I have been accepted to both NCSU & UofSC for the upcoming 2020-2021 school year.
I want to major in journalism, which would be perfect at UofSC considering they have a School of Mass Communications and Journalism. However, NCSU does not offer journalism as a major so I would be forced to major in communications instead. Along with academics, I prefer everything else about UofSC over NCSU. (MUCH better housing, clubs I plan to be in are much more involved, stronger Greek life, nicer campus, better connections, the list goes on.)
Obviously UofSC is my top choice.
Unfortunately, my parents are saying that if I am not offered a good financial offer from UofSC (close to in-state price), that they will not allow me to attend (though I have tried negotiating with them & offering to try to establish SC residency for my junior & senior year).
However, if I go to NCSU, I do not want to attend more than one year and if I get rejected from my dream school (UNC) again, then I will want to transfer out-of-state. Which will make the cost of my total college as expensive (or even more expensive) than if I went to UofSC all 4 years.
For context, I am a resident of North Carolina. I am located only around 45 miles from the South Carolina border. My counselor at my high school assured me that she had helped her niece (from the same area as me) obtain in-state tuition and said she could do the same for me. After months of me asking what I should do, she continued to blowed me off and finally just told me to talk to the financial aid office about it. However, I know the financial aid office is just going to tell me the only way I can qualify for in-state tuition is through receiving merit scholarships (which I did not receive any of).
Are there any loopholes that I may be able to use to obtain in-state tuition for UofSC? Or any good scholarships? I have applied to many of my local scholarships.