<p>Okay, so my lovely parents only left me 4k for college.
What a low blow.</p>
<p>I'm eligible for Florida Bright Futures - which would cover 75% - 100% tuition,
The only problem is that there are not schools in Florida that have my major in Industrial Design. Fort Lauderdale's Art Institute is out of discussion. </p>
<p>I've got three schools on my list:</p>
<p>University of Cincinnati
Ohio State
SCAD- Savannah</p>
<p>All of these schools are going to cost me close to 40k in total because I'm a non-resident.</p>
<p>My "resume" is pretty decent. And I hope to stumble across a scholarship that I'm eligible for. I'm really rooting for University of Cincinnati</p>
<p>Here are all of the things I have going for/against me:
African American
High School Senior who will have acquired their AA by Fall of 2011
16 years old
My parents are broke
I'm broke
ACT: 23 (going to retake that)
(Haven't taken my SAT)
GPA: Weighted over 4.00 GPA
Three (3) AP courses
~4.0 GPA for my associates degree</p>
<p>I'm not even sure what to do first!
Do I apply for the school and THEN fill out a FASFA or visa versa?
How much would a Pell Grant cover?</p>
<p>You apply to schools NOW, you submit FAFSA **after **Jan 1st. The earlier the better.</p>
<p>So, if by chance your EFC is very low and you get full Pell, the most you’d get is $5550 per year…not enough to pay for those schools on your list.</p>
<p>I will look for schools for you with your major. You may have to do AT LEAST your first year or two at a public in Florida and then transferring. There probably are some common course requirements that you would need to take.</p>
<p>Your test scores also are not high enough for merit scholarships. Take the SAT in November! Sign up NOW.</p>
<p>Do not criticize your parents for not having more saved for college. If they only have a low or modest income, then it probably was hard for them to save the $4k for you that they have saved. If they don’t have a modest income, then your EFC may be too high for any or much Pell.</p>
<p>Collegeboard and The Nat’l Assoc of Schools of Arts and Design say that the following Florida publics are accredited by the NASAD. Don’t any of them have your major??? </p>
<p>Keep in mind that schools sometimes call a major by a slightly different name.</p>
<p>Florida International University
Florida State University
University of Florida
University of South Florida</p>
<p>Thanks! I look forward to retaking and taking the ACT and SAT.</p>
<p>My parents weren’t always in low income. They used to make a lot of money but never saved for me. This economy is the reason my parents are on such a low income.</p>
<p>Even though those schools have majors in fields related to Industrial Design, most industrial design jobs will require a degree in Industrial Design only. Thanks though!</p>
<p>Appalachian State also has that major, but the OOS cost is going to be about $25k for tuition, room, board, books.</p>
<p>Univ of Louisiana at Lafayette also has that major, but the OOS cost is about $19k for tuition, room, board, books.</p>
<p>I think to minimize your OOS costs, you need to look at the curriculum and find out if a year or two at a Florida public can fulfill some of those requirements before transferring. That will save you a lot of money if you can use Bright Futures for some of your lower and upper division req’ts. I realize that you’ll have an AA, but your community college may not have had all the required lower division classes for this major.</p>
<p>Many parents don’t even have 4k.
Two must-do’s: read and re-read Finaid.org. Read and re-read various schools’ web finaid pages. These give background on the process, expectations, deadlines, etc, in gettng FA. You will develop a picture of what you may qualfy for and how these schools package aid. At some point, try the FAFSAForecaster. Later, get back on CC and thread with specific questions. ID is a great major nowadays, assuming you master it. IMO only, it’s one major that can lead to great jobs. I’d personally view loans as less loathsome if my kids were heading to that career. Again, assuming you do well.</p>
<p>So, are you a junior or senior? Did you skip a grade? (edited…cross posted with the answer… )</p>
<p>If your parents start earning more money in the near future, if you now qualify for Pell, that will go away. You need to be concerned about that when choosing schools.</p>
<p>*Even though those schools have majors in fields related to Industrial Design, most industrial design jobs will require a degree in Industrial Design only. *</p>
<p>I realize that. But, are there classes there that you can take at a Florida public that you then could transfer to a school with your degree? That would save you a year of OOS costs.</p>
<p>Do the Quick EFC above to get an idea of your EFC.</p>
<p>Florida participates in the Southern Regional Education Board Academic Common Market [Southern</a> Regional Education Board](<a href=“http://home.sreb.org/acm/states.aspx]Southern”>Southern Regional Education Board) Each state defines which degree programs qualify, so you will need to do some investigating. The ACM may make it possible for you to study at a public university in another state that offers the degree program that you want for in-state cost. Talk with your HS guidance counselor about this. You will also need to find out if any of the Bright Futures money can go out of state in this case.</p>
<p>To the OP…MOST students’ parents do not save for college. You make it sound like everyone else’s parents have huge college savings and yours don’t. That is NOT true.</p>
<p>You live in Florida and can take advantage of Bright Futures. I would look at the schools in post #3. You can afford to attend them with the Bright Futures money and a Stafford loan. You have no idea how lucky you are to have the option of attending college with a huge part guaranteed funded. Agreed with mom2…look at those FL schools and find a major that will fit your career idea. And remember that many if not most folks find jobs that are NOT exactly what they major in college.</p>
<p>It seems to me that your parents made all the sacrifices necessary to put a roof over your head, feed and clothe you, and raise you with an education. Not exactly a low blow from your lovely parents, in my opinion. You should be grateful. </p>
<p>They even had the foresight to live in a place where good college opportunities were available at a reasonable price (“eligible for Florida Bright Futures - which would cover 75% - 100% tuition.”) After some tough economic times, that decision might really pay off. It sounds like they just might be pretty smart after all; I’ll wager that you’ll be surprised just how much smarter they get by the time you’re 25 or so.</p>
<p>Sorry to dump on your thread, but I’m a bit new to these forums, and it’s kind of shocking to see the many posts like this. If my son (a HS junior) had this attitude, he’d be out of my house at 18, with my strong recommendation for some remedial lessons from the Army, Air Force or Navy.</p>
<p>Wow. thanks everybody for your aid. Obviously, my disposition towards my parents were exaggerated and put in an awful light. I just thought that a lot of parents saved a lot for their kids. 1) I don’t know any seniors personally. 2) my older brothers never talked about this stuff 3) it was just a shock! I didn’t know college was so expensive. 4) I love my parents to death and are extremely grateful to have them with me. I’m not disrespectful to them at all. Trust me, compared to other kids, I’m the best daughter in the world. Obviously it’s hard to see somebody’s character based on a forum thread 5) My parents were born here and didn’t want to move. It’s not like they moved here just for Bright Futures. 6) Nobody knows the amount of money my parents managed/poorly managed via divorce fees and such. Even my mom agrees with me! So…yeah, that should say something. </p>
<p>Again, thanks for everyone giving me tips! (and actually helping me answer my questions!)</p>
<p>Like the bulk of the respondents, I would advise you to start out at one of your very fine and affordable state schools. Many/most people change majors, so ruling out those schools because you think you want to do industrial design is a huge tradeoff.</p>
)</p>