<p>My parents have expressed to me that they only want me to go to a single university known as the University of Delaware. The problem is that they really only know one university which is UD and really don't really care about my application process and they didn't even know what an SAT II was until I begged them to let me take one (another in November). Whenever I talk to them about applying to other colleges (like Brown, UPenn, UCBerkley etc.) which I have the qualifications for, my dad simply says that if I want to go somewhere else I have to pay for it exclusively by my self (I will be 17 in college so I can't even work all that much) and I wont get any help from the family. Is there any way to better pay for college other than scholarships and also is there a way to convince parents to look at other opportunities and other colleges rather than confine their views to simply one college? It is not so much a problem with finances, as my family can afford to pay for about 7k a year and I am planning on taking loans or working, as it is about convincing them that there are other opportunities (plus the average SAT score for UD is a 1200 so it doesn't appeal to me all that much). To other parents and perhaps other applicants out there: is there a way of making parents look at other possibilities? I have the qualifications for good schools with a really good SAT score and great ECs so its really a matter of convincing them.</p>
<p>While going to college is a daunting proposition for a young person, paying for college is a daunting proposition for parents. I’m guessing you live in Delaware, and would receive in-state tuition. I understand that you are willing to take out loans, but your parents may have your best interest in mind and don’t want you to be burdened with extensive loans when you graduate. Also, there is a limit on the amount of loans a student can receive - any additional loans are under the parent’s name. Also consider travel costs to those other schools. And, any scholarships you may receive will have grade point requirements that must be maintained in order to keep the scholarship. This may seem like a lot of work, but I would do your research on all the schools you want to apply to - documenting the cost and showing them the difference in cost between each school and UD. You may learn alot, and it may show your parents that you’ve really thought about everything and are approaching your college decision in a mature fashion. You might also enlist the help of the college counselor at your high school.</p>
<p>Is it that they want you to go to UD no matter what, or that they cannot or do not want to pay more than they would pay for UD?</p>
<p>You may want to ask which it really is – if you get into a school with the same or lower net cost as UD, would they let you go there?</p>
<p>That said, taking a lot of student loans is generally a bad idea, and they would reasonably balk at co-signing student loans (which would be needed for student loans more than the Stafford loan limits).</p>
<p>While some of the super-selective schools (e.g. Harvard and Stanford) are quite generous with need-based aid (check the net price calculators), Berkeley is unlikely to be affordable to an out of state student needing financial aid unless s/he is a mechanical engineering major who gets the full ride Drake Scholarship.</p>
<p>Realistically, you are looking for either generous-with-financial-aid schools or those with near-full-ride merit scholarships that you have a chance for. If you have a realistic change at a super-selective school, you probably have a realistic chance at scholarships like Park at NCSU, Robertson at UNC-CH/Duke, Morehead-Cain at UNC-CH, President’s at Georgia Tech, etc… There are also a very small number of full or near-full ride scholarships for GPA and test score stats (e.g. schools listed in <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html</a> ).</p>
<p>Note that if your major is chemical engineering, UD is considered one of the top schools for that major.</p>
<p>For students who qualify for significant need-based aid, the net cost to attend the most selective private schools can be even cheaper than the cost to attend the in-state public flagship. </p>
<p>Take a look at the following table:
[Best</a> Values in Private Colleges, 2011-12](<a href=“http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/privatecolleges/]Best”>Kiplinger | Personal Finance News, Investing Advice, Business Forecasts)
Subtract the Average Need-Based Aid figure from the Total Cost Per Year figure.
In some cases, the remainder is less than the Total Cost Per Year (In-State) for Delaware and other schools in the following table:
[Best</a> Values in Public Colleges, 2011-12](<a href=“http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges/]Best”>Best College Values, 2019 | Kiplinger)</p>
<p>(Your mileage may vary.)</p>
<p>Tagging on to the other responses: (a) your parents may not be aware that there may be opportunities to attend a less-selective private school for a price comparable to their in-state public university, and (b) if it does turn out that you wind up at UD, you can get just as good an education there as you can anywhere else; don’t believe the hype that you need to go to a so-called “top” college to be successful.</p>
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<p>School can cost upwards of $50,000 per year - how are you going to cover that with “loans or working”??? Even if your parents agree to help you, you are going to need significant need-based or merit aid to cover the cost of attendance at most private and out-of-state schools. Figure that the most you can borrow your first year is $5,500 . . .</p>
<p>And, even if your parents are willing to pay $7,000, depending on their income and assets, their “expected financial contribution” (EFC) could be be significantly higher . . . and even in the best possible situation, the most need-based aid you could qualify for is the difference between what they’re expected to pay and the actual cost of attendance. If that isn’t enough, then you have to look for schools that offer merit aid.</p>
<p>What I would suggest, as a starting point, is to go to the websites for each of the schools you’re interested in, do a search for the school’s “net price calculator” and find out what the school would expect you to pay if you are admitted. What the calculator tells you is not a guarantee . . . but at least it will give you an approximate idea of where you stand.</p>
<p>Depending on what those numbers are, you may then want to go back to your parents and show them that out-of state or private school may not be as expensive as they think . . . and (as noted above) it might even be cheaper than Univ. of Delaware!</p>
<p>Your other option, if those numbers don’t work, is to take a look at your options for [**automatic/guaranteed](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html][b]automatic/guaranteed[/url][/b”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html)[/b</a>] merit aid . . . which could also dramatically reduce your cost of attendance at some schools if your GPA and test scores are high enough.</p>
<p>Finally, you can look at schools that other good merit aid that isn’t guaranteed . . . and tell your parents that you’d like to apply, but would only attend if you get the merit aid you need.</p>
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<p>If that’s the “average” score, then that means that although there are UD students with lower scores, there are also UD students with much higher scores! I am sure that you could find students who are your intellectual peers (and even students quite a bit smarter than you!) . . . if you take challenging classes, those are probably the kids you’ll find sitting next to you! Also, take a look at the UD [honors</a> program](<a href=“Honors College | Challenge. Enrichment. Community.”>http://www.udel.edu/honors/about/index.html). If you can get an affordable education at UD, it might not be as bad as you think!</p>
<p>My friend’s daughter will be going to UD honors college this fall. She’s around a 3.8 gpa and over 2000 SAT. There are smart kids at UD. And I think that 1200 average is just verbal/math. But I don’t blame you for wanting a choice. You’ve gotten a lot of good advice about merit aid, etc. but if you endup at UD, it’s not a bad place at all.</p>
<p>UD is a fine school. It isnt a tippy top school but it is ok. Will they pay for you to apply to other schools? Will they fill out the FAFSA or CSS? IF so, then apply to the schools with excellent need based aid and see what happens. You can address price of attending your accepted schools when you have the numbers in front of you.</p>
<p>I think the starting point is a discussion with your parents about why they want you to attend UofD. There are a lot of assumptions in the above posts that it’s about money. That may one concern. Or it may be that there are other concerns as well and money is the easiest one to share. Perhaps they are concerned about your ability to manage far from home - especially if there are medical, mental health, or trust/maturity issues. Perhaps they want to able to attend your performances/games/whatever and be part of your life and make sure you stay part of your community at home - a lot easier if you are a short drive away. Maybe it’s simply that they don’t buy into the whole ‘consumer shopping model’ for education and it’s not part of their upbringing (you go to college near your home is the model for most of Europe and Asia). You won’t know if you don’t ask.</p>
<p>In our affluent and educated neighborhood, there are a number of families (admittedly a minority) who have told their kids, starting in grade 9, that they will be going to the local (well regarded) state university. Period. It’s not about money (okay, it’s probably somewhat about money), but it is about wanting them to find jobs, spouses and lives close to home. They assume correctly that kids who move away may or may not move back. </p>
<p>For those of us who do allow our kids to go to school far from home, for whatever reason, it is one of the risks we accept because our hierarchy of values is different. Not better - different.</p>
<p>If it makes you feel better about UD, the valedictorian of my school is going there next year, and she got a 2350 on the SAT, so smart people do go there.</p>
<p>I agree that talking to your parents about their reasons is a good idea. Maybe talk to your guidance counselor as well? Most counselors agree that you should apply to more than one school, so maybe he/she could better explain to your parents why having options is ideal.</p>
<p>* It is not so much a problem with finances, as my family can afford to pay for about 7k a year and I am planning on taking loans or working,*</p>
<p>Yes, it is about finances. $7k plus your work income plus small student loans won’t cover much…won’t even cover UDel.</p>
<p>afford to pay for about 7k a year and I am planning on taking loans or working, as it is about convincing them that there are other opportunities (plus the average SAT score for UD is a 1200 so it doesn’t appeal to me all that much). To</p>
<p>$7k per year wouldn’t even cover the cost of UDel, do your parents know how much UDel costs??? It costs about $24k per year for an instate student!</p>
<p>Finances are an issue. For one thing, UCB would never be affordable to you.</p>
<p>What are your stats? GPA and test scores???</p>
<p>What is your major?</p>
<p>YOU can’t borrow much…only 5500 for your freshman year…so you’re limited to that. Your parents won’t co-sign for more loans, so you need to deal with reality.</p>
<p>The average SAT at a school is MEANINGLESS, especially if you’re in a challenging major. The challenging majors attract the best students, so the students with the lower stats won’t be in your classes. There are plenty of very smart kids at UDel.</p>