<p>My parents have high incomes but refuse to pay for an out of state college. Right now I'm not in college but have 43 college credits from a solid tier two state university, a college GPA of 3.89 and some AP credits (american history 4, english lang 4, english lit 3 and human geography 3). My SAT scores are 730 verbal, 730 math, and 690 writing.</p>
<p>I don't want to get my degree in-state. I want to go to an expensive private school. Since my parents have high incomes, will I be able to get loans to pay for an expensive college for my remaining 2.5 - 3 years of cllege? If not, will declaring financial independence from them help me do this?</p>
<p>Declaring independence unfortunately will not give you much leverage with private schools...as they still consider your parents support in financial aid calculations.</p>
<p>first -- are your parents set on the cost or do they want you to stay in-state? Would they be willing to pay anything towards the cost of a college education? </p>
<p>With your current credits and AP scores, you might be able to enter a private school and jump to sophomore status (which saves money -- the cost of 1-1.5 years of college). With your scores, a school below the tier one may award you some good merit money that is not tied to need. If you parents are willing to put forth some money (maybe just what they would pay for the in-state) then you just might be able to do it. work-study and unsubsizided loans are available regardless of need.</p>
<p>one thing you will need to check is whether the private schools you are looking at offer merit aid, accept the credits and grant credit for the AP tests and scores you have. Not all do.</p>
<p>You don't seem to have hard facts yet -- pick some "expensive private schools" and check out the credit situation and merit aid. Talk to your parents -- will they completely cut you off if you don't go in-state. What state do you live in and are there any options that both you and your parents could agree on.</p>
<p>I'm assuming your parent's AGI is over $250,000. If not, and you're broke, and they have a modest asset base, you could very likely receive some need-based financial aid in addition to loans and work-study. Paying for college is the easy part (you can borrow the $), but all the financial aid in the world is useless without that all-important admission ticket! You're a high profile student who needs a high profile college! Most elite schools, assuming they have the absolute best curriculum for you, and that's the only reason to go there, will offer you some scholarship $ as well as loans and work-study.</p>