Search for Affordable Schools

College Search & Selection
1

I am a female, Ohio high school student coming from a middle class family. I predict that it is unlikely for me to get any financial aid (my sister did not get any), but my parents are absolutely unwilling to aid in paying for college at all. If anyone knows of ANY colleges that I would likely be accepted into and could get my total price as low as possible that would make be an immense help in my college application and decision process this year. I do not care about location or prestige, I just want to get a degree in environmental studies or a related field.

My “stats” are as follows:
ACT composite: 29
Weighted GPA: 4.2
Unweighted GPA: 3.7
Rank: top 13%
My course load is almost all college prep with about 5 AP courses, 11 dual credit courses, and the rest advanced or honors.
I have quite a few extracurriculars with a few leadership positions.

I will be paying for college all out of my own pocket and I am trying to be in the least debt possible!

2

How will you be paying for college out of your own pocket, short of having received a large inheritance? you can only borrow $5500 as a freshman in your own name. More than that would require a parent or a cosigner.

The closest Ohio university or community college would be your best bet if you can commute.

3

OP,

You’re in that odd area: fantastic student but without the knockout stats that would lead to full-ride offers. If your parents are unwilling to pay anything, then your best bet might be community college. While completing your first two years, you should be saving up for the EFC that your family will be required to pay.

If you’re unfamiliar with EFC (expected family contribution), you’ll need to do some research and figure out how much your family (even though the burden might be on you) will be expected to pay each year. It is up to the college to put together a FA package that covers the rest (but most colleges do not guarantee to meet this remaining need; this is called “gapping”).

In general, you’ll receive the strongest aid packages from schools where you are a significant cut above the typical admitted student. Schools will make a play for that student, and depending on how badly the school wants the student, the aid package might be quite generous.

Listen, there are schools out there that might offer you full tuition. The catch? They might not be the sorts of schools that you’ve heard of. For instance, tiny Eureka College (its claim to fame is that Ronald Reagan graduated from Eureka) hands out six full tuition scholarships to incoming freshman, and one only needs a 3.0 GPA and a 24 (or 25?) on the ACT to qualify (NOTE: one probably needs to have stronger stats than the minimum). But would you be willing to go to such a small private school in the middle of IL corn?

In OH, maybe look at Marietta College and other private schools that are more regional (not Oberlin or Kenyon or Wooster or Denison or even Ohio Wesleyan). Defiance, Heidelberg, Muskingum, Mount Union. These schools might be very excited to see an applicant of your caliber. You can even check and see if any of these schools offer full tuition scholarships. There are also FA calculators online that can guesstimate your family’s expected contribution, which is what you must pay, even if your parents refuse. I believe that when you turn twenty-five you can declare yourself independent.

Look at OH’s public options that are not The OSU. Toledo, Wright State, Akron, Bowling Green. See what guesstimates you receive from these places.

I’ve been in your shoes, OP. My parents were much like yours. I attended CC (for four years!) and saved up money so that I could afford my family’s EFC for the two years at the school I transferred to. Best of luck!

4

How much prep did you do for your ACT? Can you put some time in and re-take it? If you can get it to 30 or above, you will have better options.

Start with the thread on automatic scholarships that is at the top of the Financial Aid Forum. At least some of those are likely to be available this coming application year.

Alternately, if you are taking those dual enrollment courses at a community college, how close are you to completing your AA or AS? Could you manage to graduate high school with your AA or AS finished? That could mean that you only need two more years of credits if you choose the right place to apply to. It might be possible to complete your degree studying part-time if you need to work to support yourself.

Lastly, how did your sister do it? Was she able to finish college without any help from your parents? If they did help, what did they provide - room and board while she commuted? health insurance? car and gas for commuting? Talk with her and get her advice about this as well.

5

If you like the outdoors aspect of environmental work, you might consider applying for this program, which allows you to earn scholarship $ https://ccc.ca.gov/what-we-do/conservation-programs/backcountry-trails-program/

College of the Atlantic has merit scholarships; I think it’s unlikely that you could get big enough merit to make four years viable, but they also have merit for community college transfers, so that could be a pathway to keep in mind. https://www.coa.edu/admissions/financial-aid/scholarships/

6

If your family makes less than $125K a year, this might be an option:

https://www.warren-wilson.edu/admission/tuition-and-aid/milepost1/

Your stats would get you $4K per year in merit from Youngstown State:

https://ysu.edu/content/office-financial-aid-and-scholarships/scholarships

Check Ohio University’s criteria for merit scholarships.

7

First, I admire your hard work and ambition.

Now, here’s an idea that may or may not work–work colleges. For example, Berea College is a work college and a terrific LAC with terrific students. There is not tuition; students do have a work commitment though, which I’m guessing you’d be perfectly willing to take on.

What I don’t know is how the school evaluates a student like yourself–one who will show a middle-class income on FAFSA but without parental financial support. It is really intended to provide an education to students without financial means, particularly those from Appalachia. So I don’t know how they would treat your application, since you would have means, at least on paper, but you could check with the school. And, are you from a part of OH that would be considered Appalachia? Again, I would be very happy for my own to attend school there, and with Berea students.

Note that applicants have to interview, and you need to get everything arranged by the application deadline, which is early, so it would be one to learn about soon, if it sounds appealing. Here are links to Berea and the College of the Ozarks and the"work colleges" website as well.

http://www.berea.edu/about/quick-facts/

http://www.workcolleges.org/about/meet-work-colleges

https://www.cofo.edu

Good luck!

8

You will probably see good merit at U of Akron.

9

Try the service academies.

10

The key to cheap college is the ability to mooch off your parents for room/food for as long as you can. If you happen to live the Cincinnati/Dayton area. You might be able to make Miami University work. You might have to start at one of the regionals. I don’t know how merit works at the Oxford campus if you start at a regional.

11

Tough situation.

Definately look into the academies. Us merchant marine and coast guard academies are the most available to student with your academic profile. Which is solid.

As an alternative. How about a couple of years in the coast guard. Since you love environmental science. Lots going on there. And when you come back you have the GI bill and can claim financial independence from your family. And you’ve been living rent free and saving money for two years. And then apply as freshman and probably get into an excellent school for your field and as a more mature and prepared student. Think of it as a very focused gap program in ocean studies.

Or maybe you fall in love with it. Go to college on them. Become an officer and captain a ship protecting by the environment directly or stopping polluters and over fishing.

Just a thought.

12

Realistically, how much can YOU contribute each year towards college??

How is your sibling paying for college?

If you can avoid starting at a CC, do so. Otherwise you’re going to find it very difficult to pay for those last two years.

You can try schools like UMaine Ft. Kent…generous merit and very low OOS costs.

13

@TomSrOfBoston I genuinely have no idea how I’m going to pay for college. My sister had other adults co-sign on loans.

@Hapworth I am not opposed at all to smaller, lesser known schools if that’s what gives me a shot at getting a degree. I will graduate high school with about 35 community college credits and if I stayed in community college I would only be able to stay for another year.

@happymomof1 I studied a bit for this ACT but I am planning on taking it one more time. I will look through that thread- thank you! I would be able to stay at community college and get my associates in 6 months to a year but I am not sure the community college I would be attending would have the right kind of credits that would be relevant to my degree. My sister dropped out of college after her sophomore year because the financial burden was too much. She is now working a full time job and two part time jobs in hopes of returning.

14

I admire you and I think you will find a way.

I thought of Berea too – worth giving it a try.

I suggest you set up an appointment with your guidance counselor asap and see if they have ideas. There may be community scholarships (Rotary, Lions, community foundations, etc.) that they could help you apply for that would really help your situation. He or she might also be able to reach out to Berea on your behalf. Perhaps there’s another parent or community volunteer they could could pair you with to help find scholarship opportunities. Don’t be timid about asking for assistance.

This fall take the ACT again and apply for any residential colleges you can for which you might get merit aid that would make your college costs as close as possible to the federal loan limits, Public universities are more likely to accept your CC credits and you could graduate in 3 years perhaps.

If you can’t find a residential option $8 to 10k per year (do you have someone who would cosign the $3 to 5k that wouldn’t be a federal loan limit?), then I think your next best option is to live at home and commute to college so long as your parents won’t charge you rent, etc. Work 20 hours a week – waiting tables might give your the most $$ in your pocket if you can get a job in a good restaurant. You can take the federal loan ($5500) to help cover tuition and use your wages to pay the rest, books, etc. If you got the CC route and do well, you might get academic scholarship to transfer. As soon as you enroll, meet with a college advisor to explain your goals and financial situation. You are a serious student and they will want to help and advocate for you.

Finally, if you are paying yourself w/o merit aid, it’s better to go to a low-cost college (community or regional) and work less than go to a more expensive ‘better’ college that requires you to work full-time. Juggling a full-time job and full-time college is not a recipe for academic success. And when you attend college part-time, it’s easier to get derailed.

15

I agree with some of the other posters that you should look at non-flagship Ohio public schools. The University of Toledo, for example, offers excellent scholarships which, when added to the $5500 student loan, would more than cover your tuition and fees. The tricky part is covering room and board or off-campus housing costs. Are there any public universities within easy commuting distance of your home? Will your parents allow you to live at home (and not charge you room and board ) during your college years? Do you have access to a car you can use to commute, or is public transportation available from your home to a local 4-year university? When you classify your family as middle class, do you mean an annual income of $50,000? $100.000? more? If in the lower middle class range, you might be eligible for significant need-based aid from some private colleges, if your parents are willing to complete the FAFSA (and CSS profile if required). Run the Net Price Calculators for any schools you are considering. Another option (though certainly not the best, especially for an environmental studies major) is an online degree from an Ohio public university. Again, this presumes you could continue to live at home.

16

You should not “study some more” for the ACT…you should treat it like a full time job. That will be your best chance to get merit scholarships.

Next, will your parents fill out the FAFSA even if they won’t pay any money? Then look here if there are any scholarships for you. http://www.collegescholarships.org/grants/states/ohio.htm

17

Apply to Ohio State EA, look at the automatic merit aid you qualify for at the regional campuses and pick your alternate campus carefully. Lima offers a degree in Biology or Zoology. Marion offers Biology. Or if you can commute to one and you can get housing from some one you know you might choose that. The regional campuses are roughly $7500/yr tuition and a person with your stats could get $3500/yr automatic merit aid at some of them (look at the specific scholarship pages of each campus before deciding). Your loan could cover the remaining tuition and books - so you’d have to work for room and board. Housing options are cheaper than in Columbus and doable on part time work schedule. If you don’t have a car Marion campus is in walking distance of private student housing, an urgent care center, restaurants/shopping centers (jobs) and grocery stores. http://undergrad.osu.edu/regional-campuses

Hiram College is very generous with aid and offers Environmental Studies. Run their NPC and see if it might work for you. https://www.hiram.edu/

You might consider Hocking College. It is a two-year college, but it does have on campus housing. Their Natural Resource degrees are very career focused. In state tuition and fees are about $5,000/yr but it seems like most students get that covered - the average aid award is around $4,200/yr. An award like that could free up your student loan to cover dorm ($4,000) and books ($1,500). Savings from a summer job could cover meals.
Graduates going into government jobs (natural resource/wildlife management), often get an education benefit, so you could earn an AA/AS from Hocking, but plan to finish your BS degree part-time as you advance your career. https://www.hocking.edu/majors#nr

With a lot of dual credit courses completed you should pay special attention to each programs requirements and plan out the coursework. We found that the semesters required varied from 4-6 depending on the school and especially the way prerequisites lined up and whether or not they were offered every semester or just Fall or Spring. We looked at over all cost to a degree, not just per year cost when deciding. You can get help figuring out a course plan. Just ask. Our impression of the schools was very dependent on the responsiveness of the admissions/advising staff’s ability to help us figure out exactly what classes were needed to obtain a degree. Often our inquiry led to follow up from professors and chairs interested in learning more about the applicant and specific areas of interest. It is a good way to build your network.

With 14 state universities, many with regional campuses you should be able to find an affordable option. I like using the wiki page for the Ohio University System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_System_of_Ohio because it lists them all, along with links and lists their regional campuses.

18

@BuckeyeMWDSG has some great suggestions.

And, yes, Hocking! I did some research on them years ago – great outdoors focused programs so they’d be a nice fit for your interests. They used to run the local hotel and other entrepreneurial businesses in town, but my knowledge is old. Very innovative two-year college and could be up your alley – but yes, map to the 4-year degree you’d want to make sure things line up.

19

Berea college has been mentioned several times, but the OP has described her family as middle class which would almost certainly make her ineligible. Berea is a great bargain, but it only admits low-income students. I forget what the income ceiling is (50 or 60K for a family of four), but Berea’s work college is not available to everyone.

20

I would go to community college for a couple years and transfer. It’s less glamorous, but it should allow you to afford school. If you think about, you’re taking all of the classes that no one really cares about at a fraction of the cost of a university. Another option is the military. You enlist now, you get out 3 years later and college is paid for. You could get an ROTC scholarship now and you owe 4 years to the military after graduation.