Eventual Transfer: Financial Crisis

Parents Forum
1

<p>I am double posting this in the financial aid area, and here because the question applies to both areas. I know its long but I really need your help. PLEASE READ IT, I would greatly appreciate your help. :)</p>

<p>I am seriously considering transferring from Michigan State after my first year. The financial aid package while meeting all of my need, was packed with a lot more loans than I thought at first. I am going to have to take close to 10,000 out in loans my FIRST year along with work study. This was not what I was hoping for. If I keep on going this route I will be 40,000+ dollars in debt for a STATE SCHOOL.</p>

<p>I also still have to go to Med School, so note how much more debt I will also have to take on for that.</p>

<p>I should of applied for scholarships at my school, but was dumb and didn't apply for any, because,
1. I didn't think I could win because of my superstar val. best friend scooping them all up, and
2. Pure clean uncut laziness</p>

<p>I'm upset becuz only after the deadlines passed I realized that a lot of the local scholarships other people won basically by default becuz of lack of comp. and I know I did a lot more activites and had a better gpa than a lot of people in my school that got the many local scholarships.</p>

<p>The only reason I know this is because my GC, talked to after all is said and done and is like</p>

<p>"Why didn't you apply for any scholarships, you could of won a lot of them, because of what you did in high school, a lot of them in fact had little or no comp. becuz a lot of people didn't apply or didn't apply right"
I was very angry! And when my parents found out I didn't apply to any scholarships they both blew up.</p>

<p>But I have no one to blame but myself. :(</p>

<p>So I would like to transfer to a school with a better financial aid policy, that would give me more money given that I do great in college. Preferably after my 1st year so I only put myself in a 10,000 dollar hole to start off with, instead of a 2 yr 20,000 dollar hole.</p>

<p>The schools that I have seen with consistent good financial aid policies seem to be the LAC's. My friend got all of her best aid packages from the LAC's she got into like Amherst and Williams, though these would seem to be unnaturally hard to get into due to them being LACs and thus less spots plus Im a transfer.</p>

<p>The only thing holding me back are my high school grades. Heres my stats.</p>

<p>Say Reach, Match, or Safety and other information plz.</p>

<p>G.P.A - 3.2
ACT-27
School doesn't offer AP but have taken tons of college classes through dual enrollment program.
Probably in top 30 to 40% of class
Live in Michigan
African-American Male
Low-Income
Japanese Major (pre-med track though)</p>

<p>COURSEWORK:
I am in a special program for all of the students in my county that want to become doctors. I have about 20+ credits at a local community college where we were required to take college classes. I got all A's and a couple B's for the courses except for my human anatomy class which was a C so I withdrew from it. I have taken at the college:</p>

<p>Human Anatomy, Medical Terminology, CPR & First Aid, Health Information, Psychology 201, Elementary Japanese, along with some others</p>

<p>I have generally taken all the hardest courses I could at my school such trig, 3 years of spanish and our highest level of science.</p>

<p>A LITTLE ABOUT MYSELF:
I had around a 3.5, until my junior year. I had some health problems that were involving my eyes and I was given a wrong prescription. Due to this I missed a lot of school and always had migraines but the doctors didn't find out until near the end of my junior year. I explained this in my app and so did my counselor and she wrote an excellent rec but I dont think colleges care that much. As I was rejected from schools that I could of prolly of gotten into without my bad year. My senior year I am back on track with my first semester obtaining a 3.6 and my second semester a 3.8 gpa.</p>

<p>I could of done A LOT better in high school, but I was extremely lazy. I had a 3.5 gpa my first 2 yrs, but this is surprising to me, as I NEVER STUDIED. Seriously, I can't remember the last time I studied, for anything, tests, midterm, final, ANYTHING. Even my ACT I basically didn't study for. I basically went in their blind. I could of easily gotten a 4.0 in HS, had I studied even an hour a day, but I never saw the reason, becuz I did good, but not great anyway. And I know I could of got a 30+ on my ACT, had I even studied a week for it. My behavior is changing slowly but surely now though. I only studied a LITTLE for my second semester in high school and I obtained a good gpa. I'm conquering my bad study habits and laziness little by little. THANK GOD, before college.</p>

<p>ECS:
I went to state and nationals(don't know nationals rank yet as it hasn't happened yet, but 2nd for my event at state) for Health Occupations Students of America Club. Went to state for Business Professionals of America. Did a little volunteer work. Have a lot of hospital experience as my program requires we spend hundreds of hours in the hospital with doctors. Come from a poor family and could explain my experiences of living in the ghetto and other things in my application. I have always gone to a predominantly white school in a nearby town though. Very cool, but also very different. I don't think there are that many black male japanese majors out there.</p>

<p>TRANSFER SCHOOLS CONSIDERING: (good fin. aid only plz.)
LAC's(Amherst, Williams, Swarthmore, Pomona, Wesleyan, Grinnell, Vassar)
University of Chicago
University of Michigan
Georgetown
Rice University
YOUR INPUT</p>

<p>I am open to any schools that you guys would think would be a good idea. I would like a school that would ideally give me a better fin. aid package than Michigan State, and it doesn't have to be a top top school, but I would like it to be "better" than Michigan State. The schools I listed are more dream schools. I'm not even sure if those schools give good fin. aid so plz EDUCATE ME.</p>

<p>And could I even get into these schools saying I obtained a 3.8+ gpa in college, after my first year, or would I have to try to transfer in as a spring sophomore or a junior, due to my high school record holding me back. I heard that spring transfer fin. aid can be bad though considering that you are a transfer and most of the schools money has been given to the fall enrollees.</p>

<p>And what about scholarships, how hard is it for college students to obtain scholarships, and are there slim pickings after you leave high school.</p>

<p>AHHHH, so many questions, so little time. Your guys input would be INVALUABLE. Thanks for even reading this long post to those of you who got all the way down here. :)</p>

2

<p>I don't have time to read all that, but if you could boil it down to about 6 sentences I'll give it a shot.</p>

3

<p>LAC's(Amherst, Williams, Swarthmore, Pomona, Wesleyan, Grinnell, Vassar)
University of Chicago
Georgetown
Rice University</p>

<p>All those are too far of a reach with your stats.</p>

4

<p>Have you started at Michigan yet? If not, I suggest that you do not, and take a gap year (my daughter is doing that). LACs nor any other school will not give you a great FA package as a transfer. They are trying to recruit top students as Freshmen. This is a generalization, but true for most part. If other have info to the contrary, please post. Taking a gap year will preserve your chances of receiving the max FA that any school is likely to give you. Use the year to research schools which are a good fit for you, and which give good FA (see other posts in this forum on the subject). AND use it to do something else useful, including working and saving money for college. Schools that you apply to will want to know about what you've been doing for the year. Also, if you still want to go to Michigan, see if they will defer your admission for a year AND let you apply for scholarships for next year. Or, to put all another way, if you start at Michigan and plan to transfer, you may have a chance to establish a better academic record (GPA), but you will greatly reduce your options for financial aid. You are wise not to take on $10,000 debt for your freshman year, but you need to do some more research, thinking and make some hard choices (gap year, community college). Good luck.</p>

5

<p>Sorry, but i think i agree with nngmm regarding your chances of getting into the schools you listed AND getting a full ride (without) loans. Also, even if you get into those schools, they are way more expensive than U of M and the percentage of straight out aid to loans may be the same if not worse. You could take a gap year, consider a 2 year CC or ask U of M to defer your admission a year, and go after some other types of scholarships to lower the loan to grant ratio number</p>

<p>I have news for you..........If you are serious about Med School you will need to a) be less lazy (self-described); b) be more diligent and pro-active with planning and c) expect to be in debt.......which you will be able to pay off should you follow thru with your plans to become an MD.</p>

6

<p>Did you look at Kalamazoo College? It's obviously closer to home for you, easier to get into than the LACs you mention, and they have a very high acceptance rate into med school along with the ability to do internships at NIH and other places. I don't have time to go see where you are statistically with them, but you would certainly be in the running I would guess. They may be able to put together a better package for you and you could use your Michigan Promise scholarship or MEAP money (which I'm assuming you received) even though K is very expensive compared to State. Hope is probably similar although different atmosphere and student body. And then there are the Almas, Albions, Adrians, Aquinas and other LACs in the state. Not to mention surrounding states. The costs are definitely lower in the midwest than in the NE.</p>

7

<p>Here's info about Americorps, that I had suggested in your other thread. Being an Americorps volunteer for a year will give you some valuable skills and experiences that will boost your chances for getting better financial aid, other admissions, and also will help your chances for medical schools (Evidence of commitment to volunteer service is very important to medical schools, who want service-oriented students, not students attracted to medicine because of the bucks). </p>

<p>My S is completing his Americorps gap year now, and gets $200 a week. Americorps has greatly improved his organizational and leadership skills, and also made him an even more desireable candidate to colleges. He has had many opportunities, too, to make a positive difference in our community (He chose to do his Americorps volunteering while living at home, but one also can do it elsewhere).</p>

<p>"AmeriCorps is a network of local, state, and national service programs that connects more than 70,000 Americans each year in intensive service to meet our country’s critical needs in education, public safety, health, and the environment.</p>

<p>AmeriCorps members serve with more than 2,000 nonprofits, public agencies, and faith-based and community organizations. Since 1994, more than 400,000 men and women have provided needed assistance to millions of Americans across the nation through their AmeriCorps service. </p>

<p>AmeriCorps opens the door for citizens to serve in a variety of ways. Through their service and the volunteers they mobilize, AmeriCorps members address critical needs in communities throughout America, including</p>

<p>Tutoring and mentoring disadvantaged youth
Fighting illiteracy
Improving health services
Building affordable housing
Teaching computer skills
Cleaning parks and streams
Managing or operating after-school programs
Helping communities respond to disasters
Building organizational capacity
Full-time members who complete their service earn a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award of $4,725 to pay for college, graduate school, or to pay back qualified student loans. Members who serve part-time receive a partial Award. Some AmeriCorps members may also receive a modest living allowance during their term of service."
<a href="http://www.americorps.org/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.americorps.org/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Time to buckle down, go to where you have been admitted and sent a deposit, and work each day to the fullest. No one can help you with info on transferring when you have not stepped foot onto MSU. Go to MSU, and after a year, with a college GPA and a years worth of experience, you can begin to decide to stay for four years or transfer after two years. You will probably need a full year of grades at MSU, and by then you will be starting sophomore year, so trasferring would be reasonable after two years. If you are instate, you are likely to be better of financially staying put for now. You won't get good merit aid at a private elsewhere at this point with your record and the fact that its pretty much over trying to apply for this fall. And financial aid at this point for next year has already been distributed.</p>

<p>Or take a gap year, make the best of it, and earn some moeny toward college the year after. </p>

<p>What's done is done. Time to start over with what you have. No one can really predict any transfer chances with just high school info at this point. I think you are looking too far ahead. Decide how you can make the absolute best out of this coming year. And then do it.</p>

9

<p>Here's some scholarship info from Calvin College:
"Types of Aid - Merit-Based Scholarships
Calvin College is pleased to offer merit-based scholarships as one way to recognize and encourage academic excellence. Each year, more than 70 percent of first-year students are awarded a renewable, merit-based scholarship. Students are selected for Calvin's merit-based scholarships based on a careful review of the following information:</p>

<p>GPA and academic transcripts
Scores from standardized tests (either ACT or SAT)
the student's written response to essay #2 on the admission application
These scholarships range from $1,000 to $10,000:</p>

<p>National Merit Scholarship at $10,000
Trustee Scholarship at $10,000
Presidential Scholarship up to $6,000
Deans Scholarship up to $4,500
Faculty Honors Scholarship up to $3,500
Honors Scholarship up to $2,500
Knollcrest Scholarship at $1,000 "</p>

<p>Students are automatically considered for the merit scholarships at the time of their admission to Calvin. To be considered, students must have a minimum GPA of 3.15 (non-weighted, on a 4.00 scale), an ACT composite score of 22 or SAT combined score (math and critical reading) of 1030. The quality and content of the student's written essay is also of great importance."
<a href="http://www.calvin.edu/admin/finaid/types/need.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.calvin.edu/admin/finaid/types/need.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>My husband is a prominent alum of Calvin, and is so active in alum affairs that he just came back from visiting Calvin this week. I know that you are the type of student that Calvin is looking for, and I know that if you apply and meet their deadlines, you'd have an excellent chance of getting much better aid than you got from MSU.</p>

<p>The same would be true if you apply to liberal arts colleges like Union College (in Schenectady, N.Y.), Earlham or some of the places others here have mentioned. In addition to having much better financial aid, you'll have small classes with professors whose interest is in teaching and helping students attain their academic and career potential.</p>

<p>Even if your financial aid were excellent at MSU, I do not think it's a good fit for you if you're serious about becoming a doctor. The premed classes at large state universities are huge and have very low pass rates. The partying atmosphere at large state universities can be very easy to get caught up in, and the flunk out rate is high. Students with a history of strong commitment to their academics, including working hard to attain high gpas, are likely to do fine, but students like you with mediocre gpas are at very high risk of flunking out. Such large, impersonal institutions can be very hard, too, for first generation college students who can feel intimidated and lost in the crowd. There also may be more students who display their wealth at the public institutions than at liberal arts colleges, where students may value the quality of one's academic work and intelligence far more than whether one is driving a Hummer or wearing designer clothes. </p>

<p>I speak as the mom of a very bright black male, who was a high scoring very bright student with medicore (below 3.0) grades due to laziness. He had never partied before, but when he went to a Big 10 public university that had given him a virtually full ride, he fell into the partying habits and ended up flunking out even though his academic preparation and scores put him in the top group of freshmen. Just to show how he thought, he said he loved the classes because they were so big that the profs didn't know or care that he attended.</p>

<p>Again, for students like you who are capable but underperform, LACs where you'll be in small classes with caring professors who may even seek you out when you skip class -- can be the best way to reach your academic and career potential.</p>

10

<p>There are also ways of having the Fed's finance your medical school if you agree to work in a disadvantged (under-represented medical area) for 4-5 years after getting your license. My physician did. He said the Fed's then forgave all his loans.</p>

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<p>WOW, thanks for all the replies, I posted this somewhere else, but I posted it here so you could know a little bit more about me. I'm late for class, so I can't read all the replies, but I should be back later. Thanks.</p>

<p>Here is something my financial aid package looks like: Ill round to make it easier.</p>

<p>Estimated Cost of Attendance: 18,700</p>

<p>Parent Loan (PLUS): 4,200
Stafford Loan: 3,600
Perkins Loan: 1,300
Work Study: 2,400</p>

<p>Equals:9,100 in loans plus work study
The rest are grants and scholarships.
My EFC was something like 2,100.</p>

<p>Is this normal with someone with my EFC, and for a state school to give me this many loans.</p>

<p>Should I go to the Fin. Aid office and ask them why I had so many loans? I might talk with my parents about taking a gap year, and see if they like it, but given the track record of many black families children we know, they took "gap" years, to do other things and either never ended up going to college, got someone pregnant, in a dead end job, or are going to college 5-10 years later. So I'm not sure how keen on the idea they might be.</p>

<p>My dad was just complaining about my stepsisters that went to do some volunteering after high school. The oldest had a 3.93, and was Salutatorian in her school. That was almost 3 years ago. She was in some volunteering program for about 2 years in texas doing some kind of missionary work. She cant do that anymore so she has come home but doesn't really want to go to college, even though she knows she needs to go. She did lots of EC's in high school, and is basically fluent in french (she had some obsession with it for the longest time which got her so good.) She could probably get into a VERY good school, but she has gotten SO lazy. She could have a shot at ivy and such but knows nothing about college process and doesn't seem to care. My dad and stepmom just gave her an ultimatum, so she will be going to the local community college in the spring semester. Her year younger sister that had a 3.8 and pretty good ECS too, is following in the same steps, and refused to come home to go to college, so she could stay her second and final year in the missionary program. Because of these reasons my mom would be okay with it because she doesn't know the situation with my stepmom and dad, but my dad I can almost guarantee would make me go to MSU no matter what, or offer no support. And since he is the one with more money it would be stupid to go against him.</p>

<p>If I'm faced with this ultimatum, what should I do. Should I look more towards scholarships or towards transferring. Transferring while it might be fun, would seem kind of hectic for a pre-med due to them needing to build relationships with teachers for rec., getting to know their pre-med advisor, etc.</p>

12

<p>More reason why your choice of college concerns me, particularly in light of your self described laziness about academics. I wasn't able to find updated figures, but you always could e-mail or call MSU's admissions office and ask about their current graduation rate for black students.</p>

<p>From a 2002 article:
".. MSU's Black graduation rate, which is among the lowest at the university.</p>

<p>According to MSU's most recent data, 46 percent of Black students who entered in 1994 had graduated within six years. During the same time, Hispanic students graduated at a rate of 58 percent, Asian and Pacific Islanders at 67 percent and White students at 70 percent."
<a href="http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DXK/is_5_19/ai_85880303%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DXK/is_5_19/ai_85880303&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

13

<p>Distribution by income? Percentage recruited athletes? It might not be as low as first appears.</p>

<p>The sad reality part of this is that the $40k in loans is insignificant compared to the $225k cost of medical school (when you are ready to go). However, an African-American student who flourishes in a pre-med curriculum is going to be much sought after, which may assist with those costs down the road. So $40k IS high, though relative to total med school costs, a drop in the bucket.</p>

<p>What I am saying is that you need to put yourself into the best possible position for med school admit and future scholarships. Two of the colleges with the highest med school admit rate in the country, and with virtually no "weed out" are Kalamazoo and Hope (which is likely to be a big issue at MSU). Hope is especially known for undergraduate biological research, and, at least 5 years ago, had a higher rate of publication in peer-reviewed journals of undergraduate research than any of the Ivies.</p>

14

<p>I see that Hope College is also on the NACAC list of colleges that still have openings and financial aid. While it says that their openings and aid now are "limited," since you're exactly the type of student that places like Hope and Calvin and similar LACs with low minority populations have difficulty recruiting, I think that you'd have better than average chances of getting admission and better aid than MSU is offering you.</p>

<p>I think that Alma also is on the list. One of my friends went there. She was African American, low income, first gen college. From there, she went to law school at University of Michigan and is now a judge in Detroit.</p>

15

<p>I know a director of admissions at a top-tier school who is sending his d. to Hope.</p>

<p>"Hope tied for fourth nationally in the "Undergraduate research/Creative projects" category in the America’s Best Colleges 2003 guide published by U.S. News and World Report for its success in teaching through active learning; Hope continues to be named to the annual listing, although the schools are no longer ranked."</p>

16

<p>Honestly, my feeling is that the state of Michigan is in such dire straits that it is affecting all aspects of the the government including (it seems to me) FA at most of it's state schools. I think that is is terrible that a person with an EFC of 2100 is offered that many loans, I don't care if their GPA and ACT is low or what. </p>

<p>I really encourage you not to accept this package (you are an entering Freshman, correct?), I'm sorry but this package is absurd. I think that Hope, Calvin and Alma are great choices. If you can find a school that is still accepting applications and FA (the big one being FA) I would look into that option. </p>

<p>I think that Northstarmom's idea of Americorps is outstanding. You could also look at improving your ACT score and reapply and I think that you could have a much better outcome.</p>

<p>On a personal note, it really makes me angry to see kids with a 2100 EFC and to be offered so many loans, and it makes a PLUS loan look like financial aid. Is that right, he was gapped at his state institution?</p>

17

<p>Yes, it is right that he was gapped at his state u, which also offered him a large amount of loans.</p>

<p>Truth is that public universities lack the resources that many private universities have that can allow them to meet 100% of students' demonstrated financial need, and to do this without saddling students with large loans.</p>

<p>I don't think that there's one public university in the country that guarantees to meet 100% of all students' demonstrated financial need. They don't even guarantee this for in-state students.</p>

<p>Most people don't realize this, and also don't realize that while in general private universities have higher tuition and housing costs than do publics, because of private university's scholarship funds and endowments, many students could go to private universities for lower costs than going to public universities, including their in state ones.</p>

<p>From what I've seen, many public universities also give a huge proportion of their financial aid money as merit scholarships in order to keep in state the maximum number of their state's highest achieving students. That means that there's even less money available to help the students who typically have more need -- the first gen and low income students who went to weak high schools and lacked the family resources and sophistication to get the high grades, scores that students from affluent, highly educated families were more easily able to get in their well funded, excellent high schools.</p>

<p>I don't know about the OP's high school, but I have seen inner city schools where the valedictorian may have had about a 3.1 and ACT scores far below a 27. When I lived in Detroit 15 years ago, the average ACT score in Detroit was a 12, and when one of my mentees got a 14, her GC told her not to bother retaking the ACT since she was "scoring above average." The GC was acting as if the Detroit average ACT was the national average, which is about a 21.</p>

18

<p>Thank you so much for all your responses, especially Northstarmom.</p>

<p>I talked to my dad today about taking a gap year and doing something like going to a different college or participating in Americorp, lets just say it didn't go to well.</p>

<p>When I told him my concerns about the loans. He acted like it was no big deal. He basically said that it is just money, and that I should be more concentrated on doing my best at MSU instead of things like that. He said I should of expected to take out a bit of loans because of how bad I did my junior year. </p>

<p>Mind you he blames my poor performance that year on me, instead of my eye problems. Even though when I went to the Optometrist he said " I don't even know how you have been walking around with these glasses", and even though I missed a whole bunch of school, and EVEN THOUGH, the optometrist sent a letter to the school explaining the whole situation and why I was developing a trend of getting bad headaches, always needing to rest my eyes or just fall asleep in class, and inability to focus.</p>

<p>I read the Americorp information, and it seemed like a really good idea. So I presented it to him. This is exactly what he says, "Seems like an excellent program, too bad your not doing it".
He started getting angry and said he would not let me do what my before mentioned stepsisters where doing and that I would be going to MSU this fall. </p>

<p>In fact when I told him about the places like Calvin, Hope, Kalamazoo, and such he said that WE (notice the WE) were not going to change our plans all around and that we had already sent in my deposit and that he had already started the loan process. (Why wasn't I informed of this?) When I said I would still consider it any way he gets angry and said that he would not support me with my everyday expenses or AT ALL if I didn't go to MSU. And he knows with my mother being sick she is not capable of helping me during college. This IS NOT an option for me, life in college will already be hard enough without having to worry about other things like that. So I just had to cave in. He said he wouldn't care if I transferred somewhere else later that would give me a better fin. aid package, but only over his dead body would he let me take a gap year or go somewhere else.(See why I don't live with him, hardheaded, stepmom, and stepsisters I hate, make a living hell)</p>

<p>He went on to say that I should only concentrate on school and that the loans would resolve themselves If I did good in school.(Mind you he hasn't paid off his loans, there are good reasons, but still...) I could get scholarships in college if I did good and their are other options.</p>

<p>


</p>

<p>He mentioned this, he said as an African-American, if I did good in college I could have a lot of opportunities, and I might be able to get some of my med school paid for.</p>

<p>


</p>

<p>We went to an African-American day that they hosted, a couple weeks ago. And one of the speakers mentioned this and how MSU was trying to raise it. He said that Harvard held first for black graduation rate, then Amherst, thats why I was also considering Amherst. I mentioned this to my Dad, but he was basically like "So what, I don't care what the rate is, your different", and I couldnt really come up with a comeback.</p>

<p>He is VERY hardheaded.</p>

<p>Oh yeah, before I had estimated from what I remembered from my fin. aid package what it was, now that I have it in front of me it is a little better but not much. Here it is.</p>

<p>Fin. Aid Package info: I'll round
Cost of Attendance: 18,700</p>

<p>Parent Loan: 4,100
Stafford Loan: 3,500
Perkins Loan: 1,100
Work Study: 2,700
Equals: 8,700 in loans plus Work Study</p>

<p>Rest Grants n Scholarships</p>

<p>Any advice on what I should do to reduce future debt seeing as how my other options are being closed down around me, would be greatly appreciated.</p>

19

<p>The other options are being closed only if you let them be closed. Absolutely nothing except for your courage is preventing your proceeding with some of the ideas mentioned here including contacting Calvin, Hope, Alma and Americorps. Your dad can not prevent your taking a gap year. </p>

<p>Yes, your stepfather is upset, and I know that's hard for you to cope with. As a parent, however, I empathize with him because what I hear is that he is concerned that you won't go to college or ever reach your career goal of becoming a doctor. Clearly, he loves and cares about you or he wouldn't be so worried about your future, wouldn't have sent in the deposit, and wouldn't be now doing everything he can to try to make sure that you go to college.</p>

<p>His not understanding about the large loans, and other problems MSU would cause for you is not because he doesn't care, but simply because he doesn't really understand the situation. From his standpoint, if you become a doctor, you'll be easily able to pay off the loans. I suppose that is true. However, I know that the majority of students who go to college do not end up majoring in what they initially planned to, and they don't end up pursuing their initial career interests. While doctors and high paid corporate executives might not have difficulty with $35-40 k in college loans to pay off, most college graduates would have difficulty paying off such loans. I also know that you would have much better odds of getting to med school or even graduating from college if you go to from a LAC like the ones we've listed than if you attend MSU.</p>

<p>Anyway, my advice is to contact the admissions office at Calvin, Alma and Hope. Explain your situation and ask what your chances are of getting in and getting good financial aid. Since your income is low, you should be able to apply to them without having to pay for your application.</p>

<p>If you get accepted and get good financial aid, then you could visit it with your family. My S visited Calvin this winter and was treated extremely well. He decided that he didn't want to apply (S is agnostic and didn't like the Christian atmosphere and lack of religious diversity),but he said he liked the students, faculty and course offerings.</p>

<p>If you end up going to MSU, be prepared to work your tail off academically, particularly in freshman chemistry courses (This will be true at any college that you select, but working this hard is more difficult at large, impersonal colleges where the professor won't notice or care if you're flunking or skip). Be prepared to get tutoring -- something that many students of all races and income levels have to get in order to do well in that course, which is the killer course that is known on all college campuses as the one that weeds out the pre med students from the premed wannabees.</p>

<p>In addition, check with MSU to find out about whether you eventually can become a resident assistant, which on most campuses means that you have greatly reduced or even free room and board.</p>

<p>When I taught college, one of my top students had gone to the college over his parents' objections. He had done the research and knew that while the college where I taught was just second tier, it was superior in the field that he wanted to enter. His parents, however, thought that he was making a big mistake by turning down NYU for my college, and they were so angry with him that they threatened to disinherit him, and also didn't speak to him for months. He had to find transportation to get to college.</p>

<p>Anyway, just as his research had indicated, our college really was the place to go to for his field, and he became a stellar student, and got many excellent, unusual opportunities in his field of choice. This included his getting to meet the U.S. president twice.</p>

<p>Way before he graduated, his parents had reconciled with him. The day he graduated, his dad threw him a party and publicly said that he had been wrong to try to keep his son from our college.</p>

<p>The young man obtained an excellent job in the field at one of the top corportations in the field, and now, about 6 years out of college is a finalist for a top national award.</p>

<p>So my advice is to do your research and then make your decision based on what your research has indicated is in your best interest. Have compassion for your parents, who are trying to look out for your best interests, but also realize that you are the one ultimately responsible for your life.</p>

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<p>Also, if you check the Americorps site, you'll see that some colleges will match the $4,700 that you get to use for college at the end of your year with Americorps.</p>

<p>I don't know where you live in Mich., but there are Americorps programs in Detroit, and probably in other parts of Michigan, too.</p>