<p>I'm a high school Junior and my parents are stressed about paying for college. I have some college friends who are paying for their education pretty much by their selves. How easy is this? and how would one go about doing it? also the colleges i'm applying to range in price. I am applying to schools like Pitt who have an instate tuition of 25k, schools like Emerson with tuition of 50k and then the most NYU with a huge tuition of 60k</p>
<p>I payed for my college tuition applying to scholarships (won over $200k) so yes it is possible. Look into scholarships/paid internships. Message me if you have any questions</p>
<p>You can borrow $5.5K as a freshman yourself. Anything over that needs to come from loans or scholarships. You will need a cosigner if you intend to borrow. IMO you would be insane to take out more than the Stafford limits of $27K in loans for your undergrad degree.</p>
<p>Columbia…your situation won’t likely apply to this student. You were a QUESTBRIDGE applicant and you got accepted into top schools. The OP isn’t low income. The family has a HIGH income. </p>
<p>the scholarships that you likely received were based on your unique situation…QB, top school that gives lots of aid, low income…and are you a URM? What is the breakdown of the sources of your aid? How much is from your school? How much is from private sources and what were those sources? </p>
<p>If you have college friends who are paying for college themselves, then…they are…</p>
<p>1) Commuting to a local state school or CC.</p>
<p>2) they qualified for lots of Financial aid and they’re paying for the rest with a part-time job and a full time summer job.</p>
<p>3) they qualified for LOTS of merit scholarships and are paying the rest themselves.</p>
<p>4) their families (naively) co-signed big loans and these kids are going to regret that later when their lives are ruined. </p>
<p>5) They are working full time and going to school part-time.</p>
<p>6) they found cheap housing with roomies, the work a LOT, and maybe take 10-12 credits per semester, and likely will take more than 4 years to graduate. </p>
<p>7) and maybe they’re really not paying for everything themselves. </p>
<p>Where are these friends going to college? Have you asked them how much aid they’re getting, how much they’re paying themselves, and how much they’re borrowing??</p>
<p>
I see this posted all the time, and I think it really depends on what you consider to be big loans. I know of kids with 50-70K loans, their parents are helping to pay back, they have good jobs and they are able to help pay back very quickly. There are parents who couldn’t save up as much early on, but know they would have more disposal income later on when kids are gone, so they are willing to borrow now and pay back later. </p>
<p>Each family is different, there is no one forumla which fits all. I don’t believe in the doctrine of only borrow 5.5K, and never take out any private loans.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids- Don’t get me wrong, just trying to imply it’s never too late to start searching for scholarships (either local/state/nationally)! </p>
<p>I understand I got a lot of FA but I also got other scholarships that could have still covered the full amount…</p>
<p>Gates- probably doesn’t apply to OP but still worth mentioning
Coca Cola- 10k
Jones -16k
scholarships (sponsored by school) - 3k
LOTS of small local scholarships with merit/need aid (can’t list them all) - 30k
summer paid internships(junior/senior year) - 6k
Some other ones related to my extracurriculars (competitions)/ depends on the person, if you’re good at something then apply to a scholarship for it. It really depends</p>
<p>Also a job helps a lot.</p>
<p>Sometimes state schools don’t give out that much aid, just saying /:</p>
<p>Special circumstances always exist. However, borrowing $50K - 100K may be worthwhile for a top kid to go to a top school aiming for IB. It is dangerous to assume that parent’s income/saving would climb substantially in the future in this economic condition unless they are physicians just about paying off their own student loan. :D</p>
<p>
On your own? Not unless you are low enough income to get full need based aid from one of the very few and very competitive schools that meet need without loans, can win one of the extremely competitive scholarships that will pay all your expenses (most of these have a need component also), or have some huge trust fund that you can tap to pay your expenses.</p>
<p>* I know of kids with 50-70K loans, their parents are helping to pay back, they have good jobs and they are able to help pay back very quickly*</p>
<p>that’s a different situation since the parents are helping the students pay back the loans. The OP mentioned that these kids are paying for their educations without parent help and wonders how they’re doing it. </p>
<p>Frankly, these stories of kids with big loans often involve rather modest or low income parents and students pursuing majors/careers that won’t likely earn enough to pay the loans back. </p>
<p>If it’s parents co-signing so that Junior can attend Columbia or similar and become some amazing Wall Street genius, then that’s another story, too.</p>
<p>OP, have you sat down with your parents and asked them how much $ they have set aside for you to attend college? What plans did they have to pay for your college? </p>
<p>It is possible to pay that kind of $ but it usually means one of the ways listed above or going to one of the very inexpensive schools in the country (not NYU-- some of these schools are work schools or religiously based) OR going military (either attending a military academy or joining the military and then using benefits to pay for college. </p>
<p>Have you asked your friends how they pay for college on their own? My guess is one of the most common ways is to commute (that alone cuts about $10K of room/board although you have to consider transportation expenses), work and take longer to graduate.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s possible for the average student to pay a $25-60K tuition alone. By average student, I mean one who does not qualify for a lot of need based aid, doesn’t have the stats or talent for big merit aid (big like full tuition), isn’t a trust fund baby or a well paid actor or musician, or a recruited athlete, etc. Average students who are paying for college on their own are most likely going to a local state school or community college and living at home.</p>
<p>My parents can pay about 25k i’m pretty sure and they said they will take out loans if they have too and try to pay a 60k tuition. I don’t want them to be paying more then they can afford so if i can pay for most of the tuition on my own, it would be a lot easier on them.</p>
<p>Bre…you have started at least three threads with a similar question. For your freshman year, you will be able to take a $5500 Stafford loan in your name only. Any loans beyond that will require a cosigner…likely your parents. </p>
<p>You have posted your SAT and GPA on other threads and they are not nearly high enough to garner significant merit aid at NYU, Pitt or Emerson.</p>
<p>If you REALLY want to pay for college alone, you need to start looking at some significantly less expensive options.</p>
<p>BreGenaro, I think it’s great you’re already planning.</p>
<p>After you decide what college you want to attend, what you want to major in, and of course the infamous college admission process. Then the next step is how you’re going to pay for college.</p>
<p>Like everybody said financial aid, scholarships, grants, working in college, are all great options.</p>
<p>But don’t forget about AP and CLEP credits.</p>
<p>If you’re school offers AP <advanced placement=“”> classes you want to make sure you take advantage of those, so you can accelerate your degree.</advanced></p>
<p>CLEP <made by=“” the=“” same=“” makers=“” as=“” ap=“”> is similar. </made></p>
<p>Here’s a good blog about using AP and CLEP exams to help make college affordable -> <a href=“http://mypracticetestprep.com/getcollegecredit/clep-high-school/[/url]”>http://mypracticetestprep.com/getcollegecredit/clep-high-school/</a></p>
<p>While this won’t solve your short term problem of having enough money to cover your semester tuition. It will solve your long term problem of not having enough loan money to earn your Bachelors!</p>
<p>Here’s a list of CLEP Tests accepted by your top schools</p>
<p>Pitt -> <a href=“http://www.cgspitt.org/clep.cfm[/url]”>http://www.cgspitt.org/clep.cfm</a>
Emerson -> <a href=“http://www.emerson.edu/academics/registrar/courses-registration/transfer-credit-policy[/url]”>http://www.emerson.edu/academics/registrar/courses-registration/transfer-credit-policy</a>
NYU -> <a href=“NYU Search”>NYU Search;
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>Madison</p>
<p>Madison, with all due respect, HOW you are going to pay for college should be the FIRST step in the college application process. The OP to this thread has indicated that he would prefer to attend some rather pricey private schools that his parents cannot afford to pay the full costs of attending. Yes, IF the college accepts CLEP courses that will reduce the number of terms, possibly. But this will NOT reduce the costs WHILE this student is in attendance.</p>
<p>Also, many schools will accept your CLEP scores and give you credits, but very often this does not reduce the time spent in college. Most schools will not allow CLEP credits to be used for courses within your major. This OP says they want to double major so courses in two majors would be required.</p>
<p>It is my opinion that the finances of college should be discussed with students BEFORE the application process begins. If the family has financial constraints of any kind, the student needs to understand what those are and how they will impact the matriculation choice. </p>
<p>Sure…apply to a financial reach, but be prepared to drop it from consideration IF the money doesn’t come through. And please…don’t fall in love with a school that you know is a financial stretch for your family.</p>
<p>After you decide what college you want to attend, what you want to major in, and of course the infamous college admission process. Then the next step is how you’re going to pay for college.</p>
<p>NO…The first step is to figure out how you’re going to pay for college. That’s how things work in life. First you figure out how you’ll pay a house, or car, or anything other big ticket item. You don’t pick a super pricey house or car, think its just right for you, and then figure out how to pay for it. that kind of thinking frequently leads to unaffordable debt. </p>
<p>In Bre’s case, she has some limitations:</p>
<p>1) her stats are good, but not good enough for merit at schools like NYU or similar</p>
<p>2) her parents have a high income, she’s an only child, and she won’t qualify for much/any aid. </p>
<p>3) Private scholarships often are small, have a need component, and are only for ONE year…so they don’t often reduce college costs for 4 years. </p>
<p>4) Her intended majors are ones where grads often don’t earn a lot as newish grads, so debt should be avoided.</p>
<p>5) Her parents will pay $25k per year…and she needs clarification about how much they’ll borrow each year and how much THEY will pay back.</p>
<p>Thumper, Madison is a spammer about CLEP. Take a look at other threads in this forum. All essentially the same message.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your input guys, it is really appreciated! I am not set on my majors, i am thinking it might be more reasonable to not do something in the arts or if i do minor in it. My parents want me to maybe go Pre-Law because they want me to get a high paying job later in life. Would this be a better idea? If i had high college debt after i graduate i’d be able to pay it off easier with a high paying job, so it would be like my education was paying for my education. Tell me what you guys think.</p>
<p>Do a little research on the job market for lawyers. Not so good and no guarantees of a job let alone one with a high salary.</p>
<p>The best thing you can do for yourself is to plan for an undergraduate education that leaves you with as little debt as possible. Most likely, that is one of your state universities or a path that starts with community college and then ends with a 4 year college.</p>
<p>“My parents want me to maybe go Pre-Law because they want me to get a high paying job later in life. Would this be a better idea?”</p>
<p>First of all, “pre-law” is NOT a major. Pre-law students major in WHATEVER they want…English, Math, Engineering, whatever. There are no “pre-law” classes. Then students take the LSAT and apply to Law Schools. </p>
<p>And, no, that’s not a good idea. We have a GLUT of attorneys and many aren’t making much money…certainly not enough to pay back their law school debts MUCH LESS any undergrad debt.</p>