<p>I’ll second sagiter; I think many, if not all, of the SUNYs accept applications on a rolling admissions basis.</p>
<p>It’s not too late at all to go this route for Fall 2011, or certainly for January 2012.</p>
<p>*The “best” college is the one you can afford.
*</p>
<p>Very true…</p>
<p>You have a few options…</p>
<p>1) Apply to SUNYs and CUNYs that will be affordable based on what your parents will pay. If your parents won’t pay much, then you’ll have to commute to a nearby public.</p>
<p>2) Take a gap year (do NOT take ANY college classes during this time) and apply again to schools in the fall where your stats would get you some merit scholarships. You can work during the year to save some money. </p>
<p>I repeat…if you do a gap year, do NOT take any college classes because then you won’t be considered an “incoming freshmen” when you do apply. Incoming freshmen get the best scholarships.</p>
<p>“I applied to 6 schools
here are my top choices:
Syracuse University (my top choice, applied to the College of Arts and Sciences, had an interview, I live in Syracuse, and applied two months ahead of the deadline for RD)
University of Vermont
American University
Hobart and William Smith”</p>
<p>None of these schools meet 100% of need. I had pointed out to you the costs on another thread, you started. </p>
<p>“Although my family isn’t rolling in money, my parents can certainly afford to send me to school. We’re willing to pay whatever for the education I want.” </p>
<p>Evidently as it turns out your parents cannot afford to send you to the school that you desire. That is why it is so important to calculate your EFC ahead of time, have serious discussions with your parents and go from there and have a financial safety school. </p>
<p>Go to a 4 year SUNY, or take a Gap Year or go to Community College and transfer. </p>
<p>These types of situations can be avoided if parents and their children plan ahead, do the research, maybe buy “Paying For College Without Going Broke” (Princeton Review) when their oldest child is in the 8th grade!</p>
<p>Another thread that should be required reading for students who don’t want to consider the cost of the schools they apply to.</p>
<p>Erin’s Dad…are you aware what you asked this girl the following last January?</p>
<p>The conversation…</p>
<p>The OP: Although my family isn’t rolling in money, my parents can certainly afford to send me to school. We’re willing to pay whatever fo rthe education I want. </p>
<p>Erin’s Dad: Have your parents specifically said this or are you guessing at it? They may not know how much college costs today. Please make sure they have all the info needed to make a decision. </p>
<p>The OP: They definetely know SU is at least 51 for a year- thats without aid and scholarships </p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1071996-having-nervous-breakdown.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1071996-having-nervous-breakdown.html</a></p>
<p>We are barely getting any aid because my parents make well over 150,000 combined,</p>
<p>The OP’s stats:</p>
<p>SAT:
Math 510
Reading 540
ACT: 21
GPA: like a 2.9 </p>
<p>The above is why it’s so important for parents and their kids to figure out these financial issues and to determine whether the student’s scores are within scholarship range well before the application season.</p>
<p>This is sad that there has been such a lack of communication between parent and child (without saying whose fault it is, sometimes people talk and no one listens). Maybe parents thought she couldnt get in anywhere she had applied except state schools. Who knows. I agree that the only thing OP can do with these stats and her money is apply to state schools. If the ones she wants are filled up, she should work and wait a semester. Its not the end of the world. For what her parents are willing to pay, she should be able to afford that. </p>
<p>I think the CUNYs are a problem, becuase I think the only housing they have is very limited and generally the kids in the Macauley Honors program get first crack at that housing, and I dont see someone with these stats (unless I am confusing the posts) getting into Macualay. So unless OP has a relative she can stay with in NYC, I think the housing will be a problem. Not only expensive, but not certain if I would want a freshman living in NYC on her own. But there are SUNYs she can get into. A year working or say volunterering as an EMT may strenghten her application. Or studying and retaking SATs.</p>
<p>Three car payments and a private school for your sibling are life style choices that your parents have made. Many parents here on CC have always stated that they drive absolutely ancient vehicles and those are the parents who have made sacrifices to send their children to college. They lead frugal life styles until their children are out of college. </p>
<p>The primary responsibility for college tuition, room & board, etc. belongs to the family.
Financial Aid Officers certainly will have little sympathy for a family with 150k income, 3 car payments and private school tuition for a sibling. </p>
<p>The ant and the grasshopper fable, priceless! The ant prepared for winter by saving up food & working all summer, while the grasshopper played music and goofed off in the sun.
When winter came the grasshopper came knocking on the ant’s door for food & shelter. </p>
<p>When it comes to college planning, saving etc, some parents are ants, some are grasshoppers!</p>
<p>The loans required for moderate-income students to attend absurdly-expensive private colleges are essentially never “worth it.”</p>
<p>This girl is trying to figure out what her options are and asking for advice. </p>
<p>It has grown into a time honored tradition in this forum to assault the judgment of a kid’s parents, particularly those who are upper middle class. From picking on an 18 year old’s word choice, to berating a lifestyle, one would think those posting as adults would restrain themselves from politicizing a situation where a kid is asking for help.</p>
<p>There are other forums for that.</p>
<p>Clearly, her need to clarify what her parents are willing to contribute is her next step and from there the suggestions as to alternatives have been helpful.</p>
<p>The OP wants to know how students meet their college costs. When it comes to the big ticket colleges including room and board, the parents are the ones who tend to make it possible. If your parents make enough money that the college’s calculators indicate that they can afford to pay for your college, you are not going to get financial aid. If you apply to schools that offer merit awards, it is possible to get those. However, generous merit money is hard to get. Many merit awards are for amounts of $500-5000 which do not make much of a dent in a $50K price tag. </p>
<p>The other option is loans. Students can take up to $5500 in Stafford on their own. With an adult co signer with good credit, they can borrow more, but the co signer is on the hook for the loan if the student can’t pay. Also, parents who are willing to borrow can take PLUS which are parent loans.</p>
<p>* My suggestion is look up colleges known for giving generous financial aid. *</p>
<p>Schools that give generous financial aid STILL make you qualify for it. Even the most generous don’t give aid or much aid to those with high incomes.</p>
<p>Yes, the OP would likely get good aid from about 3 schools…Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Stanford, but obviously her stats would not get her admitted to those schools. It’s very hard to even get admitted to schools that “meet need” with her stats. </p>
<p>I agree that the OP is not responsible for how her parents spend/save their money. However, there is some value into having some posters mention that having an upper-middle class income and spending money on lifestyle choices does have consequences. My dad always used to say, “You can’t spend a dollar twice.” </p>
<p>She mentions 3 car payments…that suggests that one of the cars is hers. maybe if she agreed to give up her car, her parents could afford to spend more on college.</p>
<p>This is a learning experience for the OP. It’s not an accident that her family can’t pay as much as is expected. They weren’t suddenly burdened with serious medical bills or similar. </p>
<p>However, the sad fact is that financial concerns were brought up to her last January and she dismissed them. She assured everyone that her parents were aware of the costs and were very willing to pay. Maybe her parents weren’t honest with her, maybe she never addressed the issue with them, or maybe she misled them into thinking she’d get generous merit scholarships/aid and their contribution would be lowish. </p>
<p>Yes, the OP needs to clarify how much her parents WILL pay. That has been mentioned at least once already. </p>
<p>Her stats are not strong enough for good merit scholarships at most schools. She needs to quickly identify schools that she can afford outright with parent contribution plus maybe a small student loan. </p>
<p>If her parents can pay $20k per year, then she’ll have a budget of about $25k. If she’s currently attending a private high school, then perhaps they’ll pay that amount plus a bit more. </p>
<p>If her budget is somewhere around $25k, then she can go to a SUNY.</p>
<p>The third car may be meant for her younger siblings after she goes to college. A third car may be needed for them to get to school (3 payments though, hmm). But in any event, she can to to a SUNY.</p>