The costs of a private education

<p>I know that the cost of living factor is higher out west than it is in the midwest, but DANG, 175K ...................... WHEW WEE. We are a family of 6 on an AGI of 48K and are not doing too horribly. I am a parent and I believe that it is my responsibilty to provide for my retirement. College for my 4 children is very important. However, there are loans for what they don't receive in scholarship money. There are no loans for retirement!</p>

<p>Are there other UC colleges that you could transfer to, or are thre deadlines past? I don't know your major, but many colleges in locales quite different from Irvine's. I'm thinking UCSD, UCSLO, UCSB.</p>

<p>All UC deadlines are the same; SLO is not a UC -- you must mean Cal Poly, which is in the California State University system.</p>

<p>I don't think anyone is being too hard on the OP. If my kid came to me and said, "Sorry, I missed the deadline for the affordable schools, so can you pony up 45K?" the answer would be a resounding NO.</p>

<p>I also still say there's a large span between UCI and WashU that could possibly be more affordable and still give the OP a better atmosphere. The OP's reluctance to search out these options is also a major issue.</p>

<p>While it is too late to apply to tranfer to UCLA or one of the other UC's for the FALL quarter, it is not too late to apply for Winter Quarter 2008. I believe transfer applications for winter quarter are accepted between July 1 and July 30. You can verify that at <a href="http://www.ucop.edu/pathways%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.ucop.edu/pathways&lt;/a>. </p>

<p>And, many of the Cal State schools are still accepting transfer applications at this point -- if your goal is really to live away from home on campus, you could actually transfer to a Cal State and end up paying less than you're paying as a commuter at UCI. </p>

<p>Other options still open to you for the fall include U of Oregon, U of Arizona, U of Washington (all of which are less expensive than the private U's you've mentioned), as well as hundreds of private universities and colleges, some of which may offer merit money for a transfer with your college GPA. </p>

<p>Depending on how badly you're lusting after a private school education, Another option is to take a year off, work and live independently, and then declare yourself an independent student. You can then apply for financial aid as an independent, and won't have to worry about support from your parents. They can not, however, declare you as a dependent on their tax returns for a year, and you will have to move out of the house.</p>

<p>So, if you really want to get out of UCI - and there's really nothing wrong with that if you are unhappy there - investigate ALL options and see what you find. Good luck!</p>

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<p>I think for the UC's the above might be true. But in general, it is not easy to become an independent student prior to the age of 25...for FINAID purposes. In most cases, your parents' financial information will need to be provided, unless you have already gotten your first bachelors degree, are a veteran, are married, have minor children you support, are an orphan or ward of the state, are an "emancipated minor" (very hard to get this status) or are over 25. I think I can safely say that WashU and Columbia will both require parent information unless the student meets the one of the above criteria.</p>

<p>You're absolutely right, Thumper. Thanks for catching and correcting my mistake. :)</p>