U of M - my dream school, can't pay for it, thinking of CC first then transferring Help?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Michigan
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<p>Current junior. Only 20 miles from Ann Arbor. Basically, my parents won't pay for U of M for four years, and will not let me pay either. It is no where in our budget, I think we could probably afford 2 years there.</p>

<p>They are interested in me going to a community college such as Schoolcraft or Madonna University for 1-2 years and then transferring. I can't talk them out of this because it doesn't seem a good idea to me. Someone please give me insight.</p>

<p>I'm going to try for scholarships but still plainly not enough.</p>

<p>3.87 GPA, pretty much 80% advanced classes
literally just took the ACT today but real timed tests before showed me get a 27. If I didn't get that I will retake it for a 28+
national honor society
Volunteer work at library and doctors office
Sophomore class treasurer
SADD member (will be Vice President next year for sure)
DECA member and qualified for state competition
Have my own jewelry business I sell online</p>

<p>I want to go to U of M so much, and Dearborn is an option (for the first years)</p>

<p>Basically just want to save the most money, and we are most certain we don't apply for financial aid because of the arrangement of assets.</p>

<p>Apologies it is so long. Any replies appreciated.</p>

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<p>“Current junior. Only 20 miles from Ann Arbor. Basically, my parents won’t pay for U of M for four years, and will not let me pay either. It is no where in our budget, I think we could probably afford 2 years there.”</p>

<p>U-M gives out VERY GENEROUS FINANCIAL AID. I only paid about $6,000 for this year. I did not have to take out any loans and I am not dirt poor either. You won’t know whether or not Michigan is in your budget until you receive a financial aid award summary.</p>

<p>“They are interested in me going to a community college such as Schoolcraft or Madonna University for 1-2 years and then transferring.”</p>

<p>Are you from Livonia, MI? I’m from Livonia :).</p>

<p>Madonna is NOT a community college. Also, Madonna’s tuition ($17,250) is MORE EXPENSIVE than U-M tuition’s ($14,812).</p>

<p>Here is my advice.</p>

<ol>
<li>Retake the ACT and/or take the SAT. A 27 does NOT make you a competitive applicant. I am not saying that you cannot get in with a 27 or lower, but a higher score would help you. You should shoot for a score in the 30s.</li>
<li> Apply to Michigan. Do not worry about paying for Michigan until you get in.<br></li>
<li> If you get into Michigan, fill out the FAFSA and CSS profile.</li>
<li> Don’t count Michigan out until you have a very accurate estimate of how much you will have to pay. In other words, until you receive a financial aid award summary.</li>
</ol>

<p>Keep the following in mind. You will never know how much you will need to pay until you receive a financial aid award summary. Don’t just assume that Umich is too expensive and end up not applying. </p>

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<p>@777Blue77 yes I’m from livonia! Small world! I’m aware Madonna costs more, and my parent’s strange mindset leads them to think that because we wouldn’t have to pay for room and board, it would make a difference. My parents know some people who got scholarships for Madonna to her, she’s convinced I’m getting scholarships. Obviously we are more realistically leaning towards schoolcraft.</p>

<p>Irritatingly we don’t get results for two months on the ACT, but I’ll likely retake it :slight_smile: I know I can manage a 30.</p>

<p>I just keep thinking about this so much, but you’re correct, I really should just wait to see if I get in and how the numbers play out.</p>

<p>Thanks for the help!</p>

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<p>Wow that is very generous! That is great! I certainly need to take a shot at it. @777blue77</p>

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<p>If it helps, I know two people in my program, Industrial and Operations Engineering, who transferred from Schoolcraft to U-M.</p>

<p>When I was your age, my parents believed that U-M would be too expensive and what not. I did not let that stop me from applying. I just did my thing and enrolled in U-M.</p>

<p>Here’s a tip on how to avoid the application fee. Apply to U-M Dearborn online or through onsite admissions (both of which are free) before applying to U-M Ann Arbor. Then when you fill out the Ann Arbor app, there is a box that asks if you applied to either U-M Flint or Dearborn. If you check yes, then you don’t have to pay the application fee. I avoided $100 worth of application fees :).</p>

<p>Also, I’m in my third year at U-M. If you have any questions about U-M or high school, feel free to message me.</p>

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<p>So if for whatever reason I get rejected the first time, possibly I could do the Schoolcraft thing. That does help because honestly I’ve only known people that transferred from Schoolcraft to Michigan State.</p>

<p>Thanks for saving me the $100 too @777blue77 !</p>

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<p>Missalyssaxox, you should apply to Michigan regardless. If you are admitted, and provided with a generous aid package that makes the University affordable, I recommend attending for four years. Being admitted into Michigan as a transfer is by no means guaranteed, and there adjusting to life on a campus like Michigan is much easier as a Freshman than it is as a Junior. </p>

<p>That being said, your parents also make a valid point; it is no point getting into a lot of debt for college. So if you get into Michigan but are not provided with financial aid, attending a CC nearby makes sense. You would save over $50k during the first two years of college.</p>

<p>As 777blue77 suggests, apply and see what happens.</p>

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<p>Is there such an option on CommonApp?</p>

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<p>“Is there such an option on CommonApp?”</p>

<p>I applied to U-M in Fall 2010 (the first year MIchigan adopted the Common App) and started classes at U-M in Fall 2011. There was a box that asked if you applied to U-M Flint or U-M-Dearborn. If you did, then you check the box and and select the one you applied to.</p>

<p>Here is what I did.<br>

  1. I filled out a large portion of my U-M application
  2. I filled out the U-M Dearbon app (it took very little time to do) and attended an on-site admissions session. I did not have to pay U-M Dearborn’s application fee.
  3. After I got into Dearborn, I checked the box on my U-M app and finished it.</p>

<p>I was never asked to pay the $60 or $65 application fee.</p>

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<p>If you have access to a dependable, gas efficient older vehicle, 40 miles (to & fro) is doable, especially if you can schedule the classes for 3- 4 days/week. Do the calculation for gas, insurance & depreciation, and it may be lot cheaper than living on campus.
However, getting admitted, even with a score of 30 on ACT, is unpredictable. </p>

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<p>Are you willing to commute? I commute from the Plymouth/Northville border (note: I’m a grad student, not UG) and it’s not a terrible commute. It is so much cheaper than R&B but I have a paid off, newish car that is fuel efficient. I fill-up just under once a week for ~$35. </p>

<p>If the R&B is what is holding you back, commute. Is it ideal? Nah, but if you don’t want to go to Scraft (choose Scraft over Madonna) for two years then that’s what you might have to do. </p>

<p>There’s a longtime poster that transferred from Schoolcraft to U of M for her last two years. I PMed her to see if she’d weigh in. </p>

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<p>I agree with romani. If you have to commute in order to attend Michigan, do it. There is also a good chance you’ll make friends who’ll let you crash at their place every once in a while. </p>

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<p>@777Blue77
I don’t remember seeing such a question, but it may be one of the option under fee waiver that we never think we are eligible and did not check.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the heads up, Romani. </p>

<p>I went to Schoolcraft for two years and transferred to UM. The first thing that comes to mind is that this route will only work if your parents can really and truly afford to pay full-freight for two years at UM. There are virtually no merit scholarships for transfer students. If you qualify for need based aid that’s a different story, but I didn’t and I am assuming you don’t think you will or you wouldn’t be asking this question. It is worthwhile to apply to UM now and see what you get, this will be the best chance you are ever going to get for merit aid-- I cannot emphasize this enough. Apply as a freshman, plan to not go so you don’t get your hopes up, but you may be pleasantly surprised. If you can’t go as a freshman, you need to have an honest conversation with your parents about what they can afford for jr and sr year. My parents cosigned a loan to allow me to pay for my 2 years myself and that was a REALLY, REALLY, REALLY stupid mistake. I am completely incapable of financially supporting myself now because of that student loan.</p>

<p>The transfer experience was not so very much fun. If you do this, you will feel like a junior trapped in a freshman’s body when you get to campus. If the dorming experience is important to you, you will most likely be rooming with a freshman. You will find when you get to campus that you did a lot of maturing in your first two years of college and you may find that you don’t really fit in with the freshmen, but it is not always easy to fit in with the kids who have been here for years already, either. A good transition can be acheived but it is not easy to do. If you are commuting, forget it. Michigan is wonderful and IMO one of the best schools in the world, but unless you only care about the academics you will be disappointed. You can get a great education somewhere you can afford and still get the other things you want.</p>

<p>If I were you, I would apply to UM and see if I could get enough merit aid to go for four years. If I could not get enough merit aid for 4 years, I would forget Michigan and take my stats somewhere where I can get merit aid and afford to go for all four years-- you are competitive for merit aid at lots and lots of schools. I went to scraft because my high school stats sucked and I could not get merit aid anywhere. IMO, a 4 year college experience at an affordable GREAT school is better than the 2 year college experience at Umich, by far, hands down. This, I suppose, is a matter of personal preference. If someone had told me this when I was 18 I would have laughed in their face and still gone to Umich, but I would have regretted it later. I suppose I am going to be in the minority here, but the UMICH OR BUST attitude really screwed me and I missed out on a lot of schools where I might have fit in better and not ended up broke in the end.</p>

<p>If you do go the transfer route, they will require your HS transcripts still after 2 years but next to no weight will be placed on them. The ACT is similar, I had a 23 in HS so I retook it and got a 32 or something, but they told me I needn’t have bothered. With your presumed academic skills, you will have no problem acing schoolcraft and are all but guaranteed admission to umich if you apply early and put out a good app and get involved in the community at Scraft. However, you will be bored. You will be very, very bored. If you react to boredom by refusing to do the work and go to class, you won’t get into Umich or anywhere else you would like to go. If you can’t handle being bored, don’t go to scraft, find a 4 year you can afford. If you can handle being bored, and IF YOUR PARENTS CAN AFFORD AND ARE WILLING TO PAY FOR 2 YEARS AT UMICH, go to scraft and transfer if you really want umich. It’s easy peasy. </p>

<p>P.S. I had a friend in the HS class of 2007 with similar stats to yours, and he ended up with a full tuition scholarship somehow. I don’t know the details, but you never know. That’s why you apply as a freshman and have a Plan B. A real plan B, not “I have a plan B on paper but I’d actually slash my wrists before it came to that.” </p>

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<p>I went to Washtenaw for a couple semesters, I had no problems. I think it’s a good way to go. The saving of CC over Michigan is huge and there’s no reason to spend that kind of money for the classes you’re taking freshman year. </p>

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<p>I think it depends a lot on the person and what they study. I might be the same place now if I had gone to MSU or Michigan Tech instead of Michigan (Though perhaps not… It’s hard to say), but I certainly wouldn’t be here if I had gone to Western, Dearborn, or Wayne State. I don’t think I can say going to Michigan is a mistake just because you have to take out some loans or just because you don’t get merit aid or something. Especially if the alternative isn’t MSU or Michigan Tech, but Western or Wayne State or somewhere else. 2 years upper level tuition at Michigan ranges somewhere between 28K and 36K depending on the program. Taking on that kind of debt is very different if you’re expecting to make 30K after graduation than if you’re expecting to make 100K. Depending on your major, the Michigan degree over the Dearborn degree could lead to a HUGE difference in what salary you can expect. </p>