Help deciding between schools?

College Search & Selection
21

On a previous thread you stated you had a 3.7 GPA and 1370 SAT. You also mentioned taking the SAT again to try for a higher score. Did you? What is your GPA now? Alabama State University offers scholarships in a range that could work for you, but they state they’re not guaranteed and are subject to availability of funds. They opened on November 1. You must be accepted to ASU before they’ll consider the scholarship application. The awards of note are as follows:

Presidential Academic Scholarship: Full tuition, books, fees, on campus room and board, 3.76 GPA, 1240-1270 SAT
Academic Excellence Scholarship: Full tuition, books, fees, 3.51-3.75 GPA, 1100-1120 SAT. (Room and board is $5,422. You would still need $ for travel and other expenses.)

https://www.alasu.edu/admissions/undergrad-admissions/asu-academic-scholarships

https://www.alasu.edu/undergraduate/expensesandfinancialaid/expenses-and-financial-aid

As far as I can tell from what I’ve read online, Alabama teacher certification is reciprocal with Illinois. You should confirm that if it ends up being relevant. Since they don’t engage in the scholarship process until after a student is accepted, in your position I would apply to ASU asap.

Tuskegee is another AL U that offers merit to students in your range, but the recommended 11/30 date to apply for scholarships has passed. It seems to be another subject to availability of funds. I’d call them asap to inquire:

Distinguished Presidential: Full tuition, room and board, + $800 books, 3.7 GPA, 1390 SAT, must maintain 3.5 GPA to renew.
University Merit: Full tuition + $800 books merit, 3.5 GPA, 1250 SAT, must maintain 3.2 GPA to renew. The cost for room and board and fees would be a bit more than for ASU, but within reason enough to mention.

https://www.tuskegee.edu/programs-courses/scholarships/freshman-scholarships

https://www.tuskegee.edu/programs-courses/bursar

I also looked at Troy University and Alabama-Huntsville, but even with scholarships I think they’d be too expensive. I looked at these because I saw them in this thread, and then checked out each website. I hope it helps:

http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/2006094-2017-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-p1.html

22

Who is going to cosign your loans? Most parents won’t do that. What are your parents saying?

Do you realize that you’re talking about $100k+ debt for an education degree? That’s just a terrible idea.

23

I never retook the SAT and my GPA is still around 3.7.
My parents have said that they will cosign loans.

24

I would really look to maximize the amount of aid you can receive. I think there may be more aid out there than you realize for a student with your credentials. A 3.7 GPA and a 1370 SAT should make you eligible for quite a bit.

For example, I teach at one of the CTLC colleges. Now it is a private college, so our initial published price tag is higher than at a public university…but I nonetheless have more than one student who is going here for free, and others who qualify for substantial financial aid. We offer $25K a year to people who are the children of people who work in the K-12 education system (Educator’s Legacy Scholarship) and $25K a year to people who are the children of people in the military (Military Legacy Scholarship). Then there is financial aid based on high school GPA. There is an interview day for people interested in applying for our most prestigious scholarships, which include the Dorsey Scholarship, which is a free ride and includes study abroad!

There are many other colleges like this. Your guidance counselor and Google should be able to point you to resources.

It is December 28th and you may have missed some scholarship deadlines, but I would see what you can find. You can also look for external scholarships. The hustle for scholarship dollars is an important part of the process!

25

I’ve tried checking the prices at a lot of other schools, including both public and private schools, but I haven’t found any that would give me more financial aid than SIU.

26

Have you run the NPC on Augustana IL, Elmhurst, Lake Forest, Concordia Moorhead, Beloit, Lawrence, Gustavus Adolphus, UMN Morris…?

27

Yes, Augustana would be $28k, Elmhurst would be $30k, Concordia would be $22k, Beloit would be $28k, Lawrence would be $28k, Gustavus Adolphus would be $26k, and UMN Morris would be $24k.

28

Morris should be less than that, thy don’t have OOS tuition and have good merit.
I’d try applying there as well as Concordia since they’re free to apply I think.
Try Truman State?

29

Truman State is cheaper ($14k), but they don’t have an education major.

30

Don’t mean to pile on, but its Dec 30 and applications are due. The schools you list in the OP are unaffordable if your parents cannot help pay for them. You as a student can only take out the federal loans. Arizona State Havasu should cost you around $17 K/yr. Check if the application is still open.

31

@elsaanna I am sorry but didn’t read the whole thread. In Illinois almost every teacher I run into graduated from Illinois State University. I think they graduate the most teachers in the state. They have a great education program and with your stats merit should be coming your way.

https://education.illinoisstate.edu/

32

https://education.illinoisstate.edu/
I know people going there for less then all your other schools in similar situations. It’s one of the best values in the state especially for teacher education. They are known to give decent aid.

So your parents can’t afford to pay full price but ifj you can share, is there any amount they can pay yearly?

Make sure they are applying for financial aid and filling out all the forms etc. Have them talk to financial aid to see what they need to do to get more. I know people getting aid that you would never expect to get it.

33

If your parents earn too much for need based aid but can’t pay anything for your college how are you going to repay $100k on a teacher’s salary? Are they going to try to repay the loans for you?

In July you said your budget was $45k. What changed? If they can’t pay for a residential college without borrowing then I wouldn’t ask them to do that just so you can have the sleep away experience. There are other options. You could attend a cc for 2 years and save the federal student loans to put toward the last two years or you could take a gap year to look for more affordable options.

34

I don’t want to apply to many more schools, if any, because I already like the schools I’ve been accepted to and don’t want to spend a lot more money on application fees.

My parents will probably pay at least a few thousand dollars a year, but they won’t tell me anything for sure.

35

But if you can’t afford the schools you have been accepted to, what will you do?

36

If I can’t afford those schools, then I’ll take out loans to pay for them. If my parents don’t let me do that, then I’ll go to a community college for the first two years, but I don’t think that’ll happen.

37

You can’t take out 30k in loans. Your parents can- but will/should they? As others have said, this is not prudent. You should not leave college with more in loans than you can earn your first year out of school. Maybe you can teach in a remote, underserved area
And after the proscribed number of Years there get some loan forgiveness.

38

Someone posted above that you can afford 45k/year. Is that true?

39

No, I can’t afford $45k. I was only guessing when I said that and I was definitely way off. My family’s efc from fafsa is $17k and my parents have said that even that is too much.

40

Since you like all 3, I recommend go with your least cost option which would be SIU - either straight out of high school if affordable between family contribution and your student loan ( remember YOU can only take out a loan for $5500 in first year and about $7500 each year after that) or do a year or 2 in community college first to keep your debt low.

It’s a discussion I had with my oldest who opted for NIU rather than go out of state or attend UIUC which she didn’t think fit her. She’s a teacher and very happy she was able to start her career with no debt and live independently. Also going to a directional has not impacted her goals. She just completed her first semester of her competitive masters progam - if you want to,pursue advanced degrees.

As a teacher, it’s more important you have a bachelor degree, complete a teacher program and gain experience. i can’t imagine Alabama offering you a differentiated program for a teacher that is worth $10000 more than SIU especially if you want to teach in Illinois. When you add travel costs UIUC and Alabama will be about the same.

Evaluate your financial aid offers with your family and go from there. Call the financial aid office and see if there are other programs available or if this is the best they can offer. I will say I agree with Knowstuff and would suggest looking at Illinois State to see if financially you get a better offer.

Your future 22-23 year old self ( and parents) will thank you