<p>okay, so it may not be unusual, actually it may be quite usual. My parents are earning more than enough to pay for my college tuition (hopefully will get accepted to upper UC's). But the problem is they will not be paying for my tuition, instead I will be taking out a loan for all 4 years of college. Since my parents earn more than enough, would that cancel me out for any need base scholarships, seeing as how i have no money? Would it ruin my chances on getting some sort of merit scholarship? (My stats are average compared to the average CCer.) Will I be forced to take out a full loan for all 4 years? That wouldn't be very nice seeing as how it may total up to over 100k. Any advice will help, seeing as how I am new to all this and am eager to learn before i apply for college.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>My parents are earning more than enough to pay for my college tuition (hopefully will get accepted to upper UC's). But the problem is they will not be paying for my tuition, instead I will be taking out a loan for all 4 years of college.>></p> </blockquote>
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<p>If your parents earn a sufficient amount of money you probably won't qualify for any need based financial aid. There are finaid calculators that you can use to estimate what your EFC (expected family contribution) will be based on your parents' incomes. There are merit aid scholarships that do NOT consider need and there are merit aid scholarships that DO take need into consideration. You would still be eligible for non-need based merit aid (if you meet the eligibility criteria AND are chosen...these are usually not automatic awards). Financial aid does not take into consideration what your parents are WILLING to pay (in your case...nothing), they take into consideration what your parents CAN pay (using a formula).</p>
<p>If you go to a lower UC and have stats for a better one, you could get merit money. The UCs make most take a ton of loans anyway.</p>