many people have difficult circumstances. You can make a fine life for youself! Become active wherever you go even if it is a community college. This will give you greater feelings of self worth. You will do fine. There are even community college kids who get into the best colleges.</p>

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<p>your situation is worth noting on your app...also, many, many schools give merit and need based aid, ask your school counselor...loans would be tough...this might not be the best time for it, but ROTC is always an option...trust me buddy, i felt like that once too because i wasnt attending my prestigious university...we worked something out though, and im transferring next year...not that my current school is a bad one (Mizzou)...hang in there...</p>

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<p>PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE APPLY TO THOSE OTHER PLACES!!! YOU COULD VERY WELL GET A GREAT SCHOLARSHIP!!!
add Tulane to your list...you may get enough to attend...</p>

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<p>I won't go into the whole story but my parents were not able to pay for any college expenses (except for a little money for books and traveling...6 hour drive). Since their credit was bad I had to find a cosigner for my loans. The fact that my parents could not help pay for college did not prohibit me from getting a good education. I went to an expensive private school for two years but had a good amount of financial aid. I eventually transfered to a state school (not for financial reasons) and the first year was actually more expensive in regards to loans since the school can't give out much grant aid. After four years of undergrad I have $30,000 in loan debt, and I still have one more year of undergrad (5 total to complete my degree). And then law school is somewhere in my future.</p>

<p>You can still get a great education even if you have to pay for it yourself. I go to school with many students who pay their own tuition. It's not a fancy Ivy League but the education is quite good considering the low tuition. But in order to keep my grades up I choose not to hold a steady job during the semester. Instead, I rely on loans to take care of the tuition and I use my summer earnings to pay for books and gas for the 40 miles of daily commuting. </p>

<p>One of my main worries is whether or not I'll get a job that will allow me to pay off the loans without much trouble. I've met many other students who would not have taken out loans but it was the only way I could stay in school continously full-time and not have to worry about a job.</p>

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<p>Fiddlefrog: A student can't just declare themselves financially independent; there are very specific rules about this, and the fact that one's parents can't/won't pay is not included.</p>

<p>I may be missing something in your posts,jawaad, but I'm not understanding how your family is living paycheck to paycheck on 100,000. Is your Dad's salary being poured into the new practice? If so, that should show up as business losses if he's not turning a profit. Otherwise, you're in the same boat as any other six-figure family, many of whom do get some need-based aid, and most of whom severely ratchet down their living expenses to find some of the money.</p>

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<p>I do not want to sound unfeeling because I am not, but there are many ways to get to your destination and not all of them have to be through the college of your dreams. If two years at a C.C. is what you have to do, do it. After that you can transfer to a 4-year school, and perhaps your father's practice will have picked up by then. It simply does not serve you well now, or in the future, to worry about the unfairness of the situation.</p>

<p>And before anyone slings arrows, I went to a CC, then a 4-year, then law school -- all at night and all on my dime, so the advice I am giving is one I took myself.</p>