<p>Why go over $200,000 in debt just to say you went to a prestige university. I know people who went to Harvard that are still trying to pay off the debt with 80,000 salaries, car loans, mortgage and other life issues. I know a lot of sister who went to state schools that are able to enjoy their money with little to no loans. My sister paid 40,000 dollars for her degree in chemical engineering, now she’s making $90,000 a year. She paid of her loans within a year. Graduating from a prestigious 4 year university isn’t guaranteed to get you a high paying job. Making the right connections and using resources is what makes you successful. The former CEO of Bank of America, Ken Lewis graduated from Georgia State University (A state school). Your education is what you make out from it.</p>
<p>Its strange, the Transfer Equivalency site shows transferring as PHYS141, which is Principles of Physics. ARTSYS views the CC the same, but for an A or B it can transfer as 161. The Physics Major track is 171-272-273 (omitting required labs, don’t recall the numbers). I’m going for a MTAP Pre-Transfer Advising session on Wednesday and have questions prepared. Depending on whether I can apply my CC Physics course toward my major, I could either take the CC course as preparation for 171-272-273 or just take care of any other GenEd requirements I need to take care of.</p>
<p>I suppose my part of the discussion has been off-topic enough, so I’ll see how my Advising session goes and start another thread based on what I find out.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>OH NO! You need to take out <em>gasp</em> loans like the rest of us non-elites! The horror!</p>
<p>Lots of colleges will have merit aid for you with your stats.
If you are valedictorian or salutatorian, Elmira College in NY State will offer you full tuition, for example. Georgia Southern has a full tuition scholarship with admission to their honors program for your stats. There are lots more. Just apply, you can’t lose out.</p>
<p>re: application fees - lots of colleges have free applications (check it out on commonapp - go to member colleges, then click on the the “fee” column) so you could apply there even if you don’t find a job or your father won’t pay for some schools.</p>
<p>If you are going to grad school, don’t go into debt for undergrad.</p>
<p>Go where the money is unless you feel strongly about a prestigious school you are excepted to. There are always outside scholarships that you should apply to as well.</p>
<p>For someone who has the stats for big scholarships, they don’t do themselves a favor by starting at a CC – those big scholarships are rarely available for transfers, so they will end up paying full price for the final two years.</p>
<p>I would just recommend a balanced approach. It will be okay to take out some loans yourself, just do not overextend. Go to StudentLoans.gov which can give you information about subsidized and unsubsidized student loans. Do not take out more than you feel you would be able to pay after graduation. Look at schools where you are likely to graduate in 4 years. In some state schools graduating in 4 years is not feasible, students have a difficult time getting classes, unless they take hard-to-get classes in the summer. Some private out-of-state schools may end up being cheaper that the in-state alternative. Look at schools with large endowments, they may be able to help you a bit more. I would also say keep talking (and talking) to the financial aid offices of your final three top picks once you see where you have been accepted. They may be able to help you. And if you get a wonderful merit aid package from one school you may be able to get a match from another school. It will take a lot of research but you can do it. See your high school counselor for some guidance, whether or not you have an established relationship with them currently. It’s a great time to get to know your counselor. Talk about your goal and your financial challenge. They have probably had students in the same situation before. People are willing to help when they know you need it 
It’s a confusing time for students and parents alike. Just make sure the school you ultimately choose is a good fit for you personally and financially. It’ll all work out!</p>
<p>mmm my parents were the same. They just didn’t understand costs of college in America (immigrant parents). I got accepted to a decently ranked college and got a ton of financial aid and they came around. I’m taking out loans, but they’re helping me pay for college.</p>
<p>As for the people who say, “who needs Harvard when you can go to a state school for a fraction of the price!” i.e. “I didn’t get into Harvard, but I took the cheaper route so haha to you.”</p>
<p>Here’s the truth: elite private schools can be cheaper than state schools. shocker huh. </p>
<p>Why? They meet 100% of need whereas many state schools cannot. My friend was accepted to the state flagship (UCLA) and Northwestern. She has to pay 20k at Northwestern vs. 30k at the the state flagship. I guess you don’t hear that often?</p>
<p>Barring any huge merit based scholarship, middle class kids will typically pay less to go to an elite private school. Only at around 150k+ family income, do you start to see the opposite happen. But even then, you would be in the top 10% in America, so I really have no sympathy.</p>
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<p>You seem to be a fairly new poster here so I suppose that you are not aware that your “shocker” isn’t new news at all around here. The trick is first, getting admitted to the “elite” school and second, actually qualifying for enough aid to cost =/< the state school. Your statement: “who needs Harvard when you can go to a state school for a fraction of the price!” i.e. “I didn’t get into Harvard, but I took the cheaper route so haha to you” is rather nasty and unnecessary. Believe it or not, people actually do turn down Harvard for state schools from time to time. Shocker, huh?</p>
<p>The truth is that the name on your diploma matters when applying for your first job, at most and depending on your major, may not matter at all if your gpa is high enough. Taking on unnecessary debt for the sake of prestige is usually short-sighted and not helpful in most cases.</p>
<p>If you are a self-employed consultant, an “elite” school on your resume can help beyond the first job. Not worth going ridiculously into debt for, but not worthless either.</p>
<p>^^I didn’t see where the OP expressed any interest in being a self-employed consultant. My impression was that she intended to major in the humanities area but if she mentioned any career plans, I missed it.</p>
<p>Most people who end up as self-employed consultants didn’t plan on it prior to college. It’s generally not something you do right out of college, but down the line when you have some useful experience. Often you’re being hired by someone who doesn’t have the knowledge to judge your skills in the area you are consulting in, so having a recognizable “awe-inspiring” college name on the resume can actually impact clients quiet a lot. </p>
<p>Anyhow, I’m not saying that people should pick a college because of that, I was refuting the statement that having a big name on your resume is useless after you get your first job. </p>
<p>For the OP, the top schools do tend to give excellent need-based financial aid. If the OP’s parents have money and just don’t want to spend it on school, that doesn’t help, but otherwise they may find it will cost a lot less than they expected. Worth an application, in any case.</p>
<p>You are smart. A degree is a degree and it does not matter where you get it. The cost is more important. A cheaper route is to go to a cheaper school, transfer in last semester and graduate with a degree from the prestigious school.</p>
<p>You can’t transfer in just for the last semester. Most schools require you to do your last 2 years there to get a degree from them – they won’t transfer more than 2 yrs worth of credit no matter how much you have. For example [Harvard</a> College Admissions § Applying: Transfer Program](<a href=“http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/transfer/transfer_credit.html]Harvard”>http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/transfer/transfer_credit.html)</p>
<p>I’m sorry, I haven’t read this whole thread, so it may have been mentioned before. Some schools won’t allow you to take out more than X amount in FAFSA based student loans in a year (mine will only let me take out $2000 for my first year). So, it’s possible you may qualify for more in federal loans, but not be able to use them, and thus have to take out more in more expensive private loans.
Do you have a savings account? I actually opened a new account at a different bank because it A) had more branches close to my school and B) had a better interest rate. Many banks have free accounts for students/people under 21 (I know anything owned by the Fulton Financial corporation does, as does TD Bank). If you do have a savings account put as much money in for as long as you can so it will earn interest, but make sure it’s darn near empty when you fill out the FAFSA. Make sure you tell your parents to fill out the FAFSA right after they’ve paid bills as well, or tell them you want to fill it out as an independent student since they won’t pay.
Finally, I will re-itterate what others have said: apply to safety schools (that you can be happy attending) too. I applied to two reach, two match, and two safety. I was offered aid at the safeties (one of which is in Canada) and one match. I knew going in a wouldn’t get aid from the other match, and I was just flat out surprised I got into the each I did (obviously without aid).
I think your parents need to go through the mandatory loan counselling for Staford loans more than you.</p>
<p>Econ and pol sci majors are about the same as history or art for all intents and purposes. They are about as useful for getting a job as “A college degree” because that is what they amount to. I wouldn’t even consider taking on debt over it. Yes, a prestigious university does open up some extra opportunities in the way of internships. But for a lot of people, that [still</a> doesn’t end in a job](<a href=“Do Unpaid Internships Lead to Jobs? Not for College Students - The Atlantic”>Do Unpaid Internships Lead to Jobs? Not for College Students - The Atlantic). It’s a huge risk. </p>
<p>And if you emerge from a prestigious university without a job? Your Stanford diploma is worth almost exactly what your University of Wyoming degree is worth. The only thing that the Ivy offers is access and contacts.</p>
<p>At the very least, start out at OU for two years. You’ll be able to make a better decision where you want to end up by then. But I disagree with the people suggesting community colleges. I’m attending one while I finish high school, and my “college” level classes are easier than most of my high school classes. You will intellectually atrophy at a CC. Regular state Us are fine.</p>
<p>As everyone’s already said it before, if they aren’t paying, they should not force you to apply to certain colleges, if you are worried about the finances. Personally, I think it’s a good decision to be paying for college out of your own pocket, but you get the right to decide how much you can afford.</p>
<p>To the OP: you need to find a way to earn a few hundred dollars this summer so you can apply to the schools that make sense (likely to give good aid) in addition to the ones your parents want you to. It makes good sense to apply to a range of schools and see what your options end up being.</p>
<p>If parents desire that you attend a more prestigious and expensive place, they ought to chip in. Much as I love my parents, and want them to be proud of me, they were not able to give me a penny for school and I would have let them know that my decision to go some place affordable was adult and responsible, given my circumstances. It sounds like the parents here want the prestige of saying “my kid goes to an Ivy League school”, without the investment in or personal sacrifice for their child.</p>