<p>I'm in a situation where neither I nor my parents think it's a good idea to take out any loans for college. They will contribute 10K per year (the cost of my current high school) but the rest is on me. I'm dying to go out of state but absolutely nothing is cheap.</p>
<p>I feel like I'm the only one in my senior class with this worry and the only one applying to schools I'm overqualified for to get merit scholarships. Everyone else seems to be reaching for the very best schools they can and not caring about the cost.</p>
<p>What should I do? How much student loans per year is in the danger zone? Should I reach for the best schools I possibly can get into or keep applying to schools that will give me scholarships?</p>
<p>What’s your EFC? If $10K is your EFC, you can apply widely to schools that meet need. If the EFC is $40K and your parents will only pay $10K, there’s no possibility of your getting enough in student loans to attend a high cost college unless your parents cosign.</p>
<p>Many people here consider the maximum Stafford loans to be the most you should take out. I believe the maximum is currently $27,000 total for four years ($5500 freshman, $6500 soph, $7500 each junior and senior years). Stafford loans don’t need parents to co-sign.</p>
<p>While there are private loans available, they usually need co-signers and may have lousy interest/terms.</p>
<p>What state are you in? Many state schools have honors colleges, which are a school-within-a-school for top students.</p>
<p>What is this situation which makes ANY amount of loans a bad idea? Most students graduate with some federal loans, which offer very reasonable repayment options, and manage to repay them without great hardship. If having no loans is non-negotiable, what are your stats and what is your EFC?</p>
<p>What state are you in and where are you looking to go? Some schools have tuition waivers for well-qualified students that reduce costs to the instate level. Some, like the NY publics, have reasonable rates for OOS, and others charge the same rate for both instate and OOS. Look for schools/states that are actively seeking more OOS kids for diversity purposes (again, NY is one)…they may offer you larger merit awards than instate kids can get. </p>
<p>Some public universities may have a lower stat/higher acceptance rate than you think you’re qualified for but I think you may be looking at it the wrong way. Find out the actual rigor and reputation of the schools for the major(s) you’re interested in. Look at the quality of opportunities (honors programs, renowned faculty, research, internships, etc.) for undergrads and at their grad school acceptance rates.</p>
<p>Finally, forget about what everyone else is doing…they may be embarking on a path with higher debt, fewer options, or more parental support. They may end up with no affordable options and be scrambling for alternatives in April. None of that is relevant to you, nor should it be a factor in your decisions.</p>
<p>Then they are either all very rich, very delusional (and will be upset and surprised come April) or your upset mind is distorting the situation.</p>
<p>While I think it’s good to limit your indebtedness for undergrad, I also think it’s a little unreasonable to completely rule out even small Stafford loans. You can borrow up to the current limits (around $27K) without crippling yourself with debt. I wouldn’t borrow any more than that, one because they are limits for a reason and two because private student loans have much harsher repayment guidelines and interest rates than Stafford loans. Even with a lower-than-average salary you should be able to repay those loans with little difficulty.</p>
<p>I’m going to try to keep this short but I turned down “better” schools (like Emory; I didn’t even bother applying to the Ivies because I knew my family could not pay) and chose a college that I was “overqualified” for to get a very large merit scholarship that covered virtually all of my cost of attendance, including 100% of my study abroad fees for a semester. The only thing I had to pay for was books and living expenses/transportation (which I did by borrowing student loans and later, working). I loved my experience at my alma mater and don’t regret going there. I am currently getting my PhD at one of the Ivies I originally coveted and I feel very, very well-prepared for this degree. Moreover, I rate my teachers at the LAC I attended as being much better on average than the ones here at my Ivy - Ivy League professors are researchers first and foremost.</p>
<p>You don’t have to go to a tippy-top school to succeed in life or to enjoy your experience. Apply to a range of schools - both schools at which you are in the top 5-10% of applicants and that are likely to give you big merit, and schools at which you are an average applicant but that you’d love to attend. That way when April comes you won’t have any regrets (I wish I could’ve at least seen whether I would’ve been accepted to some of these top schools, even if I knew I couldn’t afford it) but you should also have some affordable choices. Also remember to apply to one or two of your state’s public universities/colleges in case you don’t get the big merit you expect.</p>
<p>2) you’ll need co-signers and your parents probably won’t co-sign because it hurts THEIR credit.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about what other kids are doing. Many will likely be very upset in the spring to learn that they can’t afford their big name schools. My kids went to a Catholic high school, and we saw this happen year after year.</p>
<p>I see that you’re applying to USF. They do give merit, but not enough to get your cost down to $10k.</p>
<p>The current aggregate dependent Stafford limit is actually $31,000. But that would only be reached if a student was in school for more than 4 years. (fr $5500, soph $6500, 3rd year and above $7500).</p>
<p>I apologize for taking long to respond…
I live in Florida, and don’t really want to go anywhere in-state. Not expecting much need-based aid because the household income is probably around 120k. The thing is I have siblings in private schools and various luxuries so we live paycheck to paycheck. I guess I was being a little irrational about not taking out any loans, its just that I’ve heard bad stories about getting into way too much debt and not having a career to remove that debt, and I’m also scared of what might happen if I drop/fail out. And I guess its just hard to not let whats going on around me at school affect me, I was doubting my decisions but now I think maybe I’m going down the right path.</p>
<p>I go to a Jesuit high school
GPA: 3.0 UW, 3.6 W
Highest subscores: 760 R, 640 M, 680 W
Average ECs: SNHS, 100 hrs community service, 2 summer internships, student council, state rep. campaign volunteering, etc.</p>
<p>I’m applying to
U of Alabama
Florida State
Fordham
Loyola Chicago
Ohio State
U of Oregon
Penn State
U of San Fran
Tulane
Xavier (OH)</p>
<p>The Jesuits will probably all give you some merit because you go to a Jesuit high…that pretty much SOP for them.</p>
<p>Tulane is likely going to be unaffordable. You may get $25k from them, but their cost is about $55k. So, if your parents will only contribute $10k (when their EFC will be much higher) then that will be a problem.</p>
<p>What is your major?</p>
<p>I hope you’ve already submitted your app to Bama because they’ve extended their scholarship deadline to tomorrow (because of Thanksgiving delays).</p>
<p>yeah I saw what you were getting at in your PMs lol
When I realized I’d probably get a near-fullride to Bama because of those auto scholarships I was pretty freaking happy. However, it is not the school I’d be most happy to go to. No offense to U of Alabama, I know it is a good school but its just kind of a safety for me, people get in from my high school with 2.0 GPAs and 1000ish SATs</p>
<p>USF and FSU have several different merit scholarships that you don’t need to apply for. My son has applied to UF, USF and FSU but because he qualifies for honors and at least one of the merit scholarships at FSU and USF, he will probably be going to one of those schools over UF. I can contribute between 6K and 7K per year as a single mom. Between the Bright Futures and the merit scholarship, my son may not have to get any federal loans or only a couple thousand dollars worth. </p>
<p>Just look up freshman scholarships on both the FSU and USF websites. You will find the qualifications outlined there.</p>
<p>I would not turn down a full ride to Alabama over the other OOS publics on your list. Those schools are not that much better than Alabama (if at all, depending on your major) to justify payng out of state fees and probably not getting that much aid with your stats, which are good but not stellar for OOS aid and especially since it is getting late in the game to apply. As for your Jesuits/privates, I think your stats could get you “tuition discount” types of aid, maybe $10k-20k per year, but that would still leave you with $20k+ conservatively to come up with each year for those schools. All of the schools on your list have kids with relatively low stats. So what.</p>
<p>*No offense to U of Alabama, I know it is a good school but its just kind of a safety for me, people get in from my high school with 2.0 GPAs and 1000ish SATs *</p>
<p>Bama does accept some kids with lowish stats…but what you’ve described is certainly the exception. </p>
<p>I can tell you this, my kids have stats that are MUCH higher than yours (much higher) and they they are challenged every day in their majors (Chemical Engineering and Applied Math). So, don’t even begin to think that you won’t be challenged in your science courses as a pre-pharm major. </p>
<p>Good luck in finding somewhere better that will give you enough money where you’ll only have to pay $10k. </p>
<p>*When I realized I’d probably get a near-fullride to Bama because of those auto scholarships I was pretty freaking happy. *</p>
<p>You won’t get a near-free ride at Bama. OOS costs are about $30k and you’ll get about $13k for your stats. If your stats were higher, you could get a better deal.</p>
<p>I’m afraid you wouldn’t qualify for the out-of-state scholarships at Alabama with a 3.0 GPA. Bear in mind that to get the cost somewhere down to around $10K, you’d basically need free tuition - room, board and books most anywhere is going to run at least $10K. For free tuition you’d have to agree to go to a school that rarely gets 3.0 / 1400 students - so rarely in fact, that they’re willing to give their product away for free in order to land you. The U. of New Mexico or U. of South Dakota could be possibilities. But unless you’re really eager to be in either of those locations, I don’t know why you’d choose to go there instead of taking Bright Futures at a Florida school.</p>
<p>*I’m afraid you wouldn’t qualify for the out-of-state scholarships at Alabama with a 3.0 GPA. *</p>
<p>GPA: 3.0 UW, 3.6 W</p>
<p>He says he has a 3.6 weighted GPA…so he would get the 2/3 tuition scholarship.</p>
<p>However, I agree that having the 3.0 UW is going to hurt him for admissions at many schools. And, how impressive can his Jesuit high school be with kids graduating with 2.0’s and 1000 SATs?</p>
<p>“Bama does accept some kids with lowish stats…but what you’ve described is certainly the exception.”
I think it’s because nearly everyone at my high school is Hispanic and Hispanics are probably highly underrepresented at Alabama. I’m also Hispanic btw forgot to mention…</p>
<p>“…But unless you’re really eager to be in either of those locations, I don’t know why you’d choose to go there instead of taking Bright Futures at a Florida school.”
Yeah that’s why I’m applying to Florida State, I know it will end up being more affordable than the other schools.</p>
<p>“I can tell you this, my kids have stats that are MUCH higher than yours (much higher) and they they are challenged every day in their majors (Chemical Engineering and Applied Math). So, don’t even begin to think that you won’t be challenged in your science courses as a pre-pharm major. Good luck in finding somewhere better that will give you enough money where you’ll only have to pay $10k.”
I guess it’s not so much the actual academic rigor as it is other factors like culture, location, climate, y’know the overall experience. I know some will disagree with me on this but I think there is more to consider in choosing a college than just “Will you learn and get your degree?”. I could just live at home and go to a community college or FIU but that’s not what I wanted to do.</p>
<p>“However, I agree that having the 3.0 UW is going to hurt him for admissions at many schools. And, how impressive can his Jesuit high school be with kids graduating with 2.0’s and 1000 SATs?”
Yes the 3.0 is bad. I think my curriculum is pretty difficult though. 23 classes from 9th to 11th. 5 are honors, 4 are AP. Unfortunately my letter grades aren’t so good. 2 A+, 4 A, 8 B+, 3 B, 2 C+, 3 C, 1 D+. For what it’s worth, my high school is part of the Top 50 Catholic high schools in the nation.</p>
<p>I guess it’s not so much the actual academic rigor as it is other factors like culture, location, climate, y’know the overall experience. I know some will disagree with me on this but I think there is more to consider in choosing a college than just “Will you learn and get your degree?”. I could just live at home and go to a community college or FIU but that’s not what I wanted to do.</p>
<p>???</p>
<p>I think you need to visit the school. LOL Bama is nothing like a community college or FIU. And, the culture at Bama is not like southern Florida. Bama has students from all 50 states and this year’s freshman class is 43% OOS. </p>
<p>*For what it’s worth, my high school is part of the Top 50 Catholic high schools in the nation. *</p>
<p>thank you for helping make my point. Despite the fact that your school has some kids scoring with 1000 SATs and 2.0 GPAs, it still manages to be a very good school. Can you connect the dots now?</p>
<p>Alabama: Received the 2/3 tuition scholarship ($13667) like mom2collegekids predicted (would have received the full tuition scholarship if they superscored the SAT)</p>
<p>Xavier: Received Jesuit Heritage Grant $2000 + Presidential Scholarship $14000 = $16000</p>
<p>Loyola Chicago: Received Jesuit Heritage Award $2500 + Damen Scholarship $13000 = $15500</p>