Option 5 - Recruiters say a lot of things. I’d be very wary of whether you would really get to do what you want to when the time comes. Are you a URM?
If you get a full tuition scholarship anywhere…how will you pay the remaining costs…room, board, fees, transportation? A $5730 Pell grant will not cover those costs for,the whole year.
Work study is like any other job. You don’t get the money up front. You get it when you earn it. So…you would be able to save fall work study for spring. But how will you pay for the fall?
@thumper1 At Minot State, a Pell Grant does cover those costs. As for UAH and Baylor, I know but I can dream, can’t I? Who knows, maybe my family will win the lottery, or for instance Baylor has programs to meet need, I know I’m competing with those more statistically qualified than I, but again, I can dream. To work study, I have some savings from previous work. It’s not a lot since I could only work part time, except in the summer, but I think if I work really hard, it might work out. My math teacher helped me run the numbers, he said if I can find a school to meet need/merit, then I could probably afford school without loans. He followed that with, “just one man’s opinion.” but I like to think there’s hope in the world.
@intparent I am ethnically Jewish but I worry about telling colleges this. For one, some schools don’t consider us a minority, for two, most people can’t tell just by looking at me, so while I’ve definitely had the idiots who need to shut their face, that’s only because I’ve been dumb enough to tell people in the first place. I’d hate to take away aid for another student who can’t escape their heritage.
That is not an underrepresented minority at colleges. And there is no reason not to reveal it to colleges (but maybe no compelling reason to reveal it, either). Just so you know, at many colleges if you win an outside scholarship or college merit aid, they reduce your need based aid by that amount. It isn’t always clear how they handle it, so you often have to ask the college whether that is the case. Also, most colleges assume you are going to take out the federal loans to cover costs. It really limits your options not to.
Are there any 4 year colleges within commuting distance of your home?
@intparent 
Why would they do that? How does that help anyone go to college if they reduce that aid? I hate the admissions/aid process.
I live in Columbus, Ohio. There’s OSU, Ohio Dominican, Devry, Capital U, and Franklin U off the top of my head. Denison isn’t impossibly far.
I understand about the loans, but my parents will try to convince me to do ROTC if I can’t go to school without the loans.
If you don’t want a military obligation, please do not do ROTC.
The colleges don’t owe you a free education. Only students with extremely high stats get to go to college for close to free. Your stats are decent, but not in that range. Most schools expect you to take out federal loans. And really… your parents want you to give up 4 years of your working/earning years to the military to avoid a total of $28,000 in loans? I’m going to say their judgement on this might not be the best.
I am wondering if CC, then commuting to one of your local four year options for the last two years is something you should be looking at. Do any of your local CCs have agreements for their students to attend Ohio State when they complete their associate degrees? What does the OSU net price calculator show if you run it, and assume you aren’t living on campus because you live at home, and take the $7,500 in federal loans you are eligible for each year in junior & senior year?
@intparent I know I’m not owed anything and that I’m no genius. I just hoped I might be able to work through it.
CC was one of my backups. There is an agreement for transfers from CSCC to go to OSU.
Yes, my parents would rather me earn my education than borrow money I don’t have.
It is penny wise and pound foolish to “earn” your education at the expense of four years in the regular workforce unless you REALLY want to be in the military for four years. Did you run the net price calculator for OSU to see if you could make it work? Honestly, that is a much better academic option than any of the other options you have on the table.
Columbus State to OSU is a great backup plan. But also consider applying to more than one local LAC. OWU, Wooster, Denison, Earlham (just across the state line), Otterbein and Wittenberg are all possibilities. Last year D received higher merit aid offers from some of these schools than I would have imagined. But you don’t know unless you apply. Someone who has applied to Wooster by now will probably have a merit aid offer in hand by rhe end of the year. Last year Denison took somewhat longer.
There would also be making the long commute to Newark to attend OSU’s Newark campus. It is considerably cheaper than the main campus and with good grades you can transfer to the main campus. I’m not sure of the scholarship implications. What are you interested in studying? If you get a full tuition scholarship to UAH the combo of Pell grant, Stafford loan and the possibility of work study would likely cover books, and room and board. Consider summer work. I’m sure you can find work in Columbus. Even $2000 over the summer would help. It might reduce the amount of loans you would need. If you are interested in engineering, co-ops can help pay for school. Look carefully at the COA. There are sometimes ways to reduce some of their costs. Occasionally the meal plans are not their cheapest (Ohio U gives their flex 14 plan in their COA when you can choose their 20 meal regular plan for $1000 less) sometimes they over estimate what you may need for personal expenses (my D volunteered to usher shows at her school and got to see a lot of entertainment for free). Books can be purchased through Amazon, rented, or even as an e book which can cut the cost of books in half. I also mentioned being an RA. It’s a lot of responsibility but usually is enough to cover room and board. At least 4 of my D’s friends have done that. If you can get the cost of tuition covered the rest while expensive can be made more affordable with work, diligence and sacrifice.
You should also look more carefully at what the federal loans entail. I do agree that taking out more then the federal loan amount is a mistake, especially for those with majors that don’t pay too well (as a tangent, you might want to consider a minor in something more marketable). But the federal loans have protections that private loans do not that you should understand. They are really intended to help low income students get to and through college.
The OP is interested in psychology & social work. OP, take a look at this list. You can see that neither of your areas of interest are very high on the scale. You might spend some time researching other majors – you certainly don’t need to be an engineer, and you want to do something that you like, but there are so many jobs that most high school students don’t even know exist. The College Board publishes a Book of Majors that your GC might have that you could look through for more information. You can go into college undecided and try courses in a few areas to see what you think about them before deciding, too.
http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report-2013/majors-that-pay-you-back
Look into Berea College in Kentucky. It’s not too far from Ohio. All students receive a minimum of full tution. (Must be lowish income) Or if you are involved in community service, look into the Bonner Program. Bonner students are low EFC students who are passionate about community service. While in college they perform community service while receiving stipends and incurring minimal loans (if any). Bonner schools in/ near Ohio include: Oberlin, Allegheny, Centre, Berea, Earlham and DePauw.
@Girlwitharabbit you are misinformed on a few fronts. First if your EFC is truly 0, then Miami should be affordable for you, they give out decent FA packages. Secondly, since you are applying to Tuskegee does that mean you are a minority? If so, Miami has funds to increase diversity that they will give you, as it is not the most diverse school.
Also you need to look at this program. It is not just for minorities but it is to make Miami affordable it is geared for students with a family income less than 30k, if you are eligible.
http://miamioh.edu/onestop/your-money/finaid/aid-types/scholarships/miami-access-fellows/index.html
Berea would be an excellent choice as well, it is totally free. My company hires grads from there and we have never been disappointed.
Please PM there are other programs at ohio university and Wooster that are available. You didn’t break down your score, but depending what they are you can get a full ride at some HBCUs. So please PM me.
The OP already has a thread going about HBCUs: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1825525-which-is-the-best-hbcu.html#latest
@partyof5 Speaking of things I’m uninformed about, how do I PM someone?
Miami is not a school that guarantees to meet need. Plus, at this point the OP is averse to taking out federal loans. There are only a very small number of elite schools that don’t expect students getting FA to take out loans. She should run the net price calculators everywhere, of course.
@intparent if she meets those income guidelines she will not have loans. Also miami has a special fund to increase diversity that they give money from. My child just graduated from there. While, we basically had no need, we were still surprised that they gave us a small scholarship.
@Girlwitharabbit at the top right side there is what look likes an envelope with an arrow pointing down. Click that, then hit new message.
I also responded to your other thread about which is the best HBCU
Wait, are you saying you won’t take your federal student loans that require no cosigner? That would mean a payment of 300$ a month. This will be packaged in most meets needs schools, it is considered self help at favorable terms.
The recruiter is making empty promises, they cannot promise you a particular job, the will own you and you will have to go where ordered. I know people who were shafted like that.