<p>Your state schools may not be great, but they may be a great place to start your college education, and after you’ve convinced your parents you’re a serious student you can always try transferring.</p>
<p>Your state schools might, in your opinion, not be “all that great” but you absolutely need to research them and you should have one on your target list. It’s quite possible, depending on what state you reside, that it is your absolute best financial choice. Many parents encourage building your list form the bottom up and not the “top down.” So, find a financial safety that you would be willing to go to if push comes to shove and then start moving to other schools, other states, etc. If you are left to fend for yourself financially you really need to look at the resources in your area, in your state regardless of what you perceive the value of your local/state schools.</p>
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<p>This is a list of schools that have made no/low loan pledges. It does not necessarily mean the schools will pick up your EFC.</p>
<p>[Project</a> on Student Debt: Financial Aid Pledges](<a href=“http://projectonstudentdebt.org/pc_institution.php]Project”>http://projectonstudentdebt.org/pc_institution.php)</p>
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<p>Posting your state would not likely compromise anonymity…posting the name of your high school/town might. Anyway, the reason people are asking that, and your intended program of study, is to help advise you of state aid, tuition agreements, and merit or other scholarship aid they may be aware of. For example, residents of RI, VT, NH, MA, CT, and ME are eligible for the New England Regional Tuition Plan, details here:
[New</a> England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) - Tuition Break](<a href=“Home | New England Board of Higher Education”>Home | New England Board of Higher Education)</p>
<p>Some other areas of the country have similar offerings. Afaik, every state has some sort of scholarhsip and/or need based aid program. Some have loan programs as well. These are things you should be aware of, especially if you’re anticipating having to fund your own education.</p>
<p>many states offer different program such as U of Cal blue and Gold plan which gives families with 60k and down enough aid to pay Tuition. But since you say that our state’s school system sucks I extreme doubt it’s Cal since we have two of the best higher ed systems in the world</p>
<p>He’s probably pointing to the fact that cal schools are going to be losing a lot of money due to the California budget problems.</p>
<p>Have a close family friend or respected family member talk to your parents about college. They will listen rationally to them, especially if they have college aged children. You need to be respectful and be willing to compromise on what they can contribute towards college.</p>
<p>If I were the OP, I would just settle on being depressed and go to a CC and transfer.</p>
<p>siglio…there is nothing to be ashamed about if a student attends a CC. NOTHING to be depressed about either. This student needs to look at his longterm goals, not just the first two years of college. The trouble is…he SAYS his parents won’t pay for a community college.</p>
<p>AGAIN I ASK…to the OP…have you talked to your parents about what they DO expect you to be doing after you graduate from high school. My guess is that it is NOT working at McDonalds and sitting at home. My guess is that they expect that you will be continuing your education somewhere.</p>
<p>AND the OPs stats are really not impressive enough at this point to gain him entrance to a very competitive school. Regardless of how good/bad he SAYS his instate public university is…he should be looking at it as a possible financially feasible college.</p>
<p>Alright to answer some questions.</p>
<p>I live in the Northeast and will probably be attending a school in the northeast as well.</p>
<p>Here are my stats if anyone doesn’t know.</p>
<p>GPA: 89.054 (unweighted)
Class Rank: 220/713 (30.8%) (weighted)</p>
<p>SAT scores:
May 09
Math - 630
CR - 490
W - 440</p>
<p>1120/1560</p>
<p>June 09
Math - 620
CR - 540
W - 510</p>
<p>1160/1670</p>
<p>Supscored: 1170/1680</p>
<p>And these are the MAIN schools I’m looking to get into.</p>
<p>Babson College
Bentley University
Northeastern University
University of Florida
Florida State University
Providence College
University of Massachusetts
Quinnipiac University
Arizona State University</p>
<p>My parents pretty much expect my to go to college after a graduate, preferably a top 100 school (rankings are like the only thing they care about, which sucks).</p>
<p>But I don’t know if this will really play a factor or not, but…I do plan to run track in college.</p>
<p>I don’t know if anyone is familiar with college times and stuff but here are my times:
800meter - 2:01
1600/mile - 4:25/4:28
3200/2mile - 9:28/9:39</p>
<p>I’ve been looking at the schools and see what their runners run and I think I might be able to make the team for a few, maybe expect Providence and Florida State.</p>
<p>My times aren’t elite national level top DI schools, but they I think they are decent enough for most DI schools.</p>
<p>If I get an athletic scholorship will that help at all?</p>
<p>How much do typical track athletes get money wise from a school? Is that based more on the school or more of the athletic ability of the athlete?</p>
<p>Do I have better chances of getting in cause of my running?</p>
<p>Edit: Thumper1, by competive do what schools what do you mean?</p>
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<p>I hope UMass is your instate flagship U. Otherwise you are looking at some mighty expensive schools on this list. You have repeatedly said that your parents are NOT going to help you with college expenses. How do you plan to pay the bills?</p>
<p>With your current SAT scores, class rank and GPA NONE of these schools is a sure bet in terms of acceptance, never mind merit aid (the aid based on your academic performance). All of the private schools you have listed have much higher average admit scores than yours…and higher class rank/GPA than yours. </p>
<p>You need at least ONE safety school on your list…a school where you WILL get accepted…and also where you can afford to pay the bills.</p>
<p>And Competitive means just that…those are schools where the admitted student stats (SAT/ACT…class rank/GPA) are VERY high.
I will also say that if Massachusetts IS your home state, I do NOT agree that your instate public university options are poor. If you are OOS, you will have a hefty bill and a smaller likelihood of acceptance with your current stats.</p>
<p>If none of the schools listed is a public university in YOUR home state, I would suggest that you add one.</p>
<p>NOW…regarding your running? Are you being recruited to run in college? I’m not a “sports parent” but my guess is that if you are not being recruited, you will not be getting a sports scholarship. Those are reserved for recruited athletes to help lure them into program.</p>
<p>If you want a wild card for your list look at Western State College of Colorado. You would qualify for an automatic $3000 merit scholarship with your GPA etc. The out of state tuition is not cheap, but comparable to many state’s in-state tuition. Their runners run at high altitude (the college is at high altitiude) Division II with 13 consecutive national championships in their recent history. Business is one of their stronger programs. Around 2500 students representing all 50 states. But you better like cold, sunny winters and it’s quite remote.</p>
<p>I’ve been getting some calls from some small DI, DII and DIII schools but most of them are academically weak.</p>
<p>I’ve been talking with some of the coaches I listed above and some still don’t know if I am able to get money.</p>
<p>I know those schools I’ve listed are a reach for me regarding my stats that’s why I’m hopeing my running can sort of help me in.</p>
<p>And Arizona State is sort of my safety as of right now.</p>
<p>And to Thumper, maybe it’s because I don’t know anyone really who’s gone to college, but I always thought I could just get out a bunch of loans and then pay them when I graduate.</p>
<p>And like I said, I know these schools are a reach, but I’m trying to see if my running will be able to get me in.</p>
<p>Also momofthreeboys, you say that I would automatic qualify for 3k in merit, how do you find this out?</p>
<p>Is it on their website or something?</p>
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<p>Federal student loans are fairly limited. The Stafford loan is available to any student that is eligible for federal aid. For a dependent student (which you will be) it is a maximum of $5500 for a freshman, $6500 for a sophomore, $7500 for third year and beyond, and with an aggregate limit of $31,000. (meaning this is the most you can borrow for your whole undergrad education). </p>
<p>If you are end up finishing in 4 years and borrowing $27,000 (and are paying the interest each year while you are in school) then your repayments will be **$312 a month every month for 10years. ** And that is just for a total cumulative debt of $27000 - nowhere near enough to pay for even a year at the schools you are talking about. If you are unable to pay the interest each year (at 6.8%, the rate for unsubsidized Stafford loans, @ $374 year 1, $816 year 2, $1326 year 3, $1836 year 4) then the interest will be added to the loan periodically and you will be incurring interest on the interest with the debt growing to @ $32,000+ at the end of 4 years once all the interest is added (about $368 a month in repayments).</p>
<p>The other federal student loan is the Perkins but that is need based only and is very hard to get as the funding is very limited.</p>
<p>There is a parent loan, the PLUS loan, which must be borrowed by your parents. As you have said they are unwilling to help with school are they likely to be willing to borrow to help?</p>
<p>Other than that there are only private loans. As a young person with no job and little, if any, credit history you will probably be unable to borrow private funds unless you can get a cosigner. That is someone with a ood credit rating who is willing to take the risk of being responsible for repaying your loans if you do not.</p>
<p>The maximum Stafford loan you can borrow is plenty to borrow and repay. Even if you are able to borrow more it is very unwise to do so as you will be saddling yourself with a tremendous burden of debt that you will be struggling to pay for years. You really need to get a bit realistic and add some more affordable schools to your list. By all means try for the schools that interest you, but **add **some that are safeties both in acceptance terms (meaning you can get into them) and in financial terms (meaning you can pay for them). You need some options you can fall back on if these out of state and private school prove impossible to get in to or impossible to pay for.</p>
<p>To find the auto scholarships, look on the college websites under Financial Aid and/or Scholarships. Many will have threshold scholarships and they will state on the website the ACT/SAT required and the high school GPA required. As you descend down the ladder of selectivity the threshold tends to also move down. Granted you may be accepted at a more selective school, but really if you are on the hook for the cost of your education you will not be able to be terribly picky - you will need to chase the money. Finally, before you look down your nose at less selective schools there are advantages to being “one of the brighter” kids with first crack at opportunities that you won’t get if you go to a school where you are in the middle of the pack or worse. These are things you need to be thinking about. If you are looking at Babson or Bentley then you are probably interested in business or marketing or some tangent and internships are going to be very important. For instance using Arizona State as an example, look at their info and also look at Northern Arizona and compare them. The difference in caliber and outcomes may not be all that markedly different but the costs to you might be. NAU has fixed rate tuition for all 4 years and you would qualify for $5500 per year in merit scholarship, that plus Staffords would knock out There are great threads on this topic if you search.</p>
<p>Perhaps this site can help you figure out if track will be your hook, and where you fit in:
[Men’s</a> Track Recruiting Guidelines](<a href=“http://www.ncsasports.org/recruiting-tools/track/mens-track-recruiting-guidelines]Men’s”>http://www.ncsasports.org/recruiting-tools/track/mens-track-recruiting-guidelines)</p>
<p>If you scroll down, it looks like most DI and DII schools do not give many track scholarships (12/school average) and this site says that the average scholarship is worth a bit over $15K. So, it would help but probably not cover enough of the bills at a $45K school to keep your debt manageable unless you were also able to get merit or need based aid.</p>
<p>Okay thanks everybody so far for their help, but I guess I have another question.</p>
<p>How do kids who attend the schools I listed above attend?</p>
<p>Do most of them get merit? Do most of them have parents pay for it? </p>
<p>Does anybody know like the average parents pay for college?</p>
<p>Here’s a site that will give you details of their average fin aid awards (with and without parent loans). Average can mean alot of things, so not the most useful tool. But, a school with an average percentage of need met of 80% is almost always going to be more generous than one with a 45% average.</p>
<p>[Student</a> Aid on the Web](<a href=“http://www.studentaid2.ed.gov/gotocollege/campustour/]Student”>http://www.studentaid2.ed.gov/gotocollege/campustour/)</p>
<p>I would guess that most people pay through a combination of savings, grants, and loans. Parent contributions are likely all over the place as some parents pay 100% and some do not contribute at all. It really depends on their attitudes and ability to help, which is a very individual thing.</p>
<p>How do kids who attend the schools I listed above attend?</p>
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Probably not. Merit awards go to the students in the top statistically for their schools. For instance at my daughters school her ACT of 32 got her a very good merit scholarship that includes a full tuition waiver plus gives her cash for other costs. Her ACT of 32 is well above the average for the school. If she had had a slightly higher higher ACT (1 point higher) or had been a national merit finalist she would have got a little more. If her ACT had been one point lower her scholarship would have been several $thousand a year less. If her ACT had been the average for the school or lower she would not have received a merit scholarship.</p>
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Depends on whether they qualify for need based ais and/or merit based aid. Some will pay it all. Some will pay little or non. SOme will pay in between.</p>
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<p>There is no ‘average’. We pay very little toward our daughters school as she has both excellent merit based awards and need based aid. Others at her school are paying the full price because their students qualify for neither need based aid or merit based scholarships. Other will be paying somewhere in between the 2 extremes.</p>
<p>I would agree with the above posters. I would say that I suspect the kids who pay little or non are fewer than “some” and I would suspect that the kids who pay little or non are at the tippy top academically at these schools. I agree that the majority of families pay with a combination of savings, grants and/or scholarships and loans. Don’t forget that grants and loans generally come after the expected family contribution (EFC).</p>
<p>If you’re in California, go to a community college, work your ass off, and transfer to a UC for your last two years. 2 years at a UC are about $18k in tuition and academic expenses. You can make that work, especially if you’re smart about housing and such.</p>