<p>Hey everyone.....I have a huge dilemma. I was accepted to GA Tech, and have committed enrollment next year with my admission/housing deposits....but a major scholarship that I was selected as a semi-finalist went bad and I was not selected for it after a long application process, and now I don't have a way to pay for it. I have been turned down for almost every scholarship I have applied for(won one for $300, have a few small ones that I am still awaiting the results on) and I qualify for no financial aid because my EFC is super high because my mom makes a lot of money and we own out house outright. My dad is deathly afraid of debt, even though my economic situation is extremely stable(huge 401k plan, large amount of money in savings, etc.). They will cosign for me but will only contribute about ~10k a year, even though I know they could do more or help me with loans(they paid off our 200k house in less than 4 years). However, now my mom is talking about having problems at work, the first time that I have ever heard of her having any problems at work whatsoever, and she thinks she might even be laid off. What should I do? I am absolutely in love with Tech and would be heartbroken if I could not attend, but it would require large amounts of loans at this point. I have worked so hard to get where I am and I think I deserve the best, and I am my parents' only child after all. Anyone have any thoughts? Will the loans be worth it?</p>
<p>I already turned down admission at UF(in-state) and Alabama(full tuition scholarship) but my mom is going to call tomorrow to see if that is reversible. I have the option to get full-tuition at a local community college if I apply there by June 1st, and I would probably only have to spend a year there because of the number of credits that I already have. I could use the year and save money to later transfer to Tech I guess, but would miss out on a lot of core classes there. My intended major is computer science.</p>
<p>Since it’s not yet May 1, and I’m sure you’re a very desirable applicant, I think you’ll have luck with Alabama and Florida. Both are good schools - I’d choose one of them and avoid the big debt. Your success will depend on what YOU do, not which school you attend.</p>
<p>Merit Scholarships are so very tough to get. I’m not sure why you rolled the dice on it? Anyway, the good news is that is sounds like your parents have some money. Grab them by the ankles, turn them upside down and start shaking. GL</p>
<p>Those GT scholarships are very difficult to get. My son with nearly perfect SAT scores did not get one, and GT went right off the table for him. He did not even get selected for the process, so you did quite well being considered. As for outside awards, it’s very difficult to get a sizeable one, and even if you do, they are rarely for 4 years. I commend you for trying and you gotta play to win, but at this point it’s pretty much game over. I hope you get a paid for spot at Bama or UF, both excellent national schools. Truly, you’ll do well at either, or really any school as it seems like you are quite the student. It’s just that those awards are truly a lottery with very few getting the big prizes. </p>
<p>IF you cannot get your awards back from either school, consider taking a gap year, and giving it a nother go next year, using what you have learned in the process this year. Once you go to college, community or otherwise, you lose that freshman standing and getting ANY money becomes all the more difficult especially pure merit. So though you’ll save money commuting the first two years at a CC, you’ll likely have to pay full freight for the next two though if it’s your state U, it might be affordable. But those awards at UF and Bama look mighty good to me.</p>
<p>Believe your mom when she says her job is shaky. Your parents are in a fortunate situation financially, but if she gets laid off they could be living off their savings for a year or more while she tracks down another job - and that can mean that the house goes, the 401k goes, etc. etc.</p>
<p>Yes, do pick up that phone and call UF and Bama and see if the admissions and aid you turned down can be re-instated. If they can, go to the one that is cheapest. If the aid packages can’t, then you can consider the community college option or a Gap Year.</p>
<p>And next time, don’t tell anyone “No” until you have all the information from the place you like best in your hot little fist.</p>
<p>Bob: Why do you say that? Is GT not worth it? The opportunities at GT are incredible and it is much higher ranked than either of the other schools, plus it is in a city which intrigues me.</p>
<p>cpt: This was an outside scholarship, NSA Stokes, where they fly you to Maryland and do polygraph testing and all that, the lady said my polygraph results looked good and my mom said if I felt my interview was good that I could go ahead and commit to GT. I was turned down for GT president’s from the start.</p>
<p>I am leaning towards community college to get my AA and save money. I have enough AP/dual-enrollment credits to only have to stay a semester even. Do you think GT could defer enrollment to spring? My guidance counselor suggested that and even though not all my credits would transfer it would still save a significant amount of money, wouldn’t it?</p>
<p>I believe Bob Wallace was stating the debt was not worth it for the GT tag on the diploma. </p>
<p>GT might defer enrollment to the spring but you probably wouldn’t be able to take CC classes in the interim. Ask about whether you would then be considered a transfer student. Would they even take all your credits? Some colleges will not give much AP credit. </p>
<p>How would you pay the $86K for the last two years at GT? Call UF and Bama.</p>
<p>Rankings are meaningless for undergrad. Once you get your first job no one ever asks or cares from where you got your undergrad degree. It is a check box on the app only. The only thing that matter is your performance on the job. </p>
<p>I’ve been a hiring manager for 25+ years. Go to the cheapest option you have.</p>
<p>GT is a great school, but you do not want to take on that kind of debt. If UF and Bama are affordable without loans or with minimal loans then that is a much better choice.</p>
<p>What are your major and long-term career plans?</p>
<p>Ugh! I have visited GT twice and I honestly can’t see myself going anywhere else. If me and my parents split the loans maybe it can work out? I know they can pay for it, my mom is just having a few issues, and she even talked to her boss today and worked some out. Besides, if she got laid off, I could just appeal federal aid or I would get more the following the year. </p>
<p>There are so many opportunities at GT. The college of computing has career fairs every semester with a waitlist because so many companies want to hire their students. I could easily get a co-op or internship or study abroad and pay in-state tuition, but all of that is not guaranteed, even though it is very likely. While I know that I can do it, my mom doesn’t want to take the risk. Honestly I really don’t like Alabama, I applied there because I went to a camp there last summer and learned about the crazy scholarships for GPA and test scores and applied just for like a safety. UF I would mind less because I have friends going there and my dad is a huge gator fan, but they almost canceled funding to their computer science program a year ago! My English teacher told me to try to apply to UCF really quick. I really don’t know what to do, its not right that someone gets a 4.0 GPA, 35 ACT, salutatorian, passes all AP exams while being in color guard and NHS and being recognized numerous times for her accomplishments in computer science and not get to go to their dream school! Why do these schools have to be so expensive?!?!</p>
<p>I’m sorry if I get emotional. I really want to go to Tech!</p>
<p>Life is not always fair. Why not appeal and see if tech will give you more money. My son has given up his dream school for state school so he can be debt free. Is you education worth the debt? Can you get the same education elsewhere or less? Will you have a job when you graduate to pay off the loans and live your life? Good luck!</p>
<p>It’s very difficult to qualify for in-state tuition at Georgia Tech. I’m not sure where you got the idea that an internship or co-op would allow that - it doesn’t.</p>
<p>OOS COA for GT is more than $40K, so if your parents will only pay $10K that leaves you on the hook via work or loans for more than $120K over four years. That’s not practical.</p>
<p>The idea of a dream school should not even exist for someone with no prospects of financial aid and parents who will only pay $10K per year. A cheap school in-state or large merit aid are the only possible answers.</p>
<p>For the in-state tuition I meant the study abroad program, not the co-ops or internships, its is well known that if you study abroad at Tech you pay in-state tuition for the time that you are abroad. As for my parent’s paying 10k, that’s how much they are willing to pay out of pocket…I am trying to convince them to help me and take on at least half of the loans for me. I probably sound like a spoiled brat(I am a little bit I have to admit) but I know its a lot of money and I want to make sure this is reasonable before I try to make my parent’s commit to it.</p>
<p>Also, as for having a job after graduation, I think the chances at GT are better then UF or Alabama of having a job after graduation, with GT’s multiple career fairs and programs, as well as its return on investment value, their average starting salary for CS is $60,000, which is definitely pretty high for an average.</p>
<p>Really, both other schools are very nice, and you are not going to be losing on the college experience going to them, and you’ll get a great education there too. I’m a bit of name brand snob about schools myself, but I’d really have a hard time paying that much more for GT over the other two schools. Over commuting locally to a CC or other school that doesn’t have the courses of the quality of a research level university, yes. But both Bama and UF are well stocked with the right stuff. Nothing wrong with either school. It would really make a difference for your parents too. My fingers are crossed that you get back the awards at either of those schools.</p>