<p>"I'm glad your daughter was able to get support. Any kid who "hung the moon" deserves the royal treatment! :-)</p>
<p>There aren't as many engineering programs as there are liberal arts programs, so perhaps that makes a difference, too."</p>
<p>Thank you for taking my comment about my daughter in the spirit of fun in which it was intended! I suspect you're right -- it may be a matter of supply and demand with so few engineering programs. I think my girl may have been helped by the fact that, at least in our city, there is a huge shortage of qualified science teachers at the high school level, and her classes and ECS skew heavily toward a real talent in that area.</p>
<p>When we tallied up the cost of tution + room & board + fees and then subtracted the merit scholarships and grant money, the most expensive school on her list was a public university. I chalk it up to the fact that they don't have the resources to give money to the above average but not absolute top students. UCONN devotes the majority of their merit aid to valedictorians and salutatorians, who are all automatically given a free ride. My daughter is a high achiever, but she's not 1 or 2 in her class.</p>
<p>I'm currently trying to figure out the best way to take on our portion of the debt. It will be debt, and it will be a healthy chunk of money by the end of 4 years (unless she decides to transfer over to Ireland, which could still happen). </p>
<p>I guess the real lesson for middle class people is that you have to get your kids to apply to a balanced group of schools - not just academic balance, but financial balance. And as always, we have to teach our kids to be resilient and roll with the punches and not assume that everything will always work out. Particularly for those of us who are doing better than our parents did, it's sometimes hard to realize that doesn't mean that all your dreams get to come true.</p>
<p>"4.5 and 1420? I believe that qualifies for a full ride at the CUNY schools."</p>
<p>BUt the cost of housing/food/transportation can be huge, which would make it much less of a bargain. It would be enough for great money at many SUNYs, though. However, that range is a lot higher than I would think of as average.</p>
<p>CUNY is the City University of New York. A couple are good, but most are local community colleges with all the overcrowding, lack of facilities, etc. Almost no housing, so not a good fit for many students out of the area.</p>
<p>I agree. I was simply elaborating on your response to Orchid_2010. By the way, I think that the CUNY scholarship includes free room (but not board).</p>
<p>"I agree. I was simply elaborating on your response to Orchid_2010. By the way, I think that the CUNY scholarship includes free room (but not board)."</p>
<p>Ahhh. I am enlightened. :-) Thank you! (I looked it up on the list of abbreviations, too!) NY would be too far for us, and my DS does not want to travel that far from home -- I don't think he even considered the idea.</p>
<p>Irishmomof2, I completely agree with you. My kids have always had the expectation that we cannot afford to help them if they attend school out of state -- nevertheless, my DS was accepted at his dream school, Georgia Tech, and was certainly seduced by the school's rankings, coop program, etc. But financially, it is out of reach without taking on a huge debt.</p>
<p>Another thought I had was that state schools should have tuition exchange programs. For example, if NY took 150 Georgia students at in-state rates, and Georgia took 150 NY students at in-state rates, wouldn't the states break even? But the kids would get a huge break. . .</p>
<p>Students in the Honors College receive a University Scholarship, which provides the following: tuition for four years; a dorm room; a laptop computer; a $7500 study grant, which can be used to study abroad or subsidize unpaid internships; a Cultural Passport that provides free or reduced entry to hundreds of New York City cultural institutions; and priority registration each semester.</p>
<p>Students in the Honors College receive a University Scholarship, which provides the following: tuition for four years; a dorm room; a laptop computer; a $7500 study grant, which can be used to study abroad or subsidize unpaid internships; a Cultural Passport that provides free or reduced entry to hundreds of New York City cultural institutions; and priority registration each semester."</p>
<p>That's an awesome deal. Since it is a liberal arts program, it wouldn't work for my engineering kid. I will definitely tell my other kids about it, though.</p>
<p>Hunter is one of only a couple of campuses that have housing and it is very, very limited. That program also has nothing to do with average kids.</p>
<p>MSOUVA: FAFSA does NOT ask about 401Ks or other retirement plans, but the Profile might. If you filled out the FAFSA and included retirement funds in the assets listed then your aid could be wrong...of course, if Profile asks for it and the school uses profile, that is a different story</p>
<p>
[quote]
Even our state university system is going to cost us 30K a year, state colleges at least 20K with all expenses
[/quote]
</p>
<p>in response to this, the poster who i believe lives in MA since her location designates her so, i would have to say this is competely false. There are UMASS schools that are 5k a year in tuition. And if dorms were to much a burden, then one can find a place to share a room off campus.</p>
<p>and we have yet to mention GA and the free tuition for students with certain academic scores - i believe 3.5 of higher?</p>
<p>somemom: Did I say only FAFSA? I apologize. The CCS Profile was a segment of that, too.</p>
<p>Unfortunately for any fan of the Ivy League (or many of the New Ivies), the use of the Profile works against you. Either you accept a debt on your parents (which I was unwilling to do, considering the absurd size of such a debt) or you go to a school that actually wants you.</p>
<p>Put simply, my parents could not afford to have that much debt. Even further, my sister will begin college the year after I graduate from college. Thus, she would have lost money (and a chance to attend nearly ANY school) by my abuse of the our family's funds. This is a matter of financial well-being for the child as well as the parents.</p>
<p>I'd have to say that my parents are going to consider the true (and unfortunate) nature of the financial aid system before they allow my sister to apply to expensive schools. Goodbye Ivies.</p>
<p>Matthew Souva
Clarkson University Honors Program
Class of 2011</p>
<p>Ok, I stand corrected. UMASS Amherst in state will cost $17,399 including room and board. This does not include any books though. So call it 20K at least. The state college system in state will cost 13,151 with room and board before books, call it 15K. Any way you call it, thats still 70 to 90K that we will have to get up, with no aid, actually even more because the requirements are so demanding that no one can get a BS in less than 5 years. Thats a lot of money for the middle class. The rich get the tax breaks, the poor get some help, we get screwed</p>
<p>Going back to the OP, I have a lot of sympathy for you. I was very fortunate to have parents who can pay for whichever college I choose to attend, and the more I hear about smart, hardworking students who don't go where they want for reasons entirely beyond their control, well, I suppose I should count my blessings.</p>
<p>And maybe this isn't the advice that you want to hear, but yours isn't a new problem. In fact its only been comparatively recently (ie, beginning in the '70s) that top private colleges have been even partially attainable for middle-class families. So wherever you go, know that there is a very good chance you will still be surrounded by (at least a few) bright students who were in the same situation as you.</p>