<p>Hey. I am pretty clueless about college in general and am seeking some help. I'm going to post some of my stats and would hope for you guys to give me advice on what kind of colleges I should apply to or say, medium ranked colleges/low ranked/etc.</p>
<p>GPA-3.3 UW (2.9 in freshmen really brought it down and freshmen is considered the easiest year, alot of my friends got 4.0 I was just slacking really hard) 3.8W
SAT- 760 Math - 700 Writing - 640 Reading
SAT II's- Going to take Math/Biology in Octobre
Extracurriculars- pretty bad =*(</p>
<p>BTW, when I say clueless junior, I'm actually a senior right now, just finished junior year.</p>
<p>bumppppppppppppppppppp</p>
<p>Start by sitting your parents down and having the “Money Talk”. Find out just exactly how it is that they expect you to pay for your education. How much can they help you? How much will you be responsible for?</p>
<p>Until you know about the money, you won’t know where to start looking.</p>
<p>My parents always tell me to get into schools first then worry about mone y later.
Also, I reallly want to go to UMD College Park, what are my chances?</p>
<p>If you live in Maryland, your guidance counselor should be able to tell you what your chances of admission are for UMD-CP. Even if you are out-of-state, your counselor is the first person to ask about that issue.</p>
<p>The problem with getting in first, and worrying about money later, is that all too often the money doesn’t work out later. That can mean that a student ends up scrambling for a more affordable option late in the year, or having to take an un-planned Gap Year while reconsidering his/her options.</p>
<p>The estimated Cost of Attendance (COA) for UMD-CP for 2011-2012 is $22,433 for an in-state student, and $39,804 for an out-of-state student. Can your parents pay that much money each year? If not, what can they pay? Students who file the FAFSA can take out Stafford Loans ($4,500 freshman, $5,500 sophomore, $6,500 junior, $6,500 senior), which along with money you make from a summer job and/or jobs during the school year can reduce the amount that your parents would need to come up with.</p>
<p>It is OK if your parents don’t want to give you all of their personal financial information. All you need to know right now is the minimum amount that they are certain that they can come up with.</p>
<p>If you do find out that money is a bigger issue than anyone in your family had expected, good places to start include [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) and the Financial Aid and Parents Forums here at CC. Encourage your parents to create their own login (you don’t have to share yours), so that they can ask the questions that matter to them. </p>
<p>Wishing you all the best!</p>