<p>So I'm a Junior in high school this year, I still have almost a full year until I have to make a decision on where I'm going to go. I want to major in civil engineering. I have a 3.74 weighted gpa, 3.3 unweighted, 30 ACT. My parents really want me to do this program where I'd go to my local community college for the first 2 years then have guaranteed admission into University of Illinois for the last two. They really have their minds set on this because I can't afford to go to a college that costs as much as UofI for 4 years, they think they can do it for 2 years and this program would achieve that. I, on the other hand, want to go to a 4 year university. I don't want to stay home for the first two years. I also don't feel like I absolutely have to go to a top of the line engineering school, I'd be perfectly happy somewhere that is a little lower. Obviously not too low, but I don't feel like something out of the top 10 is a disappointment. I'm talking about maybe somewhere ranked around 35-70. My parents view this much differently. They look at everything lower than Illinois (which is pretty much everything) as bad. Something a little lower would be affordable for me, it would still be a good engineering school, and I'd enjoy college a little more. To my parents, me "enjoying" college isn't nearly as important as what school I get my diploma from. I'm going to be put under tremendous pressure to do this program and I honestly don't really want to do it. I've told them that and it only ****ed them off and they went on about how I need to stop thinking about whether or not I'm going to like where I'm going to school and start thinking about what's best for my future. I feel like my future doesn't depend on if I go to a top 10 engineering school at all. </p>
<p>What should I do?</p>
<p>Figure out what the cost limit from your parents is.</p>
<p>For all colleges with ABET-accredited civil engineering degree programs, find out what whether need-based financial aid (see the net price calculators on the college web sites) will bring the college to within the cost limit, or whether there are merit scholarships which you can get that will bring the college to within the cost limit.</p>
<p>CC to UIUC is a perfectly good route to take, but you may need to maintain a high GPA at CC to have an admission guarantee at UIUC. But engineering employment is not generally seen as being school-prestige conscious as areas like investment banking, though higher profile schools like UIUC will tend to be more attractive to visiting recruiters for your internships and first job at graduation.</p>
<p>Of course, if you parents refuse to pay for anything other than CC to UIUC, then your only alternative would be to find a full ride or near full ride merit scholarship.</p>
<p>And your parents may want to assess whether you can gain admission to a better engineering program with a 3.3 GPA + 30 ACT.</p>
<p>Although I agree with your parents, but I think their views are unrealistic. Unless your school practices severe grade deflation, 3.3 GPA won’t carry you very far in college admission.</p>
<p>If you do the CC to UIUC route. Make sure your admission to UIUC and admission into your desired major is guaranteed.</p>
<p>the program guarantees transfer into University of Illinois if I keep up a 3.3 gpa at College of Dupage. </p>
<p>and I’m pretty sure i could get into the program. I go to one of the best high schools in the country (Neuqua Valley), I’m in Project Lead the Way, I’ve been taking engineering classes every semester since the beginning of freshman year, and I’m in advanced math and science classes. I’m not sure how many students get accepted into this program, but I think it’s a possibility for me to be accepted.</p>
<p>I just had an hour long conversation about this whole thing with my parents. I’m being put under tremendous pressure to do this. My parents want me to do this for financial reasons, too. My dad just switched jobs and didn’t make that much money this past year, about 70k. He said he’s going to make about 100k this year, and doing this program would give him 2 years to get enough money to be able to afford University of Illinois for my last two years. If I did a 4 year university, I’d probably have to pay around 20k+ a year, which he can’t do right now.</p>
<p>As you know, Bama would give you free tuition plus 2500 per year with your weighted GPA and ACT (for engineeing). And, you’d only have to maintain a 3.0 GPA…easier than a 3.3.</p>
<p>At a minimum (since you don’t want to go to a CC), you could go to Bama for 2 years and then transfer to UIUC.</p>
<p>How much does it cost to go to Dupage?</p>
<p>For 15 credit hours per semester, just shy of $4,000 per year for tuition and fees.</p>
<p>[Tuition</a> and Fees](<a href=“http://home.cod.edu/registration/tuitionFees.aspx]Tuition”>http://home.cod.edu/registration/tuitionFees.aspx)</p>
<p>This is somewhat higher than many other Illinois CCs, BTW (though not for the poster, since he’d be out-of-district elsewhere):</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.ivcc.edu/payment.aspx?id=416[/url]”>http://www.ivcc.edu/payment.aspx?id=416</a></p>
<p>Normally, CoD is $5,000/yr. but I’m pretty sure this program costs $7,500/yr for the 2 years.</p>
<p>for the scholarship to Alabama, wouldn’t I need to go for 4 years? And also I wouldn’t have guaranteed transfer to Illinois, it would be a big risk. What if I ended up not being accepted to transfer?</p>
<p>But also, if I went to Bama for the first two years, I would have options of schools to transfer to. Like Purdue (my dream school).</p>
<p>Wherever you go for the first two years you’d have options for transfer. Pay a visit to the Transfer Counselor at C of Dupage and find out where their students end up. Not all of them go to UIUC.</p>
<p>But before you get all excited about Purdue, run the Net Price Calculator for out-of-state students in the Engineering program. If your family can barely afford UIUC, they probably can’t afford Purdue.</p>
<p>You are lucky that your parents are giving you a budget now. Lots of kids don’t find out about the financial side of things until AFTER they’ve been accepted to college. Take a deep breath, and then go thank your parents for telling you about the budget limits now. They have done you a huge favor.</p>
<p>for the scholarship to Alabama, wouldn’t I need to go for 4 years? And also I wouldn’t have guaranteed transfer to Illinois, it would be a big risk. What if I ended up not being accepted to transfer?</p>
<p>??</p>
<p>Why would you need to go all 4 years to get the scholarship. It’s awarded to you each year. If you go for 2 years, you get it for 2 years. </p>
<p>If you were to try to transfer to UIUC or Purdue or wherever, if you don’t get accepted then that’s likely because you had let your grades slip or something. If so, that would also happen at Dupage.</p>
<p>I don’t see the “big risk”. If you keep your grades up, you’ll likely get accepted as a transfer. If not, you’d stay at Bama. No real “risk”. you’d still get your degree. You’d still get the SAME PAY when hired. What’s the risk?</p>
<p>That said, I don’t see how you could afford transferring to Purdue OOS if your family is figuring out how to afford UIUC for the last 2 years.</p>
<p>well its I believe more than $33k total per year for Illinois for in state, and by the time I’m a Junior in college, my parents will be able to afford that. (my dad has a new job, he’ll be making alot more money than he is now 2 years from now) and so if I can do 2 years at Illinois, maybe I can do 2 years at Purdue, which would be probably around the same price as Illinois. (i think)</p>
<p>purdue is 41k a year. id save money by going to Bama over CoD, and maybe I could afford Purdue by that time. If not, I could still transfer to Illinois. And if I didn’t get accepted into one of those two schools, I’m sure I could get accepted into something else that is very prestigious. </p>
<p>I’m going to bring this up to my parents.</p>
<p>Or it’s possible you might get to 'Bama and find you like it so much that you want to stay for four years. No way to know until you get there.</p>
<p>You don’t have to (and IMO shouldn’t try to) make the decision now, other than where to spend the first two years.</p>
<p>i emailed Bamas admissions office to make sure that I can take the scholarship I’d get for the first two years and then transfer. I just want to make sure that the scholarship does not require me to stay for all 4 years.</p>
<p>lol…the scholarship does NOT require you to stay for any number of years…not one, not two, not three, not four. </p>
<p>I don’t think there’s a college out there that awards 4 year merit scholarships that requires the student to stay any number of years.</p>
<p>lol…what do you think happens, do you think that if you left after soph year, the school would send you a bill? lol…no.</p>
<p>Alright well I brought it up to my mom and she said that it doesn’t sound like a good idea because if I went to cod Id be in coordination with UofI with my classes and Bama has no affiliation with Illinois. I don’t really see how that matters in the end. Bama would be cheaper and I’d get to do what I want instead of going to cod. </p>
<p>Sent from my ADR6300 using CC</p>
<p>Is the Alabama scholarship full tuition + 2500 or full ride + 2500?</p>
<p>If the latter, you could simply tell your parents that’s where you’re going and don’t need their financial assistance, maybe borrow some Stafford money for books and transportation, and get by. If the former, you might still be able to pull it off if you could get a job during the summer or during the school year.</p>
<p>The Alabama scholarship is full tuition (including OOS) plus 2500, so he’d need some help from parents even if he took out a $5500 student loan. </p>
<p>That said, I think that if he could get his parents to visit Bama, tour their new STEM complex, meet some profs, they would agree to let him go to Bama for all 4 years and save a bundle. They’d only have room and board costs, since the $2500 would pay for books, fees, and incidentals. There’s a reason why there are so MANY Illinois STEM students at Bama. </p>
<p>Do your parents realize that the state of Alabama has the second largest research park in the nation? Cummings Research Park. STEM grads get hired, they get internships, they get co-ops, etc.</p>
<p>Get them to visit…that’s pretty much all it takes.</p>
<p>I’m probably not going to go to Bama for all 4 years. I’d be more interested in going for the first 2 and then transferring to a highly ranked engineering program (probably University of Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, etc.)</p>
<p>Even if I wanted to go there for four years, there’s no way my parents would think it’s the smart choice. They are all about me getting the best engineering degree possible. I agree with them on this, I’d rather get a degree from a top ranked school than Alabama. Bama would just be a cheap way to get my first two years done, get the best grades I can get, and then transfer to the best school I can go to.</p>
<p>I really think I can do well in college. I regret this, but I’ve been a blow off student all through high school in honors classes and AP classes and I still get good grades. If I try hard in college, I believe I can seriously get a gpa close to 4.0. And that would take me places.</p>
<p>If I understand correctly:</p>
<p>CC for two years = $15,000
UIUC for two years = $68,000 (or would you get non-loan financial aid?)</p>
<p>Total cost of $83,000.</p>
<p>Is that the budget limit?</p>