@averageapp1852 Let your parents know the reality of your situation. That you may be attending community college for the first two years. It sounds as if they can provide 10-12k a year and then you add loans and work money. Also look at UMass Lowell which is a very good school even though it is in Lowell. Stroner than the other branches. It doesn’t matter if the school is not your favorite. The only things that matters is that your receive an education.
lol my parents are the situation
Wow. Their money, their decision. You have options, but they are not up to you alone.
@averageapp1852 10-12k is the normal amount most middle class parents can comfortably afford. Your parents are normal if that is what they can afford. Massachusetts is an expensive place to live and eats up income rather quickly. Most kids in the US attend their local state college. That is normal. Community college and then a transfer. You may need to take a gap year and work and save all your money so you can afford the next four years better. If you are an hour and a half away from state colleges are you almost in NY? Is there a CUNY that you can commute to?
gosh no it’s like 4 hours to new york form where i live. mass is super expensive im with you there, gee i watch house hunters in other states and am completely mind boggled by the 4,000 sq foot new build houses for cheaper than our 1,000 sq foot house straight out of the seventies lmaoo. i’m sure i can make it work there’s plenty of loan options and my younger sister is basically a child genius/athlete/musician so worst case (for me) she gets a full ride and the budget from her can be used for me which i can use to pay off my huge loans in the future. i am appreciative of my privilege and opportunities even if i sound spoiled. i want a lot for a little… i try and set my standards high and put in the effort to make it happen, that’s all i’m trying to do
Are your parents willing to take out those HUGE loans…because without them as co-signers, you won’t be getting HUGE loans.
@averageapp1852 There are very very very few full rides and certainly not for white middle class kids. Your sister will likely will not be able to be picky about the choice. She might be looking at University of Alabama also. It is unlikely your sister will get a full ride. YOU can only take 5500 in loans the first year, 6500 2nd and 7500k in loans you junior and senior year. If your dad is not willing to take out a mortgage against his rental property then HE is probably not going to take loans for you. There isn’t whopping merit money for normal good students available which is what you need.
my sister is “gifted” her options are open, i’m the disappointing one ahahahah. i hear of triple digit debt all the time how could i not get student loans when plenty of people seem too?
Your parents can take out “triple digit” loans (if they qualify and if they are so inclined.) You cannot.
They have CO-signers for those HUGE loans. Do you have a qualified co-signer? If not, you can’t get big loans yourself
my dad boasts about his perfect credit so i’m sure i’m good of necessary but imma try and avoid that for good measure
@averageapp1852 You need a parent willing to take on that debt. YOU can only take the Federal loans which total 28k. You should not take out more than 28k. If you have high standards wait until your life is severly impacted with high debt and you cannot afford a nice car or home. You need to live within your 28k of debt means OR your parents have to take out the loans. They don’t let kids who have no assests take 3 digit debt. They let parents who have property to leverage take the debt. I’d think your parents would sell an investment property before they took on whopping debt for you.
yeah they would not sell property loll. i’m pretty sure my parents don’t understand the system here anymore than i do but his money is his and not mine and that has been made clear that he will not strain his finances in anyway for me. which makes sense like he gives what he says and the rest is up to me. he got his (free) education and earned his money hisself so i have to do the same but in this country education isn’t free. anything that takes away from his plans to travel the world with my mom when he retires is a no .
@averageapp1852 You need to let your dad know the reality with THAT level of funding from him (10-12k) means that you will have to either commute or go to a community college. THAT is the reality. You are barely paying for tuition in Mass with that level of funding. Maybe the UAH option I mentioned if your stats rise but there are no shortage of regular good students for need whopping merit aid and have high standards. There are also many gifted students who do not recieve full rides. Your dad needs to understand how very, very limited your options are.
What about the smaller Massachusetts state schools? Not a huge gap there with work and Direct loans.
That makes sense (wanting to travel), but it doesn’t help you. 
Your options are better if your parents can provide 20K and you can add the direct loans and your work earnings. If your budget is 12K+loan+ work earnings, you’re very limited.
Is there a university you could commute to?
Does your dad understand that you can’t “go to college” with your current budget and you’d have to live at home for the next 4 years (and even that doesn’t guarantee you can afford college if they pay 10-12k. That’s their budget but it makes things complicated.)
University of Illinois Springfield, West Chester University in PA, UMN-Morris may be affordable. UMass Lowell is another possibility (Honors college too).
But your first goal should be to raise your scores. The higher your scores, the more likely you are to have a choice of colleges.
You can’t borrow more than 5.5k for freshman year. Anything else has to be borrowed by parents and since yours won’t sell property, I don’t think they’d take on debt for you either.
Does your dad know how much college costs right now? Have you run NPCs on your flagship and a few other universities?
idk where the 10-12,000 number came from. i said 15-20,000 from the beginning
^that’s without loans
@averageapp1852 Your post #4 said this “I could probably afford no more than $20,000 a year including everything and that would be with loans and working while in school.” So if your dad is willing to contribute 15-20k a year and THEN you can take out loans and earn 2-3k a year. That opens up all your state school options. IF your dad will pay 20k a year.
Also “the fafsa 4caster said that roughly $40,000 would be the efc but we could max afford $20,000 so I have to make roughly $20,000 in merit money which is DAUNTING”
IF you dad is willing to pay 20k a year for you and THEN you can take out loans and work your new budget is around 28-29k a year.