I just visited UMN this weekend and loved everything about it- the buidings, the city, the nature, the dorms, but not the tuition.
My parents make almost $180,000 per year, so I’m probably not going to get any money from FASFA.
I’ve applied for external and the school’s scholarships, and I’ve gotten a part time job so I have about $1,000 dollars saved up
Parents are giving $25,000 per year
Around $9,000 left for tuition (Can I waive transportation and personal fees? It’s listed as $1700 and $2000 respectively, and I don’t think I’m going to spend $2000 on miscellaneous things)
Good school
Felt really safe on campus
Could picture myself going there
UIUC
Parents really want me to go there
I would be graduating with no student debt since my parents work for UIUC there’s a discount on my tuition
Live and go to high school right next to the university, about 15 minutes
Really hate where I live right now and when I think about going to UIUC next year it makes me really disappointed
I’m on campus all the time because my mom works there and I have a lot of school events there and I’ve been to summer camp there so I know the campus really well and I just do not like it (I feel like I’m trapped in a bowl and surrounded by corn fields)
Good school
Sometimes I feel unsafe on campus, when I was at my camp there was a sexual assault right next to where I was staying and my mom had to tell me about it because my camp counselors didn’t even mention it which made me mad
I know the smart choice is just going to the U of I, but whenever I think about it I just get really “meh” about it, like not excited at all. So any advice telling me to suck it up and go to the U of I or follow my heart and go to UMN would be appreciated! I also feel like a brat complaining because I’m really appreciative that my parents are paying for a part of my college tuition and I get to choose between to really well-ranked schools, hopefully I didn’t come off sounding super ungrateful! Thanks!
Which college at UMN did you get accepted to? Major? When were you accepted? My daughter heard about honors college and scholarships a few weeks after her acceptance.
College of Liberal Arts, applied for journalism but probably gonna switch to marketing, was accepted sometime in late November so I guessing I wasn’t accepted for honors or scholarships…
The experience as a college student is completely different than a HS student, even if you live in town, as long as you live on campus. You also have the advantage of being able going home for laundry of if you are sick, or simply if you need a break from the dorms or a good nights sleep. UIUC and UMN are roughly equivalent and certainly not worth the extra OOS tuition.
If you receive some merit aid from UMN this would be a different discussion.
First of all, you don’t sound like a brat to me. You aren’t expressing anger toward your parents. You are just frustrated because you wish you could get out of Urbana-Champaign.
You said it yourself…you know in your heart, “the smart choice” is to go to U of I.
So I’ll share my advice since you asked for some. I would spend your time focusing on the benefits that come with attending UIUC. You’re bright…so brainstorm as many reasons as you can. Realize if you focus on the negatives, you’re setting yourself up to be very unhappy. What good can come from that?
Then talk with your parents. Tell them you understand why you should and will accept going to U of I. But also share with them that part of you wishes you could experience college away from your familiar surroundings. Share your feelings…not as an attempt to guilt them into agreeing to UMN, but so they’ll understand why you may not appear as enthusiastic as they might expect at times. Being an adult is difficult.
I would also suggest that you can bring the topic of studying abroad up…if that sounds appealing to you. Both my son and daughter were able to spend the Spring semester of sophomore year in Europe. It was actually cheaper than if they had stayed on campus. My daughter loved it…my son is there now.
Lastly, if you channel your disappointment to motivate you to craft academic and personal growth goals, you may be able to escape Central Illinois for summer internships. My son is working on securing an internship for this summer…my daughter, the senior, had two ‘ten week’ internships, which provided housing…one on the far north side of Chicago, the other out-of-state.
Anyway, I’m tired and may start rambling incoherently so I’ll just wish you luck with your decision. Remember delaying gratification can stink while your denying yourself of something you really want. But often it can lead to better long term outcomes. (((hugs)))
You could probably make up the 9K different with the direct student loan (5.5K in the first year), part time work and summer employment. I don’t need to tell you that the Twin Cities offer many opportunities for internships and the like. If you move to an apartment after a year or two, your room/food costs may go down as well.
The main questions I see are - how willing are your parents to pay 100K for your education as opposed to R&B at UIUC (probably between 40-50K over 4 years)? Are you willing to assume 25-30K in debt and do you realize what that will mean in terms of monthly payments and how long they will stretch out?
When did you apply? If it was before the priority deadline (Nov. 1), some OOS students get offered in-state tuition. Have you received an offer of admission and/or package from UMN yet? When you have it in hand, I would compare real costs and have an honest talk with your parents and see what they say.
Finally, I went to my local state U (less than 30 minutes from my home), not my first choice, and I had a good experience. So if it comes to that, own it, and seek out opportunities to make your experience exciting.
Yes, consider study-abroad. It’s a way to get away. UIUC has a ton of study-abroad programs and many you can go on sophomore year. Spring of freshman year may even be possible but you’d have to look.
I understand how you might feel it is a bit of a let down to go to college at a familiar schools so close to home. But if the trade-off is a great deal of debt that could limit your choices moving forward then you need to think long and hard about your choice. The two schools you are considering are peer institutions, so it is hard to argue that UM is worth amassing debt to attend.
If you do choose UIUC, live on campus you can. Talk to your parents in advance and agree that you will not use home as a crutch and they are not to pop by your dorm to say hi (my S went to college nearby – we had this discussion and it worked out great) If you go in with a positive attitude you can create a great college experience for yourself at UIUC – you can find new friends, get involved on campus, and get a fine education. And as noted above you can look into a semester or year abroad or at another college in the US to break things up.
Tough one but first to address a question and comment. While you aren’t locked into the misc and transportation the schools give guidance to, you’ll need to factor in a reasonable amount. Ok - at Minnesota, if you really want to focus on Marketing it is in the Carlson Business School. I believe that transfers to Carlson after you begin are not very common. You should look into that. Now, I will say the Journalism school at Minnesota is very strong, very credible. Not that you need to major in journalism to go into that field.
So, with Minnesota, while OOS costs are going up (which you should confirm how much they may go up), it is one of the more reasonable OOS tuition schools that also have top academics and the full college life experience. I can see that you’d highly prefer to go elsewhere than where you’ve been. You should get further guidance from your parents on the reasonableness of assuming debt to do so. But, I wouldn’t rule it out. Good luck.