<p>Congrats on GT!!
You might want to follow up on the Agnes Scott suggestion. The engineering major is a joint major with GT, it is in Atlanta, and you may qualify for merit aid. Then, you could compare the total costs.</p>
<p>congrats on your acceptance to GT! Georgia Tech is a great school. Smart students with a good sense of humor about their school. I went there for my Master’s and the alumni network is wonderful. You’ll do well with a degree from GT.</p>
<p>Your situation is similar to my nephew and niece. They grew up in northern VA. Older sister went to in state Virginia school (you’re lucky there are many great options), saving the parents a boatload of money. When my nephew applied, he applied ED/EA to one elite school and got into his dream school. The parents were well able to afford the college (same income bracket as your parents) because they, again like your parents, had saved over the years for college AND they weren’t paying much for the older child. The parents were proud of their son and without any regret paid the $50-$60K for him to attend.</p>
<p>It sounds like your parents will do the same for you. Be happy, grateful and hopefully you can pay it forward in the future. (You may also want to thank your sister for not costing your parents much in college costs.)</p>
<p>OP, please sit down and talk to your parents. </p>
<p>It is great that you are so financially responsible, but you should also know how your parents feel about spending money. They may be delighted in writing a full tuition check if both you and they are excited by the school and it’s fit with you.</p>
<p>I went through the same thing with my DS. He has always been thrifty and was steering himself away from full price schools for that reason. We sat down, discussed it, decided on going with a different option and never looked back.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>I just wanted to second the suggestion made somewhere around page 4 of doing your basic coursework somewhere affordable and then transferring.</p>
<p>For engineering, you want to be very solid in your introductory math and physics courses. These courses will cover the same material no matter where you take them. So my advice is to try to take them someplace affordable with small class sizes and really good teaching. The best way to figure this out is by visiting some classes to see for yourself. You want to be in a place where students ask questions and teachers answer them well.</p>
<p>There are several advantages of this approach:
- spend less money (a very sensible goal of yours)
- get really solid with the basic tools of the trade (calculus, linear algebra, physics, perhaps a bit of programming, perhaps some chemistry)
- build up your self-confidence (this is easier to do if you are a big fish in a small pond than if you are a small fish in a big pond)
- make your merit scholarship applications stronger by becoming more of a proven quantity</p>
<p>And I do think your two goals (spend less, have an out-of-state adventure) are mutually compatible.</p>
<p>Regarding some of the comments I saw here about the OP’s parents’ finances and financial decisions – I have posted some observations and a request at <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1600991-being-respectful-teen-posters.html#post16795195[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1600991-being-respectful-teen-posters.html#post16795195</a></p>
<p>We make $120,000. We have Florida pre paid and have saved for a state college education. Our daughter has her heart set on SCAD, animation and sequential art being a passion. I know we can’t afford it and don’t think any financial aid will be forthcoming. She is good academically, but not “great”. My eyes and ears are open for scholarships and the like, but I guess my point is here is, Why on earth do these schools have to be so expensive? Do they up the tuition so that they can get more federal aid so the wealthy can pay full price and the people like us can’t do it?</p>
<p>Eliza…they don’t get more federal aid. Arts schools are expensive. Most are not well endowed and that is where much institutional need based aid comes from…endowments.</p>
<p>Would UCF’s School of Visual Arts and Design offer your daughter a program she would enjoy and that would let your prepaid dollars and any Bright Futures money go much further? </p>
<p>SCAD’s tuition is so high - I know you know that already. Around here, I often hear of kids who want to go to Full Sail. A friend casually mentioned one day that her son was enrollng because he wants to be a musician and Full Sail will only cost him $50K - I tried to keep a poker face and remain supportive but I was astounded she was so casual about that (she does not earn, herself, anywhere near an income that might pay for that, and her son has kind of played around since graduating from high school, and now wants to play music - I am not sure why he must go to Full Sail to do this.)</p>
<p>Anyway, for those pursuing their passions for art or music, it is unfortunate that some of these specialty schools are so expensive.</p>
<p>I don’t know much about animation and sequential art, but a family member of mine wanted to be a filmmaker, so he enrolled in a community college program that gave him a good basis for this career (the program included lots of hands-on project work so he could build a portfolio.) And then he immediately moved to Los Angeles and is working now, pursuing his passion, and working his way up (which I think is probably the way most people with these kinds of passions have to do it anyway - I am not sure a certain degree opens more doors than an actual portfolio.) I went to high school with a guy who was totally obsessed with creating masks, and he skipped college altogether and took his collection of masks to Hollywood and has had a long, successful career.</p>
<p>In any case, don’t get discouraged. Maybe SCAD offers scholarships for artistic potential, and maybe your daughter will have the opportunity without having to spend so much money. I would want to know their job placement rate, though, and have a full understanding of what special connections they offer to the animation and sequential art industry.</p>
<p>Thanks for both replies, did not mean to sound so petulant. Yes, UCF is a very good option and I should not complain about our position. Hate to say no to the kid (!!!).</p>
<p>Thank you all for your helpful advice! I’ve talked with my parwnts and I thing I will go to GT because they have some affordable options. They have some racially/gender/ majpr specific scholarships that I can qualify for that are not need based. I also heard that many ppl who co-op often have there jobs pay for their senior year which would be really helpful. I also have some family in georgia so we’re thinking of me declarong residency with them so that in 12 months I can qualify for in-state tuition.</p>
<p>You won’t be able to establish instate residency while attending school.</p>
<p>[GT</a> Catalog : Financial : General : Classification of Students for Tuition Purposes](<a href=“http://www.catalog.gatech.edu/financial/general/classification.php]GT”>http://www.catalog.gatech.edu/financial/general/classification.php)</p>
<p>Elizalooks, none of us wants to say no. However, sometimes we just have to do that. No reason to keep your D from applying to SCAD, as long as she knows that the bottom line price has to be affordable - if not, she will have to go elsewhere. When my D received her acceptance to Tufts, she as over the moon … until she saw the financial aid package. I had prepared her well, and she knew it was not an option. She got over it. Same happened to my S with one of his schools. The key is to prepare them.</p>
<p>A good resource for your D is aicad.org.</p>
<p>Soco…the only family members who matter for in state residency purposes are your parents. You will NOT be able to get instate tuition because other relatives live there even if you live with them. Your residency for tuition purposes is the state in which your parents reside for undergrads In the very vast majority of cases. That is NOT a way they will save money.</p>
<p>Another way you might want to look at this , (and you will find me preaching this all of the time), it matters what school you graduate from, but if you cannot afford a top tier school and risk high debt to accomplish that task , attend a community college and get your general education done there. Join student organizations, internships and civic organization in your field of interest , it has been my experience , that students who have an active part in paying for college are much stronger students and make better financial decisions now and later on when they are part of the check writing process.</p>
<p>@annoyingdad @thumper1 My dad was looking into it and it says if you declare someone else as your legal guardian, after 12 months it would count as in state tuition. My parents just wont be able to write me off on their taxes</p>
<p>This thread has been interesting for several reasons. We are in the same situation as OP and my D also asks me if spending that much money is worth it. All the best to you OP you sound like a responsible and smart kid.
OP, find out if GTech gives instate tuition option if you do research with a professor. University of Texas and a few other state universities provide that alternative option. Not sure declaring someone else as legal guardian is a good idea though.</p>
<p>Your parent’s would have to put you in legal guardianship prior to your 18th birthday, and you would need to MOVE to Georgia to live with that guardian by that time. </p>
<p>You can’t just name someone a legal guardian in another state, and then continue to reside in VA with your parents.</p>
<p>Placing someone in legal guardianship is serious business. Your parent’s would have to have a reason for this…and the legal process is a serious and complicated one.</p>
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<p>I don’t think you will be able to show this isn’t being done to avoid payment of out-of-state tuition. When will you be 18? I don’t think legal guardianship applies to adults.</p>
<p>Legal guardianship issues aside, I’m in the same boat as OP; I want to go to a top-tier school (provided I get acceptances), but my parents can’t afford sticker prices. I’ve read through the thread and just wanted to add my two cents: stop guilt-tripping the OP. She’s done her part. She worked hard in HS, scored well above national averages (not CC averages; she could’ve done better) on standardized tests, played some sports, contributed to the community, etc etc. Although students like her aren’t “entitled” to top-tier schools, it’s devastating to tell a kid they can’t go to their dream school because the FA’s not there, regardless of socioeconomic background. She might’ve had the same exact stats had she been brought up in a home with <60k or <120k / year. All I’m saying is,</p>
<p>(tl;dr): it’s wrong to punish students for their parents making more money.</p>
<p>And also, congrats on Georgia Tech! Best of luck in making your decisions! (:</p>