<p>My whole life my parents have told me that they would pay for my college education anywhere I wanted to go. Now, I am a senior who has just applied and been accepted to 7 great schools. Actually 6 great schools and one my dad forced me to apply to. He is insisting that I must go to the university 5 minutes from our house and live at home to save money. My family has a good income and I am a very good student. After my scholarships, my parents can easily afford to pay for college. However, my dad is still insisting I go to the local college and live at home, at leas for the first 2 years. Any suggestions on how I can convince my parents that investing in a better education will pay off for me in the future?</p>
<p>* However, my dad is still insisting I go to the local college and live at home, at leas for the first 2 years*</p>
<p>This is a bad idea.</p>
<p>Does your dad know that the aid/merit that you’d be offered as an incoming frosh will not likely be offered to you as a transfer student?</p>
<p>Your dad may end up having to pay MORE money if you stay home for the first 2 years and then transfer. When you go to transfer, those schools will likely expect you to pay full freight or close to it. </p>
<p>Some kids with strong stats sadly find this out when they go to a CC their first two years and get little or nothing when they transfer.</p>
<p>Your dad may be wrongly assuming that your current offers will be offered to you again as a junior…they will not.</p>
<p>Give us more info…</p>
<p>Which schools and how much money have you been offered from each school?</p>
<p>I have been offered $13,000 to Loyola university Chicago, $6500 to Hope college (my first choice), $2500 to central Michigan, I also applied to western Michigan, Oakland university, and Michigan state which have not given me exact scholarship amounts yet. The school my dad is forcing me to go to is grand valley state. It’s an ok school, but is too close to home for me and like I said, my dad wants me to live at home.</p>
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<p>Looks like he set up you up for a letdown after all these years. This type of situation has been discussed before in the parents’ forum, with many examples of it tearing families apart.</p>
<p>Could it be that the family finances are now much worse than he is allowing you know? The recent economic downturn has not been good for many households’ finances. However, if this is the case, then not being up front about the new, lower cost limitations on college education, preferably before you applied, was not a good move on your father’s part.</p>
<p>How do the net costs of each school compare, after deducting non-loan aid and scholarships from the cost of attendance? If one of your other schools has a lower net cost than GVS (and the scholarship does not require an unreasonably high GPA to retain for four years), then perhaps there is some other reason that he is not telling you. That is not a good recipe for family harmony either.</p>
<p>Hmmm, looking at school web sites, the cost of attendance is:</p>
<p>Grand Valley State as commuter: about $13,000 per year, plus whatever food etc. costs of you living at home.</p>
<p>Hope: $37,660 per year, minus $6,500 per year = $31,160 per year.</p>
<p>Central Michigan: about $21,000 per year, minus $2,500 per year = $18,500 per year.</p>
<p>Lots of parents tell their kids that they can go wherever they want to for college, but lots of them also forget to keep track of the rising cost of higher education. My guess is that this is what has happened to your dad. I suggest that you tell your dad that you want to wait to make the final decision after you have all of your financial aid packages. It really won’t be that long. When all of the acceptances and financial aid offers are on the table, sit down with your dad and run the figures through this nifty calculator from our friends at FinAid.og: [FinAid</a> | Calculators | Award Letter Comparison Tool](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Award Letter Requirements - Finaid) This will make the cost differentials very clear, and give both of you a solid base for your conversations about the best way to make your college education possible.</p>
<p>Wishing you all the best!</p>
<p>Take the bad news as an adult.
No whining and crying.
Your dad may think you are not mature enough to be out of the house or have chosen a major not worth the big tab.
So go the Grass Valley for 2 years, make all As and then you may get to choose the school you want to transfer into.
It’s his money.</p>
<p>Your other option is not to go anywhere, work for a while, save up, and then apply to schools you can pay for on your own as an independent student when you are 24…</p>
<p>*Grand Valley State as commuter: about $13,000 per year, plus whatever food etc. costs of you living at home.</p>
<p>Hope: $37,660 per year, minus $6,500 per year = $31,160 per year.</p>
<p>Central Michigan: about $21,000 per year, minus $2,500 per year = $18,500 per year.*</p>
<p>What is your major?</p>
<p>What do you like about Hope?</p>
<p>If your dad will pay about $13k for GV, would he let you use that same $13k, then add a 5500 student loan and/or maybe some summer work money to pay for Central Mich?</p>
<p>I think if you can get dad to agree to spending $13k, you can find some go away options.</p>
<p>In the meantime, behave responsibly…get up on your own, go to bed responsibly, do chores, and clean up after yourself.</p>