<p>Stats:
Age 17 (will be 18 in October, during 1st semester of Freshman year)
Parents, Dad works (Income, 22-29K), Mom can't speak english/work.
Siblings: 14, 11 ,9 ,6 , 4months.
Financial Status = Bankrupt T_T.</p>
<p>What are my options for paying for college? I got accepted to a state school (PA, U of Pitt College of Business Administration). I've filled out my FAFSA and they're requesting more info until they send me my award package. </p>
<p>But let's be real, Pitt has a cost of 14k in state and that's not including the cost of room and board, food, books, etc. Will I be able to go to college or should I request a refund for my deposit and just go to Community College? I REALLY DO NOT WANT TO DO THIS, I don't want to have the name of a low tier college on my file for the rest of my life, it's one thing I can't get into a great private school so I have to settle for a Mediocre Public school, no way in hell do I wanna go to a CC.</p>
<p>Lastly, my major is finance.
I've signed up for these APs (Psychology, Biology, Statistics).
I've decided NOT to take the AP Bio Exam (there's still 20 Chapters we haven't learned).
I'm taking the AP Psychology Exam, but I'm unsure about the Stats Exam. It won't interfere with my required courses for my major?</p>
<p>What are your SAT scores? Do you have a shot at merit money? Did you apply to any other colleges? Sometimes private schools have more money available for scholarships.</p>
<p>And also, if you’re referring to Pitt as a “mediocre public school,” you are very mistaken. That attitude won’t win you too many friends on the Pitt board.</p>
<p>Honestly, you won’t know until you provide the other information that they are requesting. Hopefully the package will work for you and it will consist of grants and/or workstudy instead of loans. Provide the other info so that you can find out exactly what it will take for you to attend Pitt. Did Penn State send their fin aide package yet?</p>
<p>My advice, give Pitt whatever info they are requesting and see what their financial aid looks like. Then, if it’s just not doable, look into community college, with an eye towards transferring to Pitt or another school after 2 years. The degree you graduate with will be from the school you finish at. There’s nothing wrong with this approach, and it saves lots of money. My nephew is going this route. Also consider looking into colleges where you could live at home, it sounds like Pitt is not in commuting distance from where you live. If there IS a college you could commute to, and live at home, that would save a lot of money too.</p>
<p>If you do go the community college route, be sure to check in with wherever you are transferring to be sure you are taking the right courses/that they will transfer.</p>
<p>Best of luck to you. Sounds like you are a hard worker, you can do this!</p>
<p>I was looking into private schools in my area, Dickinson/Gettysburg/Duquesne/Drexel. IMHO, much better schools (no offense Pitt), but I didn’t apply only because I couldn’t afford them.</p>
<p>Duquesne and Drexel are on the opposite ends of PA. What ratings are you using to evaluate colleges that has either of these schools ahead of Pitt for a business degree?</p>
<p>Below is a listing of the SAT scores for the middle 50% of first-year students (taken from Collegeboard.com) in order to give you a means to compare the caliber of students at each institution:</p>
<p>Pitt: Critical Reading (570-680); Math (590-680); Writing (560-660)
*Dickinson: Critical Reading (600-690); Math (590-680); Writing (590-690)
*Gettysburg: Critical Reading (610-690); Math (610-690); Writing (not reported)
Duquesne: Critical Reading (510-600); Math (520-610); Writing (510-600)
Drexel: Critical Reading (540-630); Math (570-670); Writing (520-630)</p>
<p>*Dickinson does not require students to send SAT scores when applying for admission. In fact, only 58% of students sent their SAT scores, and I’m betting that if the 42% who did not report their scores were included, Dickinson’s average SAT scores would be lower. Gettysburg did not include what percent of first-year students reported their scores, and I am not sure if applicants can avoid reporting their scores when applying for admission. In contrast, 93% of Pitt first-year students and 94% of Duquesne/Drexel first-year students reported their scores, so these scores should be wholly representative of the first-year student body.</p>
<p>While you may have your own personal reasons for preferring a smaller private school, your rationale for actual academic ranking is unfounded. The schools you mentioned are certainly respectable and may be a better fit for you, and I’d like to be clear that it is not my intention to devalue them in any way; however, I want to ensure that your information is based on legitimate sources as opposed to personal hunches or inaccurate information.</p>
<p>Since finances are extremely important in your case, you should have waited until financial aid packages came in from multiple schools so you could compare them before sending in your deposit. There’s really no need for a thread like this until there is actual information about the FA awarded to you.</p>