<p>My dad just walked up to me and told me that he'd compiled a list of five colleges I can apply to, and then I can choose one other. Three of the five are safetys, the other two are match or maybe reaches but not the places I'd want to go most. what am i going to do? i've worked way too hard for this. I have a 33 act, above 750 sat iis, 4.6 GPA, activities.... i mean, i know im not an 'in' for yale, but seriously, i should be able to apply to some schools that have students with relatively my stats, right? i need to find a job, but there are none around here for teens. what about those secret shopper jobs? are they legit? im babbling.</p>
<p>They can’t stop you from applying places. However, if they are paying for your college education, that’s a different story.</p>
<p>agreed…ask your dad about your finances…he may just think $200,000 is impossible-even though a lot of ivies offer great aid, for many.</p>
<p>Could it be that your parents have done a lot of research on this and have compiled a list of 5 colleges that fit into what they may feel is best for your situation? In other words, maybe these five colleges have decent academic reputations, with locations that are manageable from your home, and AFFORDABLE. Compromise with them. Explain to them that you will apply to the 5 colleges that they suggested (hopefully one of them is to your liking). Then explain to them that you would like to apply to 2 reaches of your choice with the understanding that if you do get in and their financial/merit package doesn’t come close to the other 5 colleges, then you will drop the subject. On the other hand, if you do get accepted to one or two of your reaches AND their financial/merit package comes in close to the other 5 colleges, get a promise from your parents that they will re-evaluate and give equal consideration to those schools.</p>
<p>You can just apply and agree to pay the application fee. Then you can compare FinAid options…your dad may be right but it’s worth a shot</p>
<p>the colleges they chose are based mainly off of tuition. the thing is, im pretty sure we can get finaid, my dad just doesn’t believe colleges really offer it. </p>
<p>i would pay myself, i dont have a job though. are there any ways a person can get money through working in the internet that’s not a scam? </p>
<p>i could always get out the ol’ lemonade stand.</p>
<p>It is easy to get your family’s expected financial contribution. That will tell you if you will be eligible for need based aid, and how much you will be eligible for. If you are truly eligible for need-based financial aid, with your statistics, you may well find private colleges to be cheaper than public college. Can you have your HS guidance counselor explain to him how this works?</p>
<p>(You know the top colleges give no merit aid, right? </p>
<p>There are several threads here on college confidential about full ride scholarships. Surely your dad wouldn’t object to that!)</p>
<p>yeah, i’ve been trying to get the idea across, they just don’t believe it–they think its a scam somehow. </p>
<p>i mean, i don’t even know if i could get into any of the schools that offer that much financial aid. i don’t have a perfect SAT or anything. im a little scared ill be battling for the chance to apply and then just not get in anywhere anyway. </p>
<p>but that is a good idea, maybe i’ll get my counselor to explain.</p>
<p>Your parents may not be well informed. </p>
<p>For many top schools, the amount of grants they give out can equal and in many cases be lower than the cost of attending a local state college. Try to explain that to them in a logical fashion. </p>
<p>An example of Yale financial aid. </p>
<p>[Yale</a> Cuts Costs for Families and Students | Financial Aid | Freshmen | Office of Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://www.yale.edu/admit/freshmen/financial_aid/index.html]Yale”>http://www.yale.edu/admit/freshmen/financial_aid/index.html)</p>
<p>You could order this paper online </p>
<p>[SSRN-Do</a> and Should Financial Aid Packages Affect Students’ College Choices? by Christopher Avery, Caroline Hoxby](<a href=“http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=379801]SSRN-Do”>http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=379801) </p>
<p>for a few dollars and then have a basis for explaining why tuition is not the only issue when comparing colleges. A high-scoring student may as well apply to top colleges and see what happens.</p>
<p>aranyia: my parents worked at restaurants their entire lives. They saved $ for me nonetheless. I got accepted to a HYP college which shaved about 2/3 off the entire costs my four years. With their revised FA (because the schools are RICH and don’t want finances to be a barrier to anyone), it would have even been less.</p>
<p>You have great stats. Look at your state school and see what full-ride scholarships you’d be competive for – once you start making waves there, hopefully your folks will see that lots of schools are very benevolent. If you’re a church/temple/mosque attending family, perhaps have a clergyman speak to them? Or your guidance counselor or another trusted family friend who has more experience w/college finances?</p>
<p>Good luck to you.</p>
<p>I would pay the application fees and apply if I really wanted to go there.</p>
<p>thanks, i think i’m going to print out the articles and show them to my parents.</p>
<p>plus, i got a job as a waitress (so excited to have gotten it) so it looks like i can pay for the application fees myself.</p>
<p>aranyria - </p>
<p>Show your parents the Financial Aid forum here at cc. The link is on the left-hand side of the screen. You could also introduce them to the Parents Forum. When they start communicating with parents who have been-there and done-that, they may feel more confident about your college options. </p>
<p>Wishing you all the best.</p>
<p>dude i agree with everyone if u really wan tto then apply but still its kinda hard if ur parents are paying the college</p>
<p>Well, I gave my daughter a list of 25 schools, but she only wants to apply for 10 of them. Maybe you should explain to your father to let you try one or two schools you like and see how much financial aid you can get. It is worth $140 to try. If that doesn’t work, maybe you can borrow money from your friends or relatives.</p>
<p>Make deal with your father that you will pay for the applications at Yale or other schools that are not on his list AND that if your do not get enough financial aid (need or merit) to bring it in line with the schools he chose, that you will NOT ask to go there, will not ask to take on massive student loan debt, and will not burst out crying because you got accepted to Yale and cannot afford to go there. Write up a contract and sign it. Tell your father to seal it in an envelope and you can open it up and review it when each acceptance arrives. But FIRST, you need to know if he is willing to fill out the FAFSA and Profile forms disclosing all of his financial information. If he is not, then this is a moot discussion. The FAFSA information is on a GOVERNMENT website. The “.gov” address should convince him it is not a scam. Good luck.</p>