I would not recommend to a student who is NMF and in tops stats range, and could get free tuition or full ride at a number of places, to go to CC and then transfer. Only freshman students will get these huge scholarships, not transfer students.
Where would he transfer to? Would the elite schools not have even lower transfer rates than freshman admission rates? And when the sibling has graduated, wouldn’t the aid be even lower?
You’ve received a lot of good advice from people more in the know than I am. The one thing I would suggest that I don’t think has come up would be to review schools’ policies on AP credits. If you do end up with mainly 4s and 5s, it’s possible you could graduate a semester or a year early. Not an option everywhere, but some very good schools allow it – I know people who have done it at Boston University, for example.
I was not sure how much money his family had. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who may not meet the requirements for need-based aid but cannot afford to attend college. I agree that he should attend a regular college but I am mindful that he may not be able to afford it. I also agree that the scholarships are for freshmen and not transfers. It is a lot to take in. On paper, the parents may appear to make a lot but when you look at housing, etc. there are a lot of people who are having a difficult time financially. I would do the research and try and get the biggest scholarship available and go there. (that is the first choice) Good luck!
Not only that @mommdc, someone with 14 APs would probably run out of course options!
@jrob1765 Basically, what it boils down to is that few large scholarships at the few top schools that offer them are extremely limited in number and go to students with not only top stats, but incredible accomplishments (major awards like national/international recognition or having a significant influence on their community. Usually, decent ECs are not enough.).
At lower ranked schools you might have a more realistic chance at high $$ scholarships, even some of them are extremely competitive. We aren’t willing to go into debt, so this is the approach our kids take. Our current college student is at Bama in the CBH program mentioned. (CBH only accepts 40 students/yr.) He started taking 400 level courses his freshman yr. ( So, don’t be fooled into thinking that top students only attend top schools. Plenty have financial situations controlling where they attend.) He will be earning his master’s in 4 as described. He has great research opportunities at Bama and participated in a top REU this past summer.
Our current high school sr has a list built around scholarship opportunities. Bama is not on her list bc it doesn’t offer her major. She has spent time searching for specialized honors programs like CBH at the schools she is considering. Those small, elite programs are fabulous and really offer their students tremendous opportunities. Many universities have programs aimed toward a handful of top students. It just takes time researching what is being offered.
If the parents want an elite private school it might be hard to convince them to consider the public Ivies. The conversation next for a Southern public?
Is grad school in your plans? If so explain to your parents that it’s more important to go to a higher ranked school for grad school than undergrad and you can take NM scholarship opportunities that are full rides at some solid public school for under grad.
Your parents want you to go to an elite college and are willing to pay for it. I’d take them up on it. They do need to understand that even with your stats, and even being full-pay, there’s no guarantee of a top 20 university. But with a careful list of applications (reach-match-safety) you will get into an elite university. Or you can take merit at a less elite college, Or a full-ride at a much less elite school.
You cannot borrow enough to send yourself. You cannot work part-time and make a dent in elite college tuition. You have an opportunity that few students have (via your hard work) to go to a top school. I can say, as a parent, there’s nothing I’d spend my money on than the best school my kid could attend.
@PetulaClark - what is the “best school” your kid could attend? Not sure what that means
@PetulaClark … He said they would be willing but it would be with great difficulty. Sounds like he is trying to save them from themselves? If “great difficulty” means mom will have to get a job… No big deal.
If it means they will foolishly raid the 401k or take out a home equity loan then that is entirely a different beast.
No matter what schools are on the radar, I would want to drill down on what “pay for” means to OP’s parents.
This would be an early step at our house, before we put lots of time and $$ into multiple elite school apps. That being said, with your stats I’d still want at least a couple of ‘elites’ on the table. But having the $$ discussion would help me to narrow or expand the field.
Not to mention that they are already overextended. They do not sound financially stable. Will they be compromising financial stability at retirement? If they are already overextended, does that mean the entire UG will be funded via loans? (Really bad idea for anyone!)
Where does the sibling go to college? Did the family complete a FAFSA this year for him? What was HIS EFC for the year?
I’m not sure what the poster meant by public Ivy but Cornell DOES have some state supported colleges which give a discount to NYers (not applicable in this case since the OP is from Colorado).
OP and parents really need to have the money talk. they might be thinking about decimating their nest egg for the school they think their child deserves, willing to sacrifice for the good of their child, with the best of intentions – but 20 years down the road, what if the financial sacrifice they make now leaves them destitute and dependent on their child for their support? no, that’s not a good situation for anyone.
it may be the best for everyone involved if OP can get the best value deal possible from a “lesser” school, and parents parlay the $200-250K they are willing to spend for “Elite U” into a comfortable retirement. there will be at least a few good schools willing to open their wallets for a student of this caliber. instead of completing for the most prestigious school, maybe it’s a better idea to compete for the most prestigious scholarship and program from a quality U that is lower-ranked.
my NMF nephew stayed in-state to attend West Virginia – they actually paid him to go there – and he landed a great job. my high-stats nieces attend Ohio State and Miami of Ohio, and are loving the experiences and opportunities they are finding there. believe it or not, lots of students go to NC State and Alabama and Michigan State and go on to lead rewarding, productive, prosperous lives.
I have a daughter at NC State and she loves it there. She likes the large anonymous classes and that she was able to move off campus after her freshmen years and live with people not in college. My other 2 daughters in HS prefer a LAC.
OP is not asking parents to raid 401K and sell house and mom to get a job at Target. OP states they want him to go to an elite school. It is on them to decide if they are overextended and to educate themselves on how to pay and on the value of an elite college, however that is defined, I see the amounts of 200K, 250K, bandied about, as if an education from a public is free. In NC it’s about 20K per year, and don’t count on your kid getting out in 4 years. So there may well be a year or 2 of lost adult wages because an extra year is needed, or just taken.
Plus you have to look at retention rates. It’s not just about prestige, but I won’t deny that is important. If your kid gets into Duke or Vandy, but goes to a school ranked 50 or a 100, that will likely be less expensive in the short run. And certainly he can live a rewarding life. One might wonder though what the more elite college degree might have mattered re
@petulaclark As a NMSF, he can be talking about school for free. He can also be talking about school for 4 yrs less than the cost of 1 yr at an elite.
(My Bama student is on full scholarship. His next cheapest choice was well over 100K. Free was blessing and he loves it there. He could have graduated in well under 3 yrs with a double major. He is staying for 4 for his master’s.)
If the OP has the academic credentials to be a possible admit at a super-selective college, s/he is very likely to graduate in 4 academic years or less at a less selective college.
However, if they are already financially overextended, their financial judgment may not be the best. It is possible that they could dig themselves into a financial hole that would require the OP to support them in their retirement. This could have various limiting effects on the OP’s post college options, such as being required to chase the money in job and career directions in order to earn enough to support both his/her own future family and dependent (and presumably spendy) parents.
For OP and other full payers that don’t qualify for aid - Are the federal loans like Stafford available only if you check yes to the “will you be applying for financial aid” box? Or are they offered/available even to full pay that don’t check the box?
The ‘Public Ivies’ are a list made by a guy named Richard Moll who wrote a book. They were, in his opinion, 8 public schools that were Ivy quality: Cal, U Florida, Vermont, UVA, Mich, Texas, UNC, Miami (Ohio). He also listed another 8 he thought were excellent: Colorado, Wisconsin, New College of FL, Georgia Tech, Penn State, Illinois, Washington (Seattle), Pitt, SUNY Binghamton.
It’s a guy who wanted to sell books, no different than the Colleges the Change Lives, except that the Public Ivies don’t market themselves on a road show together.
There are Public ivies, Catholic ivies, Southern Ivies, Canadian Ivies etc. Just a listing of the top schools in each category.
then there are the Ivies that are Not Ivies: Stanford, Chicago, Duke, MIT etc.