I only have 1 match school; need more!

College Search & Selection
1

Here’s my very basic stats-
uwGPA: 3.9
ACT: 29C (retaking in September, hoping for 32)
3 honors, 7 APs, and 2 Dual Enrolled classes
State: Michigan
White female
Intended major: psychology, neuroscience, or international studies

Schools I have so far, ranked in order of interest:
Reach:
University of Michigan (#1 choice)
Boston university (#3 choice)
University of Maryland (#4 choice)

Matches:
Michigan State (#2 choice)
U Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign (maybe) (#5 choice)

Safeties:
Central Michigan
U-M Flint
Grand Valley State University (don’t know yet if I’m gonna bother applying)

I have only visited UM Ann Arbor, MSU, and Central Mich. My parents won’t take me on OOS visits in order to prevent me from going OOS (frustrating, I know)

I’d like to have at least 2 more match schools, maybe even 3 to keep it on the safe side. I’m looking for schools in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, or Wisconsin, and anywhere in the northeast is fine.

Preferably I’d like a large school (no LAC suggestions) that has well ranked programs, a liberal atmosphere, lots of research opportunities, close to a city, and an overall positive vibe across campus. If there’s a school you think fits my description but doesn’t fit the location, please list it anyways! I’d like to stay moderately close to home but I’ll keep my mind open about other far away schools! ALSO-- if there’s any schools that give in-state tuition for OOS kids or give great merit aid, please include it!!!

If you really wanna help me out, please include some info about the school you’re suggesting! What’s there to do on the weekends? What clubs are there to join? How’s the food/dorms? Are the professors good? Since I can’t go on OOS campus visits, CC is now my only hope in gathering information about the OOS schools I’m applying to.

Thanks a lot!

2

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have only visited UM Ann Arbor, MSU, and Central Mich. My parents won’t take me on OOS visits in order to prevent me from going OOS (frustrating, I know)
<<<<

Does that mean that they won’t pay for an OOS school? No matter its price?

What are your parents saying? How much will they pay each year? What have they said?

3

@mom2collegekids I have no idea how much they can pay. We have been saving since I was a baby, and they’ve told me that they can pay fully for my first 2 years based on what’s in the savings, but they haven’t told me any specific numbers. (This has resulted in some arguments but they stand firm in not telling me. I’m going to assume I won’t actually know the real numbers until my acceptances come in.)

I also don’t know our family income, but I’m going to guess its around $150k+, so money isn’t something that is a desperate problem to be solved. Although, my dad almost had a heart attack when I told him about the $60k+ price tag for BostonU, haha! I have also tried explaining to them that private schools give out generous aid, but they are still trying to keep me instate.

My mom wants me to stay instate to keep me close to home in case a family emergency happens, and my dad thinks going OOS is useless if I can go to Michigan State instead. (he’s an alumni).

I am also going to grad school, so they want me to stay instate and save money for grad school instead of spending it all on OOS undergrad, which I totally understand. However, if I can get some good merit aid, that would allow me to consider going out of state without my parents having to pay the full OOS price tag. I’m perfectly fine going Instate, but I’d love to keep my options open as much as possible. I am also going to apply for local scholarships as well to take off some of the burden for whatever school I decide to go to.

4

Ugh it makes me angry when parents refuse to share financial information with their children. 18 year olds should not be shielded from family economics.

Apply to the expensive privates, but I’d also apply to multiple schools with good merit aid. For example, UAlabama would be tuition-free (room and board still, about 15k/year) if you get a 32. That way, if your parents back out on paying for most of it (which happens very often in April on CC, especially with parents who play “guess the budget”), you still have options.

And what about the last 2 years? What will they pay then?

5

Well… I think money is an issue. That “generous financial aid” does not usually extend to families with income over $150K per year. I am from Michigan, and your dad’s attitude is similar to my dad’s attitude (and my brother for his kid). I am doubtful you will sway your dad. I went in-state. Work hard to get your scores up so you have a choice between MSU and UM.

6

@usualhopeful @intparent exactly, that’s why I’m trying to find schools with merit scholarships as well as local scholarships.

If I don’t get into UofM, MSU will most likely be my next top choice, since I love the school (almost) as much as UofM. Plus, I haven’t visited other schools and I’m not gonna take the chance of going to a school without visiting first. I’m really gonna pressure them to take me out of state for visits this summer. I’m going to Texas to visit family in August, so maybe I can visit some Texas schools.

As for when my savings run out, they are either going to pay for the rest of my undergrad by themselves, or I will have to help out by taking out loans or working during the school year (again, we haven’t talked about this very much either) we have college nights at my school and our counselors tell us to fill out FAFSA no matter what our income is because there’s a possibility that we could always get some kind of aid. I don’t really know how FAFSA works, but If my parents have not talked me to me about finances yet by the time FAFSA is due, I’m going to force them to sit down and explain everything to me. It’s a quite a burden, because there’s no point in wasting $75 to apply to a school if my parents won’t pay for it, but since they won’t tell me this, I feel like I’m forced to apply to all these schools just in case my parents would agree to potentially pay for them.

7

You can’t pay for a $60K school a year with local scholarships. Typically they are small ($1000 and under), and they aren’t for all four years (1-2 years, usually). It just isn’t realistic.

Your counselors are behind the times. Each college has a net price calculator on their website. Ask your parents to help run them to see what the costs look like for you. You won’t just magically get aid by filling out FAFSA, either – all that does is show your eligibility for federal loans and grants (and your family makes way too much to get grants). You can only borrow $5,500 for freshman year (a little more each year after that). Those are federal loans. Any addition loans require an adult cosigner, and aren’t a great idea.

You aren’t FORCED to apply anyplace. If I were your parents, I’d say, sure, YOU pay the $75 fee for every application, but we aren’t paying for any more than your in-state options. Unless you get your scores up and have guaranteed merit (like at Alabama), I wouldn’t expect to get much aid. If you can get your scores up, you might look at a few midwestern LACs – Lawrence gives merit aid, and Miami of Ohio does as well. You might be able to get the cost within reach of an in-state public, and they aren’t that far away (although Lawrence is a big of a hike, depending on where you are in Michigan).

8

Bump

9

Filling out the FAFSA only allows you to borrow $5500/year. If your parents earn $150k/year you won’t qualify for a Pell gesnt, so don’t run through the money your parents saved in 2 years. Budget it to cover four.

10

Also, look into U of Cincinnati in OH- in a great city, liberal student body, good merit aid, etc.

11

If your parents don’t want you to know the details of their finances, that is fine. Just ask them to run the Net Price Calculator at the website of each of the places that are on your list right now. That will let them know whether any of those institutions are likely to be affordable.

You need a plan for all four years, not only the first two. You cannot borrow enough to pay for the last two years of college. Your parents would need to do the borrowing, or they would need to co-sign loans with you. There is no guarantee that they would qualify for that amount of debt.