I’m wondering if it is possible, in this day and age, for someone to go to a 4-yr college and not have to be in debt for the rest of their life.
If it can happen, how? And what are some ways to lower the cost of college?
I know that my family won’t contribute to the cost of college, so I will have to pay for it all. Since that is the case, should I wait a year after graduation to save up money?
Any suggestions?
What was your PSAT score junior year?
I was unable to take one Junior year, but my Sophomore year was pretty terrible, CR - 49, M-44, and W-53, so 146 overall.
Of course. You have a few options
I infer you’ll be a senior this fall. If so, probably should have taken the ACT/SAT already and whether or not you have, study like your life depends on it starting now and take it when it’s next available. Your options will be clearer once that’s done.
Certainly not for everyone, but lots of people have traded 4-5 years of active duty for a similar amount of college. Some states’ National Guards used to be pretty good about that too.
Where is the thread for guaranteed merit? Yeah, I assumed community college might be my only choice.
I already took my ACT and SAT, and should be re-taking them this October.
Why not visit with a counselor at your local comm college and see what they offer. You might be pleasantly surprised. Also, ask to see what articulation agreements they have with area four year colleges. Again, you may be pleasantly surprised. College is much more affordable via this option. Esp if you are able to commute from home. The cost of room and board really up the cost of college.
Thank you, I will look into it.
What were your SAT and ACT scores?
What is your GPA?
What is your major and career goal?
know that my family won't contribute to the cost of college, so I will have to pay for it all. Since that is the case, should I wait a year after graduation to save up money?
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No…it’s not like you could save enough for four years of college in one year.
Are your parents low income?
Would they let you live at home while commuting to college?
Which college is near your home?
What state are you in too?
The state I’m in is Texas.
SAT: CR - 600, M - 490, W - 580, Essay - 6, Overall - 1670.
ACT+Writing: English - 24, Math - 24, Reading - 28, Science - 25, Combine English/Writing - TBD, Overall - 25.
(I didn’t study or have a calculator for both of those tests, but if I did, I’m sure I would have done better.)
GPA - 2.8, Weighted GPA - 3.4087, Rank - 57 out of 564.
HS Major - Journalism, Career Goal - Ultimately, I want a Bachelors in whatever major I happen to choose, but I am undecided on what to major in. I would love to minor in Spanish language, but that would just be extra. I really want to major in something with Computer Science or Mathematics, but I will most likely choose Computer Science.
My mother is low income and divorced from my father. I don’t really wish to have anything to do with my dad.
I could try to live at home but I don’t know yet if my mom is going to let me. I’m not an only child, and she wants us out of the house asap, so I’m sure there would be rent involved if she did let me live there.
Austin Community College is closest but the actual colleges (UT & Saint Edwards) are farther downtown.
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I could try to live at home but I don’t know yet if my mom is going to let me. I’m not an only child, and she wants us out of the house asap, so I’m sure there would be rent involved if she did let me live there.
Austin Community College is closest but the actual colleges (UT & Saint Edwards) are farther downtown.
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Forget about the privates…those will be too expensive.
You can’t get into UT-Austin with those stats, but you could transfer in after 2 years.
Austin CC would work…low cost. do well there and you could transfer to UT-Austin or TAMU.
As for your mom wanting you out of the house ASAP, perhaps you can work out a compromise. If she lets you stay for 2 years while at a CC working hard to get good grades, AND you work a part-time job (full time in the summer), you could contribute a bit towards food and utilities.
Fill out the financial aid calculator at any college’s web site. You will need to find out how much your mother makes and some other data you need from her. You can fill it out as a guest without submitting the info. Once you have your mom’s info you can figure out the financial aid at some state and private schools. If her income is low enough you might get a lot of grants. I understand she is not giving you any money but you need her info for financial aid applications while you are under 24 years old.
You are top 11% in your high school class. That’s pretty good. Look at the Common Data Sets for some schools in your state and then run the calculations for schools where your GPA and SAT test scores are in range. You may find you can attend one if your mother’s income is low enough. Also try a couple of small privates.
Also, here’s a list of colleges that meet financial need, but most require high grades or test scores:
Good luck!
Check out the website College For all Texans.
You may be eligible for Pell, SEOG, TPEG, TEXAS, and/or TEOG grants as well as scholarships at some Texas universities. It appears that Texas does have affordable 4-year public college options for low-income students (unlike my state of Pennsylvania). You can research which ones you’d be eligible for. Your guidance counselor may also be able to help with sorting out the best possibilities for you.
One of the best options when your family can’t or won’t support your education is to go for educational benefits due members of the US military.
UT-Austin certainly should be affordable with a Pell, federal loans, and work-study if you can live at home. If you can get in.
Thank you @PurpleTitan.
I guess I’ll have to wait until I can fill out things like the FAFSA, ApplyTexas, and CommonApp, and then just meet the deadlines when they come.
As someone who didn’t go straight to a University after high school for various reasons, and instead went to a community college I really want to stress that if you don’t have the money to attend a university through grants or subbed loans, then I would really really recommend starting at community college. If you don’t have a job for this summer, try to find one ASAP to try and save up some money, even if you only save up a couple hundred, that can go towards fees or supplies. Starting at a CC will allow you to save on tuition, and imo CC tend to be a little easier then actual University classes so you should be able to take more classes in a semester (if you want to transfer in 2 years or less you HAVE to take more then 12 credits.) and that in turn means graduating earlier, which equals less money spent. People have this thing ingrained in them where they think university MUST be 4 years long and thats just not true. If I knew what I wanted to do I could have gotten out of CC in around a year and a half, and transferred to a Uni and completed my uni studies in about a year and a half, finishing early would have saved me $24k/year. Of course, I got lucky and my CC has whats called BOGFW, which is a waiver that pays my tuition up to a certain amount. Check if the CC nearby where you live has something similar that you can take advantage of. Also make sure that you do well in your classes if you go to a CC, you’ll have a lot more opportunities if you do well in your classes, and if you join some academic clubs or the student government, you can join a purely social club, but I would really stress that you also join another club that has more academic or community value (like a debate club, or a club that goes and does community service or something). Good luck!!!