Okay so I’m currently a freshman commuting to a SUNY school and I absolutely hate it. I hate the school and I hate commuting. I want to transfer and go away but my parents are being very difficult about it. I’m looking at the University at Buffalo (2.5 hrs away) and the University of Pittsburgh (5.5 hrs away) I’m not trying to go across the country or anything. So, any advice on how to get them to conform? Thanks
What is their reason your parents are giving for not allowing you to attend a school further away? Perhaps money?
What would be an academic reason to transfer? Do either of these places offer a major that you can’t study where you are now?
If you are a commuter, finances are part of the picture. R&B are a big expense for little gain to swap to another commuter school. Do you know how much R$B costs? Do you know how much a meal costs in a meal plan? Do you have 12K to blow?
They are not paying for anything
No academic reason. I’m just not a fan of the school. I’m just not a fan of the campus, I think it’s too small and I would rather be at a large university.
Money is definitely not the issue. They have money and they’re not paying for me to go to school. Which is totally fine, I don’t expect them to shell out thousands for me to go to school.
@candimaria13 I personally think that if your parents are not paying in anyway for your college, then you should be free to spend YOUR money in anyway you see fit and go where YOU want. Eventually, you have to have a life of your own away from your parents. It’s not worth being miserable for 4 years, you’ll regret it.
Maybe your parents don’t want you to go into debt to pay for school on your own–or with co-signers.
Could be a control issue in that your parents have difficulty letting out of their daily control.
Could be that they worry that you might party too much.
COA
- SUNY-University at Buffalo = ~$26K
- University of Pittsburgh = $42K - $45K (Out of State)
OP, are you saying you can afford between $26K (University at Buffalo) and as much as $45K (University of Pittsburgh) per year without any parental contribution?
So the issue remains as to why your parents don’t want you going away for college.
For example, are you a female & they are being overprotective parents ?
@Jamrock411 With grants/scholarships/federal aid I will likely be paying less than 10k. I will take out a loan to pay for what is not covered.
@Publisher They’re not over protective. I’m their youngest child and I just think they don’t want me to ever grow up, if you know what I’m saying.
You can only borrow 5.5K. Whip up the extra money (say around 5K) and you are set. Money IS an issue. What are your HS stats? You have tuton fully covered at your local SUNY but that is it? No big scholarships?
Unfortunately, even if you can get enough financial aid and federal direct loan to make going away to school affordable with no money from your parents, they can veto that by refusing to do the FAFSA for you.
You haven’t told us anything about:
a. Your grades.
b. Any issues in the past that would give them reason to worry about your behavior if you’re not under their roof.
c. The conversations you MUST have had about wanting to go away.
Could you fill in the blanks?
How are you covering your costs now? SUNY’s tuition and fees are nearly $10k, and that doesn’t include food, transportation, books, housing, or personal expenses. If your parents aren’t paying anything, it sounds like you’re receiving the federal Pell Grant and the NYS tuition (TAP) grant, and maybe the federal student loan as well. Either that or you’re working full-time. I don’t think our state schools offer full tuition merit grants as a general rule.
What’s your family’s EFC? If it’s low, you may get need based grants. Transfers don’t generally get a lot of aid, so read scholarship eligibility rules carefully. The best ones usually go to freshmen. You can take the ~$5500/year federal student loan. If you work summers you can probably earn another $3k. That leaves a gap of $13k to cover dorming at a SUNY. How will you pay it?
SUNY Oswego?
@Soybalz No, currently at SUNY ESF (you probably haven’t heard of it)
@austinmshauri Well, I commute, so total cost is only around 10k/year. Roughly half of that is covered by scholarship money, then the rest is covered by PELL and TAP.
Not sure what my family’s EFC is. My parents aren’t rich, we’re just your typical middle class family. I should get some need based aid depending on the college. How will I pay for it? Same way every other student pays for it; loans.