Is my father unreasonable?

Paying for College
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<p>Can you do the math? This is not covering the majority of your cost if after massive loans (and yes, you have a lot of loans), there is still over 10k on the table that has to be paid. You are looking to attend a Div III school (Don’t expect any athletic scholarships)</p>

<p>Jmomma brings up a good point, if your bill is not paid, you will not be in a position to transfer back anyplace. Why would you go into this knowing that you are going to transfer after one year (because it will cost even more 44 and less aid next year)</p>

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Something is wrong here. Most school will put you on academic probation only if your GPA below 2.0</p>

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<p>Transfer to where and do transfers get aid? </p>

<p>OP’s plan seems backward. Instead of go to (affordable) cc, do well and transfer to a great college, this is: start where you may not be able to pay; after one semester, reevaluate. At that point, now the record is hs performance, one semester at a 4-year, looking for some other 4-year that will need and accept her, offer even better aid than this college did. If the bills aren’t paid, there is no second semester. There is no release of transcripts and records. </p>

<p>And here we are, trying to say, get the best start for your academic and financial situation. Kids all over CC are using GT programs to get into great state U’s. It’s a no-brainer, to us. Do well at cc and transfer.</p>

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<p>Yes I can do math. We will be paying for school this year. Regardless. I do realize my school is division three of the NCAA. Maintaining an above 2.8 to keep a scholarship will be doable if I bust my tail and my aspirations are to become a physician. It will be paid.</p>

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<p>I said i am transferring after my first year if I cannot attend the next 3 years. We can afford this first year. My dad just thinks $1,200 a month is a lot and would like to minimize the payments to around $900 a month over a span of 12 months instead of 10.</p>

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<p>@originialguy609 i have had 3 jobs during my high school career to support myself. I never not once asked my father for anything. I worked 32 hour weeks to pay for school expenses, gas money, and more.</p>

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<p>paintgirl:
let me tell you how your college bills will work: (My daughters went to different universities)</p>

<p>*The college offers you some financial aid money but you still have to pay the rest.<br>
*You are presented a bill online.<br>
*You have to pay that bill, in full, or you can’t register for classes. You contact the registrar’s office to explain that you need some time to get a loan.
*They will give you a couple of weeks to come up with the money. If you don’t pay, your class schedule gets deleted.
If you are able to get cash to pay the bill, your next step is to buy supplies and books. More money required.</p>

<p>-You will start in tough, large “weeder” classes of calculus, chemistry and physics with labs for each class held at all hours. Some students are repeating the classes and will blow the curves. Average scores could be in the low 60’s.<br>
Some of the readings are 40 pages per night plus supplemental texts. Can you work 32 hours and go to your classes and labs? Med school requires A averages to get in.
You keep making excuses for your presence at this school that you cannot afford. Most schools won’t let you transfer after a year because you don’t have enough credits and you won’t get a copy of your transcript because of owe’d monies. </p>

<p>People are not going to “buy into” your label of dad being unreasonable; you are being really ill-informed by family, or someone, who doesn’t understand the process or college and med school finances.
This is why you are backpedaling and becoming defensive of this school in which everyone agrees except for you that this school is too expensive for you. Prideful is not really a word. Having too much pride, is a statement. Having too much debt is just not smart. You won’t be paid for 13 years!</p>

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<p>One more thing…unless your college bill for the first term is paid in full, it is very doubtful that you will be able to even register for the second term.</p>

<p>You say that “once you set your mind to something you can do it”? Well in my opinion, you needed to set your mind on getting a better GPA in high school, and a better ACT…because those would have really helped you with regards to college.</p>

<p>And for the fourth time at least…WHY didn’t you apply to any public universities in Virginia? The state is filled with wonderful public universities…and some would have been close to meeting the price point for your dad, adding in your earnings and the $5500 Direct loan you could take as a freshman.</p>

<p>At this point, I would suggest you discuss the finances and college options with your dad. He has to either be willing to pay for this current choice, or understand that a different option needs to be considered.</p>

<p>Also…if you are even thinking about medical school do NOT go into debt for undergrad (beyond the Direct loan). Financial aid for medical school is very rare and goes only to the VERY top applicants at a few places.</p>

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<p>I have recieved my schedule already. I will be taking biology this first an second semester, history, and spanish. I have already recieved my online bill. My college has an EZ payment plan. Which He has already paid! It over with, it is done.</p>

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<p>Here’s the wild ride you are in for:
Principles of Biology (two semesters)
Chemical Principles
Chemical Equilibrium and Analysis
Organic Chemistry I & II (2 sem, a head banger)
Introductory College Physics (2 sem)
Calculus I & II (yes, 2 sem)
ENG Two courses (incl composition) </p>

<p>*Bear in mind that these courses are the minimum requirements. To perform well on admissions tests and succeed in professional school, students may need additional course work, such as Genetics, Cell Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, and Biochemistry. </p>

<p>Professional schools seek students with a demonstrated record of academic achievement"*</p>

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Good Luck!</p>

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<p>^ Agree with @ lookingforward here and the sentiments of pretty much poster here. I don’t see a real willingness to be practical. Your Dad’s income does not support two private college tuitions but both you and your sister insist he pays. </p>

<p>I think your Dad has been guilted into paying but it does not make this a sound financial decision. You have the chance now to prove everyone wrong, that somehow stretching financially to pay for an expensive private for a demanding child with barely B gpa is “totally worth it.”</p>

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<p>I would add…that professional schools seek students with a demonstrated record of academic EXCELLENCE. Simply maintaining a 2.8 GPA to maintain a scholarship is NOT the track into a professional school acceptance.</p>

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<p>Don’t worry about the reputation of the Virginia CC, it still comes down to what you do with your education. I completed 2 of my premed courses at Northern Virginia CC. I am so thankful for that education. I encourage you to use the available opportunities to your advantage and not worry about what your father can’t provide you.</p>

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<p>Here i the thing. The only worth while cc in VA are NOVA and richard bland. I am from petersburg, terrible area and I will NOT stay in petersburg ever again. The schools in my area are NOT good, regardless how you look at it. I would like to learn something and actually get good grades. Maintaining above a 2.8 is not wht I meant to keep my scholarship. If I am pre med in the first place the least I would be getting is a 3.3 average and even that is pushing it. I am aiming for a 3.8. My dad isnt sending me to community college. And only one person answered my question. None of you have.</p>

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<p>You asked if your father is being unreasonable. </p>

<p>Answer: No he’s not. He can’t afford this school. He’s got two D’s in college. He may not really believe that you’ll make it as a premed student since your grades and ACT score suggest that you won’t do well in the premed prereqs and you won’t do well on the MCAT. Even as a AA applicant, you’d still need a decent GPA and a decent MCAT.</p>

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<p>That was not my question. Go back and look at the bottom of my original post.</p>

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<p>When one achieves a less than 3.0 in hs, takes APs or challenging classes and gets a C+, D+, has to repeat a lower level math class and still doesn’t hit it, the prize is not the feel-good of a 4-year, at the price that college left you with, in a family with limited resources.</p>

<p>So far, you have dreams and have had stumbles. If you cannot face the stumbles, you can’t surpass them. Everything seems just fine, to you. </p>

<p>Richard Bland is in Petersburg. You’re in Pbrug. RB has an affiliation with W&M. More than 90% of their grads transfer up. Now the problem is you don’t want to stay there? </p>

<p>I am missing what it is that will change, this fall. I get that you probably want the pride of going away.</p>

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<p>And now we’re also wrong because some answered your thread title, not this:
But I have a question: IS THIS REALLY THE BEST I CAN RECEIVE IN FINANCIAL AID? ESPECIALLY IF I DID NOT HAVE A SPECTACULAR GPA. </p>

<p>If you haven’t asked the college, you missed that chance. If you mean, would some other college offer you better aid?<br>
NO. Highly unlikely. You are asking them to take a chance on you. Put their limited funds on YOU. Based on your dreams, not your performance. They generally are most willing for kids in the top 25% of the entering class. Not the middle or just below, unless there is something quite special. Sorry, but this is discussed every day on CC. Converse didn’t offer more, Wesleyan didn’t.</p>

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<p>You are unreasonable, and your father is not thinking clearly, because as an African-American parent, your option would be the local CC or a state directional school. period.</p>

<p>My D, who has much better stats than you, but not by much (3.28 GPA/31 ACT), went through literal HELL on earth in a 9 month period of time. She lost her grandmother, then our home due to a tornado, then her grandfather between January and September 2011. As a result of losing our home, and my choice to pay off the balance of the mortgage and pay CASH for a home in a better community, my daughter also slowly drifted a way from some of her close friends due to distance. </p>

<p>She had a horrific start the next school term, for which we thought best that she withdraw until after she’d gone through extensive therapy. She did.</p>

<p>My D re-enrolled back into that competitive & rigorous school this past school year. She did not do so well first semester, as she had not been in school almost a year. SHE HAD ALL Cs, Ds and an F in her favorite subject. She just went through the motions of attending school.</p>

<p>After explaining to D and showing what her GPA was at that time along with which dream schools no longer were attainable with a GPA heading south rapidly, she buckled up, and began working at her previous ability. She finished 2nd semester with 6 As & 1 B+, but it was not enough to overcome her 1st semester grades; thus, she sits with a 3.28 cumulative GPA, BUT without ANY Ds or Fs as final grades . And thank goodness, for her high GPA from freshman year, as it saved her.</p>

<p>Why the information about my D and her severe bout of grief and depression? You have NO excuses for your GPA. My D has NO excuses for her GPA. Colleges may or may not take into consideration life lessons that one experiences at a young age; however, a college WILL look upon a student who takes the lemons presented them and turns it into the most thirst quenching and sweetest lemonade if the student does not harp about how a challenge slowed them down. </p>

<p>Reality presents itself as a wonderful teacher, disciplinarian, and giver of accolades, but one must take every opportunity set before them to truly be blessed with the best outcomes in life. </p>

<p>My D knows she may never gain entrance to her dream school of Wellesley, but she’s accepted that fact, and moved on to find schools that will more than happily take her based on where she stands now. She found schools she likes or loves, and is positioning herself to be at the mid-to-top of the pact of applicants for those schools. </p>

<p>Is my D satisfied with her current situation and plans to settle? No, not at all. Her goal is to earn all As during junior year next year and her senior year. She has the drive and determination to do so. Will colleges forgive her sophomore grades? Maybe, but she has no intentions of using the reason for her low GPA this year as a crutch to gain sympathy from adcoms. </p>

<p>It appears you did not take the opportunities offered you to better your high school record, and now demand others , mainly your father, to reward you for not living up to your potential. </p>

<p>You need to attend a community college, and seek a 4-year degree after you prove to yourself that you possess the internal drive to do well at said 4-year college, because at this point, you have not. All these statements about what you will do once you attend college and what grades you plan to get once you attend college are all talk, as your GPA and ACT score prove otherwise. Remember, I am African American and both of my children scored 10-13 points higher than you on the ACT without studying or a prep course. My D had a horrific 1st semester this year as a sophomore, but turned it around and has a higher GPA than you, even if not a stellar one at 3.28. Keep in mind one of the schools you applied to, Goucher, my D qualifies for merit aid based on her GPA and ACT score, and is one of her top 5 schools. It is a match at best. That is reality. Your list consisted of all reaches based on your GPA & ACT score as well as your father’s financial situation. </p>

<p>I would not pay out a third of my income on an expensive college for my child who showed that she would not fight for the best grades within her mental capacity. </p>

<p>I apologize in advance for chastising you, but you need a reality check, and your father, a backbone to stand up to you and say no to forking over his livelihood to pay for a 3rd tier college where your goal is to stay at our above the minimum GPA of 2.8 in order to maintain your scholarship. the COA for one year at Cedar Crest could pay 2 years of CC, PLUS 2 years, including room/board at a state school in VA. </p>

<p>My D knows she may end up at University of Kansas, but it is her academic safety due to only needing a 2.5 GPA/24 ACT for matriculation with a 90% acceptance rate. And, it is a 4-year school we can afford the OOS tuition via savings.</p>

<p>Again, you need to look in the mirror and deal with the reality of your situation by attending the quite inexpensive community colleges ($4K per year) in your state that you can pay for without assistance from your father. Strive to make all As for TWO years at said CC, then apply as a transfer to higher tiered private schools that offer merit aid AND apply to several of the public universities in your state. Please refer to Appendix B on page 22 of the linked tuition report for Virginia. <a href=“http://www.schev.edu/Reportstats/2012TuitionFeesReport.pdf[/url]”>http://www.schev.edu/Reportstats/2012TuitionFeesReport.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>You never know, if you apply as a transfer with a 3.7-4.0 GPA, you could gain acceptance to many top schools that offer great merit aid and or will meet your financial need, as your father’s EFC is less than $5K per year per the NPC of several of the schools you listed. </p>

<p>Be wise.</p>