http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/ lists a number of full ride scholarships (full tuition probably is not enough). But check school web sites to be sure that they are still offered. Also, some may have a 3.7 GPA requirement or so, but if they consider weighted GPA, you may qualify (contact the school if not sure).
Note that some are first come first served, and some deadlines may be close or already past.
I hope this is not the “parents sneaky way of making sure op chooses a more affordable school”.
“Sneaky Ways” almost never are a good approach, for kids, parents, politicians, businessmen, or anyone.
I interpreted the parents’ comment as being about paying for the multiple UC schools that the student has applied to. Clearly not affordable and an odd way to spend one’s time applying “just to see” if the OP “will get in.” There may be a game being played here where the OP thinks the parents might pay if he gets into one of the UCs and the parents are saying No.
Op, have you asked your parents whether they still want you to attend UWisconsin Madison? What about umn twin cities, would they be okay with you going there (with tuition reciprocity it’d be the same cost)?
Where have you applied already?
I talked to my parents and they do want me to go to Madison. They paid the application fee for Madison (not the UCs), which I would assume means they want me to go there. We even toured the campus a few months ago. I asked them how they expect me to pay for it and they told me I should be saving up through my (minimum wage) job. I told them that job will never come anywhere near paying for college and they don’t seem to have an answer to that. They are aware how much college costs, too, so I’m really not sure how they think I can possibly pay for college myself.
Also, I didn’t know how much I would be getting from FAFSA until after I had already started filling out my UC application, so I didn’t know I would be receiving 0 financial aid. I thought through need-based aid, merit-based aid, and any scholarships I may have received, that a UC school would be similarly-priced to UW Madison at full price. Obviously I was very wrong lol. I never expected my parents to pay the FAFSA EFC but I also didn’t know FAFSA would expect my parents to cover $50k per year. My household income is average for my community so I assumed I would receive an average amount of financial aid (also very wrong).
As for local colleges, yes I do have multiple four-year colleges near me. The closest one is Saint Norbert College, which is a small, private liberal arts school that is very expensive and which I have already been accepted to. However, the price is similar to Madison and it’s a worse school academically. UWGB is a 20 minute drive from me and is not really a good school. I haven’t applied there but I did take a psychology class through UWGB for high school so I know I would be accepted.
I don’t feel like either of these colleges are good fits for me academically or otherwise. The only benefit is that they are close to home. I don’t want to have to settle for a school I don’t even want to go to simply because it is close to home.
Is that really the only option for someone like me? What do most people who are in my situation end up doing? Many people who I go to school with who have similar household incomes to mine are going to Madison or OOS schools and I even know someone from my school who went to UCLA. I’m assuming my parents are in the minority for not helping me with college?
Will your parents let you live at home and commute to a cc or UWGB? Can you afford that with the student loan (~$5500/year) and your work earnings?
Not wanting pry into you and your parents personal business, but did you ask them why they cannot pay anything when they have a good income? Did they not set aside any money for a college fund or have some disposable income to help pay for some of your college costs?
To my knowledge they don’t have a college fund for me or my brother, or at least anything substantial enough for anything other than books, etc. And they do have disposable income but apparently aren’t willing to help me based on what they have told me. If they do have some sort of funds to help me I wish they would tell me so I could make an educated decision on where I should/can go. I guess when I get admission decisions back is when they’ll have to start taking it seriously.
They aren’t as good as Madison, but they do have a couple business degrees: Business Administration and Accounting. I would apply there as a “just in case” option. They are probably better than a community college, which is your other choice if you can’t afford Madison.
Print out the NPC results for U Wisconsin Madison, and show your pay stubs - it should be easy to calculate how long it’ll take you to work at you job until you can start a Madison (hint: not Fall 2017). The NPC will include scholarships you’re eligible for. UWisconsin doesn’t have merit scholarships (or very few).
If you want (ed?) a merit scholarship, your solution is UMN Twin Cities. Apply very quickly if you haven’t already since the priority deadline has passed.
If your parents don’t pay for UWisconsin Madison, would you be okay taking a gap year?
Make a list of all the costs of going to Madison - tuition, room and board, a modest budget for entertainment and other expenses. Include $200 or so for transportation a few times a year. Make another column of where this money is coming from. Any state aid, scholarships? Your earnings. A loan. A job during the school year can add another $100 per week.
This will show them, and you, what you are facing. I did this with my daughter in very rough way on the back of a receipt. She needed to see the numbers written down to make it real that she needed $20k and had $15k. If they don’t have any savings but they are willing to pay as they go, make sure they understand that you need $500 per month to get to the $5000 (and why not start NOW, then you’ll always have 6 months or one semester saved up).
You could open a savings account just for college and agree that you will put $200 per month and they they will put $500 into it. Break it into affordable amounts.
You could go to UWGB for two years. That would be a lot cheaper.
Looks like UW Green Bay yearly cost is about $8,600 for in-state tuition and books. So it may be doable on a federal direct loan and some work earnings if your parents will cover your costs of living at home and commuting. It may be more difficult if they expect you to cover food, utilities, and commuting costs as well.
Wisconsin community colleges are probably a few thousand dollar less per year, so they may be a cost cutting option for the first year or two before transfer to UW Green Bay.
Beyond that, look for full ride merit scholarships at http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/ and http://competitivefulltuition.yolasite.com/ .
If there’s anything I’ve learned from these last two years it’s that where you go for undergrad really doesn’t matter when everyone is taking the same calculus classes, same physics classes, etc. Go to Green Bay. Go somewhere “better” (whatever that means) for grad school if you still want to. Seems like a good deal. With a good internship, you can afford $8.6k yourself.
You are in the minority for your parent’s income bracket but you are not in the minority for thousands of seniors whose families don’t have the ability to pay for even community college out of savings or cash flow. Those students seek what merit aid they can and work as much as possible to defray costs.
I do feel for students like you who come from states without substantial merit aid at four year universities, particularly the flagship. I don’t feel bad that you can’t go to UCLA.
Consider a gap year and look at the list in post #51 for full tuition options in Fall 2018. That is your fall back if you don’t want to stay local. Use the year to get your ACT up as much as possible and work to save money.
I haven’t gone through the entire thread but wanted to share a few points on your situation that will hopefully help! I always say there are two parts to paying for college:
Great. Maybe Jocelyn and Courtney can have dueling posts on how to score hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships.
Have high stats and be poor. Don’t not have high stats and be poor. Tbh.
EDIT: In all seriousness there is a middle ground where if you play your cards right you may be able to grab a big scholarship or two, but the above 2 are the really key factors most of the time.
What year are you? If it’s not too late, being a national merit scholar will open up full rides to a lot of universities. Besides that, go apply for as many scholarships as you can, look for merit aid, and apply to a mix of state, small private with significant merit aid, and 100% need met schools. For example Alabama and USC-Columbia give a ton of merit, OU and ASU give a ton for national merit scholars, and small schools like salem or wingate will give you full rides if you have the right states. If you are black, Howard has amazing merit money, too.
I feel your pain and frustration because my parents are divorced and my dad is the same way. He messes up my financial aid a lot since he won’t pay but makes six figures. I am luckier though because even though my mom does not make a lot, my step dad is basically a father to me and is willing to help pay what my dad won’t (luckily step parents aren’t considered in aid).
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Except that they are. If you live with your mom and she has remarried, your stepfather’s income and assets must be reported on FAFSA. And for schools that require the NCP Profile, the financials of the non-custodial parent’s spouse also need to be reported.
Yeah, was just about to say…