<p>You’re absolutely right, not ALL college hopefuls from single parent/low income families are in this pinch… but you know what? Those kids did their homework, they worked hard, they searched for the schools that are willing to meet need, they filed their FAFSA the first week of Feb., and then they worked their tails off on scholarships for the past two months.</p>
<p>Do you know how I know this? Because I’m one of those kids. My EFC puts yours to shame, my father is unemployed and my mother makes little money for a family of five. But you know what? Next fall I’m headed off to an out of state private college, because I WORKED HARD. If you want to dream big buddy, you have to make it happen yourself.</p>
<p>Does your friend have a high GPA and high ACT/SAT scores. That may be why he is getting more aid. My daughter is at a State U and gets financial aid but it would not be affordable for us if she did not have a high merit based scholarship that covers the cost of her tuition and fees. It is based on a high GPA and high ACT.</p>
<p>“another possiblity is that your friend have either higher grades/test scores and/or a lower EFC (more people in the family, lower income, etc).”</p>
<p>His grades were better, but they weren’t great. I think he said his GPA was like 2.7 or somewhere around there, and my test scores were better.</p>
<p>Poker - no one is trying to insult you by suggesting CC. I know lots of students that do their first 2 years at CC for financial reasons then transfer to a 4 year school to finish their degree. They go on to have just as successful careers as those that start in the 4 year school. You would qualify for the same amount of Pell grant at a CC that you do at BGU and it will go a lot further - probably covering your tuition and fees. If you can make your first 2 years as close to debt free as possible than the 2nd 2 years will not leave you drowning with debt.</p>
<p>I’m not wasting 2 years of my life. I’m not going to Kommunity Kollege , where I’ll be miserable and have no social life. They don’t have my major, and I’m not getting behind on it.</p>
<p>Poker, if it is truly something you want, you can certainly swing it. It’s going to be tough financially, but, yes it can be done. If you can start a job now, and save every dime, try to get your Mom to kick in a few dollars–help her with it, $5, 10, 20, 30 a week, maybe less in the jar adds up, you’ll have a leg up when summer starts. Then work 2 jobs. Waitressing is particularly lucrative and can be doubled with a day job. My kids have done it. I have done it. All to make as much money as possible in the three months of summer. Then with what the college has given you in grants, and whatever Pell money you can get, figure out what you need in loans. Look for a job when you get to college and go on a budget. Yes, it can be done. But it is not easy. </p>
<p>Well, I was planning on getting a job for the summer and also when I am at college. I figure if I were to get a job from May until August, I could save around $1,000 and possibly more. I have about $1,000 in savings bonds coming out of the bank, and while that’s minuscule, it’s something. It’s kind of difficult when your family sets you up to fail though.</p>
<p>Poker, I am sorry that you are not getting the support from your mom. All I can say is that I’m sure it’s tough for her too. It might be a good thing to get away for a bit and give college a whirl. I am not thinking about $1000 though. I am thinking like $10K. I’m thinking about you working 80 hours a week this summer and salting it away, and helping your mother donate a few bucks too. Enthusiasm and hard work can be motivating. Sometimes it just feels so hopeless and then you see someone moving a long towards his goal, and it can get those juices flowing. Can you ask relatives for a donation to the college fund? How about a yard sale? Do what you can to get some money together. I think you can do it. Once you are at college, it would not be wise to work those kind of hours, but for the summer, that can be your goal; to earn as much as you can. I also know a young man who took off every third semester to work so that he could save enough money to go to his dream school. It was the only way he could do. That with the little bit the college gave him, and what he could borrow. Once he stopped beating on his family about his lot in life, they managed to scrape up a bit too.</p>
<p>Here are some of the schools my “lame” community college students transferred to this past year: UNC-Chapel Hill, NC State, Appalachian State, Furman University, Elon University, UNC-Wilmington. Check out the criteria for admission to these schools. They are not easy admit schools.</p>
<p>My students have faced terrible obstacles. Some are are poor, some are there making up for poor choices they made at 18. For example, I have two injured Iraq vets who joined the army to pay off/defer students loans after spending a year or two in a drunken haze at a 4 year college. They will quickly tell you they only went to college to party. Pretty big price to pay for the college image, I think.</p>
<p>These were the places to which you got accepted. The total cost of room/board/tuition for Clarion is $12674 (as an instate student in PA). The total cost for attending Marshall University is $18082 (out of state). These costs do not include personal costs of books, expenses and travel.</p>
<p>You had options. You chose the most expensive one.</p>
<p>I only applied to Clarion because my one friend was going there. She decided she had a change of heart, therefore no reason for me to go.</p>
<p>As for Marshall, they wouldn’t admit me to my major right away…I would have had to attend their “University College” program first. I didn’t want to get set back a semester or two because of that.</p>
<p>No…they’re going somewhere entirely different. The only reason I applied there was her…they don’t even have my major…so why would I go if she isn’t going anymore?</p>
<p>I think that if Poker wants to give Bowling Green a shot, he sh should do so. Understanding that it is going to be a tough go financially since he is going to have to finance a lot of this himself. If he starts work now (don’t let those grades go, however) and really cranks it up this summer, double dipping jobs, with the Pell, the college money and the loans, he can make it. </p>
<p>I also suggest that you look at some colleges in state. PA has many choices that are state schools. If Clarion is not what you want, there are many other such as Shippenberg, Millersville, West Chester, Edinburgh, all state schools with tuition much less than what Bowling Green is. If BG turns out to be too big of a stretch financially, any of those and more would be more affordable. I think PA has a state grant for those who qualify, and you would get some money for BG, but not as much as you would if you stayed in state. That is something to consider for next year. But since you are very focused in going to BG this fall, lit is certainly worth giving it your all to go there and do well there. IT’s the end of the college app process now, and unless you really truly have a new direction, it might be nice to let the momentum carry you to your goal. Make no mistake, it’s going to be hard, hard work, earning a lot this summer, but it can be done. </p>
<p>If you are willing to work hard, there are options available to you where you do not have to commute.</p>
<p>What major is this? Perhaps if we know the major, we can be more helpful with suggestions…just in case BGSU doesn’t work out. It would be good to have another option just in case.</p>
<p>Sport Management, Sport Enterprise at BGSU though because they break it down even further.</p>
<p>I know Slippery Rock, IUP, West Chester, and I think East Stroudsburg have the major, but I haven’t heard any positive things about any of them. Also, my mom wouldn’t let me apply to West Chester or East Stroudsburg even if I wanted to because she doesn’t like the areas.</p>
<p>If you want to call UPITT, IUP, Penn St or a couple other smaller PA state schools a joke, then you should probably skip community college because with that logic you will probably fail. But wait, you probably wouldn’t be admitted to UPITT or Penn St (at least main campus) with those statistics so you are right it’s just much easier to call them joke schools. PA is rich with in-state schools for those who want to work at school, and become competitive in the admissions process. I know, I live in PA, and while I will probably only apply to UPITT in-state (along with a slew of out of state schools), i understand that there are a lot of great options in the area. Harrisburg Area Community College is the number 2 community college in the nation by the way, and it sends graduates to good grad schools, and the job placement after work is better than some of your 4 year schools.</p>
<p>Ok. Now that thats taken care of I think you have a couple options.</p>
<p>Option 1: Community College. While you have stated that you dislike the idea, and that you want something with more prestige, if you look into it, it can become a great option. And if you enter community college for a year or two and transfer than you won’t be behind theoretically. Your major arguments against this option have been the prestige factor (which I have adressed above) and the idea that you will be wasting your life, but from what I’ve seen a 2.0 GPA isn’t exactly taking advantage of all of your options during high school, so by getting your life back together in 2 years, you really aren’t hurting yourself much more than you already have.</p>
<p>Option 2: Go to BGSU. You seemed to have created this thread to reaffirm your belief that you were right and your mother was wrong, and while this may not be the best fiscal decision as the cpofthehouse stated its doable, however are you sure you can match a university level education while working those jobs?</p>
<p>Option 3: Defer BGSU, take a gap year, and work your tail off. Compared to the community college notion this only “wastes” one year of your life, and you will be in a much better financial position. If you work 2 jobs for 60 hours total (per week) at 7.50 an hour you can save a lot of money before you go off to college. This will also help you find yourself and become much more focused on your goals, and will probably help you appreciate your college education. I think this is your best option.</p>
<p>I was referring to the PA State System of schools, not PSU or Pitt. If I had the grades, I would have applied to Penn State Main and it would have been my #1 choice.</p>
<p>And just as a measuring stick that further proves a majority of you haven’t a clue what you’re talking about, my friend going to WVU got $20,000 in aid for this year, but I’m only going to get pennies. Good logic.</p>