<p>I've worked hard all of high school (4.4 weighted GPA, 2120 SAT, 6 AP Classes, and Varsity XC, Track, and Tennis since Junior year) only to find out that I won't be able to pay for the schools I got into. I come from a middle class family, not upper middle class or anything, just middle class. About as average as a family can get. I always knew that paying for college would be tough, but I never knew it would be tough. I recently received my financial aid/merit package from one of my top choices (Boston College) and it was roughly the same as the package from one of my safety schools (Drexel). The tuition would be 40,000 with the aid, and my parents are contributing a max of 15,000. There is no way in hell that I would take on 100,000 in debt, especially since I plan on going back to school after, whether it be med school, law school, or for a master's. </p>
<p>I have recently set my sights on Rutgers, as I am from NJ and would only be paying 25,000 for everything. They haven't given me aid yet because they said most packages aren't released until March, but I would only be paying a max of 10,000 without any aid, a considerable difference. Its just that whenever I mention Rutgers to any of my peers, they give me strange looks, as if I should be going somewhere better. One person even remarked that debt is worth a better school. How good is Rutgers as a school? I would either be going for computer science, or biology as I am looking into med school as a psychiatrist after. </p>
<p>I guess what I'm trying to say is that it just sucks that I'll be going to the same school as many underachievers from my high school, for roughly the same price as I heard Rutgers doesn't offer much in merit if you don't win one of their scholarships. It makes me wonder what the point of skipping sleep to study all these years was if I don't get any merit aid and I am going to a school where many other, undesirable people, in my high school would be attending. </p>
<p>You didn’t run the Net Price Calculators before applying?
Boston College has lousy financial aid and some tour guides actually indicate that it’s not worth applying if you have a lot of financial need.</p>
<p>Okay, there’s still time to apply elsewhere - with those stats, you’ll definitely qualify for merit at many of those schools, which are all good: Muhlenberg, Allegheny, Wooster, Illinois Wesleyan, Lake Forest, Earlham, Agnes Scott (if youre a girl) -all GREAT for premed and grad school; also good: Susquehanna, TCNJ, Moravian, Albright, Albion, Hendrix, and, if you’re thinking premed, Juniata and Hope.
Juniata is basically a prep school for med school. Hope also has incredible results for med school compared to student intake and it’s conservative Christian if that matters to you.
<a href=“College Search | College Finder | Colleges by Major & Location”>College Search | College Finder | Colleges by Major & Location;
<p>Another option for you would be SUNY Binghamton. It’s an excellent school, it’s nearby, and it doesn’t sound like it’d be over-budget for you (I estimated parental contribution $15,000+ $5,500 federal loans + work study and personal savings/summer job, and didn’t discount any merit aid that you’d certainly receive). For a little more, you could attend UNC-Wilmington, which is a cool school by the beach that has one of the best marine biology programs in the country as well as an excellent Honors Program, or UNC-Asheville if you like snow along with warm Falls and Springs. UMN Twin Cities would also be within budget (a bit more though), it’s a huge school in the middle of a thriving city (but cold).</p>
<p>Rutgers can be a good school, too, especially since with these stats you’d get into the Honors College. But you’ll want choice. So apply to a dozen schools from the lists above and give yourself some alternatives.</p>
<p>Unfortunately the middle class is effectively shut out of schools like Boston College. BC only gives need-based financial aid (except for some 15 or so scholarships to the absolute highest-achieving applicants). Most folks in the middle class don’t qualify for near enough need-based aid to make it a possibility. Did you apply to any mid-tier schools where you would be likely to get merit aid? Or did you only focus on the high-tier schools? Your stats are great, but many of the more selective schools just don’t offer merit aid, and certainly not unless you’re in the top 10-25% of their applicant pool. You need to take some time and do some soul-searching about what is really important. Is it more important to obtain a college degree, or to go to a school without “undesirables” (that really sounds elitist)? Lots of people will tell you that debt is worth the better school - but they won’t tell you how you’re going to afford rent, utilities, groceries, and a car with student loan payments larger than many mortgages - IF your parents are willing to cosign for those loans in the first place. Rutgers is a good school with a strong reputation. You need to worry less about others bringing you down and more about making the most of what is available to you. If you’re so much better than these other kids from your high school, it’s unlikely your paths would cross as you wouldn’t be in the same levels of classes.</p>
<p>Well, first of all, you shouldn’t be comparing BC’s aid to Drexel’s. Drexel, not known for giving out great aid, isnt really a safety for anybody due to the costs- it’s so expensive and overpriced. </p>
<p>Did you receive a merit scholarship from Rutgers?</p>
<p>@InigoMontoya I wasn’t trying to be “elitist”. What I was trying to say was that Rutgers has a bad reputation in our school, and I was trying to figure it out if it was justified. Many of the “undesirables” I mentioned are not students who try their hardest but still come up short. They’re a**holes who don’t care as much about school or their careers as I do. How some of them got in, I don’t know.</p>
<p>@jibler I have not received merit from Rutgers. I have heard from other people that they have gotten some already, but they are much smarter than me and did not get much. I hope I get some because there is no reason why I shouldn’t get anything. </p>
<p>You have a list of schools above. Apply there, then compare the offers and visit before you make up your mind. Hurry though, the best colleges have 2/15 deadlines. Use CommonApp which I suppose you used for BC and Drexel already.</p>
<p>This sounds like a great opportunity to connect with schools that are going to really work for you! You’ve got to apply to Muhlenberg at the very least!! This definitely a case of WIN-WIN. Forgetabout BC. Your hard work will pay off with a better package at a better school. What a blessing for you!</p>
<p>Your performance at Rutgers, if you go there, is not going to look anything like the performance of fellow students who don’t care about school. Your past preparation and future hard work are going to make your experience entirely different from theirs. At any big school, the perception that the freshmen are all going to the same place is an illusion. You’re all going to build your own lives there (or not, if the folks you’re talking about don’t put forth the effort).</p>
<p>While you are still in high school, it’s natural to feel like the admissions golden ticket is the point of everything. But the more you can look at the big picture and your long-term goals, the less you will worry about these high school attitudes and their judgment of you.</p>
<p>I’m in a similar situation. I’ve spent my entire high school career working to make it into top universities. I have excellent grades, test scores, recommendations, activities, etc. It wasn’t until this year, as a senior, that I discovered I wouldn’t get nearly enough financial aid to attend any of them without putting myself into a world of debt. I’ll probably end up going to my state flagship, which is offering me a huge scholarship and has excellent programs in my field of interest. I alternate between being excited and thankful for the opportunity but also disappointed that I won’t be able to attend an “elite” university like I’ve always dreamed.</p>
<p>Recently, I read an article applying the “chicken or the egg” scenario to schools like Harvard. Is getting a Harvard education what makes their graduates successful, or was their admissions process so selective that all of their students would be successful at any school? I personally think it’s a blend. I’m sure elite institutions have the money and alumni network to easily help their students out. They have great professors and world-class research opportunities. But I think an individual’s motivation to be successful is just as important, and probably more so. That thought has comforted me a lot.</p>
<p>You got accepted into Boston College, which is an incredible university. They recognize your hard work and see how much potential you have. Rutgers is also a great school, and if you like it don’t let anyone else ruin it for you. You’re going to be spending four years at your college, and what matters most is how YOU spend your time there, not how kids from your school spend their time there.</p>
<p>Whatever happens, keep working hard like you have been, and you’ll go far no matter where you go to college. I wish you luck!</p>
<p>Rutgers is a perfectly respectable school for computer science, despite the apparent dislike by New Jersey residents. A master’s degree is not required for most industry jobs. If you intend to go on to a PhD, study leading to such a degree should be funded.</p>
<p>Medical school admissions are heavily based on college GPA and MCAT scores, plus expected pre-med extracurriculars, interviews, and the like. Minimizing undergraduate costs in order to save money and avoid debt going into expensive medical school is important if you are considering the pre-med path. Note that you can major in anything as a pre-med, although you need to take the pre-med course work alongside whatever your major it.</p>
<p>Law school admissions is heavily based on college GPA and LSAT scores; see <a href=“http://lawschoolnumbers.com”>http://lawschoolnumbers.com</a> . Like medical school, minimizing undergraduate costs is desirable if you are considering the pre-law path. There are no specific major or course work requirements for pre-law students (just get a bachelor’s degree with the highest GPA possible).</p>
<p>Note that some New Jersey residents with high grades and test scores have reported getting full rides at Rutgers. Even if you do not get such a thing, your good work in high school makes you better prepared for college; at Rutgers, you are more likely to excel rather than just get by like your less well prepared classmates.</p>
<p>My husband had a similar situation, the oldest of four kids in a very middle class family. He went to SUNY Stony Brook because that was what he could afford. He went for two majors (EE & Math) plus a minor in Physics (because they don’t allow 3 majors) and graduated with a 3.95. His GPA and work experience was so good that he was accepted to into Columbia’s MBA program (which his former employer paid for) and today he is the CEO of a medium size company. It doesn’t matter where you go undergrad as long as you get into a top master’s program. Now when some pretentious person asks him where he went to school he just says Columbia. The key to his success was taking any opportunity and maximizing to the Nth degree. And now when he interviews people for top positions he looks for people who can overcome adversity because that’s what it takes to succeed in business.</p>
<p>If you have a 1400 CR+M, you can opt to take a four-year full tuition scholarship to U. of Alabama, save the $10,000 a year and have $40,000 at the end for grad school or whatever.:</p>
<p>I guess you’ve figured out by now that you’re not alone in making this unfortunate discovery. Thousands more will make it, too, over the next six weeks. Don’t beat yourself up about it. I made the same mistake last year with my D. Who can blame you for NOT knowing something? Well, there are people who can but they do not matter. Lots of seniors are starting to tell their friends the same thing: “I got into school of my dreams but my parents say they cannot afford it.” If anything it is the responsibility of the guidance counselors who, in my estimation, assume too much about what parents (and students) understand about college costs–and parents like me who think they know what they do not know. </p>
<p>The fact is, as others have said, it hardly matters where you go to college. What matters is what you do there. All your preparation to get into BC will serve you well in college so you can get into the parts of your plans that really matter: internships, scholarships, study abroad, research opps, jobs, promotions, success. I would wish you luck, but it’s the other poor schmucks who didn’t work hard in high school who’re going to need luck.</p>
<p>Sadly, you will not be the only person in this boat. Unfortunately you didn’t get great advice or find the information you needed to figure out which schools offer merit scholarships (ex. Fordham) you might qualify for or to find other lower cost options (ex. SUNY Binghamton). If you go to Rutgers, keep your head up, work hard, do really well and you should get into a strong grad program. Maybe ask if there is an honors program at Rutgers that you could qualify for. In any event, your combination of being smart and working hard will pay off in the end.</p>
<p>@happy1 I actually did apply to Fordham and was accepted but I haven’t heard back about financial aid yet.</p>
<p>Also, thank you everyone for the advice. I go to a private school and I am surrounded by plenty of people with enough money to pay full tuition to Notre Dame or overpriced places like NYU or GWU so I think that influenced my thinking. However, thanks to everyone, I feel better about it. I don’t want to be in debt after undergrad so I just have to accept the fact that furthering my education requires some sacrifices that other people I know don’t have to make. </p>
<p>Well, you are a step ahead of many of your peers in terms of maturity. Remember that if you do end up at Rutgers, there will be lots of other students from other schools who are similarly realistic and sensible (in addition to smart). I do like MYOS’s list of LACs that offer merit–many of them are very good schools that can take you wherever you want to go. If we knew more about what your parameters are (besides $) we might be able to give you more advice. Good luck!</p>
<p>Lots of good advice. Rutgers is very strong and I would pick it over BC any day. You want no debt so I say you have a home run. I am not just pumping you up - look at Rutgers stats and don’t let the "private is always better " mindset capture you.</p>
