I don’t remember if you were the one I replied with this to, so I will paste it just in case: “As for UCLA if I tried again, I would be deferring for a year on the basis of my chest surgery and in that year, I would apply for the Alumni and Regents scholarships. If those didn’t work out, I would just attend elsewhere.”
But yeah, I suppose I could start out in CS, but I will say that I hear one doesn’t go to Davidson if they’re serious about the arts, and one of my big interests/hobbies is film and visual effects. I would also like to try theater and want to double major (or minor) in music. So I would like a school that would allow me to pursue the arts. Unfortunately, given that I started taking piano seriously recently, a music double-major at DePauw is unattainable, and at Webster, participating in theater is unattainable. That said, if I went to Webster, I’d likely be able to participate in their music program.
As for Webster’s prestige and reputation. I fear that could be a concern when I’m searching for grad school (especially if I end up in medicine or law).
They said it’s possible on the grounds of a medical reason, and I was going to submit my official request tonight. As for the scholarships, I was invited to apply for the alumni scholarship (but I’m stupid and thought you could only apply if you’re legacy for whatever reason so I didn’t do it in time). I was going to spend the time applying before next year, and from what I understood, both scholarships meet all demonstrated need for those who have it and only go up to the numbers you provided if you have no demonstrated need. I could be wrong about that, am I?
This is a bad idea, horrid in fact. You are not going to UCLA - just face it. It’s not the only great “fit” in America.
Now, if you are telling me that you will defer everywhere due to a surgery, ok.
But do not defer, just for another crack at UCLA - it’s not going to happen. Sorry.
As for prestige in law and medical school - take a look at the Harvard and Yale Law School attendance. It doesn’t matter if you are at Alaska Anchorage, Boise State or wherever - they have their students there. South Dakota State anyone. Your GPA, LSAT and possible work experience is what matters.
Same for medical school.
So I think your fears are misguided.
It’s a great interview scenario - impressing people that you paid for your own education. No one will fault you for taking a free ride - in fact most will be imrpessed.
Even if you are invited to apply to the scholarships, there is no guarantee of receiving them.
The claim on the website states that they meet demonstrated need if you receive the scholarships however, UC’s do not give need-based aid to OOS students so you will not receive enough aid to cover your expenses.
You are banking a lot of what if’s that may not work out in the end. You need some guarantees before turning down your other acceptances. I do not see how UCLA will be affordable next year vs this year.
These are fair points, but yes, I was considering deferring anyway. A gap year would give me the opportunity to figure out for sure what I want my career to be, and it will give me the chance to apply to some other schools now that I’m a bit more clear on what I’m looking for. I’d kind of like to try applying to Cornell because I have family who are huge donors to the school who might be able to drop my name, so an extra year would make that (and other schools) possible without transferring and losing first-year scholarships. In that year, I’d devote myself to improving my skills in piano, parkour, and visual effects. I’d also try to shadow certain careers of interest. And, of course, I’d be rehabilitating from my surgery. I guess the question is, if I decide to do that, would it be worth it to defer from UCLA or should I choose another school to defer from?
You’re 18 - you don’t even know what is out there. What i do I had no idea existed.
Now, maybe you get a job at a Starbucks and decide you want to be a restaurateur or you work at Kroger and decide you want to manage a grocery store - but the odds of you knowing what you want to do in a year or two are slim.
Now Cornell - you are all over the place. Them dropping your name isn’t going to help - and how big is big. Legacy today (which you aren’t) is often providing less a benefit because schools want to diversity economic status, not just admit based on wealth.
I don’t think your plan to defer is sound. I think, short of the medical issue, you should start school and love the place you go. I’d recommend only Webster or one of the LACs in the mid-20s. Webster would ave you $100K - so that’s a big plus.
If you spend mid-20s, are your parents paying?
Let me tell you - you, not your college will make your life - but Davidson, Depauw - all fine schools - Davidson a near elite LAC.
UCLA does not grant many deferrals. Students are only admitted to the term for which they applied. There is no guarantee that a deferral request will be approved. If the request is not approved and you are unable to attend UCLA for Fall 2022, then you have the option to reapply for admission, with no guarantee that you will be admitted for that term.
Undergraduate Admission will generally only consider deferment requests for admitted students who meet the following criteria/circumstances:
The scholarships are limited and you wont have enough funding to attend even with deferrals. UCLA is a public university with limited dollars. In-state residents get need-based aid from the State of California. OOS students don’t “qualify” for those state dollars.
Financial aid supported by funds from the State of California is not available to nonresident students enrolling at UCLA.
You can apply for federal funds which are woefully limited and wont BEGIN to cover your total tuition and fees at a UC school. As @Gumbymom has indicated, the Regents and Alumni scholarships require invitations and you can’t bank on receiving one; they are super competitive. These wont come close to covering your tuition and fees.
You need to focus on affordability. In CS, it doesn’t matter where you go; it’s a marketable degree anywhere.
I think Davidson is your best option among your affordable options. I would make that your number 1 choice if you don’t want to take the full ride at Webster. It’s a wonderful school and I think you can get what you want out of your experience there. You can still pursue the arts there–they have film studies and music programs and you can pursue internships to gain hands-on experience. Since you don’t know exactly what you want to do yet, I think Davidson would leave you with plenty of options to choose from and give you the overall best education for the right price.
If you do decide to defer because of your surgery, I would strongly encourage you to arrange to defer from Davidson, not UCLA. UCLA won’t become more affordable, and I wouldn’t walk away from a great option that IS affordable.
I think you should forget about UCLA. There are lots of reasons. Even IF you defer and get the most scholarships…you will still be paying $55,000 a year…or more.
You have mentioned TV and film which are VERY low paying entry level jobs usually located in very high cost of living places.
You have mentioned medical school which costs a fortune and is funded with loans, loans and more loans.
If Davidson is affordable at almost $25,000 a year…I vote for that. It’s a terrific LAC with excellent options for you. The college has one of the most beautiful performing arts centers around (my DH was a former professional theater techie and he was very impressed). Facilities overall are really very good.
No question you can fulfill medical school application requirements there…and also explore other areas.
Around here, we call Davidson the “Amherst of the south”.
Agree 100%. What I do is something I hadn’t though of doing when I started college.
I can empathize with his uncertainty; the OP sounds like a normal 18 year old. Maybe go into CS. Or become a doctor. Or a lawyer. Or something in the entertainment industry. That’s fine; it’s hard to make such a big decision when you’re 18, so much you haven’t considered and/or experienced.
But some things can be known. What colleges are affordable, for example. People keep trying to tell the OP that UCLA is not affordable, that the few scholarships even in the unlikely event of being won aren’t nearly enough to cover the costs. And he keeps arguing the issue, insistent on that school, clinging to a belief some wonderful event is going to come thru and let it all work out. At some point one needs to just let it go. The OP has been given plenty of information to make a decision and the consequences fall on him. Sounds like a fair deal to me.
Yes, and I’m not sure if it has been addressed yet but I don’t believe you can defer AND apply for new incoming scholarships. Wouldn’t you have to reapply all over again to qualify for those scholarships? If you defer and hold your place, you would not be a new applicant…it seems much smarter to defer to a school that is within budget already if you are going to defer at all.
Email Davidson financial aid office and indicate that they’re your first choice but your EFC is $18,500, so for your family $24,955 net cost is a bit too high, especially considering (“you have a 14 year old car that needs to be replaced for your dad to get to work…” “medical expenses with deductible $…,… and copay $…,…”, etc. any necessary expenses.) Is there a way for them to appeal to their professional judgement regarding this amount of financial aid?
Of all universities that admitted you Davidson has the “deepest” pockets and is most likely to cut a few thousand dollars off your net cost if you use the information above. (“professional judgement”)
(It’s also a highly ranked, recognized, and networked university)
DO SO TODAY OR TOMORROW!
Well I have been invited to apply for the alumni scholarship, though I don’t know if that no longer applies after a deferral. That said, I’m actually not really too interested in computer science to be quite honest. I’m not certain how College Confidential works, but it seems someone has changed my title to indicate that computer science is my main interest. It’s the most backup option out of all of my interests at the moment. One of the reasons I’ve been so stuck on UCLA is because I’d like a place with plenty of options, and the LACs I’m accepted into don’t really have that many options. They’re mostly just the generic common majors that I’m not particularly interested in. UCLA isn’t just about prestige to me, it really is about fit as far as I’m concerned.
So you can’t just change majors at certain schools…including UCs. It’s much easier at LACs.
Let’s get back to your issue.
You CANNOT afford UC. You’ve been told even with the scholarships you cannot afford. You never should have applied to UCs but rather to other large publics that you could afford (such as Arizona or Miami Ohio). They were wasted apps and are now causing you unnecessary stress. You should have applied to UVA and UNC. They are the publics that meet need. Or to schools like I mentioned that have huge merit.
You got into a school with as much prestige (which you say now matters less) and many options. Davidson…and like UCLA has a great basketball tradition.
You have to look not just at the majors but within the majors. For example and it’s a different school but at William & Mary, in sociology (healthcare, policy, criminology, etc) they actually have 5 tracks. Or my daughters school in urban sciences they have 3 tracks. So you have to look deeper into the majors…not just the major itself
A UC school for you means crippling debt for many many years. You will likely live for the next 20 years…when others are buying cars, homes and more….you will be spending a huge portion of your earnings toward debt and either renting a lower cost place or living at home. That is not exaggerated. There are thousand of stories like this all over the web.
Since you can only borrow $27k over four years, hopefully your family is smart enough to not allow you to borrow more.
Just being honest. Forget the UCs. Go to a school that has shown you love and go now (unless you need to defer for health reasons)!!
Fit includes affordability.
Everyone here has indicated that you wont be able to afford this school.
You are NOT listening and it WILL impact your present and future budget.
Are your parents planning on getting loans for you because you can’t get these kinds of loans on your own?
If so, did you know that these Parent loans are sold and resold?
Did you know that some loans can be “pay as you go”? This means that your parents may have to pay $3K+ per month and this would happen every year for probably 20 years.
Is it the California thing? The State will still be here after you graduate and you can apply for jobs out in California from wherever you graduate.
It’s no fun going to an expensive school when you:
can’t afford to go out for pizza with friends,
can’t tour the local area (SoCal public transportation is awful!)
fly or travel back home during breaks
pay “surprise” classroom supply fees
chip in for our very expensive gas
pay for expensive, required, in-state health insurance not covered by university fees.
Also, if your fees, as an OOS student, are not paid for in full when classes begin, you will be dis-enrolled from all of your classes.
As a resident of the State, I am satisfied with your family paying full fees to our State coffers. Our State desperately needs the money. We’ll take it. You and your family are the ones who will be paying it for years to come.
It’s not too late to talk to Davidson. It is an amazing school. It is top choice for many students. Don’t just look on names of majors. Students customize, get involved with projects, get internships etc.
Yes, please. I was admitted for computer science, but I will most likely change my major if I go there. I think I should probably just make a new post so I have fresh responses that don’t think I want to do comp sci.