<p>I just had a "college talk" with my mother and she told me that she and my father are not going to be able to afford anything other than my state flagship university (University of Maryland at College Park). I just reeeeeeally don't want to go there. I know everyone says that, but I really, really, really don't want to. It's too big of a school, it's a huge party school, it doesn't have enough geographical diversity, I don't want to be stuck around kids from my high school that I never ever want to see again for 4 more years, and I want to meet more people outside of this state. I know those are all shallow concerns, and it's a great school academically, but it's just...not for me. I've visited and spent days there at a time.</p>
<p>So, in order to go to a college other than my state flagship, it has to be both comparable academically to UMCP and it has to be around the same cost or less as Maryland. This means around $20,000 or less including housing and everything else. :/</p>
<p>I am completely stressing out right now. I have to apply to colleges in only a few months and I still have no idea what colleges to look at, let alone where I want to apply. There are literally a hundred or so colleges that I'm considering, colleges of various types (mostly private universities and liberal arts colleges), and in different geographic locations. I have to narrow them down based on both fit and cost (including any scholarships I may/may not get and non-loan financial aid).</p>
<p>Does anyone know any colleges I could look at that would be affordable ($20k or less for EVERYTHING)?
My stats are 3.85 UW/4.4 W GPA (I've gotten one D and have dropped one AP class if that affects anything), average courseload rigor (3 AP classes junior year, top kids at my school take 4-5 APs junior year, and my remaining academic courses are Honors except for 1 Regular), 2100 SAT (680M/690CR), and blah average extracurricular activities.</p>
<p>Hi - I know you are unhappy about this situation now, but you are so fortunate that you had this conversation now, as a junior. I work in a hs college counseling office and have several seniors whose parents are telling them NOW, after applying to more expensive schools and after being accepted at expensive schools, that they can’t afford to send them there. So, believe me, that is far worse.</p>
<p>In Maryland - how about St. Mary’s College - it’s the public honor college - very affordable in-state. What about Towson or Salisbury? Very affordable and not as large as College Park. </p>
<p>Will your parents apply for need-based financial aid? Suggest they go to an EFC calculator and determine their EFC. If the EFC is low, you might be eligible for financial aid - which can bring the cost of a private college down to in-state rates.</p>
<p>Does your hs use Naviance? You can use that or the College Board search engine to locate colleges by cost, among other attributes.</p>
<p>Finally, research colleges where you would be at the top of the applicant pool. You are more likely to get merit aid (non-need) if you are a top applicant at that particular college. Many colleges have a chart on their financial aid website that shows that if you have x GPA and Y SAT you are eligible for the trustee scholarship of $15,000 per year, and so forth.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Thank you very much! Indeed my high school does use Naviance, so I’ll check that out and the College Board website. I really like the sound of St. Mary’s and wouldn’t mind going there, but it’s my parents that think it’s a poor school academically. They basically think all schools in Maryland besides College Park are poor schools academic wise. Is there a way I could convince them otherwise? Unfortunately my family’s EFC is pretty high, since my parents make $150k. They’re just largely indebted at the moment.</p>
<p>You can apply to the Macaulay Honors Program at the CUNY schools. If you are accepted you are awarded a full tuition scholarship, given a free Macbook, and are awarded up to a $7,500 stipend for studying abroad. If you apply for the program at Hunter College you also get free boarding. At the other CUNY schools housing is ~$12,000 (you may be awarded additional scholarships to cover the cost). CUNY schools are in New York City, so you will get diversity. I think they have a rather large entering class (~4,000-5,000 students?), but the city may counteract that issue. </p>
<p>Don’t forget to look at schools that meet 100% of your demonstrated need. My parents were complaining about how expensive colleges are and I told them that I will get adequate aid, but they didn’t believe me. They were pleasantly surprised to find out that the University of Chicago would only cost me $13,000-15,000 a year. I now get to go to a top ten private school for less than the cost of a public university.</p>
<p>Edit: I just saw your post about your parent’s $150k income. Debt is taken into consideration, so you may still receive great aid.</p>
<p>There is no need to stress; you’ve got time. A few suggestions I have would be:</p>
<p>1) It sounds like you should focus on private colleges, as OOS publics give very little financial aid. You might want to stay in the eastern 1/2 or 1/3 of the U.S. because air travel between home and school could add up over 4 (or more) years.</p>
<p>2) Search the common data sets for colleges where you will very likely get in, where your stats might be in the top 25% of the admitted, in order to maximize your chances of getting scholarships and aid. Focus the bulk of your applications on those, and add some reaches if you like. </p>
<p>3) Do apply to UMCP and St. Mary’s anyway, for safety and in case you change your mind later after you’ve learned more about those schools. Does UMCP have an honors program? If so, the classes tend to be more intimate, and you might not see too many of your high school friends there.</p>
<p>If you are a junior, then you have time. </p>
<p>Take the SAT again and take the ACT. You’ll likely get a better scholarship if your M+CR SAT is 1400+ or your ACT is 32+.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yes…and NO!</p>
<p>OOS publics don’t give FA (which you wouldn’t qualify anyway)…</p>
<p>BUT…some out of state publics do give merit scholarships - which often cover the OOS cost or more. Right now, you would get some scholarships that would make some affordable. However, if you bring your score up a bit more, you could get even more $$ and more school choices.</p>
<p>I’d be willing to bet that a lot of the smaller colleges in your state would come up with a nice merit package for you.</p>
<p>My son is exactly in the same boat. And you know what? I think that the economics of these times make your parents’ position very valid. It is really not a good economic decision for most families to take on significant debt for an undergraduate education.</p>
<p>“it doesn’t have enough geographical diversity”</p>
<p>Are you kidding? There are students there from just about every town in New Jersey!</p>