<p>I live in Illinois (Chicago suburbs) and my dad teaches at Hofstra on Long Island. I am a pretty good student but was a little lazy in high school (34 act, 3.3 gpa from a tough high school). I am looking mostly at big schools and the top of my list is NYU, Miami, USC, and Wisconsin. I would have to take out loans to cover almost the whole cost of attending these schools (not taking into account financial aid). My question is this: should I just go to Hofstra for free instead of these schools? Is it too much of a step down? Should I go to Hofstra and transfer after a year or two to save some money? All help is greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>That is a pretty tough decision. My S2 graduated from Illinois Insititute of Technology, where I teach, and it worked out very well for him. If Hofstra has the program you are interested in and your father is able to keep out of your way*, then you should definitely consider it. Graduating debt-free is a big deal! </p>
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<li>This is really important. I kept out of his business unless he asked me and basically told my colleagues that I was just another parent.</li>
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<p>You are not considering your in-state public schools or other less expensive schools?</p>
<p>If you are currently a junior, note that your stats might get you some <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-14.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-14.html</a> when you apply next year.</p>
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What you mean is you will have your parents cosign on loans for up to $60K/year. Do you want to rethink that?</p>
<p>None of the schools you listed are worth taking out too much debt to attend. Hofstra is a fine school if you have a full ride.</p>
<p>Hofstra is a great school; you should also apply for UIUC and possibly UIC, as those are also great schools.</p>
<p>I got into U of I and that is definetly an option from a cost standpoint. I like the academics and environment of u of i more than hofstra but it is still much more expensive than going to school for free. What do you guys think?</p>
<p>How much are your parents ready, willing, and able to pay? That is where you should start. U of I may be reasonably affordable if your parents chip in. There are lots of handy calculators here: [FinAid</a> | Calculators](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Calculators - Finaid) Scroll down through the list and run the ones that help you see what your debt pay-back might look like.</p>