<p>Here's the dillemma. Both of my parents are remarried. My mother makes ~20,000/yearly, and my father even less. My mother has sole custody. My stepfather, however, makes ~100,000/year. Our house is currently mortgaged, but has a very large amount of equity, to pay for a startup business. The business is valued at approx. 150,000$ but is more a liability than anything. My dillemma is that there is not a chance in hell that my stepdad is willing to assist with education (we don't get along all too well...) nor do I wish him to. However, the expected family contribution with these statistics is astoundingly high considering the circumstances. Is there any way to sidestep this or qualify for aid of some description as a transfer student (assuming I am accepted of course)? Thanks!</p>
<p>also -- would the additional expense be worth it in the long term?</p>
<p>Next question would be -- if I get no assistance and have to take out loans... is it worth it? I.Banking/consulting sounds great, but I could do fairly well where i'm at (uncle owns a consulting company dealing with small-mid sized businesses... up to 50M or so), but i don't know if i want to live here forever -- pretty sure i don't actually.</p>
<p>Is the difference between a sub-100 school and a top-25, use UChicago, WUSTL, Wharton, or Penn vs. Arkansas for this assumption (ranked #126 I believe) worth the extra thousands?</p>
<p>Studio27, I'm sure other parents are more knowledgable than me, but I'll tell you what I think. Almost any college will take your stepfather's income into consideration -- they don't consider willingness to pay, just ability to pay.</p>
<p>As far as loans are concerned, it is unlikely that you'd be able to borrow enough to cover the costs of a private college. You would be wise to look at schools where you might be eligible for merit aid or at you state university. Whatever you want to do, a graduate degree will probably be more important than the undergraduate degree, and you'll have more options if you don't graduate with a ton of debt. There are a lot of good colleges, and they don't all cost a fortune. Good luck with everything!</p>