<p>Yes, you should definitely consider Penn State. I spent a year there and as with most big colleges there is a lot going on so if partying is not your thing there are plenty of other serious students to hand out with. State College is a great place to live. Also, as is common with big state schools no one will hold your hand but if you don’t need that you’ll be fine. From what I hear UPitt might be even a better choice.</p>
<p>I know your aspirations are different but financially this may be your only choice for staying in this country.</p>
<p>The specific scholarships that are described may have changed since the posts were written, but the search strategies remain effective.</p>
<p>You also need to read the threads on merit-based scholarships that are “stickied” at the top of the Financial Aid Forum. You will find lots of useful ideas there.</p>
<p>Thanks, everybody! Gosh, I wish my parents were like CC parents who fret about their Ds and Ss and are there for their kid every step of the way, from visiting colleges to opening envelopes to signing checks. My parents have expected so much from me over the years (the few times I’ve gotten Bs were very bad experiences) that I’ve come to expect myself to go to a prestigious school worthy of all my toil & troubles. But now, where it counts, they turn a blind eye. It’s so difficult trying to pry apart dreams and reality when they pertain to my future. I just wish my family wasn’t so one-sided about things.</p>
<p>I’m also sort of in a similar situation, except that I’m not from the Philippines, and I’m not in the States. I want to go to college in the States, but that means that I’ll have to take pre-med. Where I am, I won’t need pre-med. I go straight into Med school. It’s also a lot cheaper here too.</p>
<p>But my advice is to study hard, and apply for scholarships and aid like crazy! In the end, it really is your choice. Your parents will come to understand that (sooner or later) so tell them how much this means to you, and good luck! =)</p>
<p>“Gosh, I wish my parents were like CC parents who fret about their Ds and Ss and are there for their kid every step of the way, from visiting colleges to opening envelopes to signing checks.”</p>
<p>Well, in their own way your parents are. They have done some research. They have considered their family values, and their family budget. From what they have learned the best option appears to be to send you the the Philippines for college. And, as you recognize, it is not a bad option.</p>
<p>Since your parents did not grow up in the US, they are not as familiar with all of the options that are open to you as one of their US-educated peers might be. If they are to commit time and energy to acquiring knowledge about your options in the US that is equivalent to their level of familiarity with your options in the Philippines, they face a very steep learning curve. From their perspective, it may not be worth the time and energy they would have to invest given that you have, from their perspective, solid options outside the US. Since you are a sophomore, you have a year and a half to work with them so that they understand why you want to apply to institutions in the US, and a bit over two years to work with them so that they understand why you want to commit to studying here at one of the places that actually admits you (assuming of course that two years from now this still remains your goal). They may be in such a financial state right now that it is hard to imagine helping to pay for your education. Perhaps all that they really need is to see the economy recover a bit so that they can have more confidence about their future here.</p>
<p>P.S. Two words for a smart young lady from PA: Bryn Mawr. Go visit. Talk to the financial aid office there. Your mom might be swayed.</p>
<p>Interestingly, I was first generation born in the US, and my parents, although professionals, didn’t have a clue about the college admissions process (plus this was decades ago!). I was responsible for researching schools on my own, etc., just telling my folks where and when they were needed to drive me and to fill out forms. I’m wondering if it’s an ethnic thing because I kind of see that with my relatives in the PI who aren’t necessarily pushing their kids to study hard so they’ll get into the best colleges. They do push them, but I don’t think they push them as hard my H and I pushed our kids. Mmm.</p>
<p>Work very hard in high school to give yourself the most options when you begin the application process. Take hard classes and do very well - that will give you the best chance to receive merit money and will also give you the best chance for admission to a program you might be able to afford. Try and earn some money in the next two years; every little bit will help! The lower you can keep your loans, the better off you’ll be. Look at the possibility of attending a community college for your first two years. Take AP classes if possible - some colleges allow you to enter as a sophomore with AP credit - AP tests are $86 - you’ll never get college credit cheaper. Relax a little bit. You have two years to work this out and a lot can change in that time. Your parents will start to see you differently as you mature. There’s a big difference between a sophomore and a senior. Don’t fight with them about this so much now that they dig in. Give them a chance to change their minds!</p>
<p>Believe me, our kids have complaints about us.</p>
<p>I’m aware that your dream is a really prestigious school and don’t get me wrong, I think you should apply to those types of schools. The less expensive options in Pennsylvania are more of a financial safety so you have options in case the prestigious schools don’t pan out.</p>
<p>The schools that cover complete EFC without loans might be good. Some cover even more. If you can get into a place like Princeton or Harvard, you’ll be fine with money, as they offer far more aid than just covering the EFC. Another option is applying to schools that very generous with merit aid. Not only can you do well on the PSAT, but if you do anything really amazing in high school you should be fine. One of my friends is applying to a lot of those sorts of schools as an Intel and Seimens semifinalist, and she is sure to get tons of aid. If you mainly test well, a large state school would love it, and if you have other awesome achievements a smaller school may be delighted to cover all costs. If you work really hard, you should have many options. You may need to apply to a lot of schools though, and they each cost some money to apply to. So you’ll need to come up with a few hundred dollars to pay app fees. Talk to your guidance counselor about all that. Hopefully they’ll be able to offer advice.</p>
<p>*which I wrote off very early in my college search as a big party school that would be a very bad environment for me. *</p>
<p>Let me just say this…many schools with a “big sports” program or greek systems are going to have “party element” to them. However, that doesn’t have to bother you in the slightest. At every school, there will be serious students and slacker students who are only at school for the next kegger party. </p>
<p>I don’t know what your likely major is, but if you make friends with the serious students, the partiers won’t bother you.</p>
<p>Not so. In some Asian countries, grads with American degrees are paid BETTER. I know for the major banks and consulting firms, you get paid the US scale even in countries like Korea where they pay about half of what they pay in the states.</p>
<p>Basically an American degree will serve you better no matter where you are. </p>
<p>Well although my parents basically said “You HAVE to get a job here. If you go to Korea you’ll end up unemployed, or even if you end up employed you’ll get taxed to death since you have to pay for all those free subway tickets for old people.” (Senior citizens get free subway tickets). Frankly, I agree. Lawyers have it SOOO much better in this country (even if law school costs that much more). </p>
<p>Btw, if you’ve had your greencard for 5 years, and you’re 18 or older (I don’t remember if it was 21 or 18), you can apply for naturalization, parents or not.</p>
<p>Just saying, your parents are being ridiculously irrational. I don’t know what their rational is, but what they’re saying makes no sense at all.</p>
<p>Think about it in terms of ROI. You’re going to make $x more for having an American degree, but you will have to pay $y more in order to get it</p>
<p>If $x per year justifies the $y you have to pay out, go for an American school. If the x value matters little to you, go to the Philippines for school.</p>
<p>On a further note… I’m putting myself through school right now (Parents are apathetic towards me getting a college education. Therefore I’m not independent, but they won’t help pay) and it really sucks, but it’s doable. Don’t let your parents stop you from achieving your biggest dreams. I had to put aside USC for two years, but in the end I may end up somewhere better anyway, so who knows.</p>
<p>Good luck brother, and remember. Focus on HS first. You still have 2.5 years left. Good grades, good grades, and good grades.</p>
<p>@futurenystudent: Yeah, I’m not looking to work in the Philippines anyway, so I definitely think an American degree will serve me better in a multinational career. And yeah, my parents are beyond irrational, and yet, I’m the one being “unreasonable.” For example, today I had a fight with my mother since she doesn’t want me to go to a HOBY leadership seminar since the college it’s being held at is in a “dangerous city” where I could “insert bad thing that could happen to anyone anywhere” and she doesn’t want me to be “alone” and I can get into college “without it.” Gawd they drive me nuts. I don’t see why they have the right to withhold financial assistance and then have the audacity to make my life so dang hard.</p>
<p>@CaLibertarian That’s what I’ve been trying to say to my parents for years! Even tiny expenses like AP exam fees lead to shouting matches since they don’t understand $y will one day be paid off by $x. And yes, good grades are my main goal at the moment.</p>
<p>If you stay in Philippines for 4 years, you’ll loose your green card. You know better, if it’s to your advantage to explain this to your parents, but that’s US immigration law. </p>
<p>The maturity and reasoning evident in your original post is quite unusual for a high school sophomore - even a highly intelligent one.</p>
<p>I have personal experience which is slightly similar. The college I attended was not where I really wanted to go. I ended up there due to intense pressure from family (including refusal to pay the difference in cost for the much better school which was my dream to attend). </p>
<p>My life turned out well, but looking back, this situation marked a critical fracture in my whole development and career choice. It changed everything. </p>
<p>When you parachute into an environment, and live there for four years, you are not the same person when you emerge. It is impossible to project now what you will want to do, or be in a position to do, after that process. You are not just picking a 'school". </p>
<p>I do not understand why those with means in your family insist that you attend school back home in order to qualify for financial support. In my head I am imagining a story line where beautiful, brilliant niece is undermined by jealous, wealthy aunt who wants to hold her back. I am sure that isn’t what is happening - excuse my active imagination. Just in case, though - beware.</p>
<p>There are many private schools which can end up being quite affordable, and public ones which are always so. I don’t agree with people who say not to acquire debt. Ridiculous. For a good education, you can go into debt. Manage it. Go to the cheapest, best school. You could come out $40,000 - $60,000 in debt. Or much less. That is a cheap way ensure that your four years of college will be the launching pad for the future you were meant to have.</p>
<p>Even if you attend a lesser U.S. school in order to get a lot of merit aid, you will still be HERE. Being HERE is a pretty awesome thing indeed! I believe that people should follow their dreams in order to become their most authentic selves. You can find a way!</p>
<p>@spideygirl - You’ve worded it best, I’m not just picking a “school.” Where I end up in two years will be where I’ll be for the 4 most important years of my development, which is something I’m not sure my parents understand. Members of my family gone so far as to bribe me with a house and a car of my own in the Philippines; luxuries I am sure I will not see in my possession for quite some time if I stay here. As much as I want to “do the right thing” in my family’s mind, I know I have to think of my own future now - even if I’ll be in debt and facing “I told you so’s” after I graduate. And I don’t mind your story line - I sometimes wish my own life was more dramatic and less chaotic.</p>
<p>I guess I’m still unsure of what to do, but now I have much more concrete reasons to back up whatever I decide to do in the coming years. A pros and cons list is in order - after I finish my paper on Italian fascism. :)</p>
<p>nevertheless, since you’ve been raised american, even de la salle is nothing compared to american schools. shoot for top private schools that meet full need, lower-tier private schools that give tremendous merit-based scholarships, and public financial safeties. once you get all those acceptances, see what your family says THEN… maybe they’ll help you cover the rest. </p>
<p>at worst, you’ll be taking out slightly more than average in loans. but you’ll have everything you want–an american college degree. </p>
<p>I would apply to colleges in both places and then wait and see about financial aid. Some of the top tier schools give excellent financial aid to international students and so you could get pretty good financial aid in America. If you do well now and get really good grades and test scores, you would have a good chance of getting into a top tier school. Just because you are an international does not mean that you won’t be able to get good financial aid, especially at private schools.</p>
<p>I would do all I could to get an undergraduate degree from the US: attend a community college for the first two years if it seems more feasible. I’m sure it’s not impossible. My two kids have spent close to a decade abroad and there was no way I would put them in a Philippine university. What put me off was that they would both have to take college-level subjects in Filipino - I did this in my own university days and it was an unnecessarily painful experience, since I also grew up overseas.
On the other hand, I do have friends who did their undergrad in reputable universities in the Philippines and went on to do well in graduate schools in the US and Europe. There is an advantage in having this kind of “international” experience on your resume, if you’re looking at a career that values a global perspective.</p>
Writer’s pay for this particular one is $675, as of today.