<p>So I was accepted into all but one of my schools (UDel, Penn State, Temple,West Chester etc) However now it is time to choose and I'm not so sure which to pick. West Chester University (my dads pick:safe & close to home) ended up a little below $8,000 a year. Temple U (a favorite of mine) came down to about $8,000 as well but may go down even lower ($4,000). Slippery rock (the cheap school) came down to $3,000. In your honest opinion what do you think would be the better choice? I do want to have a school I can afford without killing myself & having a ton of loans, I want strong academics (If i were to consider vet school/undecided now). Also I don't drive so I can't really be in the middle of no where. ( I live in the suburbs outside of Philly). Sorry to be wordy (: and of course THANK YOU!</p>
<p>Temple or West Chester.</p>
<p>Who is paying the remaining costs? Who is paying the $8k or the $3k</p>
<p>Slippery Rock is in the middle of nowhere, making a car very helpful and making alcohol more likely a problem. West Chester students do some serious partying, but you already know this if you went to h.s. near there. My reports come from family members who attended these schools. Temple is the best of these schools for the sciences and some other fields, like music. I have no family members who attended Temple who were young enough to party hardy.</p>
<p>I am paying everything. I have to pick up a few jobs this summer. </p>
<p>“I am paying everything.”</p>
<p>Are there any loans in your packages? If not, you can borrow the federal loans that come to only $5,500 your freshman year. With a summer job and a school year job and a loan that size, you might be able to scrape together $8,000.</p>
<p>If the loans are already in the package from West Chester, then it is unaffordable. Same for Temple unless you get the other scholarship you are thinking about. Slippery Rock might be your only option. Run the numbers here, then talk them over with your parents: <a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid;
<p>I believe the loans are included. my parents do not want to be involved. </p>
<p>^^^You need to ascertain then how you’re going to pay the difference between the maximum amount you can earn in one year and the 4 or 8K. If you cannot earn 4K (which doesn’t mean selling drugs but is an awful lot of unskilled labor), you’re not going to college. How you pay the 8K/year is anyone’s guess. You’d have to earn 4K in the summer and 4K during the school year. That’s asking a lot of you if you’re going to succeed as a student.</p>
<p>Look at your financial aid package carefully. If you’re in-state for West Chester or Slippery Rock, tuition should be $3,3000, right? And you got scholarships for Temple.
Can you tell us (tuition+R&B) - (scholarships/grants) =?
so we can help you better?
Your parents picked schools for you but don’t want to pay their contribution? 
Or did they change their minds, or their financial circumstances changed?
Slippery Rock is the least academically consistent of the three, but after West Chester, it’s one of the best PASSHE schools so it’s all relative. If you can make Temple work though it’d certainly be the best of the bunch but $13,000 without your parents’ contribution is nearly impossible.</p>
<p>West Chester FA: Direct Subsidized Loan 3,500, Direct Unsubsidized Loan 2,000, Pell Grant 3,680. (what were I got out of FASFA.)
Slippery Rock: PHEAA Grant 3,332, Federal Pell grant 3,600, Direct Subsidized Loan 3,500, DirectUnsubsidized Loan 2,000, Federal work Study 2,000, SRU Scholarship 1,200 - note these are the totals not the semester awards.
Temple:Pell grant 3,600, PA State Grant 3,400, Fed. SEOG grant 700, Temple Grant 1,000, Federal work study 1,000, Perkins loan 1,200, Direct loan (subsidized) 3,400, Direct loan Unsubsidized 2,000
I might also be able to qualify for a $ 4,000 scholarship from temple. </p>
<p>Its hard looking up costs online and I am just hoping the numbers I used for COA were correct. I am in state of course. As for my parents they let me pick/visit schools all summer and didnt say anything. I assumed I would contribute as much as possible and they would help out because they have the money and didnt say anything about not paying. However we had a really bad fight in Jan. because I refused to cut my Bio mother out of the picture. So I will be financially cut off the day I graduate and will have to support myself and pay for school by myself. They did pick all of my schools. The only one that was really mine was Temple - which they HATE.</p>
<p>You pay, you pick. </p>
<p>Temple seems like the best compromise in terms of quality and affordability from what you have said.
Since you will be finding your education, have you thought of some less conventional and less straightforward routes to college? Join the military first? Or start at CC and then transfer? You could work and go to CC and save money. It may not be your first choice, and it may take longer, but it may be the most economical. </p>
<p>I can go to CC but I am desperate to get out of this house so it would be easier to just start somewhere & stay. but if it is my only option I will do it. </p>
<p>If your parents don’t pay, then they don’t have a say in where you go to school. However it makes attending a more expensive college (like Temple) more difficult to afford. Since loans have already been packaged, finding $8,000 is going to be extremely difficult. Do you have a job and savings? Will you be able to find a job over the summer that pays more than minimum wage?
Just so you know, Penn State is still accepting applications… but you’d need really strong stats (not sure if it’s your case but can’t hurt to try and see if you have 3.7+/2000SAT; indicate you’re willing to start at a branch campus, although Temple may still seem preferable). Pitt also. Not sure that you could get in and get better packages than currently though but it seems worth it to try since some FA decisions seem to be made randomly. if you can attend Penn state (even branch campus) for the cost of Slippery Rock, it would be a good deal.
<a href=“First-Year Student - Admissions | University of Pittsburgh”>https://oafa.pitt.edu/apply/admissions-process/freshmen/</a>
<a href=“https://oafa.pitt.edu/who-fits-at-pitt/class-profile/”>https://oafa.pitt.edu/who-fits-at-pitt/class-profile/</a> (when a range is shown,you would need to be at the level of the highest numbers)
Right now call Temple. Explain that you will be sole responsible for paying your college education since your parents refuse to pay, so you’re in a bind. Temple is your #1 school but can they see if your grant, Perkins loan, and work study can be increased to make it more affordable? And when will you know whether you won the $4,000 scholarship? </p>
<p>I was accepted to a PSU branch and it will be about 9,000 a year with the scholarship they gave me. Due to school and sports I havent had a job. I am currently looking to pick up a few this summer (however the slew of college kids coming down are not helpinggg!) I have been calling/emailing temple for a few months now and I cant get through. I asked my parents to take me down to the accepted student days (for months also) but again they refuse to give me the ride (and I have never taken a train and i dont really think my first time on a bus or a train, alone, should be in north philly). I havent applied to pitt though. I have 9 siblings and am the only one beside my brother to attend college or atleast have the change. the rest attended a few months of CC and dropped out. Neither parent finished, because my dad hates the idea of college. </p>
<p>An old teacher of mine offered to give me a ride to temple since he lives near there & even attended TU however my parents have it out for him, should I even bother?</p>
<p>Have you considered taking your professor up on the ride, going to the admission office, explaining what is going on, and seeing if the financial aid office can help you? No offense, your parents sound like they are blackmailing you, get out asap. What about your biological mother? If she could help a little the first year, by next year if you do really well, you may get more scholarships through the school. </p>
<p>Well my step-mom & dad are pissed because of an issue that occurred in January it was really messy and it involved/hurt a lot of people. My bio mom never really wanted to help from the start and because I went back to my step mom & dad to finish off high school she cut me off too. </p>
<p>Call Temple - your specific area counselor.
<a href=“http://temple.intelliresponse.com/index.jsp?requestType=ManualRequest&sessionId=3af773f6-bccd-11e3-884b-cf590a9836fd&question=”>http://temple.intelliresponse.com/index.jsp?requestType=ManualRequest&sessionId=3af773f6-bccd-11e3-884b-cf590a9836fd&question=</a></p>
<p>Explain the situation in a concise way (such as suggested above).
And yes, take your teacher up on his offer if there is a way for you to go during the week, perhaps after school. See if you’d be allowed to miss a few periods and sports to do that (most schools accept and have an allowd number of days set aside for seniors on college visits).</p>
<p>Are you 18 yet or still a minor?</p>
<p>What PSU branch? Is $9,000 with room&board or just tuition? Because that could be a good deal too. After 2 years you transfer to Penn State and graduate with a Penn State degree, which provides access to the best alumni network in the country (allegedly ;)) and has been named year after year#1 for recruiting by the recruiters themselves. MUCH better than Slippery Rock and cheaper than Temple, with more networking for your career (so, more bang for your buck).</p>
<p>I am 19 (which makes my situation very difficult, I am an adult but since I attend high school I will not be emancipated until graduation - My dad gets child support for me so when that’s gone I am completely cut off, I will have to support myself & I owe them the money for all my college apps,testing, visits etc. I was accepted to PSU Abington but could possibly switch to Brandywine. There are no dorms & I do not drive. My brother did the 2+2 thing and he did it completely alone so I have been looking to him for advice. I can go during the week only issue is, my teacher coaches & teaches. (I can try talking to him though and see if there is a day when he doesn’t have softball) Although, this saturday when they are having an accepted students day. I will try to call as well. Any other advice/help is greatly appreciated, really! </p>
<p>"I am paying everything. "</p>
<p>Then your parents have NO SAY. You have to pay to play (or say). </p>
<p>I’m not saying that you should be rude about it. Just say, “since I’m the one paying for the remaining costs, then I’m going to choose.”</p>
<p>You dont need your parents signatures for a stafford direct loan.</p>