<p>I am going to be attending the University of San Francisco this this fall, which I am really happy about since USF was my first choice. However in my financial aid package, I basically got not aid, and the amount that I would be paying for the school year would be around $50k. I do not live in CA, therefore I received even less aid.
I am attending this year, but I am not sure whether I should transfer out to another college sophomore year since my parents cannot keep paying $50k a year. I have tried talking with USF again and again, but they refuse to give me any more aid.
I am not sure what I should do. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>you are getting ripped off. Go to your local college for a year and make some wise financial decisions for the next year.</p>
<p>I think it would be a much better idea to start at a less expensive school, perhaps even one of your instate publics, and then transfer and finish your degree at USF. If you got no FA or scholarships, you’re really not risking losing anything as a transfer later on…but by starting there it sounds as if you are risking breaking the bank and not finishing school on time! Also, since the best aid is usually reserved for freshmen, you will never know what you could have received. I don’t know what your family’s financial situation is but $50K is a lot of money for a single year at a dream school!</p>
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<p>University of San Francisco is a private Jesuit school. Your state of residency has no affect on your financial aid award. It’s based on your need…and USF does not guarantee to meet full need. It sounds like you got accepted, but received no institutional aid and didn’t qualify for federal grants. Sometimes private schools like USF do preferential packaging with their best aid going to their most highly sought after applicants. Or it may be that your family EFC was simply too high to qualify for aid. What was your EFC on the FAFSA form?</p>
<p>The cost of USF is the same for instate and out of state students. You need to discuss the finances with your parents. Are they willing and able to pay your full costs for four years? If not, you need to find a more affordable option.</p>
<p>^I read that statement about aid and thought she might be forgoing state grant aid/scholarships by going OOS. I didn’t realize USF was Jesuit and am surprised as all the Catholic schools I’m familiar with seem to be fairly generous with merit aid. Pinkbubble, if you could elaborate on the reason for your choice and what else is at stake, it would be very helpful!</p>
<p>why don’t you look at other catholic schools, check university of dallas. depending on your gpa and sat, they have merit scholarships.</p>
<p>Though Catholic schools do tend to have merit awards, everyone does not get one. If you look at % getting them, they are not incredibly high. Also, in order to make a dent in $50K+ of costs, you are going to have to get one heck of an award.</p>
<p>I researched my college choices intensively when I was looking for a college, and usf’s location, teaching style, atmosphere was what I wanted. It was only the cost that bugged me. My parents can pay for the first year, but not for all four years. I know there’s always the option of transferring, but I do not know much about the whole transferring process. would it be wiser to transfer to somewhere else with a lower cost? but then again, would I receive the same quality of education?</p>
<p>Your parents can pay for the first year, but just exactly where will you get the $150k plus for the next three years? If you transfer after one year, how will you pay for the remaining years of your education at another college or university?</p>
<p>You really like USF, but you can’t afford it. That is sad, but it is the stone cold truth. Think very, very, very carefully before you use up all of your college money on just one year. $50k spread out over four years at your home-state public university could cover a great part of your costs. It will go even further if you spend the first two years at a community college.</p>
<p>Think of it this way: Imagine that your dream car costs $45k. It is perfect. It exceeds every industry standard. However, you only have $5k left over for insurance, repairs, and gas. Just exactly how far can you go before you run out of money? If you buy a $25k car, it might not be as super perfect as the other model, but you’d have $25k for insurance, repairs, and gas which means you probably can pay for hotels and food on that road trip you want to take too.</p>
<p>Another thing to consider - you get the big bang for your educational buck your Junior and Senior years when you are generally in smaller classes, are taking your specialty and upper division classes in your major, and generally finally being challenged vs the first two years of classes which are primarily General Ed and Intro to XYZ.</p>
<p>Why on earth blow 50K for a bunch of generic freshman classes if you can’t remain at the private institute?? You are MUCH better off living with your parents, taking your first two years at a community college and THEN transfer to a good school for your Junior and Senior year.</p>
<p>Annika, one reason for attending a smaller Jesuit school is that you get that personal attention from the start (DD just graduated from another Jesuit school…also in CA so I know this first hand). BUT the reality is…the student’s family has to be able to pay the bills for this. This family does not apparently have the resources to pay for all four years at USF.</p>
<p>That being the case, I agree that it’s where you get your DEGREE from that matters in the end. Do the gen ed courses somewhere less expensive AND then transfer.</p>
<p>But in all cases…college needs to be at a place where the student can afford to attend. </p>
<p>The Jesuit schools are generous with aid to some students, but in my experience, the DO enrollment management. If the student is a top student they want to attract in admissions, the aid package might be a better one. Also, many of these schools also have merit aid that is generous to top students. </p>
<p>To the OP…you need to discuss this with your parents. You cannot complete a degree in one year. It sounds like you will exhaust any money your family has during your freshman year. That is NOT a good plan as you will need at least three more years to complete your degree. How will you pay for those years? Please…review this situation and come up with a realistic plan.</p>
<p>Spending $50k for frosh year is not a good idea when you can’t continue all 4 years.</p>
<p>The first year you’re just doing general ed classes - not worth $50k if that is the only year you can pay that much.</p>
<p>I would recommend attending a state school for 2 years and then transferring **OR do a gap year **and reapply to other Jesuit schools that will be better financially for your family. (In your case, I think taking a gap year might be best since transferring usually doesn’t net much merit or aid either.)</p>
<p>You say that you “researched” your schools, but you didn’t take money into consideration. Your family probably has a high income yet you didn’t determine that it wouldn’t get any aid.</p>
<p>What is your family’s EFC? Does USF use CSS Profile?</p>
<p>What are your stats?</p>
<p>What state are you from?</p>
<p>USF is a FAFSA ONLY school. They do not guarantee to meet full need at all. The OPs FAFSA information would be used there to determine eligibility and awarding of all need based aid…federally funded and institutional.</p>
<p>Very few colleges give aid to transfer students, so you’d be wise not to attend a college for a year that you really can’t afford. It’s highly unlikely USF will give you more money after freshman year. Usually freshman year aid is students’ best financial aid at most colleges. USF also doesn’t promise to meet students’ full financial need.</p>
<p>You’d be better off taking a year off and then applying to colleges that you’re certain you can afford. That may mean going to a college that you can commute to or one where your stats make it likely you’ll get merit aid.</p>
<p>There are many places that are cheaper and offer an equivalent quality of education to USF’s.</p>
<p>I read over your post fast and notice you are thinking about transferring and would like to attend a school in Ca for less than 50k. If I were you I would quickly start lookingn at Santa Barbara City College, campus is right off the ocean and some may say the school has a share with University of California Santa Barbara ( living wise). I have also heard Santa Barbara City College transfer rates are good. While attending Santa Barbara City College you can also try to establish residency in California. Good luck.
[Santa</a> Barbara City College](<a href=“http://www.sbcc.edu/]Santa”>http://www.sbcc.edu/)</p>
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<p>It’s not so easy to establish residency in California for purposes of gaining in-state tuition at public universities. It’s nearly impossible for a student who is under 24 and dependent financially on parents.</p>
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<p>[Establishing</a> California Residence for Tuition Purposes, Office of the Registrar](<a href=“404 - Page Not Found”>404 - Page Not Found)</p>
<p>I agree with the other posters; there’s no point in attending USF if it’s not affordable for all 4 years. That $50K is a lot to spend for the fun of living in San Francisco and the privilege of attending a good Jesuit university for one year.</p>