How do I convince my financially-dumb parents a CC would be best for me?

Parent Cafe
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<p>You can bet your parents will be able to brag to their new friends in MA that you are living in Florida, going to college and you are self-supporting!</p>

<p>Seriously, it sounds like you have a well-thought out plan and are spot-on about wanting to avoid the debt trap your parents have fallen into.</p>

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<p>You might want to check it out, just to make sure.</p>

<p>From the Florida Department of Education: <a href=“http://www.fldoe.org/faq/default.asp?Dept=135&ID=61[/url]”>http://www.fldoe.org/faq/default.asp?Dept=135&ID=61&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>From the Guidelines on Florida Residency for Tuition Purposes: [FACTS.org</a> - It’s all academic](<a href=“http://facts23.facts.org/florida/facts/Home_Page/Applying_for_College/applyingForCollege.apply/Residency_Guidelines/!ut/p/c5/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3iDEEtPfx9TQwN3Sz8DA093C38_M19_A_cwU_1wkA6gChzA0QAqDzPBIsDFEGiCu4eXgbezoaexmb6fR35uqn5Bdnaao6OiIgAjQwmG/]FACTS.org”>http://facts23.facts.org/florida/facts/Home_Page/Applying_for_College/applyingForCollege.apply/Residency_Guidelines/!ut/p/c5/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3iDEEtPfx9TQwN3Sz8DA093C38_M19_A_cwU_1wkA6gChzA0QAqDzPBIsDFEGiCu4eXgbezoaexmb6fR35uqn5Bdnaao6OiIgAjQwmG/)</p>

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<p>Good for you! I’m so impressed by your attitude and maturity.</p>

<p>Maybe you just need your parents to give you their blessing and support your plan. It would probably help them do so if you explained the full four year plan: you will go to CC…and then go for two years to X, and graduate with a degree in y from X. I think if they can look beyond the CC (for whatever reason, it’s their hang up) and see it as temporary, but that at the end of the day you are way way more advantaged, I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.</p>

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<p>Bravo! My D went to CC for 3 semesters & transferred nearly all her credits to college, where she’s on track to graduate in the near future. Your plan makes good sense and is MUCH better than having HUGE crushing debt, especially in this economy. Do you have any adult in your life that your folks respect? Perhaps they can persuade your folks & point out that if you do extremely well in CC, you may qualify for MERIT awards to transfer to a 4-year college, further reducing your overall cost of college!</p>

<p>Definltely would NOT want you to take on debt for your full-financing of 4 years of college.</p>

25

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I hope that’s not really true - i.e. making their kids join right after HS. They shouldn’t try to do any more than suggest it and they really can’t do more than that anyway. The kid should make their own decision as to what to pursue after HS.</p>

26

<p>Go to CC, get a degree with a great GPA and you will be eligible for merit aid at a state U in Florida. </p>

<p>If your parents move, you have a 12mos grace period for residency, during which time you can establish residency if you sign your own lease and pay your power bill in addition to your voter’s registration and Florida drivers license. You didn’t COME to Florida to establish residency, you were a bona fide resident to begin with. So once they leave you have to continue to prove you are a resident, but the state gives you 12 mos to do so.</p>

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<p>I think the best college to go to is the one you are most likely to graduate from. In your case, it sounds like your heart is set on a CC and you would be more likely to graduate from a CC (and then transfer to a 4 year) than a 4 year right away because the mountain of debt would stress you out.</p>

<p>But the hard thing about parents is all they really care about your senior year is where can they brag to their friends about where you are going to school. Their friends kids are going to MIT, Princeton, Caltech, Yale, Harvard, etc., and it’s probably hard for them to say “my kid is going to Podunk CC”. In reality, this reason is really false and misplaced. After all, half of the kids that go to the big name schools will dropout and never graduate. You, on the other hand, sound quite determined to get your 4 year degree.</p>

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<p>ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad: I used the wrong word. My friends didn’t really “make” their children join the military after high school, but they did instill it from early on - the same as most of us instill our children to go straight to college after high school. In any case growing up in the military did not turn the children away from it, instead they embraced the military and joined after seeing how much their parents benefited from it.</p>

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<p>FIrst off, you quite possibly have the BF with your GPA. They recalculate w/weighted AND only core classes… go online and check. Even with a 2.75 GPA they will pay most of your tuition at a CC. Go to CC over FGCU… Many use that as a stepping stone anyway to a higher end uni in FL.
Take advantage of getting all your GE’s out of the way at CC and keep it CHEAP. THEN apply to wherever in FL (and if you prove you are living on your own as a FL Res, you WILL keep FL residency status, especially if you have BF) and you can get grants/scholarships to go to UCF, FSU, UF wherever… get good grades at the CC and you’ll be on your way.</p>

<p>(coming from a parent in FL, with a kid w/BF and at UCF)</p>

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<p>@Sunnyflorida, thanks Post #26, information about the grace period to maintain residency. </p>

<p>@OP: If I could meet your parents, I’d say that when someone asks them, “where is your S going to college next year?” they can answer truthfully: </p>

<p>“He’s figured out a way to graduate in 4 years from the college of his choice and save a LOT of money.” If their friends ask for details, say, “It’s cool. For low tuition, he knocks off most of his general education credits at X (Community College). Midway through, he can transfer up to a different colllege to major and graduate.” If they ask, “which college is that?” answer “He’ll have his choice by then; as high as his GPA takes him.” They can add: “A lot of kids are doing it that way now if they don’t want to graduate in debt.” </p>

<p>And if your parents don’t know how to talk positively, you surely can. Maybe if they hear you rattle through that a few times, they’ll figure out how lucky they are and learn from you how to answer more productively.</p>

31

<p>Yea, by our response when our D was at CC, we showed that we were proud of her for saving us lots of $$ before she transferred to her preferred U (which cost a lot full-freight). Folks picked up on it & recognized that she was using a very clever stategy.</p>

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<p>Do not convince your parents in anything, listen and respect them, they know what is the best for you and all they want is to be most supprtive in your best interests</p>

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<p>^^^^</p>

<p>Did you read the OP’s posts? His parents obviously do not have the student’s best interests at heart. They want him to take out large loans and they claim that they will co-sign, but it’s likely they won’t qualify for this year or later years. If his parents know what’s best for him, how come they can’t pay for any of their EFC, even tho they have a good income? </p>

<p>Call your Florida schools. Another student on CC was told that if you start school as an in-state student (which you will), you’ll continue as an in-state student til you graduate - no matter where your parents move to. But, you have to go to school continually. But, call to be sure.</p>