<p>No no no not OSU, I would be more than lucky to go there. I was referring to OU, which is closer to me. I thought all public schools were state flagship, oops :P</p>
<p>No, the premier state univ is the Flagship.</p>
<p>As many have mentioned, there is a limit on the amount of federal loans a student can take out each year. And depending on your situation, these may be unsubsidized loans - so the total amount you owe at graduation will be higher than the amount you borrowed. You MAY be able to get private loans, but the compounded interest will be even worse. With your intended major, if you finance your education through loans you’ll never be able to buy a car, own a house, probably not even able to rent an apartment. Sure, an Ivy League degree, or in your case one from Georgetown, might make it a little easier to land a job, but it’s still not going to pay you enough to cover your monthly loan payments. If you have an ACT of 34 and your grades are comparable, you should be able to get great merit money from private schools that your parents might disdain as being “average”. I always stressed to my kids that the best school is the one that they can graduate from and go on and have a life of their own afterwards, rather than being a slave to loan payments.</p>
<p>OP - Why not apply to OSU - with your stats you would probably get the $5K/yr scholarship that would put you at about $5K tuition and $10K R&B. You could also apply to the Emminence which is a full tuition + scholarship. You would be a competitive applicant for that - although they only give 25.</p>
<p>OP - My DD is going to be a sophomore at Slippery Rock University- even though it is out of state - we live near OSU but she would never consider it by any means - the cost for her to attend is less expensive than any of the state schools in Ohio. Great professors who really want the kids to succeed. She has been exceptionally happy there.</p>
<p>If your parents will not even contribute their EFC to your education, then they have lost their right to expect you to overextend yourself. Not knowing your situation (other siblings,culture,etc) I can only say that they are being extremely selfish. Don’t lock yourself into years of debt to feed your parents’ ego.
Apply to your reach schools, but your safety schools should be thrilled to have you and will most likely offer merit scholarships in addition to need based money.
Good luck!</p>
<p>I think the above post should be removed for advertising.</p>
<p><<<
Campus Slice applies a 5% fee to funds collected. Our payment processor, Authorize.net, will also apply credit card processing fees of 3.5% + $0.45 per transaction. These fees are applied on top of the monthly contribution, so that the student receives the full amount you chose to contribute.</p>
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<p>Anyone you know personally would just write you a check and avoid the 5%+ overhead, so this is essentially just begging from strangers in the digital age.</p>
<p>And you keep the money until they go through your platform to apply it to the college instead of just sending them a check? Guarantee 10% of these funds or greater never gets applied to anything.</p>
<p>Current Tech bubble means Campus Slice probably has a 15 million dollar valuation</p>
<p>“I’m scared that they will be disappointed in me if I decide to go these colleges.”</p>
<p>OP, I know at your age it is very hard to see that at some point, as an adult, you will recognize that your parents are fallible human beings, just like we all are, and that your focus need not be on pleasing them. Normally, this wake up call comes later in life . . .but in your case, it needs to come now. I think deep in your heart you know that taking out huge school loans is not the answer. And only you will be stuck with those debts going forward. You and you alone. I would be much, much more scared of carrying that debt burden through life, in this economy especially, than I would be of disappointing your parents. Trust me, they’ll get over you not attending Prestige U. </p>
<p>Personally, I think they should have been worried about disappointing you by not volunteering to pay for any of your college expenses.</p>
<p>Regardless, I would just be polite as all get out to them, but firm in your resolve to apply to schools you like and that provide you with the financial safety you need. </p>
<p>Good luck to you! Given your thoughtfulness on this topic, I feel you are going to do very well.</p>
<p>“I’m scared that they will be disappointed in me if I decide to go these colleges.”</p>
<p>“They” should be scared that you’ll be angry at them for the rest of your life for burdening you with outrageous loans.</p>
<p>I think this is a very good suggestion - attend community college (save alot of money the first 2 years) and transfer.</p>
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I would agree. However, I found the following from a Breakthrough White Paper:
More
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<p>Those stats are more about money and personal circumstances</p>
<p>4kidsdad -</p>
<p>It is important to remember that attending a community college in and of itself is not what causes the kinds of statistical results that are reported in that white paper. Rather it is the life and work circumstances of many students who find themselves at community colleges that lead to those results. If if weren’t for the community colleges, many of those students wouldn’t be able to start, let alone finish, college. Finishing in six years doesn’t look all that bad when the alternative would be to not be able to complete a college education at all.</p>
<p>I’m sure that if the statistics reported in that paper were controlled appropriately for age of first enrollment in college, family income, parent education, high school GPA, etc. there would be very little difference in graduation rates for students who begin at a CC and transfer to a 4-year public u, and for those who start at the public U.</p>
<p>Happy mom - I agree but I would add given all stats being equal the years to complete would be the same for a private u also.</p>
<p>Well, you know the score. You know what your parents are expected to pay approximately at various schools so you are highly unlikely to get financial aid beyond need even at the full need met schools. Scholarships are integrated usually into fin aid, so you need ot look for merit possiblilities that can take care of the cost. You know what you can borrow on your own. You have to make your own decisions as to what you are willing to borrow as a cosigner with your parents. </p>
<p>You then make your college lists, and cover all possibliities including those pipe dreams your parents have, to keep some peace, and then when the offers are on the table, you pick the one most palatable and affordable to you. It’s not as though your parents can withdraw much in support since they aren’t going to be giving it to you…If you have some full pay options, which you may have with your stats, then you don’t have to depend on any support. You are in much better shape than the vast majority of kids who don’t have the numbers to go much of anywhere. Getting out of the house to another living environment is not affordable to them and a huge obstacle.</p>
<p>They expect you to pay (which is totally reasonable as you are an adult), but they want to dictate what college you can attend? That is your decision, and you are wise to factor in the aid that different schools are offering. Sure, it also makes sense to factor in the quality of education you are getting, but better school does not guarantee an excellent job so taking into account the debt you will sustain is a necessary evil. Go where you want with your own money!</p>
<p>I will agree with what 4kidsdad says, but to an extent.</p>
<p>In my current experience in Community College, I have learned that I would have been better suited just starting at a 4-year institution. In my case it wasn’t possible, but I digress.</p>
<p>For the sciences, you are doing yourself a disservice going to a Community College. In many cases, the science courses offered are not of the same level as those offered at a 4-year school. In my case, as a Physics/Math major, I have no problem with the Math part (Calc I-III, DE, LA, your normal CC, first two year fare), but Physics is where it gets hairy. I’m looking to transfer to UMD-College Park, and the CC Physics track transfers as their “General Physics” track, and not the track designed for Physics majors. Granted this may be overlooked from time to time, but going on the assumption it is not, I may or may not need to essentially start my major-specific courses all over again.</p>
<p>This may just be a doomsday scenario, and could just apply to the Sciences, but it is definitely a possibility.</p>
<p>Now, onto the original topic…</p>
<p>If you are the only one paying for your school, make your stats work for you. As others have said, apply to schools from all over the spectrum (or even just OSU, I’m sure you’ll get decent FA and only need to take out a loan yourself to cover other expenses if necessary). I’m sure you’ll get some good merit/non-need based aid. Depending on the financial situation (and your major), maybe CC would be good, but I would look into all options instead of settling for that.</p>
<p>Usually it is best to do community college at a school with affiliation to the 4-year where you want to end up, so that the programs are properly aligned. For example at Maryland, there are four CCs in the Maryland Transfer Advantage Program: <a href=“http://www.admissions.umd.edu/requirements/MarylandTransferAdvantageProgram.php[/url]”>Office of Undergraduate Admissions | Maryland Transfer Advantage…;
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<p>Seems odd that your CC would not have a calculus-based physics sequence for physics and engineering majors (since it does have the math courses for those majors). Here in California, it is normal for CCs to have a calculus-based physics sequence for physics and engineering majors, and a less rigorous physics sequence for biology majors.</p>
<p>Don’t want to hijack the thread here, but I want to ask:</p>
<p>rmelzer1986 - Is the Physics info that you have from ARTSYS or the UMCP website? If it is, then it probably is current info. Do start communicating now with the department at UMCP. Find out about how they actually do treat transfers from your CC in that major. Can you petition for placement into the upper level courses? Can you place by exam? Will they use physics a, b, c, and d at your CC as the equivalent of their physics a?</p>
<p>Your current professors at your CC may have useful info. too, and don’t forget to ask the advice of previous transfers from your program. Things might not quite be worse-case.</p>
<p>Now back to our regular programming.</p>