I’m in Virginia. I made that thread to ask about the 6 year pharmacy program because I was either going to do pre pharm or computer science. I heard pre pharm was 2 years at some university to meet pre reqs and then 4 years at a pharmacy school. Supposedly UCSF and UNC are some top pharmacy schools and I was wondering if I could do 2 years at a cheaper university just to get pre reqs out of the way and maybe try for scholarships at one of those schools? Virginia has only one pharmacy school I believe and that is VCU.
@BrownParent I have a 3.7 UW GPA 4.0 W GPA and a 30 ACT. If senior year grades matter at all and I do extremely well, it will go up to almost a 3.8 UW GPA and 4.2 W GPA. I will try to the ACT a 2nd time for a 32+ and maybe even a third. GPA is low because I messed up sophomore year.
I feel like my stats are ok, but not enough for any significant scholarships. There are many students in worse situations than me that have much higher stats. I did take a look at questbridge and gates. Just by looking at their average GPA which is like a 3.8-3.9+ I feel like I’m out lol.
I don’t know how much AP college credit saves you but I got a 5 on APUSH and 4 on Lang, so I don’t think I have to take those. I got a 5 on Economics but I’m not sure thats even required. I will be taking 6 AP’s next year.
I made the thread about ACT and SAT score because i was concerned about the merit situation. VTech (one of the colleges i’m looking at) accepts primarily SAT so I don’t know if by only submitting ACT i lower my chances of aid or admission. I understand that the consensus on these forums is that both are equivalent and colleges take both but I’m still curious as to why everyone around here tells me SAT is more important.
I only talked to my counselor about this once. I am going to try and talk to some people at NOVA or GMU who know about financial aid. You think this is a good idea?
Oh, 401k is not part of any calculation for college, forgot to mention that.
Questbridge is not a good option for you because the partner schools pretty much all use both parent income, I didn’t suggest that for you.
On the VTech CDS they say they take either SAT or ACT, but 92% submit SAT. I don’t know anything more about that. Ask your counselor. If you meet with someone at the college you can ask about that too. But website says this:
Virginia Tech accepts either the SAT Reasoning Test (including critical reading and math) or ACT test scores. Since Virginia Tech utilizes the writing portion of each test for placement purposes, students who opt to take only the ACT should take the ACT plus writing. All tests should be taken by the December test date of the senior year.I don’t know if they can advise you much about aid but you can try to ask what you would qualify for.
Aid for each year is determined by the previous year income and assets. Projecting for the future doesn’t matter. So right now they will just want to know about 2015 income and assets for your actual award in 2016. They use FAFSA only so noncustodial parent not an issue. Run the NPC to see your estimated costs. Apply to VTech scholarships, using the online scholarship search.
Don’t count on much in the way of scholarships for pharmacy school, but loans up to full cost of attendance may be offered.
VCU’s pharmacy school is ranked #21 out of 130-some schools and as your instate option is probably the more affordable for you. Instate tuition is $27k/year. (The #1 ranked UCSF School of Pharmacy’s nonresident tuition is $49k/year).
You need to look at prerequisite courses required by each pharmacy school, since they can vary in number and type. Some schools require physics, others don’t. My D’s school requires one Econ course and my D took both AP micro and macro exams and got 5s so she can use AP credit for econ prerequisite and a humanities elective. Your history can also count for an elective, but again AP credit policies vary so check with the schools.
There are more than one pharmacy school in VA. VCU, Appalachian College of Pharmacy, Hampton University, Shenandoah University. You could go to a local school to do prerequisites and then go to pharmacy school. As an instate student the tuition would be cheaper.
Also there are a few private schools that might give you merit money, but the cost would still be around $30,000 a year, so $180,000 for 6 years which is more than you should spend.
California pharmacy schools are ridiculously hard to get into I’ve heard and very expensive OOS. You need to pass your national pharmacy exams, you can do that from lots of other pharmacy schools and much cheaper. Naplex pass rates of VCU and Shenandoah are good.
I’m leaning more towards having the money go towards my mom still. If I’m overlooking any benefits that a 529 savings account might have, please let me know! Both seem to be accessed as parental assets. Either way it looks like jobs affect financial aid. However, with the situation my family is in I think my mom could use a little extra money.
On top of this, I feel like If I keep the money in my own account I’m more prone to making dumb decisions with my money. I don’t wanna waste my money on electronics and other wants I don’t need.
Hopefully you are looking over it, not overlooking it. They aren’t accessed except by you but they are assessed at the parental rate and I have already listed that rate previously.
Have you earned the money from a job? You could look into opening a Roth IRA. From what I’ve read contributions can be withdrawn again at any time, as long as you leave the earnings to grow for later. You could park your money in there and retirement accounts are not counted as assets for FAFSA.
Just make sure you know the rules and see if you are eligible to contribute to a Roth IRA and what the annual limits are.
If you have $2,000 in account in your name, 20-25% will be assessed for family contribution. If in your mother’s name, only a maximum of $112.80 will be taken. Put it in a 529 so it is a parental asset AND grows tax free. You will only have to worry about your income as around $6,300 is protected and that is after taxes.
Yes I’m giving her the money. She’s going to pay for my college applications anyways and she’s in bad shape right now and could use some help anyways.
I know 529 and Roth have been suggested. I’m considering 529 but my mom has bills on the credit card she needs to pay and I was going to help her with that. I can’t do that with a 529.
I was just asking if my money in my mom’s checking would be accessed as a parental asset. I think momm2collegekids told me to give the money to my mom or open a 529.
So if I leave it with my mom in her checking account, it is still under her name and therefore a parental asset correct?
I don’t understand what the point of a 529 is at this point. I’m going into senior year and college is less than a year away. I won’t have enough to put a dent in my tuition.
My ears are still open however. I haven’t filled out any paperwork yet since I just started working. Can anyone give me some good reasons aside from the fact that it is practically tax free?
I will look into a 529. Hopefully my mom can get everything sorted out. Her insurance went up tremendously because I got my license. Her next payment is due in November I believe.
Anyone else have other good reason for a 529 I would love to hear. You guys have been very helpful. Thank you!
If you want the money saved for you to go to college, a 529 is a good vehicle because you can save it in your name but it will be considered your parent’s asset and assessed for financial aid purposes at 5.6%. If you need the money liquid for expenses other than tuition, room and board, etc., for example for applications and car insurance, you can put it in your bank account but if it was still there come January when you file FAFSA, it will be considered your asset and assessed at 20%.
If the money isn’t there in January because your mother has paid her bills or because you’ve spent it, what difference does it make?
On your other thread you mentioned you live in Virginia, are interested in a 6 year Pharm.D. degree and want to go to a top rated program like #1 UCSF (where tuition alone is currently about $50k/year and the cost of living is quite high). It is generous that you want to give away your hard earned money to your mom for her bills. But it seems that you may not be facing reality regarding how to pay for college. Ask your parents now how much they can pay each year for you for college.
It’s better to pay your monthly bills before you file FAFSA, especially if you’re low income. However, if you give your mom money to help cover expenses (car insurance, your cell phone, etc), you don’t have any control over when she chooses to pay the bills because it’s no longer your money. If it’s in your mom’s account when you file FAFSA, 5.6% of it will be added to your EFC, and 20% of whatever’s in your account will be added to your EFC.
I agree that you need to find out how much your parents will contribute to your education. Also, do some research to see what kind of merit and/or need based aid you may qualify for, and add those figures to whatever you can earn over the summer to get your budget. Keep enough cash on hand to cover car insurance and other necessary expenses, but keep the bulk in a 529 account. It’s great to include reach schools, but make sure you have an affordable safety on your list.