<p>All of my friends tell me that the best way to get into a good college and save a load of money is to go Rutgers or a community college and transfer to a better school after the first year.</p>
<p>My current high school has a very rigorous curriculum. In fact, many students say that it is harder than those of the colleges they went to (NYU, Rutgers, and the community college).</p>
<p>My concern is that if I go to a community college and then try to transfer into a better college (maybe an IVY?) my chances would be even worse than if I were to apply as a HS student.</p>
<p>However, if I go to Rutgers and transfer, my chances would definitely increase by a lot.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I might have to pay more money : (</p>
<p>Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Paying for colleges will depend on your income. Some colleges (Ivies) offer fantastic financial aid. It can actually be cheaper to go to an Ivy than a cc if your income is 60,000 or less. It also depends on what you want and how much your parents are willing to pay. How many scholarships will you work on, etc. You’re right though, it’s often even harder to get in as a transfer (imagine that)</p>
<p>My family income is 200k+, but my parents are asian and they care more about the oldest child than the youngest. I know, it sucks. And they want me to pay off all my debt because they want to save it on their own retirement.</p>
<p>Ouch… then I really don’t know. They don’t want to pay any and your income is 200K+??? Wow. Well there are some merit scholarships. Try the Financial Aid forum maybe. Sorry that wasn’t very helpful. :(</p>
<p>Well thats awful. Your parents can suck it.</p>
<p>Your parents are being realistic about their long-term financial situation. Thank them for this. </p>
<p>You need to talk with your parents very specifically about the amount of money that is available for your education. If they haven’t already run some of the EFC calculators, have them do so. There are good ones at [College</a> Calculators - savings calculators - college costs, loans](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>Calculate Your Cost – BigFuture | College Board) and at [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) Ask your parents how much student debt they are willing for you to take on, and talk with them about how much money they expect you to make for your expenses by working during the school year and summer vacations. Until you know about your individual financial situation, you can’t start to make realistic plans for your future.</p>
<p>There is a lot of good information to be found in the Financial Aid Forum and in the Parents Forum about merit-based and need-based aid. Take a bit of time to read through some of the threads in those two forums.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. It will definitely be helpful.</p>
<p>OK…</p>
<p>1) You will not qualify for any free aid. You can only get small loans and merit scholarships at the schools that give them.</p>
<p>2) **You can’t and shouldn’t borrow a lot of money to go to ANY school. ** No undergrad should have more than $30-40k debt a graduation. You’re talking about having $60-100k in debt…that’s crazy!!!</p>
<p>3) Go to Rutgers or some other inexpensive instate school for all 4 years because you won’t be able to afford NYU, or any other school, for your last 2 years.</p>
<p>4) The biggest and best merit scholarships are for incoming freshman ONLY, so if you go to a CC or wherever first and then transfer, then you give up those merit $$ opportunities.</p>
<p>5) If your stats are high enough now, then consider some schools that would give you big merit for your stats.</p>
<p>What are your stats?</p>
<p>How much will your parents pay each year towards college? Will they pay $20k per year? more? less?</p>
<p>What is your likely major and career goal?</p>
<p>How much do you think you’ll be earning upon graduation?</p>
<p>Edited to add…from reading your other posts, it looks like you’re a rising junior and you’re interested in medicine.</p>
<p>If you have ANY plans for med school, then absolutely do NOT borrow much for undergrad. Med school loans will be huge, so save your borrowing power for that. Newish doctors do NOT earn enough to pay back mega loans like some young kids think.</p>
<p>Have you heard about NJ STARS? It’s a great program that allows students the chance to go to community college for 2 years, then finish off their education at any public NJ school free. If I were in your situation, I would definitely go for the free ride merit scholarships at Rutgers and then if I didn’t get that (which you may not, financial situation is really bad right now), look into NJ STARS.</p>
<p>Also, have a serious discussion with your parents about college finances. A lot of parents want their kids to look at cheaper schools just because college is a lot of money, so they use scare tactics. Regardless of how much your income is, $50,000 a year is a lot of money. My father’s parents told him that they wouldn’t be able to afford for him to go to Wharton, so he ended up going to Rutgers on loans, and then after four years, they paid off all his loans using a massive inheritance from a distance rich relative (I’m not kidding. And knowing my grandma, that inheritance will pay for my school loans as well). The point is, your parents may cave in to give more if you have a frank discussion with them. Discuss alternatives, such as working during the summers while you’re still in high school (or working during the school year) as well as summer employment while you’re in college to help contribute to your schooling. Also, just as a suggestion, what my parents are doing is that they’re contributing whatever it will cost them if I go to Rutgers for that year, and then the rest is up to me. If I decide to go to Rutgers on a full ride or go to a school that’s cheaper, they’re going to put the money back into a new fund for graduate school. I don’t know if your parents will be that receptive, but it’s an idea.</p>
<p>Hope I’ve helped. I’m in a similar situation. I’m not going to get any merit scholarships, but my parents aren’t going to pay all the way, not even close. :/</p>
<p>If your stats are good, go to Rutgers. Rutgers awards a lot of scholarships to top NJ students and most of my hs classmates from NJ were able to go to Rutgers with tuition (or even room and board) covered by scholarships.</p>