My child refuses to consider safety schools and financial limitations

Parents Forum
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<p>Good. The truth is that given the recent glut of PhD’s, students have never had better options for education than they do now. All the state u’s have excellent professors. Heck, if you want to convince her even more, you can just go online and find the places the profs recieved thier credentials. I think your daughter will be pleasantly suprised.</p>

<p>Sounds like she’s just as smart as she sounds. I love it when a teenager is capable of taking in what mom has to say and then changin thier minds. It shows a lot of maturity. You’ve obviously done a very good job. Now, go over to the financial aid board and get them to tell you how to maximize your financial aid. They really do know. Good luck.</p>

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<p>Mom2collegekids: there is no recent divorce; we were never married to each other and separted soon after D’s birth. She hasn’t spoken to him in years. However, I do think peers are playing a role, since she mentioned the two instate schools (Rutgers and TCNJ) that her friends told her about. Thanks for the hugs! =)</p>

<p>2collegewego: she isn’t a NM Scholar. I wish she could apply to those private schools you mentioned, but I can’t get the noncustodial parent financial info.</p>

<p>Oh, she isn’t a first-generation student; I attended a four-year school (didn’t finish) and I have an associate’s degree (does that count?). Her gpa is unweighted. She is thinking about majoring in journalism, economics, or international relations.</p>

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<p>Don’t automatically write off colleges because it will be impossible to get the father’s financial information. This is not the first time that issue has come up, and I believe that most colleges, if they believe that the father is truly out of the picture and cannot provide the information, will waive the requirement. They will not make it easy, though. The applicant should start working on this NOW, because when the dust clears there will be very few colleges she might be interested in that do not require this information. And the colleges that require this information are far more likely to give substantial financial aid without loans.</p>

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<p>Geez, I posted the wrong SAT info for my D. Her total score is 2030, not 2020. Sorry.</p>

<p>Her other stats: scored 690 CR, 690 M, 650 W; top 10%; taking 3 APs now. (Her school only allows seniors to take AP classes.)</p>

<p>Longhaul: my D’s school lack much college guidance, too. The info here on CC blows away anything that I’ve gotten from the school.</p>

<p>mom2collegekids: I like the idea of the EZ college apps. I’ll have to see if I can find any schools that do that. Also, thanks for the info on Mississippi St. $25,741 for OOS total costs? That’s only a few thousand more than the instate public universities COA here in NJ! Of course, I’ll have to talk my daughter into considering schools in the south. LOL! (What is the big deal about the south, anyway?)</p>

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<p>^
She should definitly look south. She would probably get a great scholarship at the University of South Carolina as well.
She also should look at U of Alabama and Auburn.
It can be cheaper to go south!</p>

<p>Also, with her stats - she should looks at some of the lesser known privates that offer good Merit scholarships. My daughter had slightly lesser stats than yours and she is at a private where her merit pays for 1/2 her tuition and her need based grant pays for the other half.</p>

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<p>People are suggesting that the student look all over the country for good colleges. The student is very low income, in a single parent home and lives in N.J. Would make far more sense for the student to look within 250 miles of home so that the student relatively easily can get to and from college including during times like Thanksgiving. It also would make it easier for her mom to take the D to college and even attend graduation. and family weekends.</p>

<p>The D lives in one of the best areas of the country for colleges. She should be able to find an affordable college within an easy traveling distance. No reason for her to go to an out of state public when she has equally ranked in state publics that probably are more affordable for her. There also are plenty of privates relatively nearby that may be affordable for her.</p>

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<p>A free ride at a southern school may very well beat, financially, a partial ride at a school that is closer. I think this family would be wise to cast a wide net to see what schools end up being the most affordable for them after all costs are considered.</p>

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<p>^^^^
and
^^^^ </p>

<p>I think the southern school option is a good one for a student who insists on “going out of state”. I’m not saying it would be impossible, but I think it would be hard to find a more local school for that price. The savings would easily pay for travel costs. </p>

<p>The single mom (she hasn’t mentioned having other children, so I’m guessing this is her only or her youngest), may be lowish income, but for someone who will be only supporting herself soon, she likely could afford to pay for some tranportation costs. If this is a family of 2 (mom and nearly adult child), I wouldn’t really call her “very low income.” </p>

<p>I gave the Miss St option because it is a full University with spirited sports and all the campus activities a student could want. The southern influence is actually a good one; southern campuses are famous for being friendly (southern hospitality). If the OP’s D were to go to a regional state to save money, it may be a suitcase or commuter school, therefore lacking the full “college experience.”</p>

<p>The bottom line is this…OP’s D has the best opportunity for merit money as an incoming freshman. If she doesn’t like the school, she can always to another school that will simply give her F/A. But, she can’t do the reverse. She can’t first go to a school on F/A, and then go to a school and ask for merit money.</p>

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<p>Absolutely! Cast a wide net and see what’s caught. A school that gives almost a free-ride that requires a couple of plane tickets for holidays is going to be cheaper than a nearby school that requires a student to use most of her job earnings and student loans to make ends meet. </p>

<p>When a school offers nearly a full-ride, then a student’s part-time school year job can pay for other things…clothes, personal expenses, etc. A summer job can pay for other things, too. </p>

<p>Most students can earn enough money with a summer job to pay for a couple of their plane tickets, so that doesn’t have to be a burden to their families. My son earned over $3,000 this summer. If he had to use $1000 for 3 airfares, he’d be fine with that since he has a full-ride at school.</p>

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<p>Yes, school friends can sometimes really cause some problems. They’ll pooh pooh any notion of attending a state school. Their parents or your friends may also say negative things or try to pressure you into taking on unaffordable loans. They don’t mean to be insensitive; they just don’t fully comprehend the financial aspect (or the long-term repercussions from student loans). </p>

<p>** Yesterday, I shocked a student on CC when I told him that if he borrowed $100k for college (his intent), his payments be more than $1100 a month for 10 years. That would cripple his life during the ages of 22 - 32. He hadn’t “done the math” (as many on CC haven’t…LOL) While his colleagues would be buying homes and moving forward with their lives, he’d still be living like a poor student eating Ramen noodles on milk crate furniture <a href=“Side%20note…the%20monthy%20payments%20would%20actually%20be%20higher,%20because%20I%20used%20the%20lower%20rate%20for%20computation.%20%20I%20didn’t%20include%20the%20higher%20rate%20that%20would%20be%20charged%20for%20a%20big%20part%20of%20the%20debt.”>/b</a></p>

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<p>Momof4…which college is this? If you feel uncomfortable mentioning on this thread, perhaps you could PM the OP and give her the school name. UMiami is also such a school.</p>

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<p>Northstarmom - that is just it. In NJ in-state publics are very expensive. It is entirely POSSIBLE she could attend an out-of-state public with a scholarship at a cheaper price.</p>

<p>No guarantees but worth looking into.</p>

<p>University of South Carolina:

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<p>In-State tuition at USC is $9156/year. She would also get her federal financial aid of a Pell grant, SEOG grant, Stafford Loans. Add it up and there is the possibility of doing very well.</p>

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<p>Bundle, we were in a position similar to yours: our EFC was -0- and a $20-30K merit award on a $40-50K school would NOT be affordable. Our state university is not strong, particularly not in the areas of S’s interest. The only way that college would be genuinely affordable for our S without large loans was if he got into one of the deep-pockets need-only schools. Luckily, he did. (His safety school gave him the LEAST amount of aid, interestingly. If the school doesn’t have it to give, you can’t get blood from a stone.)</p>

<p>Cast a wide net. If she gets into a need-blind school with a big endowment they will make it happen. I would actually advise applying to at least one elite LAC or U with deep pockets, such as Pomona/Williams/Amherst/Wellesley, even if it is a super reach for her. Her GPA sounds fine, but her SATs are a little low. If she could boost CR and/or math into the 700s it would help. Is there any possibility that she could take them again in November? It would also help if she has some state-level awards or outstanding ECs that you haven’t mentioned. </p>

<p>The wide net should include schools all along the spectrum and in several regions. Use fee waivers. You won’t know until April what the final price tag really is–and even then, you CAN appeal.</p>

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<p>In keeping with Consolation’s post I recommend Wellesley along with the other women’s colleges. They are all “need blind” (perhaps with the exception of Smith?), they all give excellent FA and they all de-emphasize SAT scores in comparison with co-ed schools.</p>

<p>My D got a fabulous package from Barnard. And they made it possible for her to go abroad, too.</p>

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<p>I second considering Wellesley. My D is a first year there & they came in with the most generous FA of any of her acceptances. Also, a women’s college might be a tad easier to get into than some of the other elite LACs. They require the Profile, but maybe they’d be willing to work with the OP given the non-custodial parent situation. They have a no-loan policy for incomes under $60k, so if there is an EFC, the OP would have to come up with that plus there would be a student contribution from summer work & probably work study. Our family fell in the reduced-loan category, but they calculated our EFC lower than any of the other schools.</p>

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<p>OP,
I hope your daughter is searching for local scholarships. With her high gpa and low income, if she does careful applications, she should have a good chance to get some local scholarships that she could use at the college of her choice. Those small local scholarships can add up to lots of money for students who take the time to seek them out and do thoughtful applications. Her GC should have info about them.</p>

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<p>“The bottom line is this…OP’s D has the best opportunity for merit money as an incoming freshman. If she doesn’t like the school, she can always to another school that will simply give her F/A.”</p>

<p>True that she has the best chance for merit aid as an incoming freshman. It is hard, however, to get financial aid or merit money as a transfer. That’s important to keep in mind as she considers going to some distant school. There are major regional differences in this country. There even are major differences from one part of a state to another part of the same state. College tends to be a big shock for most students even when they go to college an hour’s drive from home. It can be even more unsettling for students who travel to a part of the country where they’ve never lived before. These all are things to keep in mind when selecting college, especially if going far from home means that one might have difficulty returning home for family emergencies, holidays, etc. or having family member visit one for special events.</p>

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<p>The community college route may be more costly in the long run, because there is significantly less merit money available for transfers, and the transfer admissions pool for the select schools with $ is much more difficult. Also schools are less likely to be need blind/ meet full need for transfers. </p>

<p>I wouldn’t count on AU offering sufficient merit aid to attend. NYU financial aid seems to be only adequate for the very top of the applicant pool. </p>

<p>You should also point out to your daughter that city living is much more expensive, and there are more things to do that cost money. Financial aid may cover the meal plan, but it will not cover eating out with friends. </p>

<p>Have your daughter research more schools. This might be a useful resource: [Schools</a> That Say They Meet Full Need - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/paying-for-college/articles/2008/09/05/schools-that-say-they-meet-full-need.html]Schools”>http://www.usnews.com/education/paying-for-college/articles/2008/09/05/schools-that-say-they-meet-full-need.html). Maybe Gettysburg or Franklin and Marshall might be a match? However, each school is going to respond differently to not having the father’s financial information. </p>

<p>The data is old, but perhaps looking at endowment per student: [List</a> of colleges and universities in the United States by endowment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colleges_and_universities_in_the_United_States_by_endowment]List”>List of colleges and universities in the United States by endowment - Wikipedia) may make looking at LACs more appealing.</p>

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<p>N.J. public schools do have some nice merit aid. For instance, Rutgers offers the below, which appears to be able to cover tuition and room and board:</p>

<p>“The Presidential Scholarship is the most prestigious scholarship award Rutgers offers undergraduates. Awards are $21,400 per year for a maximum of $85,600 for four years, and include a $9,900 credit for on-campus housing and dining. For those who choose not to live on campus, the award will be $11,500. Admission to honors programs and guaranteed housing for four years are additional benefits.”</p>

<p>Ramapo offers:</p>

<p>"In the fall of 2010 Ramapo College will be offering the following awards:</p>

<p>Presidential Scholarship*
$72,000 scholarship. ($18,000 per year for four years)
Provost Scholarship*
$40,000 scholarship ($10,000 per year for four years)
Dean’s Scholarship*
$24,000 scholarship ($6,000 per year for four years)
Leadership and Community Service Award
$12,000 scholarship ($3,000 per year for four years)

  • If you are a New Jersey resident, a portion of the funding for this scholarship may be from the Outstanding Scholarship Recruitment Program (OSRP).</p>

<p>Ramapo College also considers students for merit based scholarships based on their potential to become active members of our community. All aspects of a students application are considered including the above listed criteria as well as specialized talents, extracurricular activities, awards, honors, and criteria such as socioeconomic background, attendance in New Jersey’s Abbott School Districts, and the relevance of the response to the required essay question.</p>

<p>Awards are continued for four years provided that students maintain the required number of credits and grade point average. "</p>

<p>[Ramapo</a> College of New Jersey || Undergraduate Admissions: Scholarships](<a href=“http://www.ramapo.edu/admissions/scholarships/]Ramapo”>http://www.ramapo.edu/admissions/scholarships/)</p>

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<p>^^^</p>

<p>Northstar…good find…</p>

<p>Are those automatic or competitive? If competitive, do you know how many are offered?</p>

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<p>Very true…and guessing from what we’ve been told, I don’t think the OP’s D would like being the poor student on campus that doesn’t have mommy’s charge card like the other’s do to pay for all the fun weekend and spring break activities.</p>