<p>If you don’t really want to do armed forces work, do not do ROTC. </p>
<p>When you applied to U of Arizona, how did you think you would pay for attending? I will stick my neck out and say that I don’t believe your SAT scores or GPA will put you in the running for any merit money (which would go to top applicants). With an EFC of $0 you will get the max Pell grant of $5500 and a Stafford loan of $5500. That won’t cover your costs at U of Arizona but it will come close to covering instate costs in YOUR state of residency especially if you are able to commute.</p>
<p>Sorry, I didn’t mean to mention ROTC like that. I have actually always wanted to do work in the military. I was always interested in that because my aunts and uncles served and I kinda wanted to do the same.</p>
<p>Be aware that ROTC scholarships are competitive (even more so now with the economy stumbling) so you may not get any $. Did you look at any in-state safeties?</p>
<p>Why would you end up $200K in debt when the total COA for 4 years would only be $120K max? COA figures include discretionary expenses and billable costs…you can control your discretionary expenses to a certain degree and can also choose to pay them out of pocket by earning the money, which is what many students do. As thumper said, you should be eligible for the maximum Pell grants and would probably receive other smaller federal grants like SEOG and work-study as well. If you don’t want to, or can’t, take loans for the remainder then you should be applying instate. Paying for college, or anything else for that matter, involves making smart decisions - you have to make choices that you can actually afford!</p>
<p>Are there any minimums for ACTs for ROTC? Is an ACT 20 high enough? Don’t you have to major in some specific majors?</p>
<p>Anyway…with an EFC 0, you’re not going to get enough money to pay the OOS tuition, room, board and books for UAz. </p>
<p>You will get gapped big time in aid. </p>
<p>You can only borrow $5500 for freshman year. And, if your EFC is 0, then it would not be right for you to ask your family to co-sign or borrow. Of course, no school is worth a lot of debt anyway. </p>
<p>What state are you in?</p>
<p>you need to find some affordable schools in your state.</p>
<p>I think you need to have instate (CA?) acceptances and then compare the financial offers from both before you make any final decisions. If it’s going to come down to scraping up the money to get by at Arizona, perhaps you’d rather spend your first two years at a more affordable school and then transfer if you’re still attracted to Arizona at that point. Financial stress and college are not a good combination, imo, nor is it much fun paying back student loans for 10 years or more. If you need help deciphering your aid awards when they come, feel free to post them here so you’ll have a clear understanding of what you’re getting into. Good luck…I have no info at all on ROTC other than to say I know they work very, very hard!</p>
<p>Any chance you are National Merit? Those kids get full ride at UA.<br>
Read the residency rules carefully. Each state is different. Depending on what it says, you might be able to move to AZ, work for a year and then apply as a resident. Of course, in this economy the idea of “work for a year” may be challenging. </p>
<p>Also, contact admissions and ask under what conditions they will waive out of state tuition fees. This is done for top students and some athletes. If they need more javelin throwers and you can heave a javelin, then that sort of thing might pan out. </p>
<p>This is a state school and you just have to expect that their #1 priority is to serve the state’s current residents. They look at you as a sugar daddy. You’ll find that rich kids with so-so GPA’s dot state universities across the land. That’s how you are being viewed (and a bank will loan you the money to make it so). </p>
<p>Keep in mind that UA has graduate school too. You could do an undergraduate in CA and then be a teaching assistant for a Master’s at UA. Teaching assistants usually get fee waivers. (Anything you can teach now? Yoga? Basket weaving? )</p>
<p>The last place to look is to see if you can find some current UA students who were recently from other states (UA on line forum?). They may know some twist or opportunity (such as water boy for the foot ball team = athlete status). </p>
<p>Investigate all the avenues – but you may be out of luck. I am glad to hear you are reluctant to borrow and go.</p>
<p>You can’t apply to the AFROTC scholarship program for next year; the deadline was was December 1. The Navy ROTC scholarship deadline is January 31, and the Army ROTC scholarship deadline is January 10. With a 3.04 GPA and a 20 ACT score you won’t be very competitive for the scholarships to be frank, and you have about a month to a month and a half to get an application together. However, if you really want to go military, then please do try.</p>
<p>Undergradaute teaching assistants, if they even do exist at a university (mine has them), usually don’t get tuition waivers. Sometimes they get paid and sometimes they get credit, but the pay isn’t enough to put a dent in tuition and fees.</p>
<p>I would suggest you look at instate options. </p>
<p>One of my kids attended UAZ out-of-state a few years back. We were Pell Grant eligible and kiddo was gapped BIG time-- no institutional funds awarded and I can’t remember if there was even any SEOG. Also, kiddo was awarded work-study but there were no jobs to be had. (The work-study jobs seemed to have been picked up by instate kids who had gone to the school before the school year began and applied then.) Off-campus jobs were impossible without a car and we did not have $ for a car.</p>
<p>It’s probably not a good idea to attend an out of state college without merit money if you have a lot of need. Is there a specific reason why you don’t like any of the in-state universities in California? The reason I ask is because you might be able to find a school that has what you like about University of Arizona at some of the UCs or CSUs that you might have overlooked previously.</p>
<p>Please don’t assume that this will happen either, by the way. Banks are not legally obligated to loan $100000+ to anyone who walks in. If you don’t have a credit-worthy cosigner or a well-paying job of your own, you might not qualify for enough private student loans to meet your burden, especially if you’re planning to finance the entire thing with loans. What’s even scarier is if you qualify for the 1st or even the 2nd year but not for years 3 and 4, meaning that you have all that debt from UofA but then you have to go to a cheaper school to finish your degree anyway.</p>
<p>A couple of things are unclear to me. The COA for 'Zona OOS is ~$38k; the instate cost is $22k. But, both 'zona schools give OOS ‘discounts’ to those that apply early. Did you receive one of those such that your cost of attendance is similar to that of an instater, i.e, $22k? If so, that is as good as it gets at an OOS public without receiving merit money.</p>
<p>College ain’t free, and Arizona’s taxpayers are’t gonna give a California resident a free deal at their college; heck, California publics don’t even offer California residents a free deal. Your gpa and test scores are probably too low for a ROTC scholarship. </p>
<p>Time to think seriously about a Cal State or community college, unless you live nearby a UC campus and can commute. But, your chances of admission to a UC other than Merced or Riverside are extremely low. Even if you could get into UCI, for example, you have to ask yourself if you are really ready for that type of competition.</p>
<p>No, you’re not independent. Did you read the appeal documentation? One of the items is you have to NOT be declared a dependent on someone’s tax return for two years. Has that already happened? I think not. Acts (i.e. leases, drivers license) occurring less than one year before the petition aren’t considered. You need at least two years of data before you can appeal.</p>