that’s helpful, ty.
Don’t forget that you will need health insurance after 19, and possibly before, if PA insurance only covers you for emergencies OOS.
You don’t have a $0 EFC, the students who have a lower EFC would presumably be first in line for federal work study and SEOG, so you can’t count on it.
I don’t think they would have more aid for spring, unless someone leaves. The aid is awarded for the year, half per semester.
I don’t think you need to worry about earning more than $6,570 a year in non work study income, and it affecting your aid. You can only realistically work so many hours when you attend school full time.
In the first college year 2016 income is used for FAFSA. Then in the second year 2017 income. In 2018 just try to stay under the income protection amount (it usually goes up every year). In 2019 you will hopefully have work study if any becomes available.
YSU with honors and 2 hrs away from home, and UNM sound like the best choices.
At YSU they have a film studies minor. Maybe when you visit, you can talk to someone in journalism, communications, and film studies.
the first year i counted on no work study the entire year. hopefully if i file oct 1 every year thenon i would get work study and a SEOG - even though it isnt 0 it is fairly low, and i have gotten SEOGs at other schools where i applied earlier. the thing that makes me nervous is i can’t rely on that occuring for UNM and then risk my costs being the same this year as every year. though, on the other hand, if i didn’t get any work study i could definitely work part time and make the 6k.
@mommdc I disagree about the earning potential. The total $$ figure that counts towards EFC is inclusive of summer work as well. My high schooler capped that amount this past year working summer and PT in the fall.
Here are the two degrees offered through UNM’s film department. If you haven’t already, look through the required and elective courses to get a sense of how they’re different, and which one seems like a better fit for you.
http://cinematicarts.unm.edu/wp-content/uploads/BFA-IFDM-2017-2018.pdf
http://cinematicarts.unm.edu/wp-content/uploads/BA-MA-2017-2018.pdf
And here’s the link for Journalism and Mass Communication. https://cjdept.unm.edu/undergraduate/ba-journalism-mass-comm.html
Then go do the same thing with the journalism / communications / film studies majors & minors at YSU.
My concern with a film studies minor is that, as far as I know, film studies treats film like literature in an English class - history of film, kinds of film, sociology of film, film themes, film genres, etc. I’m not sure it includes much in the way of hands-on or production training. I could be wrong, though, because my opinion was formed cough back in the day, and I know nothing about YSU’s program in particular. This is something you’ll need to assess on your own.
Whether or not the extra debt is worth it is going to depend on which of these programs gives you a better foundation for the career you ultimately want. If you’ve read any of my posts outside of this thread, you’ll see me telling people to avoid debt and to follow the money.
The exception is when the cheaper program won’t adequately prepare the person for their intended career. I’m not saying this is the case with YSU; I don’t have any info to go on so there’s no way I could have an informed opinion. It’s something you’ll need to evaluate very carefully.
On the one hand, it doesn’t make sense to incur extra debt if YSU will give you the skills, training and opportunities you need.
On the other hand, it doesn’t make sense to incur any debt at all (for YSU) if YSU won’t give you the skills, training and opportunities you need.
It’s kind of like “Hey, this airline ticket to Atlanta is $200 less than this other one to Phoenix!” Well, that’s great if you want to go to Atlanta. If you don’t want to go to Atlanta, that ticket isn’t a good expenditure no matter how cheap it is.
I wish you all the best whichever way you decide. 
Missed the edit window …
If the answer is that the cheaper program will be okay but the more expensive program will be better, then it gets into value judgements. How much better, how much more expensive and how hard will it be to come up with the difference? A lot of people who post here are looking at a difference of tens of thousands of dollars per year, and sometimes more than a hundred thousand over four years.
You’re looking at what - a $6k difference over four years? Did I read that right? $1500/year if you average it? If UNM is the better choice*, that amount isn’t all that bad if you can figure out a way to make the first year work.
Disclaimer - As above, I am not saying UNM is necessarily better. I’m saying that’s something you’ll have to figure out.
Yes,6k over four years assuming I get a seog And max work study, or can work and make under 6k if I dont get max work study. Not sure if those are reasonable assumptions though. The ysu cost is locked in due to the renewable scholarships but that would be a big variable at unm.
I’m a big proponent of community colleges. It is an affordable option - great way to save money for whatever school you decide to transfer to in 2 years. I personally just finished 2 years of CC, and I absolutely loved it.
If you have a good GPA, you can transfer to some awesome schools. My friend was just accepted to Boston University after finishing community college. Someone else I know was accepted to Brown University and UNC Chapel Hill. With Phi Theta Kappa and Jack Kent Cooke, you also get some great scholarship opportunities.
Besides, after CC you won’t have to worry about your SAT. The vast majority of universities don’t ask for your SAT scores once you have over 30 credits.
Would you consider this option?
@Kate0615 : Pennsylvania’s system is different. Community colleges do NOT prepare for the flagship but for directionals, which do not offer Op’s major. Rheylsi don’t offer necessary pre-requisites. To attend the flagship OP would have to attend a “branch”, which is like a CC except it costs 16k a year. Finally, Jack Kent Cooke is highly competitive and CANNOT be counted on. So, for OP, this is not a viable solution.
It’s a shame that PA doesn’t have a good CC system,but as @MYOS1634 said, it’s not an option there. I lived in PA for many years, went to college there, and spent several of my adult years there as well. Their branch campus system is nice, but many are so small that they really should be converted to CC.That would be a huge benefit for the students and their communities. But that’s for a different thread…
I had never even heard of UNM until reading this thread. It looks like a good option. There are so many OOS options that are affordable but the issue is that it’s so late in the game for this upcoming fall. Any chance you can defer to a Spring Admission? I have no idea if that helps the situation, just a thought.
Already looked at deferring, it wouldn’t get me any more money at the schools I’m considering. If worst comes to worst I could utilize ysu as a community college.
I think we are making this hard on you. You have a great option with YSU honors - its affordable and its not too far from home. I think you will have a great experience there. But if you do not love it, you will either transfer or suck it up and go somewhere great for graduate school. Either way, I think getting out of the house and moving on to college was a top priority for you and this accomplishes that and in an affordable way. Congrats!!! Time to celebrate.
Thank you @stemmmm ! I’m leaving my unm option open, but hey, the amigo still applies to transfers 
I agree with @stemmmm about this getting overly complex.
Here’s the thing – it sounds like you have a direction/focus with journalism, film, and possibly production. You also sound incredibly bright, curious, and motivated. You’re going to thrive in any college environment. College also is not vocational school. You’re not going to graduate from any college a fully baked journalist/film producer, etc.
With your drive and focus, you can forge your career path after you’ve graduated. You don’t sound like the type of person who would turn down opportunities … get the education and degree in the most affordable and convenient way, and then take the world by storm! College is just a stepping stone, and it sounds like you have the goods to go far.
I hope this makes sense – I’m on only my first cup of coffee!
Yes, the Amigo applies to transfers, but you’ll need to be a little careful with your planning. Amigo transfers only get two years of support, and the free final semester doesn’t apply.
Here’s a link to a database that will let you enter your college (YSU) and then a YSU course number and it will tell what kind of UNM credit you’ll get for YSU class when you transfer.
https://admissions.unm.edu/future-students/transfer/transfer-equivalencies.html
You can also use it the other direction - put in a UNM course number and find out if there’s a class at YSU that matches. If a YSU class isn’t listed, you can send UNM the course info and they’ll add it.
If you think you might transfer to UNM, get those degree worksheets I posted earlier and use them to plan your course path at YSU, making sure you have only four semesters worth of work left by the time you transfer.
@MYOS1634 oh, I didn’t know about the Pennsylvania system. Florida community colleges function quite differently, generally providing students with great education and opportunities.
Yeah, JKC is pretty competitive, but PTK is not too bad. If you have good grades and participate in extracurricular activities you are more than likely to receive something. There are even some colleges that give scholarships to EVERY PTK member. I believe, American University gives $10,000 to all PTK students. Even Boston University gives $20,000 to the best five PTK applicants. Of course, you cannot count on this. But from I’ve seen so far, if you work hard, these scholarships are very much attainable.
Visited YSU. Can’t say I loved it, but its more affordable than community college and gives me a better shot at transfer.
hey did you learn? Like/dislike?
You may hate the thought of this, but Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas costs around $15,000/yr. Topeka is the capitol of KS, so although not big city by any means, it does have some things to offer.