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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>