<p>UW Seattle. I'd be instate.
I'm on the GET program, which essentially allows me to attend UW, at this point, for free. They are dead set on me going there. I had my goals set on going out of state, but they say that they can't afford it. Should I even bother applying for out of state schools?</p>
<p>Kinda depends. If they don’t make enough money for you to go out of state then there are many high quality schools that have no loan policies. If they make enough but just don’t want to spend it then you are kinda stuck. Try searching for threads on schools that provide good merit aid if the later is the case.</p>
<p>Tell them that you will go to the school with the lowest price. But, in order to compare prices you need them to let you apply to other schools. </p>
<p>You never know, if you apply strategically, have financial need, and are an excellent student, you might have other options to attend “for free.”</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>UDub is an outstanding school. I’d jump at the chance to go there for free.</p>
<p>If you really want to get out of state, you need to look for schools that will offer you enough financial aid or merit scholarships to be affordable.</p>
<p>You could always apply to other schools just to give yourself options since they might give you enough financial aid so that you can attend. I can understand why your parents would want to “encourage” you to attend the school that will be free, but I don’t see the harm in applying to some other schools, especially to schools with fee waivers or no application fee. I think it would be better to keep your options open just in case than to not try to convince your parents to just let you apply and possibly end up regretting it.</p>
<p>Ok just read up on GET program. It can be used at any school in the country but if that schools costs more than UW or WSU then you have to pay the difference. Currently cost of tuition at UW is $8700 per year. That said as long as the price of the private or out of state school is below that figure after scholarships and grants you are set.</p>
<p>UW Seattle. I’d be instate.
I’m on the GET program, which essentially allows me to attend UW, at this point, for free. They are dead set on me going there. I had my goals set on going out of state, but they say that they can’t afford it. Should I even bother applying for out of state schools?</p>
<p>For free? Or do you mean “free tuition”? If you’ll only get free tuition, you will STILL have about $10k in room, board, books, and misc costs. Are you and your parents aware of this?</p>
<p>If your parents are aware that they still have to pay for room, board, and books, does that mean that they will let you use GET and they will pay an additional $10k+ for R&B and books?</p>
<p>Are your parents aware that you can use GET out of state?</p>
<ol>
<li>Can GET be used at private colleges or out-of-state universities?<br></li>
</ol>
<p>You can use your GET units at nearly any public or private college, university or technical school in the United States and at selected colleges in other countries. A college is eligible if it participates in federal financial aid programs through the U.S. Department of Education. To view the hundreds of participating schools, visit <a href=“http://www.fafsa.edu%5B/url%5D”>www.fafsa.edu</a>.</p>
<p>Your GET units may not be enough to cover the full cost of tuition and fees at private or out-of-state colleges. If your school costs more than University of Washington or Washington State University, you pay the difference. If it costs less, you can also use GET units to pay other higher education costs such as room and board, books, etc.</p>
<p>this means that if you get a merit scholarship to an OOS school that brings the tuition down to UWash (or below), it will cost your family about the same amount.</p>
<p>What are your stats? GPA? best sitting SAT or ACT?</p>
<p>The State of WA guarantees that 100 GET credits will cover in-state tuition and fees at any in-state public university. Here’s what the GET FAQs say about using the credits for OOS:</p>
<p>"Can GET accounts be used only at Washington colleges? </p>
<p>"You can use your GET units at nearly any public or private college, university or vocational school in the United States and at selected colleges in other countries. A college is eligible if it participates in federal financial aid programs through the U.S. Department of Education. </p>
<p>“Keep in mind that your GET units may not be enough to cover the full cost of tuition and fees at private or out-of-state colleges. If your school costs more, you pay the difference. If it costs less, you can use GET units to cover other higher education costs, such as room and board, books, etc. In addition, enrollment in the GET Program does not guarantee that you child will pay in-state resident tuition or be admitted to any college.”</p>
<p>You should definitely apply to OOS schools to be able to see how much of their costs your GET credits will cover - right after thanking your parents for having the incredible foresight to provide you free tuition and fees at one of the outstanding universities in America as your worst-case scenario!</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your responses.
Free tuition is what I meant. Apparently they’ve bought 500 units for me.
Income is probably >$150k, but I have two sisters as well?
And to mom2college: I have a 4.0 overall so far (UW), and 2200 SAT (exactly).</p>
<p>If I’m going to attend an instate school, then I’m going to be going home every day. I’m not going to be living in a dorm.</p>
<p>So what you guys are saying, is apply OOS but if I get in, just pay the difference?</p>
<p>Do you feel living at home would hinder your college experience?
If you do apply OOS how much are you willing to take out in loans?
It may be worth it to sit down with your parents and have them go through the financials (if they are willing) to get a better understanding of why they can’t afford it (generally there is very good reason for this).</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That would be a deal-breaker for me. My wife and I strongly encouraged our kids to go to colleges at which they could live on campus all four years. Starting out college as a commuter is like starting a marriage with separate apartments across town. I wouldn’t do it.</p>
<p>UW is an excellent school and you could get a fine education there at a bargain price. Would your parents be open to allowing you to live in the dorms? My S is attending our state flagship, which is located in the town he grew up in, because it is an excellent fit academically and was by far his least costly option. By living on campus, he has virtually the same experience that he would have had if he had gone out of state. He calls home every so often, and comes home for vacations, but otherwise we do not see him or bother him.</p>
<p>Are you a junior or senior?</p>
<p>You need to spend some time in the Financial Aid Forum so that you can get a better handle on your options. Look for the thread on Guaranteed Scholarships. Your GPA and exam scores make you eligible for many of them. </p>
<p>In the Parents Forum there is a thread titled something like “top student third tier school four years later” Find it and read what that recent college graduate has to say about his/her college experience.</p>
<p>You are very lucky to have parents who have that many tuition credits stashed away for you already, and who are straight with you about what they will pay. Every April there are many threads here at CC with titles along the lines of “Got into school, but can’t pay for it”, “Didn’t get in anywhere I can afford, what now?”, and “My evil parents lied to me about the money”. Thanks to your parents’ financial prudence, you won’t be starting one of those threads.</p>
<p>If you spend a bit more time investigating all of your options, you will find that many more of them are workable than you think just now.</p>
<p>with 4.0 and 2200, you will probably have the following options:</p>
<ul>
<li>go to UDub, with cost to your parents of about $4,000/yr transport and Board</li>
<li>get a full tuition merit scholarship to a school ranked BELOW UDub, out of state, with cost to your parents of about $14,000 for Room/Board + Airfare.</li>
</ul>
<p>During this Great Recession, your parents are probably trying to make sure you or they don’t go into/further into debt. UDub is a top 50 University worldwide due to its strength in PhD programs. It is top 50 in the US based on undergraduate quality. I can’t image you would get a better education for the price anywhere, since your price depends on MERIT aid, not Need-based Aid, and big MERIT aid schools won’t be as high a quality as UDub is.</p>
<p>However, for a more complete college experience, I would lobby my parents to throw in another $5k so that you can live in an apartment near campus with fellow students, rather than at home.</p>
<p>It is pretty common for local Udub students to still live in the dorms/apts. I’d make that a must have or no deal.</p>
<p>Your stats look very good --you should be able to apply to some private LAC’s with good endowments, and get some type of merit aid. Go through the book The Best 373 Colleges, look at right bottom corner for percentage of merit-aid based aid (or “non-need based”). The higher that number, the better for you to apply. S doesn’t have as high as a gpa as you do and he has gotten offers for full tuition (SAT 2300). Two of the schools didn’t charge an application fee on common app. even, so your parents really can’t complain that you are applying even. Once you have your acceptances in front of you and the scholarships offered, then you can make a decision with some credibility. You do have other options! And for students like you, State schools are not always the cheaper way to go. Not sure why that’s still a misconception. Example: S was admitted to in-state school (a good one) and offered an 11K scholarship spread out over 4years. That’s still $17,000 per year. Another private top tier LAC offered full ride, no room and board. It’s $10,000 per year. Some State schools do offer big aid --nephew on full ride to Ohio University, but there are options is my point. State schools are not always less for a student like you.</p>
<p>With your stats, you could get free tuition scholarships elsewhere and then use your GET money for room, board, and books.</p>