MY parents are making me depressed about college admissions

<p>Are you a US citizen?</p>

<p>yes i am a citizen..... i have to leave now and will be back in a couple of hours.... any and all help from you guys about some scholarships or local ohio scholarships that i might have looked past wud be greatly appreciated</p>

<p>Perhaps you should look into Kenyon College in Gambier. They are still accepting ED applications and you can apply for free online. They are in your state.. very expensive, but they tend to meet 100% of your financial need. Many other LACs, even though more expensive than state schools offer either merit or finaid, as well. Don't give up on a school just because it is very expensive. Being that you are a URM, any LAC would welcome you with open arms to increase their diversity. Kenyon is particularly interested in URMs. You would also be required to live on campus as all their students do.</p>

<p>Yo at least your parents are supportive, guys. My parents gave me a talk yesterday about what I would do if I were rejected everywhere...</p>

<p>i actually visited kenyon...it's just a bunch of rich snobby white people, which is what my high school exactly is....so i need a different approach.... i dont think i'll be applyng to anymore colleges. i think my list is plenty now.... its just those scholarships</p>

<p>You're getting it backwards! If your EFC is 11,000 that means your parents are expected to PAY 11,000 not that the college will take 11,000 off. You're only 3,000 short! RELAX! Even if your parents don't fork over the 3,000 a year, it's worth taking shouldering the loans yourself if you like the college.</p>

<p>Oops! I'm bad at reading. But still, if the 100% met need schools aren't going to give you the 29,000......then 11,000 ISN'T really your EFC is it?</p>

<p>i visited kenyon....its just a bunch of rich snobby whit people which is exactly what my high school is...so i didnt like it..plus its in the middle of nowhere</p>

<p>my family's calculated EFC is about 11,000 dollars. if the colleges really use this number and dont use loans, i would get 29,000 thousand a year from the college (since the fees 4 most of them are $40,000). BUT....i doubt that they wud really give me 29 grand a year with no loans, which is why i desperatwly need scholarships</p>

<p>Unless you are applying to a school where you will get merit to cover your tuition, room, board and fees, you will get loans, as colleges believe that students should be active participants in the financing of their education.</p>

<p>I also doubt that if your father is a doctor that you will ultimately end up with a $11,000 EFC. Your FA will be based on the income and assets of both of your parents. THe amount of money that your father is currently writing off as a foreign exclusion will ultimately be used in calculating your financial aid (you would ultimately end up being a full paying student) because he still has the money, it is just in another country.</p>

<p>i think the EFC really will be 11,000 dollars. I used the 2006-2007 EFC calculator here: </p>

<p><a href="http://www.ifap.ed.gov/efcinformation/attachments/0607EFCFormulaGuideDecFinal.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.ifap.ed.gov/efcinformation/attachments/0607EFCFormulaGuideDecFinal.pdf&lt;/a> on page 9.</p>

<p>my father's income, when converted to dollars, is $97000. then 80,000 is taken off as foregn income exclusion (under untaxed income), so our "total income" is 17000, which makes our adjusted gross income also 17000. our assets came out to be negative, so they equal zero. the total contribution was 33,000 divided by 3 family members in college whch equals $11,000.</p>

<p>I WISH we lived in Ohio...which has some terrific state Universities. There are some wonderful schools to choose from...What is the matter with Ohio State University, for example...a Big Ten university with every possible major and professional school? The university itself offers much in cultural and social, and people diversity. Does your father work outside of this country?? If so, and you are a resident of Ohio...would this also mean that your parent has to have a second residence outside of the country...or a ton of travel expenses? Perhaps this is contributing to the family limit on college expenses. I guess I don't understand the Foreign income exclusion. And I agree with others...there are some fine smaller schools located in larger cities that might offer you some merit aid. P.S. Who told you that NYU offered good aid?? They are notoriously stingy with their finaid awards leaving many students with huge gaps between EFC and COA...and lots of loans too. BU has good finaid for its top applicants, but at $42000 per year...you'd need quite a LOT to make up for $8000. The room and board at BU is over $10,000 per year (we know...we pay those bills!!).</p>

<p>I would suggest you use the Financial aid calculator at </p>

<p><a href="http://www.finaid.org%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.finaid.org&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>because you will also need to complete Worksheet B (Tax-Deferred and Untaxed Income) reports income that was not included in taxable income but which are counted during the need analysis process. These amounts will be added to taxable income.</p>

<p>Your father's $97,000 income will give you an EFC of about $25,000</p>

<p>not including savings, home equity, your mother's income, savings in your name, etc</p>

<p>Hon, a lot of people here have given you fantastic advice. Northstarmom, among others, is just incredible.</p>

<p>Can I just tell you to relax and give you a {{{{hug}}}}?</p>

<p>You are angry right now, but threatening to sue potential schools (or scholarship orgs.), or labelling schools/areas as full of 'rich, snobby, white people' doesn't help you think clearly about your plans.</p>

<p>I was like you (but without the beautiful stats and URM status). I waited too long to apply to schools and scholarships. Was sophisticated, with urbane friends. Parents in academia. I wound up going to my home school (in the middle of Michigan, and no, not U of M, a school with no reputation), and I thought my life was over.</p>

<p>But. I lived at home, worked 2 part-time jobs, paid my tuition, socked away money, took tons of credits in core classes, got a super GPA, and after 2 years transferred...
...to the American University in Paris (France). Almost all my first-2-year credits transferred, plus I paid for the remainder of my education myself. My parents could object or not, but I was in charge of that decision.</p>

<p>I know how it is to feel 'stuck', but you're not. Anything can happen. You can make it happen. You're young and smart. Insh'allah, you'll do just great.</p>

<p>AnudduhMom
P.S. I met very interesting people at that little "nothing" school in Michigan, by the way.</p>