<p>So I've been home on winter break after my first semester of college, and I've done some thinking and realized the university I am currently attending is not for me. It was a hard semester, my parents split a week before I left for school, I was pretty distraught. I want to go to school a little further away, down south, and really experience life on my own, with no or little distractions.</p>
<p>Here's the problem: though comfortably paying my tuition and expenses now here at Penn State (I think ~21,000 a year), I am afraid they might not be able to afford anything more, especially if I decide to go to an out of state public school. I am getting no aid from PSU, just a Stafford Loan. However, together my parents made around $150,000, putting us around the upper middle class, but alone they are struggling. I am living with my mom who makes around $62,000 a year. Is it correct that schools who look at FAFSA will only see my mothers information? Can I expect to get any federal aid with her salary being so low? I am 18 if that matters for anything. Thanks for reading!</p>
<p>Yes FAFSA just asks for the information of the custodial parent. But $62 is probably too high an income for any federal grant aid (the main federal grant, the pell, required an EFC of <4617 in 2009-2010). With a $62k income your EFC will be higher than that. You may be eligible for WS and will be eligible for loans. Anything else would depend on the school(s) and their aid policies - that is if they have any institutional aid to offer.</p>
<p>The problem is that none of the schools that only use FAFSA meet 100% of need. Some of them will meet need for their top students but don’t do so for most. It’s especially hard for a transfer.</p>
<p>Alabama is well know for throwing money at good (don’t have to be great) students, bt I don’t know how this applies to transfers. Most publics are now looking for OOS students who can pay in full.</p>
<p>here are my stats if it matters:
High School: 3.94 weighted GPA
Top 10% of class
SATs: 1470 M+V (2080)
Major:Engineering (hardest freshman classes)
College GPA: 3.51 (ehh…)</p>
<p>decent ec’s, nothing outstanding. Would it be easier to transfer to a private school? It’s terrible that so few scholarship opportunities are available to transfers when a lot of students end up transferring anyway, sorry I’m just a little frustrated with my (and many others I’m sure) situation. Hopefully I make the best of it.</p>
<p>Most privates will consider your Dad’s income unfortunately. Maybe with 2 households to support, especially if there are not a lot of assets (home equity?) some privates might give you some aid, but it seems doubtful you’d get costs down near the current $21K.</p>
<p>First, I’m sorry to hear about your parents splitting (and the timing!!! But that’s another matter.)</p>
<p>As an aside, I hope your mom gets some kind of stipulation in the divorce that your dad is to continue contributing to your college education. Seriously, I would want something in writing. </p>
<p>What schools are you considering? There are some rather cheap schools in the South. Some do give good students small scholarships for transfer students. Perhaps a small transfer scholarship will get the costs to about $25k…would that be low enough?</p>
<p>OOS publics are not going to give you the financial aid to cover OOS costs, but some might give you a transfer scholarship.</p>
<p>Privates that give the best aid usually will want both parents’ income info.</p>
<p>Yes, really anything around 25K should be fine, considering I can take out small loans if it is high, I just don’t want to be taking out 10,000 a year on loans just to go to another public school. </p>
<p>Schools I am considering include Clemson, South Carolina University, UNC-Chapel Hill, Georgia Tech…honestly I am not too sure where to apply, I want to go to school in the south but I would prefer to live somewhere closer to real civilization (Penn State is extremely, extremely rural), and I would prefer a school with a city atmosphere rather than the college town that State College is, but that isn’t as big of a factor. Clemson is perhaps my #1 choice right now considering it is a good engineering school.</p>
<p>These are the Out-of-State Cost of Attendance (COA) for southern state schools.</p>
<p>$33,750, AUBURN
$31,250, U ALABAMA
$31,872, VIRGINIA TECH
$35,311, U N CAROLINA
$40,086, U GEORGIA
$37,548, CLEMSON
$38,120, GEORGIA TECH</p>
<p>When you say that $25k is fine, do you mean that is what your parents will still pay? And you’ll borrow Stafford loans?? ($6500 for soph year, $7500 for Jr & Sr year).</p>
<p>Many divorcing parents find that it is MUCH more expensive to live in two places than one. Also, the costs to lawyers can be staggering. You need to get assurances from BOTH parents about how much each will pay. </p>
<p>Since your dad makes a lot more than your mom, is he willing to pay proportionately more? Or will he insist only only paying what your mom will pay?</p>
<p>My dad has said he will do whatever it takes to put me through school even if it means paying for it by himself, which he will obviously not be able to do but it shows he is willing to pay at least the same amount he has been paying, the thing is I feel terrible wanting to transfer and jack up the price per year another 10 grand to attend a college that might not even be better than the one I am already attending. I don’t care as much about what school is ‘better’ anymore, prestige doesn’t matter a whole lot to me, I think a college degree is what you make of it.</p>
<p>And yes, I will still borrow loans but I will most likely need some sort of other help whether it be merit aid or other financial assistance. I would rather not have to take out more loans but I still think it would be worth it.</p>
<p>thanks everyone…I’m just going to apply and see how the financial situation looks when the time comes. Now to figure out which institutions are worth sending my money to :/</p>
<p>By all means contact Clemson! They are famous for their welcoming ways. You may find that your strong academic past will get you a tuition waiver and you can pay instate rates. (Many state schools have the option of doing that for strong students). </p>
<p>You clearly are unhappy where you are. It is WORTH it to slog through the challenges of transferring to get to a happier spot. You are up against deadlines, however. Now is the time (like this week??) to get things moving. Good luck!</p>
<p>Olymom…I think Clemson only does that for incoming freshmen as an incentive to get high stats kids as incoming freshmen…that helps with ranking. It doesn’t help Clemson with transfers. That’s why schools are so generous to incoming freshmen. They also have a Dec 1st deadline for scholarships. </p>
<p>From Clemson’s website…</p>
<p>*Academic recruiting scholarships are highly competitive and are awarded to entering freshmen on the basis of their admissions applications, beginning in the fall. *</p>
<p>Having parents divorce is tough to go through, and it makes sense that your first semester consequently was difficult. Before transferring, however, I suggest that you get some counseling because it may be that you don’t need to make a drastic move; you just need counseling to help you handle the emotional turmoil of your parents divorce. Sometimes people try to flee emotional difficulties by making a geographical change, but that doesn’t work because they take their concerns with them.</p>
<p>RT…what is your reason for tranferring? Do you think you might want to transfer out of your geographical area to “get away” from the stress involved in your parents’ divorce?</p>
<p>Or, do you have reasons that would have existed even if your parents were still together?</p>
<p>Yes I am transferring because of my current situation that has little to do with my parents’ separation. However their splitting has caused this to become a much more complicated situation. </p>
<p>I contacted Clemson and other colleges I am looking to apply to and they do not award scholarships to transfer students, however at Clemson you must be there for a semester to be considered for university scholarships.</p>
<p>If you are unhappy at PSU main campus, have you taken a look at the engineering programs at the other campuses around the state? They would still be in the same cost range, and one of them might feel more comfortable to you.</p>
<p>Please be gentle with yourself. Take time to go for a walk, enjoy a cup of coffee, feed the ducks – whatever gives your heart and brain a moment’s rest. </p>
<p>In times like this, it can help to have a couple times a day that are sweet and easy. Over time, eventually, the sweet moments become more numerous and eventually they stitch together to make a sweet day. . . . and then a good week . . . and, hopefully, you move up to a good life.</p>