@Creekland thanks for the advice and Union looks nice.
You may want to check out TCU…they have generous merit and financial aid and may satisfy your parent’s requirements.
How much will your parents pay each year???
@TheBlueRock - oh man, been there, done that.
Like Creekland said, of course you can’t be the one to tell your mother this, but a Christian college isn’t going to stop you from making the life choices you want to make - which may be different from the life and beliefs that she wants/has planned for you.
I think what you’ll need to do is make a list of schools in different categories and take them to your parents so you can get a better handle on what they will allow. Include some Christian colleges (like Baylor or Biola), some that are simply affiliated with a religious denomination (like Lafayette) and some secular ones with significant Christian life on campus. Then present them to your parents with a little backstory so you can get a handle on what it is they want.
Have you considered Berry College in Rome, Georgia ?
@Publisher, isn’t this the second time on this thread you have pushed Berry? It doesn’t have the merit scholarships that the OP needs. Just because it is Conservative/Christian doesn’t make it a helpful suggestion to the OP.
Not “pushing” anything. Trying to address OP’s issue.
Berry College awards a lot of financial aid (71% get an average of $30,000) and tuition is reasonable at $37,000. However, I am not sure if all aid is need based or if merit is offered as well. But, if I recall correctly, merit money is available.
@CottonTales: Why do you think that OP would not be eligible for one or more of Berry College’s academic scholarships ?
@TheBlueRock: Maybe @CottonTales knows something that we do not. College Factual states that 100% of incoming freshmen (575) at Berry College received grants averaging over $17,000 per year.
Berry Colleges website shows a lot of scholarships. Just because Berry College requests that FAFSA be filed does not mean that the merit scholarships are need based.
OP said her parents will pay considerably less than $20k/year. If they can scrape together $10k then with the federal student loan her net cost can be ~$15k. But that’s only if they can pay $10k/year. Since their EFC is higher than they can pay it sounds like she needs a merit award that covers full tuition.
@Publisher, please look at post #10. The OP has stated he is not eligible for any need based aid, AND that the calculators are showing an EFC of 20k and that is far from what they can afford. Berry College C0A is almost 51k, and I haven’t seen anything that shows merit there that can bring down to anywhere close to where the OP needs to be. I have looked a bit, looks like merit is usually around 18k for top students.
That is why Berry College is the best option since it awards merit scholarships to 100% of incoming freshmen. It has the largest college campus in the US–27,000 acres–is gorgeous & has a healthy “B+” rating from Forbes.
The other school mentioned in this thread as “Union College in Tennessee” is actually the financially struggling Union University. Forbes gives Union University in Tennessee a miserable “C-” financial rating.
Thanks for all the recommendations.
OP: Take my advice. I know these schools well. You & your parents should be very pleased with Berry College’s offer.
Avoid Union University in Tennessee as it is, according to Forbes, financially unstable.
@Publisher, please don’t mislead the OP with stats like 100% get merit scholarships! That could be $1,000 or $20,000. It still isn’t taking the cost to where the OP needs to be.
@CottonTales: Please consider contacting Berry College. I think that you will have better information. I do not, and will not, engage in a debate. If interested, just contact Berry College.
P.S. Just because only 71% qualify for & receive need based aid, does not mean that 100% of incoming freshmen don’t receive merit awards. Contact Berry College & you will know. As I wrote above College Factual is the source for 100% of incoming freshmen receive merit scholarships averaging $17,300.
Berry’s website lists a lot of merit scholarships.
The OP should run the net price calculator for Berry College…and see what the net costs will be.
This family supposedly doesn’t qualify for need based aid. Some net price calculators include merit awards.
A scholarship at Berry would need to bring the cost to about $10,000 according to what the OP says her parents can pay.
When finances are a significant consideration…you need to cast a VERY broad net. Very broad. Especially when you are looking for merit aid to cover the vast majority of the costs. I am not seeing anything on the Berry site that would indicate the poster (who doesn’t even have a SAT or ACT score…yet) would get enough merit aid to being the $51,000 COA down to what the parents say they will pay.
But if the net price calculators ask for stats…they usually include potential merit awards.
Keep in mind also…there are NO guaranteed merit awards at the colleges listed on this thread.
This student needs one sure thing financially…and that the parents will agree to sending her to,
OP definitely qualifies for merit scholarship award at Berry College with his numbers.
The OP has not taken the ACT or SAT yet…scores are practice tests only.
@publisher yes…the poster qualifies for possible merit aid…but the kid needs $35,000 a year plus the $5500 Direct Loan at any college that cost $50,000 a year.
There are no guaranteed merit awards at Berry…and the student doesn’t have stats yet…just practice stats.
It might work out…and it might not.
But the parents won’t pay more than $10,000 a year. Wondering if the family understands what colleges cost these days.
Is University of New Orleans definitely affordable? If so, that can be your sure thing application.
Then, apply to the others and see if the money is forthcoming.
You say you don’t qualify for need based aid at all? Not at all? Are you sure? Will your brother still be in college when you are?