I got a full-ride, tuition and room and board, to an in-state party school that I absolutely hate and then my top choice is 60k a year but I got half off through grants and scholarships. My parents want me to go to the full-ride school but I hate it so much. It is in the middle of nowhere and is known for partying and tailgates which is not my scene. The town sucks, I tried to look at it with an open mind but I just hate it so much. The other school is a catholic school and the people and campus are amazing. I love it so much. I understand student loans are terrible but I can’t imagine myself surviving a semester at the other school. Any help or advice is much appreciated
First, congrats on the scholarship offers!
Is it a large state school? Also, what makes you think it is a party school? What is your intended major?
I have always advised my kids to pursue a debt-free bacholor’s. Without a very good reason, debt is an absolute albatross.
Every school has partiers and high achievers. I find it hard to believe that you couldn’t find a place to fit in at the state school if it offers everything you need academically.
How much can your parents pay without borrowing? You can only borrow ~$5500/year. How will you cover the rest?
Why did you apply to a place that you hate so much? It can’t be a safety if you aren’t willing to attend.
Do you have any other options that aren’t free but that are affordable for your family?
What about taking a gap year to work, earn some money, and identify places that you do like and that are affordable?
The state school doesn’t offer my intended major. At the other school, I’m looking at forensic science and neuroscience. The state school offers biology, chemistry, and political science.
I applied before I looked at it and because I knew I had a chance of getting the full ride. My only other slightly affordable option is ~18,000 a year. I looked at taking a gap year but a lot of schools said that working did not count as a reason for a gap year, it had to be service with a gap year program.
Can your parents afford the school that you love without borrowing? If they can’t, do you have any affordable options that you like? If the answer to both of these questions is no, and if you hate the school that offered you a full ride, then you will have to take a gap year and apply to different schools.
Before you turn down the full ride offer I would try and get some more information. Are you in the honors college? Are there options for fully funded study abroad, summers, research opportunities etc? Can you speak to some students who received a full ride to this school and see what their experience has been?
Is the state school a flagship or a regional university? If flagship, its biology department will have lots of research faculty. Btw, some colleges “dress up” the biology major as “neuroscience” because it sounds better. Check the actual guidesheet for the major and compare with state school.
Can’t give any more specific advice as you do not list the names of the two universities . Some private universities may be worth parent loans and others are like " no way".
Which schools actually said this? I’ve never known any colleges to push organized service programs. Work is a perfectly legitimate reason for taking a gap year.
What are your career goals? If you’re planning on grad school or med school you’ll want to avoid a lot of loans for undergrad. How much can your parents pay per year without borrowing?
Find a state school with rolling admissions that you can still get accepted to. See if your parents will be okay paying something. Or go to the full ride state school and be involved with people from the honors college, which I am guessing you were offered. Not everyone is going to party and tailgate. If you go in with an open mind, you can meet people you like and have a good experience.
In early May, NACAC will publish a list of colleges still offering admission for the coming school year. There are a lot of great colleges on that list, but the issue will probably be getting enough money to make it affordable.
Or take a gap year and start over agin next year. Be clear about the money issue before you reapply. Don’t apply to unaffordable schools or schools you don’t like.
For others reading this, understand that applying to a college you don’t like is a waste of an application fee and might have repercussions you don’t anticipate. Do your research and only apply to colleges you won’t mind attending.
Ditto on never hearing a school refusing a gap year to work when finances didn’t work out. Be sure they know about the financial situation.
I fully understand not wanting to attend a school - my youngest only applied to one school because he didn’t like any others (for his intended major at the time especially). His Plan B was to work for a year if finances didn’t work out. If you’re set on a school and can’t afford it, Plan B is what needs to happen - esp since you can’t borrow 30K per year yourself.
ps It’s ok not to like a school. There really are some schools that don’t fit students - even if they fit other students just fine. There are two reasons I hear from students as to why they didn’t like college or were underwhelmed. One of those is the school was too “low” for their caliber - this one tends to come when kids get free rides to schools way below their ability where they are probably in the 1 -3% of top students and never find peers or in depth classes to meet their ability. This is what I’m assuming you feel with your free ride college and it could very well be true. Professors can only teach to the caliber student they have and some schools don’t offer research, etc. However, the other is when they graduate (or don’t) with too much debt as those payments later can be quite the burden and that interferes with starting life for years. Don’t jump from one regret to the other thinking it will be better. Take time off, apply elsewhere next year.
pps The free ride thing doesn’t happen when a student is merely in the Top 25%… I’ve seen it when their ACT is in the 30s and the average for the school is in the low 20s, etc., or when they wanted research options and the school simply didn’t have it (or have things in their line of interest). There are free ride students who have loved their experience, so be certain you’re in the first category and not the latter before dismissing a school.
I know and agree with that “intellectual peers” are a real thing for some as a motivator. But gosh, my life would be so boring without the different types of people I have as part of my circle. And all over the intellectual peer map, I guess. But not the order CCers would expect. My plumber and electician are pretty smart fellas. And my best friend, a physician, wouldn’t be confused with being Mr Common Sense 2019.
I know what everyone means, but there are plenty of students outside of the “so called” top 3% coming in the door who end up being quite accomplished. And don’t expect that at a directional state U that you’ll breeze in and cake walk for 4 years. The profs are phds and they won’t be quite as impressed.
“The type of toxic elitism is why people hate CC” was coined by a fellow poster. And I agree and it permeates these students.
“I really love the new Acura that is more than I can currently afford and can’t possibly see myself in the Hyundai. It’s for regular people. I’ll hold my life back for a year to save up all my money and just walk everywhere in the meantime.” It’s not a healthy way to look at competing opportunities.
OP. talk to your parents. Try to see the long range view and be as mature as you can be. I’m not saying you aren’t correct in your assessment. Just use good judgment versus emotion for big decisions. And try to build consensus. I don’t think your parents for one moment want anything thats not in your best interests.
If you can make it work or defer your admission for a year and it works for you, perhaps it’s a good idea. Or follow the advice above and look at NECAC list on May 2.
You can always spend a year at state u with a positive attitude and work ethic. Do really well. If you still don’t like it transfer. 4 years from now when your friends are graduating and you still have a long year of hard work left simply to graduate, you’ll wish you had.
Unless you know for sure you’re not ready, have a specific short term service mission or were rejected everywhere - please consider the opportunity laid at your doorstep. It’s a blessing although it’s hard to see right now.
I doubt if even one school would say this let alone a lot of schools.
This is from the state school:
“Gap year deferral requests are handled on an individual basis upon written request from the student. In general we would normally approve gap year requests for community service, mission work, military service, language immersion, etc. Sport opportunities, working, maturation, and other such requests would not generally be granted.”
I considered doing a gap year to work and possibly reanalyze my hatred for the state school, but this would remove it as an option, and as much as I hate it, I still need it as an option.
I truly wish that I liked the school I got a full ride to. There’s another state school that I loved, the town and people were amazing but it’s still 18,000. The vibe I got when I visited the campus made me sick to my stomach. I just can’t imagine living in the middle of nowhere for 4 years. The campus is decent but there is nothing to do in town. I asked someone for suggestions on where to go out to eat and they said “I don’t know, we don’t really go out to eat much, we just eat in the dining halls or go to bars.” I personally love travelling, museums and just exploring and I can’t see what the town has to offer me. I really, really wish I could like it, and I went into the visit with an open mind and afterwards I hated it more than I could have imagined
Could you split the difference with them and plan on two year at state u and two years at your favorite? Normally I wouldn’t rec. going to a school with the intention of transferring, but if the school is free, that is hard to pass up, particularly for the first two years when all of your classes are likely to be prerequisites for higher level course, or GE classes. If you name the school you got the full ride at, the CC community amy have additional insight and experience about certain programs/opportunities that could help you to hate it less.
University of Alabama might still be offering free rides. Look and apply if it works for you.
@privatebanker. We were car shopping and the new Hyundai are actually really nice BTW. We ended up with a Mazda cx5 Grand Touring but we kept going back to look at the Hyundai. When I graduated my residency I got the first Hyundai Excel the first year they made it. It was all I could afford and looked nice for the time… Lol…
So they will allow a gap year for working.
@hedgehog77 You put down what the state school said about Gap years, but they aren’t the one you’re having trouble affording, correct? They don’t need to allow you to work to save money. It’s the other school you’d want the gap year from so you could work for a year saving up money.
If you’re sure you aren’t going to like a place, you’re probably correct (self-fulfilling if nothing else). Figure out a Plan B. Many students have to do this simply because they don’t have an affordable option. Trying to go into massive debt for a perceived dream is not a recommended Plan B. I’ve yet to hear from a student with high debt from undergrad who wouldn’t choose something else in hindsight. (High debt, not “basic” debt - most feel that was worth it and manageable as long as they were decently employed afterward.)
@privatebanker No, you have no idea what I’m talking about as evidenced by what you wrote. It’s not elitism at all. It’s being able to delve into deeper things with peers who also enjoy doing the same. It has no bearing whatsoever on friendships or who will be accomplished in life in various fields. College A and College B are not always equal and matching students to what they are looking for is a positive thing. My own three lads chose three different colleges that worked well for them. None of them would have found a great fit in each other’s school. That’s ok, BTW.
I don’t care what it costs (or doesn’t). No one should go to a school they hate.