<p>I didn't get into the majority of the schools I applied to, I was in range for every single one but maybe my SAT's were too low or something, doesn't matter anymore. The point is I got into 2 of the 7 schools I applied to, and neither of those 2 schools were my near the top of my list....</p>
<p>Not that they are bad schools, I mean I did apply to them so I obviously saw something in them; Elon and UConn. Two extremely different schools. I wanted a school with a big busy urban surrounding area but that didn't happen so I have those two now...</p>
<p>I don't know which one to choose maybe you can help me clear my head:</p>
<p>For UCONN I didn't get that much money and that's a huge factor because we aren't well of. I still need to get a form or two in for Elon so I don't know about that.</p>
<p>I live in NY so I haven't got to go down to North Carolina to visit Elon but I know it has a nice campus which is a plus, I like the idea of getting to live somewhere like that after living in the same place for my entire life.</p>
<p>I think UCONN may be better academically but most people I talk to only know it for the sports and think it's a party school, so that balances out its what I think are overall better academics. I mean I hate the idea of everyone thinking I go to a school like that regardless of whether or not its true. I was going to do a Business related major and again I think UCONN would be better for that.</p>
<p>I may not even be asking a question, I just am extremely discouraged after this and I really didn't think I would have so few options and I just need some help...</p>
<p>I’d say Elon is probably stronger academically, but UConn has the advantage of strong name recognition. I think either place you can get a solid education.</p>
<p>Until you get the aid package from Elon, you won’t even know if it is an option. And from your description of the financial situation, UConn may not be affordable. Are there any SUNY/CUNY or NYS community colleges that could work for you? You may be best of with a whole new list. If you don’t find anything affordable that is likable for this fall, give yourself a year off to work, save some money, and apply to a different set of colleges and universities.</p>
<p>I can’t tell which is better academically, but the two schools are clearly very different. </p>
<p>Generally smaller schools can offer more personal support and attention, and larger schools have a larger variety of offerings. It might be worth a trip down to Elon to check it out.</p>
<p>Finances are an important consideration, so you should make sure that either one is affordable. When I checked, UCONN seemed very expensive for out-of-state, and Elon is private, so without significant aid, would be even more expensive. </p>
<p>I would not recommend an unplanned gap year, especially for someone with financial need. You will clearly make more money in the first year after you graduate with a bachelors degree than you will make just as a high school graduate. Additionally, the tuition keeps going up. </p>
<p>There are still opportunities to apply to additional colleges either whose deadline hasn’t passed or that haven’t filled up. A list comes out the first week of May, but if you are interested and have specific things that you might want in a college, perhaps we can suggest a few colleges that show up most years. </p>
<p>Did you also apply to any in-state schools?</p>
<p>Doesnt’ sound like you got the needed aid for UConn…you’re OOS. And, you said that your family isn’t “well off”. So, that may be off the table because of cost.</p>
<p>What is your FAFSA EFC?</p>
<p>Until you get the Elon pkg, that’s unknown as well.</p>
<p>How much will your parents pay? What will you do if the amount that they’ll pay is less than what Elon expects?</p>
<p>I applied to two SUNY’s, Binghamton and Geneseo.</p>
<p>I was denied by Binghamton today and I was wait-listed at Geneseo.</p>
<p>My parent’s can barely pay anything, my mother is out on disability and my father lives on a different side of the country, paying for two different households on a teachers salary.</p>
<p>I keep getting different advice, even above me one commenter told me to take a year off and the other said that an “unplanned gap year” would not be a good idea. Are there even any reputable colleges that have late deadlines?</p>
<p>Yes, there are places that are still accepting applicants. However, they may not meet your financial needs. If none of them prove affordable, your remaining options will be to either start at a local CC that you can commute to, pull really good grades, and then transfer after a couple of years, or to take a year off so that you can save a bit of money and apply to a new set of colleges and universities that are going to be affordable.</p>
<p>If you post your GPA and ACT/SAT scores here, indicate the amount (however small) that your parents might be able to chip in, and tell us your major, between all of us we may be able to come up with an affordable option for you.</p>
<p>Definitely stay on the waitlists, but you need to make other plans. If you can pay zero, you’re going to have a problem. You have two parents, they must be willing to contribute SOMETHING? How much. That number is very important. </p>
<p>A list comes out the first week of May with schools that still have space available. Come back to this board and start a thread “Colleges with space available” and someone will give you the link. </p>
<p>There are also some colleges that are still accepting applications, but getting aid is more difficult at this late stage. You really need to know how much money you can get from your parents and how much you can borrow. </p>
<p>Starting with SUNY:
The only SUNYs whose application deadline has passed are Binghamton, Albany, Stony Brook, Geneseo and New Paltz. You should call SUNY Buffalo and see if they are still accepting applications to business. Consider other SUNY colleges. </p>
<p>CUNY Baruch, the CUNY with the best business, has a priority deadline but no regular deadline. CALL and ask if they are still accepting applications for business. </p>
<p>CUNY Queens College and Brooklyn Colleges also have business programs. </p>
<p>With any CUNY, finding housing is an issue, but surmountable if you can afford it. The tuition is very low, but the housing is not.</p>
<p>Virginia Commonwealth has no application deadline</p>
<p>Truman State University in Missouri is a public honors college and is one of the least expensive reputable schools in the nation for OOS. They do not have an application deadline and have automatic admissions.</p>
<p>You need that number on how much you have available.</p>
<p>Thank you but I’m telling you both of my parents have told me that they cannot pay anything, I would have to take out loans and hope that I received sufficient scholarship money, grants, etc…</p>
<p>And as for my stats:</p>
<p>-A 3.65 UW GPA on a 4.0 Scale
-I got an 1820 on the SAT’s
-I had around 400 Hours of Comm. Service
-I was the president of one club, in National Honor Society, Drama Club, Amnesty International, etc.
-I was an AP Scholar
-I will have taken 6’APs and 3 Honors classes.</p>
<p>YOU can NOT take out the loans that you would need. You won’t qualify. You’d need willing and qualified co-signers and I doubt your parents will do this.</p>
<p>YOU can only borrow a federal student loan (no cosigner) for $5500. </p>
<p>You’re going about this wrong because you think you just have to get accepted somewhere and then borrow what you need. NO ONE will lend you that kind of money. You’re not a good risk. And, you won’t be earning that much upon graduation. </p>
<p>You need to get into a SUNY or CUNY. Find out who is accepting students. Since you’re a NY resident and your mom is low income, you’d get a lot of aid to cover the cost.</p>
<p>AND, since your parents are separated, ONLY your mom’s income (and support) should be used on FAFSA - since you live with her. Did you put your dad’s income on FAFSA? If so, why since they’re separated?</p>
<p>The Parental Plus Loan is for your parents to borrow. It’s a substantial sum. Are your parents willing (do they agree to) and able (have good enough credit ) to take out the PLUS loans? </p>
<p>If not, you are $20,473 short for UCONN. You can’t borrow that much yourself. </p>
<p>Still you are probably eligible anywhere for the
$5635 Pell grant and the $5500 Stafford loans, for a total of $11,145. </p>
<p>That leaves you about 8K-10K short for Buffalo, which would be the cheapest. You definitely need to get a job during the school year and the summers. I don’t know if you can make that much. </p>
<p>Are any of these schools close enough to your home that you can commute? </p>
<p>What part of NY do you live in?</p>
<p>I’d definitely inquire about applying to more schools.</p>
<p>You received the full Pell Grant from UConn. So you should get that wherever you go. With the full Stafford (some places may break out the Sub and Unsub a bit differently but the total will be the same) you will have a total of 11,145 between the Pell and the Stafford. In New York, you should also get TAP. Ask your guidance counselor what that will come to for a student like you.</p>
<p>Check the NYS system to see what is still available for you for the fall that will cost about $11,145. Maybe there is somewhere that you can commute to. </p>
<p>Happymom1, he’s too late for merit at most places. </p>
<p>The TAP idea is good though. That can provide another $5000. With that he would have $16,145. Now he’s only a few thousand short for someplace like SUNY Buffalo, and would come close to supporting going to a commutable SUNY College. </p>
<p>I think with the $16,145, and working part-time and summer, you can cover SUNY Buffalo.</p>
<p>CRD - I know he’s too late for merit at most places. That’s why I suggested he read through the list, consider trying to beef up his exam scores, and try again next year. Maybe my wording wasn’t clear. Thanks for the info on TAP. I didn’t know what the figure for that was. I do agree that with Pell, Tap, a Stafford loan, and summer and school year jobs the SUNY system looks doable.</p>
<p>A gap year is going to cost this poor kid his entire first year’s (2017-2018) salary after graduation because it’s delayed by a year when it doesn’t have to be. That will delay his first raise, and all of the compounding that goes with future raises. </p>
<p>I think GAP year’s are great for people who can afford them and make good use of them, but not because you didn’t get into an affordable college because you didn’t apply to one that would accept you. I think there is still time to correct this mistake, even if it means starting at a SUNY College and then transferring into a SUNY university. </p>
<p>I think he can still go to college in the fall and graduate on-time in 2017, and start earning the college graduate bucks in 2017.</p>
<p>Sorry to hear about your dilemma. I live in MA and many of our local students attend the local community college for two years. They work part time, do really well in college, save money and transfer to RPI and other great schools for the last two years. This option will keep you out of debt and let you transfer with a good scholarship. </p>
<p>You seem to have good stats and will do well where ever you go. Just don’ t get in over your head in debt. It takes a long long time to pay it off. Best of luck.</p>
<p>I already have the “get a summer job” part covered, I have a year-round job at a local restaurant, I make decent money for my age there.</p>
<p>And I know that I can attend a local CC for a semester or two and then just go to Geneseo in the Spring with Guaranteed Admission, I just am a little dumbfounded by how I even got myself into this mess.</p>
<p>I mean I just am having trouble to come to terms with the fact that after years and years of school, getting at least decent, respectable grades, taking challenging classes, being involved in clubs, etc, I am going to end up going to a community college…</p>
<p>And to see people with far worse stats than I have (even my twin brother), go through this process rather seamlessly and putting in their deposits makes me angry that I got myself into this mess. This just wasn’t the way I every imagined this going, how many students dream of the day that they can graduate high school…and then come September stay at home and go to a college 20 minutes away.</p>
<p>I just see all of the people in my school who go to community college and they are the slackers and the ones who failed classes and didn’t show up to class, I didn’t think I would ever be following the same path as they were taking.</p>
<p>Regardless, everybody thank you for your help.</p>