<p>bulletandpima, Yes, a student definitely needs to check. At the colleges where my daughter was accepted, AP credit ranged from 1 semester course to a full year (roughly 4-27 credits)!</p>
<p>Isn't it interesting the facts we learn with our first ;)</p>
<p>"My mom is really freaking out about me not being within a few hours reach. I am perfectly happy, in fact more than happy, to go any distance, but she is the main factor in me not being able to go far. She uses the driving thing as more of a threat."</p>
<p>It sounds like your parents are a little controlling. Aren't you like 18 years old...? I think you're old enough to make your own decisions now. Parents have to let go sometime...</p>
<p>
[quote]
They did not take out ridiculous amount of loans, but got good merit scholarships and coupled it with a little loans, work study and jobs. They were very happy and said that their education was worth every penny...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>It's easy to find people who will validate what you want to believe. It takes a bit more maturity to seek out and take seriously the opinions of those who do not agree with you.</p>
<p>In otherwords, for every student who shares that with you, there are students who deeply regret spending so much of their college years dealing with the money issue and/or who feel the debt was not worth it. Also, there are students whose dream to attend these schools was as true as yours but who went on to have an excellent college experience in a school they would not consider at first.</p>
<p>Part of growing up is learning that sometimes you must choose between what you so deeply desire right now verses how you want your future to you. This decision feels big because it is big but it will also be over by the time you are 22. It's one thing to think about carrying debt in theory, it's quite another to be facing grad school already 30K in the hole.</p>
<p>They are slightly controlling, but aren't terrible. But yeah my mom is having trouble going.</p>
<p>And as for meeting EFC, most of my schools meet 100% EFC for 85%+ of their students, most of those don't make packages more than 10-15% loans, and 2-3 of my schools are loan free and 100% aid.</p>
<p>Pugmadkate's last post is spot on. Your schools might meet need for most or all, but that's AFTER the EFC is paid by your family. </p>
<p>The fact is that it's very hard for many 17 year olds to understand the consequences of stretching financially. Look around at all of the people losing their homes right now and their jobs. They and their employers though a little stretching wouldn't hurt too.</p>
<p>I can really empathize with your situation, SmallCollegesFTW.</p>
<p>A few thoughts and possible strategies come to mind:</p>
<p>Someone mentioned Truman State University in Missouri. It seems worthy of further investigation. While it's public, it also focuses on liberal arts and undergraduate education. Out-of-state tuition and fees are only $11,542 per year (see Tuition</a> & Costs - Office of Admission - Truman State University). (As an aside to anyone who thinks the poster should just go to an in-state public university, this is comparable to in-state tuition and fees at UIUC.) It might also be geographically acceptable to your parents.</p>
<p>You could also investigate the State University of New York at Geneseo. It too is a public liberal arts college with relatively reasonable OOS tuition. They recently hiked their OOS tuition by 20%, but it's still only about $15K per year.</p>
<p>If you really think there are no options which are good for you within several hours' drive, do you think your parents would relent on the distance issue? It's worth a shot.</p>
<p>Also, regarding posters who think you should pit your dad against your mom on this issue, tread very carefully here. Playing games like this can offend some people. You have something to lose, namely the $10K per year your parents already offered.</p>
<p>If you have to apply for more affordable universities, you may have to wait a year to do so. Is it possible to use that year to take community college classes? It would be inexpensive - well under the $10K per year your parents are offering. That way, you'd only have to pay for three years at your dream school instead of four. Is Parkland Community College any good?</p>
<p>Also, a little bit of background on Illinois public universities for those of you from other states. UIUC, the flagship, is very large and has a culture that not everybody is comfortable with. In particular, it's dominated by a Greek system which is among the largest in the country. Many people validly find it to not be a good fit for them. It's also not particularly affordable even for in-state students. The only reason it would be cheaper than Truman State is because the OP could commute there. The "directional" schools really aren't great environments overall. All are ranked by USN&WR as Tier 3 or Tier 4 "National Universities", or possibly not as "National Universities" at all. But note that some have Honors Programs which attract more motivated students.</p>
<p>Good luck! I was in a similar situation as a traditional-aged college student - an Illinois resident not comfortable at UIUC and with financial and geographical constraints. It's not easy. But there are options.</p>
<p>I love geneseo, but unfortunately did not find out about it until around jan 20th, 20 days after admissions deadline. Now it feb 13th, and waaayyyy too late.</p>
<p>EDIT: I just sent the AO there an email, asking if it would be possible to submit an application this late, so I'll see what happens (crosses fingers).</p>
<p>Good luck with the late application! It might be a long shot, but it's worth asking.</p>
<p>Now, just to run approximate numbers:</p>
<p>OOS tuition and fees: About $15K per year
Room and board: About $10K per year
Total: About $25K per year (even if this is off by a grand or two, it really doesn't change the big picture)</p>
<p>After the help your parents are offering, you have to come up with $15K per year.</p>
<p>You've said you want to limit borrowing to $30K total. I agree that this is a wise move.</p>
<p>So to attend for four years, you can only borrow $7.5K per year. (Accrued interest would change this slightly. I'm ignoring interest to keep the numbers simple.) You'd still have to come up with $7,500 per year through working, scholarships, or other funding sources.</p>
<p>Now suppose you have to wait a year anyway to get into Geneseo due to having missed the deadline. Suppose that you can take enough classes locally, spending at most the $10K your parents are offering, that you only need to be at Geneseo for three years. Now you can borrow $10K per year. In this case, the gap is now down to $5,000 per year.</p>
<p>The fact that you're not getting financial aid changes the picture. You can work all you want and it doesn't change your financial aid award - it's zero either way. Similarly, if you win a scholarship, it doesn't displace the grants - because they're not there in the first place. Basically, you can try to maximize revenue without worrying about increasing your EFC.</p>
<p>NEW:</p>
<p>Great News I just recieved a 19k academic schlarship to Beloit, which brings their price below 20k which makes it affordable. So if all else fails, I'll be going to college, and Beloit was a 4th or so choice (out of 9), so i would be very happy to go there.</p>
<p>just thought id let yall know</p>
<p>That is great news. Congrats!</p>
<p>Hi folks.</p>
<p>I dunno what the equivalent of a trust deed is in the states. But in the Uk you can get either the citizen’s advice or a company to take out a trust deed for you.</p>
<p>It can write off half your debts without paying a penny (and have the history on them as being paid with no black marks on your credit rating) and you arrange to pay a little amount every month towards it until the rest is paid; or if you have more money you can pay more, it’s up to you.</p>
<p>Doing this means there will be no pressure to pay your debts, nobody will hound you and your credit rating will not be affected.</p>
<p>It’s a useful thing to know. Another one is LILA (Low Income Low Asset), it guarantees that you’ll be debt free within the year with you only having to pay a tiny contributions when asked and it writes all your debts off. However the bonus of being debt free within a year is set back as it looks less favourable on your credit history (but it’s def better than being in loads of debt). Use this one as a last resort (it’s not quite as bad as being blacklisted though which is the very last straw for clearing your debts - declaring yourself bankrupt).</p>
<p>Anyway, it’s useful stuff to know and I thought that I would share it.</p>
<p>Another useful thing to know. Debt collectors that are not enforced by the sheriff or court order cannot gain entry to your home - don’t let them in. Also you can ‘trust’ your possessions to a relative or spouse. Write down a list of all your possessions in your house on a piece of paper with the phrase ‘All these possessions have been handed over to x and are the property of x’ (rather than being your property). Even if court order bailiffs try to lift your possessions, just shove that in their face and there is nothing they can do. Get your relative or spouse to sign it, you sign it, with a witness and all the possessions are ‘theirs’ and not ‘yours’ even if you still have full use of them. They cannot take stuff that doesn’t belong to you.</p>
<p>I’ve had to use this method in the past many moons ago when I was having a hard time.</p>
<p>Obviously try to honour your debts and only consider the latter method when dealing with ruthless debtors that try to ‘trap’ people in debt. The best bet is always the trust deed.</p>
<p>These “protected trust deeds” that you mention are a legal arrangement that is unique to Scotland; we don’t have anything similar in the US.</p>
<p>Are you sure? I am sure there are a ‘legaleased’ equivalent. Try and find out how it translates. There will be translation even if you can use it or not.</p>
<p>This thread seems to have veered off into a strange direction…but if the debts you are referring to are student loans, here in the U.S. those are federal debts. They cannot be wiped out by bankruptcy or any other “debt settlement” tactics. If you don’t pay them, the govt. can take your tax refund, garnish your wages and do all sorts of other unpleasant things. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, I’m curious as to how the OP made out.</p>
<p>just a couple thoughts…don’t cry, it too shall pass! You’re young, bright and have a million possibilities in front of you. Remember “everything is negotiable!”<br>
First, review the FAFSA results with your parents. Ask them to review and audit their input. Maybe there was a mistake.
Next, develop a grid with total costs, scholarships/grants/loans, parent contributions, your contribution, job income, etc. Lay it out so you see it. Now give it some time to settle. Later, go back to it and do a Pluses/Minuses for each school based on your plans and goals. Discuss this with your parents, get their input and maybe they will change their contribution for your education. Next, go back to the schools and explain your situation. It is the Financial Aid officer’s job to help you. Remember everything is negotiable. Finally, if say after a year at a school like Grinnell for instance you believe the benefits aren’t there, transfer to another school. The thing is, down the road what today looks like a huge debt-load will likely seem almost trivial 10 years from now. Just some cheap advice.</p>