<p>Since money is an issue, be aware that some schools offer "full tuition," which still means that the student must get the funds for room, board, books, and other expenses associated with college. Generally "full ride" refers to those few schools that cover nearly all expenses associated with attending school, including tuition, room & board.</p>
<p>Wait a minute. Something smells fishy about this. Your dad stopped working for six months and his company didn't pay him any kind of sick leave or anything? And you guys had to live off of his savings? That...doesn't sound right. Just saying.</p>
<p>It's not necessarily fishy, jaso9n2, especially if her father was self-employed.</p>
<p>whoa...my dad is NOT self-employed. i have no idea where this came from. someone said it on the other board.</p>
<p>the company can't afford to pay someone for 6 months because they are sick. that's a lot of money for them!</p>
<p>They may have assumed he was self employed because it sounds like there was no money coming in and if he worked for a company he likely would have been covered under NYS Unemployment Insurance.
But I think the point was that they have no money left in savings, not that they had absolutely no income during that period.</p>
<p>that NYS Unemployment insurance was ~$100/MONTH -- not exactly what you can live off of</p>
<p>It will be important for you to be realistic about college options and choices. your family has no savings left. They probably also have various bills that are pending, including possibly things due to repairs and other things that were put off while your dad was not able to work.</p>
<p>While your dad is apparently doing well now in terms of his health, he has had a disease that usually leaves people with some chronic medical problems that impair or shorten their work life. In addition, cancer often returns.</p>
<p>Consequently, think very hard about how far away you're willing to go to college, and how much $ you are willing to spend (including on loans) for undergraduate. Also take the time and effort to look at the web sites of colleges that interest you. There's plenty of info on those web sites and in the inexpensive, and enormously useful US News College website. Think, too, about the costs and time involved in getting to and from home.</p>
<p>Unless he was working full-time for minimum wage that $100 figure seem unbelievable.</p>
<p>^ well believe it. im not lying...haha</p>
<p>They will take into account your dad's cancer, and will probably look at your family's savings. It also sounds like you're pretty set up for scholarships anyway. Also, look at Mercer University in Macon, GA. I've heard that they are very generous with scholarships.</p>
<p>NC State University has a program called Pack Promise guaranteeing the cost of attendence for low income students. Check it out .
<a href="http://www.ncsu.edu/packpromise/%5B/url%5D">www.ncsu.edu/packpromise/</a></p>
<p>I'd advise against Mercer. There are a lot of different kinds of people down there, but it's a boring school in a boring, country town.</p>
<p>You do not belong in a community college. I can't believe that some posters are pushing that. The SUNY system is a good option. Have you thought of CUNY/Honors? They give free tuition plus 7K. Of course, 7K doesn't go a long way toward paying for housing and supporting yourself in NY City. Still, you can work part time during college. I agree with those saying that you need to aim low to get merit money. You will be eligible for need-based money, too. Still, you need to do research on which schools have a lot of money to give out. Harvard- a long shot. Rhodes, Bates, Vassar, Boston College- more realistic, and they give money. You will probably end up with loans no matter what you do. Just try to keep it in control. In many cases, you can graduate in less than four years and save a bundle. People also take a year off after attending a couple of years and work full time.</p>
<p>Flagler College in Florida is a low cost private liberal arts school. Tuition, room, and board add up to about 15K. And they give good aid! If you feel all right about the location, it could be a good thing. Your stats are high for them, so you should get aid.</p>
<p>from their website:</p>
<p>All CUNY Honors College students receive a generous, four-year financial aid package that includes:
Full tuition and fees each year
Access to study grants from sophomore through senior years (up to $7,500) to pay for academically enriching experiences, such as study abroad, research projects, and living expenses during unpaid internships
A free laptop computer. </p>
<p>...the only issue is that there are no dorms. Hunter has some limited space for out of city students.</p>
<p>Buffalo, if you can get a Hunter dorm, that is quite a plum. Living in NYC for that cost is unheard of. I would throw in an app for that one.</p>
<p>"Unless he was working full-time for minimum wage that $100 figure seem unbelievable." </p>
<p>It is more than that, but not by a whole lot. (Says a woman who had to be on disability for a couple of months two years ago.) Companies in NY are required to hold your job and benefits for the period of disability, but not to continue your salary. In my company (large law firm), if a person were to be disabled for more than 90 days, on day 91 employment and benefits can legally be terminated. It's generally the policy here to stop benefits and salary but allow the person to return.</p>
<p>GetOuttaBuffalo, I reread your list. Actually, I was thinking of Vanderbilt for you and you have it there. U Scranton and U Dayton may be reasonable too, if they give good aid. I know you mentioned SUNY Albany later. But why not focus more on SUNY and apply to Binghamton and maybe another one also? Your top choices are public universities where you are out of state and may not get any aid at all. SUNY is probably your best hope, even if you apply to private schools that give aid, too.</p>
<p>GetOuttaBuffalo, your stats are good enough for you to get good merit aid in many of the fine schools if you refuse to be brainwashed by the USNWR rankings, but research out the academic courses, facilities, and about Professors in the departments that interest you. The criteria that USNWR uses are for general consumption. In any specific case, we should individually be willing to look into the details that are of relevance to each of us.
My stats are far better than yours and we have no financial issues. Still I am finding some of the II and III tier schools (acc. USNWR) to be a great match when I use criteria relevant to me, and I will likely get a free ride. I have thought a great deal about what I want out of a college and mapped out my future career. The top-ranked schools will set my family back by about 180K (we have very high EFC): it is just not worth it for me because I can use that money to more easily execute my future career plans: sometimes money begets more money, not the prestige of your college.</p>
<p>I know the University of Florida is very generous with their financial aid.</p>