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<p>Oh, dear, this is not a plan, this is wishful thinking.</p>
<p>It seems the OP is not learning anything from this application process so I don’t have much hope that she’ll learn anything from this thread. Some people have to take the hardest possible path, which is ashame because there are so many doors open to this young woman should she choose to readjust her focus.</p>
<p>and, to be clear, are your parents contributing $10,000 per year, or $10,000 total?</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids For my DePaul scholarship, I had orginally been awarded what I thought was $18,000 a year. (It was awarded in two separate scholarships). Then DePaul told me (after I emailed them) that all students are only allowed one scholarship, which is why I now only have $10,500.</p>
<p>@mtpaper My parents are contributing $10,000 a year. (well technically my father is, and my mother maybe at most 2-3K, because she makes very very very little money compared to my father— and they are divorced btw).</p>
<p>I spoke to DePaul financial aid this afternoon and she basically told me I was out of luck in terms of financing. When I said my parents were not cosigning, my father sticks by his “no”, because he can’t be strapped down, and he knows I don’t want him to have the responsibility, but he doesn’t want the loan officers tracking him down after a few years. My mother told me a while ago that she was NOT cosigning, but I hope that she comes around if my grandparents convince her. Hopefully something can be worked out so that I can go to DePaul.</p>
<p>I am in total denial I will be the first to admit.It’s not like I am not listening to any of you on here, or my family period. I just do not want this to happen to me. I come from a family of highly educated people and over-acheivers, so my situation is abnormal in comparison. This was not the forseen path I thought I was ever supposed follow. I was supposed to be valdedictorian, but instead I was just foolish. As my grandfather says “You made your bed, now you have to lay in it”. I totally wish I could just press the reset button and redo all of high school to do better. I completely dumbed myself down and made a fool out of myself.</p>
<p>Well, hopeful, the great news is that you can hit the reset button, not with regard to high school, but definitely in regard to the college search process. BUt, in order to do that you have to let go of the notion that you’ll be going to dePaul in the fall. That’s not resetting, that’s continuing on the messy path that landed you where you are. If you truly want a do-over, then chuck this year’s process and start again at the beginning. It sounds like your dad’s behind you if you want to try again.</p>
<p>So…between the 10K per year from your father, 2K from your mom, and then $5500 in Staffords, you could actually go to one of the 4-year MA ‘state’ schools like Salem State or Bridgewater State & not be out much $$$ at all, even living in a dorm. Their tuition is between $7-8K in-state.</p>
<p>RE: your GPA & HS career, it’s done, fini. Look forward to your college career & don’t look back.</p>
<p>I’m looking into Gap year stuff but how can I get into a really good college by having a GAP year? I am undecided as to what’s happening. I really need to figure this out soon</p>
<p>First, change your definition of “really good college” to mean “school I can afford that will provide me with a solid foundation and a major I want to pursue.” Then, in your year off, pursue something of interest to you (shows your passion) or get job (save the money).</p>
<p>So if you really have these multi-million dollar relatives - ask them to co-sign with you. Come up with a reasonable plan for how you will deal with that debt after school and do it.</p>
<p>It seems the only answer you want is that you can do it. There, that’s the only way i see you doing it. You have not heeded perfectly good advice up to now - so, just do it. Ask for the money from someone who has it. </p>
<p>If you can’t get it there - you will need to make another choice, period.</p>
<p>Well, what do you want to do when you grow up? College is a means to an end, not an end in itself. </p>
<p>Go over to the parents forum. Tell people about what you’d like to do with your life. Don’t go into a lengthy explanation of your current situation–it’s time to look forward, not backward. Ask for suggestions on how to productively spend your gap year. Then go from there.</p>
<p>After you get working on some plans for next year, come back to the parents forum and ask for help from people in coming up with a better list of colleges.</p>
<p>You need to get over this “good college” thinking if that means a “name” school like the ones you’ve applied to in the past.</p>
<p>You need to accept that your stats are your stats. They won’t always define you, but they will for a short time. </p>
<p>I don’t understand this “I was supposed to be the Val” nonsense. You’ve had poor grades thru most of high school. It’s not like you were an A student who just slipped up during senior year and lost your Val spot. </p>
<p>If you want a solution, then throw away every thought that involves impressing your relatives and every idea that involves being in denial of your situation. Don’t even think about pressuring your mom to co-sign those loans. Not only might she not qualify to co-sign in a future school year, but she can’t take that risk. </p>
<p>Either take a gap year and use that time to retake the ACT and SAT (stop wishing for an ACT 36, that’s not going to happen). Aim for an ACT 30/31…that might happen.</p>
<p>Figure out something meaningful to do during that gap year (but don’t take any classes!) Volunteer for a charity or something. Ask your relatives for some ideas for how you can spend that year. Do any relatives own companies that you could work for?</p>
<p>or…</p>
<p>Go to a CC or a local state school. Do your best and then transfer after 2 years. However, keep in mind that most top schools will use both parents’ incomes/assets, so if your dad has assets, then you may not receive much aid then either. If so, you may have to complete your education at UMass or similar. Which is FINE!!!</p>
<p>If you do well, then you can go to grad school at a “name” school. :)</p>
<p>What is your likely major and/or career?</p>
<p>So if you really have these multi-million dollar relatives - ask them to co-sign with you.</p>
<p>Please don’t do that.</p>
<p>@2015hopeful “…This was not the forseen path I thought I was ever supposed follow. I was supposed to be valdedictorian, but instead I was just foolish. As my grandfather says “You made your bed, now you have to lay in it”. I totally wish I could just press the reset button and redo all of high school to do better. I completely dumbed myself down and made a fool out of myself…”</p>
<p>Perhaps taking a gap year is not such a bad idea, it appears that you have the ability to do it over again.</p>
<p>@eecardelll I do have multi-million dollar relatives and I know that they would probably be willing to cosign. (My great aunt even offered before I was born to pay to send my dad back to college, and she was not even related to him, and she offered this only meeting him once!). But it seems too uncomfortable to ask such a thing for any of my relatives to pay for college for me, or cosign loans. My dad thinks I should ask, but my mother would NEVER want them to pay (it’s her side of the family). My mother would not feel comfortable either. She would get soooo upset if I brought this up to her.</p>
<p>If you take a gap year (working, for example) you are then looked at like a freshman applicant even though you worked for a year after college. (Since prestige seems to be overly important to you, note that a gap year is quite common in Europe. Prince William and his wife Kate both took gap years before attending college.)</p>
<p>You won’t get into a “really good college” by having a gap year. You simply get to hit the reset button and apply for colleges that match your average though solid 3.1 HS gpa and ACT score of 26. Being rejected by 9 of 11 colleges means that you over-reached this time around both in terms of matching your academic records AND with matching your financial abilities.</p>
<p>You need to apply to colleges that match your gpa/ACT scores AND that match your family’s finances. These schools will likely be very good–but not necessarily the “elite” colleges you applied to the first time around.</p>
<p>In case you didn’t understand the first time around–it is basically impossible for someone to leap from a 26 to a 36 on the ACT even with studying. You may be able to bump it up a little bit, to say even a 28 or 29 or maybe even a 30. However, for “elite” colleges you still have a problem because while a 3.1 gpa matches a 26 ACT score (aptitude of ACT matches output in HS gpa) a high 30+ on the ACT does NOT match a 3.1 HS gpa, which the elite colleges will see as a red flag that this student did not work up to his/her ability in HS. The elite colleges do not generally offer admission to these kind of mismatch students. Besides, you can’t afford almost any private college anyhow.</p>
<p>As for the whole array of “rich relatives.” If you don’t ask, you will never know. However, I would caution that there is a good chance that these relatives may decline to put themselves on the hook for 80K or more of debt to fund your education. These are promises from the past and they may change their minds for a variety of reasons. If they do say yes, you are in a rare situation as very few people have a rich relative that will step in and pay.</p>
<p>hopeful…You can EVENTUALLY get into a “good college”, if you take the lessons you’ve learned from high school to heart. If your definition of “good college” continues to be based on perceived prestige or perceived name value…right now that just isn’t possible. Your HS performance is nothing to be ashamed of, but as you admit it’s not at a level that will ever get you into the schools you’re currently considering.</p>
<p>Those schools might be academically achieveable for you a couple of years down the road if you start off in an affordable state U or local college, apply yourself to get the best grades you can, and then attempt to transfer to one of your “dream” schools.</p>
<p>Understand, however, that unless your financial situation changes in the meantime your “dream” schools will probably still not be affordable to you. Demonstrate to your family that you’ve learned from your HS experiences, apply yourself to the best of your abilities, and you may find some additional doors open to you. Good Luck!!</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids for the “I was supposed to be the Val” comments I have made, I meant that before high school I cannot even begin to say how different things were. I mean seriously. I totally screwed myself over during hs. I am just feeling remorse for not living up to that high potential I had before high school, when I was the top kid in the class and consistently two or three grade levels ahead of everyone else. High school everything changed, and I admit I did feel intimated to try. I just can’t get over it.</p>
<p>What I was originally planning on doing up until yesterday when I received my appeal denial for financial aid, was spend a year or two at DePaul, and then transfer to a better college or university. I was accepted to the honors program because of my very strong writing abilities, a few days ago, and I planned as using this as a stepping stone. I am going to try to work this out.</p>
<p>People need to seriously stop making it seem like I am a complete idiot who will never make it to an “elite” college/university.</p>
<p>as for my major as some of you have asked, it was scheduled to be journalism at DePaul, although English is more versitle. I am a very strong writer, who is also working on a novel right now (I am hoping to get it published in a few years).</p>
<p>I’ve read up on this:[Gap</a> Year Program - Oxford Advanced Studies Program](<a href=“http://www.oasp.ac.uk/oxfordsemester/directors-introduction/course-overview]Gap”>http://www.oasp.ac.uk/oxfordsemester/directors-introduction/course-overview) does anyone know about this program?</p>
<p>The Oxford program sounds very nice. It’s also very expensive. :eek: You want to find options that are either free, or where you can earn money. You could even do both, working part-time and also finding some sort of appropriate volunteer or internship type activity.</p>
<p>Again, I suggest you post in the Parents forum and ask for advice.</p>
<p>You have pretty much the same chance to transfer into a more competitive college from DePaul as you do from an affordable CC in your home state. Really. If your plan/hope is to transfer to an elite college, then doing very well at CC will do the trick. And you can afford a CC right now.</p>
<p>People need to seriously stop making it seem like I am a complete idiot who will never make it to an “elite” college/university.</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone thinks you are not intelligent. Perhaps naive about finances and financial aid. However, every year there are far far far more capable and intelligent students trying to get into elite colleges than there are actual spots open to accept them. If you do well at a college that you can afford (I suggest CC) for 2 years, then you have a shot, but not a guarantee, for a transfer spot at an elite college. The problem remains whether or not you can afford it even in 2 years. Transfer students tend to get even worse FA than freshman admits.</p>
<p>*I am a very strong writer, who is also working on a novel right now (I am hoping to get it published in a few years). *</p>
<p>I believe you are a strong writer. That doesn’t always translate into publishing and even if published, a livable wage. I have a friend who has published more than a dozen picture books for children and one made the NYT bestseller list. It was this writer’s most successful book and the writer made only 15K on it. That is not a typo. I have other friends who have published novels and they all have kept their day jobs. Breakthrough young authors who make lots of money happens about as often winning the lottery. Writing is a tough but interesting career, so be prepared to have a day job to pay the bills for most if not all your life. </p>
<p>Where you go for college for a writing career almost doesn’t matter–you need to keep challenging your reading, comprehension and writing skills (in all areas, not just creative writing) and that can happen at ANY university. Just because a writer gets a MFA from a top 10 creative writing program doesn’t mean they will publish a single work–many don’t. Your undergrad degree matters even less in that equation. CC followed by a modest university will give you plenty of grounding for your career.</p>