<p>Very good to know. I was afraid of that as some schools really were quite generous with my aid, but I think that would definitely change if I worked a full year. This is so frustrating!!! But same with going to a CC, the aid is usually less for transfer students, right? I couldn’t see myself in CC for 2 years, to be totally honest. I think I would only be worse off. </p>
<p>I wish college wasn’t so darn expensive! I really hope that one schools comes back with a really great aid offer, but I’m not entirely sure that will happen. Also, anyone know how hard it would be to hold a part time job DURING college? Aside from the work study (it’s VERY limited on how much you can work). I would want to get an additional job, even if I took a gap year, to reduce the amount of debt I accumulate. Did anybody have their kids do this? I’m able to do it in high school just fine even on top of 3 AP classes and 1 college class but I do know that college is a lot different.</p>
<p>You probably know this, but the SUNY’s will be your most affordable options - unlikely that any of the privates are giving you enough grant money to reduce your tuition and room/board costs to $16k a year. Don’t know if this will help you, but if you take a gap year and apply to any more schools, SUNY Oneonta has a $4000 a year merit scholarship that you might be eligible for - you don’t apply for it separately, they just offer it if you qualify. Probably some of the other SUNY’s have similar scholarships. I know that merit money at New Paltz is almost nonexistent.</p>
<p>If you haven’t already, talk to your GC. Explain your situation. </p>
<p>Are you HEOP eligible? Even if you aren’t, talk to whoever is in charge of HEOP at colleges located in NY which accepted you. Explain the situation. Ask for advice. </p>
<p>Appeal the financial aid awards. A long shot but worth doing.</p>
<ol>
<li>You asked about working while in college. Anecdotally, I worked while in college and did fine. In fact, I didn’t come home my last two summers because of jobs I didn’t want to lose. (btw: I made significantly more money as a waitress off-campus than my friends who worked more typical on- or off-campus jobs.)<br></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>I talked to a friend today whose child deferred college for a gap year. She reported that deferment policies/rules varied among the several schools they considered (one year max v. two years; deposit v. no deposit; defer merit aid v. resubmit app for merit consideration). Generally, it seems the more selective the college, the more restrictive the policy.</li>
</ol>
<p>I strongly second the suggestion to talk to your guidance counselor, but I’ll add an anecdotal caution: my daughter’s GC really pushed applying as a senior and then deferring. We had to explain that, since my daughter’s first-choice school doesn’t defer, it wouldn’t make sense to apply to ANY schools. If we hadn’t done our research, we would have believed the GC’s assertion that all schools defer. So, do as much research as you can about all the options suggested here. You can also ask your GC to do research for you. They can often get answers from admissions staff that a student might not get.</p>
<p>Don’t despair. You’re approaching this in a very open-minded and mature fashion. Good for you for listening to those warning bells in your head.</p>
<p>But, it isn’t only a matter of defering. If you accept a colleges offer and then defer, you cannot apply to other schools during that year, which is what OP wants to do. </p>
<p>OP, would you consider the fact that while you may get “less” as a transfer, if you go to CC and get an AA and transfer to a state school, the two years left might be very doable, financially.</p>
<p>I did work a full time job all through college, but I was one of those students who didn’t need to study that much, and school was easier then, too. good luck to you whatever you choose.</p>
<p>Oh, no, sorry to confuse. This is what I get for Posting-When-Drowsy.</p>
<p>I didn’t mean to imply that deferring is the OP’s sole option. I happened to talk to someone today who has been through the process, so I added what my friend reported to the information already discussed about deferments.</p>
<p>As I understand it, the OP hasn’t gotten all her $$$ offers yet, so no possibility is completely off the table. Another successful option, of course, could be starting the app process over next year (sans deferment). </p>
<p>Or…if you mean my example of our GC incorrectly telling us that all schools defer, I just used that as an example that sometimes well-intentioned GCs make mistakes. In our case, it happened to be a mistake about deferring, but for the OP it could be misinformation about something else. </p>
<p>Just used it as an example to illustrate the importance of research…and confirming what others tell you (including drowsy CC posters).</p>
<p>My GC is not very good at all.
I’m not HEOP eligible-my grades are too high (1960 SAT, ~3.8 GPA) & my parents make a decent amount of money (but are still in debt). I’m considering CC, it just wasn’t what I wanted or hoped for, you know? </p>
<p>I’m definitely a person who doesn’t really need to study and still can get by quite well. I work a lot now as it is, on top of 3 AP classes, 1 college class and extracurriculars. I like keeping busy. At the same time, I don’t want to miss out on things in college because I’m working all the time. I’ve missed out on so much senior year alone because I had to work. </p>
<p>THANK you so much guys! It really helps getting opinions, options and encouragement. My family thinks I’m crazy for stressing about this so much. They think that I’m 17, I need to just live now and worry later.</p>
<p>I don’t like taking gap years for financial reasons. </p>
<p>The thing that’s not being considered, is that by taking a gap year, you are delaying your eventual entry into the professional work force where you will presumably earn a much high salary than you can earn as a high school graduate. In other words, if you take a gap year, you are trading a year’s salary of a college graduate for a year’s salary of a high school graduate. I don’t think that’s a good trade. I think you may be better off borrowing the money and investing in yourself if you can. I suppose it depends on what you intend to study, but if you are going for anything remotely lucrative, the gap year is not a good deal. </p>
<p>Of the schools that you’ve been accepted to, pick the one with the lowest cost of attendance and borrow the money if you can. It’s a lot, but in your situation, you’re mature and responsible. You haven’t had things handed to you and you will learn how to survive hand to mouth. But it will be all worth it when you are earning more money and start paying down the loans. </p>
<p>Work during school, work during the summer, but the most important thing is to learn marketable skills to develop yourself to earn good money when you graduate.</p>
<p>Thank you, classicrockerdad. I’m leaning toward this side a lot more. I can make it work if I try. It will be a lot of hard work, but I think it’s doable for me. </p>
<p>I’m visiting schools in the next few weeks. I guess I’ll see if I’m willing to give up something I’ve been wanting for so long. Thanks again. You’ve all been so helpful.</p>