<p>Hi! I'm a Senior from KY and in the middle of applications to schools and looking at scholarships (woo!) and I pretty much have my heart set on Butler University. Xavier University in Cincinnati is my 2nd choice. I'm also applying to Northern Kentucky University and Thomas More because they're close to home as backups. My parents are extremely supportive of me going to Butler, and said they'll be happy for me wherever I go.</p>
<p>I was looking at scholarship opportunities for Thomas More, and I qualify for all of their top scholarships and since it's a super small school, I have a pretty good chance of getting a full tuition scholarship, or extremely close to it. Once my mom found this out, she said she wanted me to reconsider going to Butler and think about staying home or somewhere close if I got a full ride. But the thing is, I don't like any of the schools she wants me to look into. When I tell her this, she gets frustrated and tells me that I need to be open minded. I am, but none of these schools fit my personality or what I'm looking for. I do have extremely good chances of A) getting in, and B) getting a good chunk of school paid for at all of the schools she wants me to look at. Money is not an issue for us, but everyone can agree that scholarships are nice :) I have a 30 ACT and 4.13 weighted GPA, and am 6th in my class out of 87.</p>
<p>I guess my roundabout question is, should I settle on a school that I don't like because of the scholarships and to make my mom happy, or should I stick to a school that I'm really passionate about (Butler), still with scholarship opportunities?</p>
<p>I think she's nervous because I've only visited Butler and Xavier, but the minute I walked on Butler's campus I felt like I should be there. I liked Xavier, but not near as much as Butler. I can't find any definite scholarship numbers at Butler without filling out tax info and such, which I have no clue how to do haha. I've looked at plenty of other schools, but should I let the possibility of a full ride to somewhere I don't want to go keep me from going to where I feel I belong? I feel like I'll be pressured into going somewhere I don't want to go and regret not going where I want to.</p>
<p>Sorry for the drawn-out rant, but thanks for your help :)</p>
<p>Understand that you are not paying for college, your parents are. Your mom probably wants you to go to Thomas More because as you’ve stated, you might get a full ride. </p>
<p>I think if you got a decent amount of scholarships and aid(if they give it) from Butler your mother will probably support your choice to go. At the end of the day, you have to understand the financial burden college puts on parents. There are far too many stories of families going broke so that their child could go to their “dream school” despite having plenty of less costly options. </p>
<p>I applied to several colleges that I wasn’t a fan of for my mother. And you know what? I’m not going to any of them right now, I’m at a school I picked. If your parents are paying for applications and your college, you ought to at least apply. Then, you can look at which ones accept you and what sort of financial aid offers you get, and go from there. You may find out that the FA at Butler is close to the FA from Thomas Moore, and your mom will be more likely to understand.</p>
<p>I’m kinda in a situation similar to you. My dad pressured me to apply to Rutgers, and I finally decided to apply a couple of weeks ago…however, it’s due to prestige, not money costs. I’d say that you should definitely apply.</p>
<p>The “happy” versus “not broke” part is hard to figure out, especially if your parents are tight to the vest with their finances.</p>
<p>I know quite a few people who “had to” go to the college their parents picked, because of FA issues. One refused to pay anything at all for college if they went to the one for $20,000 per year, but would pay tuition plus all other costs (around $10,000 per year) for the college they ended up at. Making that decision at age 17, being warned about how much loans they would get, was really difficult and my friend in their 40s still is upset about it.</p>
<p>But if she can afford it, maybe you could put together a “presentation” or “cost/benefit analysis” of what Butler has versus other schools.</p>
<p>My husband and I are committed to put together some money for my son if he goes to the cheapest option or ends up with scholarships over a certain amount. Most expensive, we’ll probably give him nothing above his college costs (which we will be paying with loans from our retirement accounts for the most part), but if he decides to go to the cheaper one, we’d give him some money, maybe $10,000 per year, but after he graduates (and possibly $10,000 per year for the four years after he graduates). Then again, maybe he’ll have to wait until his youngest sibling graduates :)</p>
<p>For any of you in that spot, where your parents do have some money, maybe you could at least negotiate a bit. As long as they aren’t hardliners about not paying at all for more expensive options.</p>