All 4 schools i am looking at, Boston University, Boston College, Northeastern and NYU all have tuition around 50k. I wont be eligible for any financial aid as my parents make over 500K (seriously) but will not pay for my college if its over 10k a year! I really want to move to the Boston or NYC area for college I don’t think i have a chance at the ivys or MIT but with my stats i should definitely be able to get into one of the colleges I listed above. Public schools will probably be almost as much since i am out of state. Does anyone know of some awesome outside scholarships I can apply to? Is it possible to cover all the tuition by applying to as many scholarships as I can? If all fails, does anyone know of some affordable colleges around NYC or Boston? This will be a big move for me (1,000 miles) so any info helps, thanks.
None of these schools are likely to be affordable options, nor are there any other schools in the NYC or Boston areas that are likely to be affordable. With $10,000 from your parents, $5500 Direct loan (if your parents are willing to fill out the FAFSA), and your full-time summer and part-time school year earnings, your options are most likely instate public schools to which you can commute or schools where your stats make you automatically eligible for full tuition or better scholarships. If you have outstanding stats and ECs you may be in the running for competitive, school-awarded scholarships. There is no way most students can find enough outside scholarships to pay for pricey, sleep-away schools. If you list your stats, folks here on CC can suggest some possibilities.
$10k will not even pay living expenses – let alone tuition and books. Do they want you to attend college nearby and live at home? Honestly, that’s about all a $10k budget would allow without aid.
Most scholarships are for need (which you don’t have) or for very high achieving students. There are some public schools with auto merit based on high stats but I’m not sure if any are in the NYC/ Boston area.
Are you a senior? Curious what your parents’ expectations are for how this will play out.
You’re in a tough spot. Have a conversation with your parents. $10k is unrealistic, because your FA is dependent on their income. You can’t cover your education in scholarships alone because many of the good ones are need-based, and your parents’ income shuts you out. I applaud them for not wanting to overspend unnecessarily and for wanting you to have “skin in the game”, but even your in state schools are going to cost double or triple what your parents are willing to pay. You won’t see any merit aid from top colleges (it is all need-based). Are your parents aware of all of this? Things have changed significantly since they were in high school. You are going to need more help from them than they got from their parents.
Around here at least, $10,000 means commuting to a local state college or university.
Why are your parents only willing to pay $10k/year? Do you live in a state where your stats qualify you for substantial aid? What do they expect you to do for college?
If you can get a full tuition scholarship the $10k from your parents + the $5500 federal student loan + summer work earnings may be able to cover room and board somewhere. It is extremely unlikely that you can raise a quarter of a million dollars in the next 4 years, so you need to explore other options.
Here in Alabama 10K a year is enough for an in state public school, thats what my parents want me to do.
Baruch College is relatively affordable for oos, but even so you wouldn’t be able to cover living costs on your budget. https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/tuition/#costs
Any chance you want to be an engineer? Webb Institute offers all students full tuition and your budget can cover living expenses. http://www.webb.edu/webb-institute-ranked-3-best-college-new-york/ They only offer one program a dual degree Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in naval architecture and marine engineering. But many go on to grad school.
Well…let’s start with the actual costs. BU and NYU are in the $70,000 or so a year cost to attend…and so is BC. NEU isn’t far behind.
There is NO WAY for you to pay the full costs to attend either of these colleges…and $10,000 isn’t going to cover your room and board costs.
I believe including room and board, even the instate costs for Alabama are higher than $10,000 a year. @mom2collegekids
What’s the REAL reason your parents want you to stay in Alabama? Is it just the costs, or is there additional reason for you to be nearer to home, in their opinion.
Are you a HS senior this year? If not, you have some options here.
- Get outstanding SAT or ACT scores, and have an outstanding GPA, and apply to places where a merit scholarship is likely. NYU, BC, BU NEU are not likely for significant enough merit to leave you with a $10,000 net cost.
- Start looking at colleges that aren’t in the major metro areas that are costly. You might find a scholarship to a Denison, or a similarly smaller school in a less “popular” and expensive area.
- Visit UA...all three campuses. There is a lot to like about these universities, and you are fortunate to have a lower cost school in YOUR state.
- Do NOT even for a second think about taking $200,000 or more in loans for undergraduate school. First...YOU can’t do that. Second, who will co-sign? Third...think of the payments...they will be well over $2000 a month for 10 years. Do you really want to start your adult after college life with a $2000 loan payment?
What are your outstanding stats? What is your year in HS? What is your GPA? What is your SAT or ACT score? Have you taken the junior year PSAT? What was THAT score? Any chance you will attain NMS finalist?
If Alabama and/or Auburn is affordable, why not go to one of them and plan to move to NYC or Boston after you graduate from college?
And adding…why NY or Boston?
Perhaps you could apply to internship programs for summers in those cities.
NY and Boston because i like being in the city and they are both relatively safe compared to other cities in the northeast
Unless your parents change their minds you will not be going to school in NYC or Boston or anywhere out of state.
Unfortunately for you, your parents can decide how they want to spend their money and thus can control where you go to college.
To answer your question, no, it is not possible to get enough in scholarships to pay the full price of attendance at BC, BU, NYU or NEU, or most likely any other school in Boston, NY, or any other city. Most colleges that offer big financial aid do so based on the family financial situation (you won’t qualify) and a few do offer merit aid, but often those are tied to a specific scholarship like national merit or a science competition.
I think you’ll spend a lot of time looking for ways to pay and you won’t find them. Instead, educate your parents on schools and how much they cost. I think their $10k offer may be based just on tuition in Alabama, and your $50k for tuition is the same. There are many more things to pay for than just tuition - room and board, books, insurance, travel, entertainment. Take your parents on tours of UA and Auburn, but also other schools you’d like to consider. Explain WHY you’d like to go to BC, and ‘to live in a city’ isn’t a good enough reason. If your parents earn $500k per year, they must understand business. Make a plan. Show them why BC is the right school for you.
$10,000 plus being allowed to live at home at no charge or minimal cost may be enough to commute to a local in-state public university, if there is one near where you live. If you take the federal direct loans and add some work earnings, you may be able to go to a college that costs up to $18,000 to $20,000.
Or you can chase full tuition or better merit scholarships, but those have been getting less common over the years, and are much less likely to be found at colleges in places like New York or Boston.
Just noticed that you are in-state for Alabama. Consider the following if you do not want to commute to the local state university (if you get a full tuition scholarship, you can use the $10,000 plus maybe federal direct loan and work earnings to live on or near campus):
http://www.aamu.edu/admissions/fincialaid/documents/academicscholarshipbrochure1819x.pdf
https://scholarships.ua.edu/types/in-state.php
https://www.uah.edu/admissions/undergraduate/financial-aid/scholarships/merit-tuition-scholarships
https://www.uab.edu/students/paying-for-college/scholarships/act-gpa-based-scholarships-alabama-residents
Also, here are some scholarships at a private university in Alabama:
https://www.tuskegee.edu/programs-courses/scholarships/freshman-scholarships
What are your stats?
Are your parents saying that they want you to live at home and commute to a local college? Which college is near you?
What is your major and career goal?
The reality is that there aren’t any private scholarships that would help you since they all look at “need”…except the Coca Cola Scholarship and I think the deadline was earlier. And really, that award is so ridiculously competitive that you couldnt count on that and it’s only for $20k.
So, no, there aren’t private scholarships that you could apply to that would cover your college costs. There really aren’t entities out there that provide much money anyway, much less to students who have no need. They just don’t have the interest in providing funds for high income students. Why would they?
Have you applied to any of the Alabama schools that give large merit for stats? I hope so since at least one’s deadline was Dec 15.
Is there a reason that your parents want you close to home? Do they think that you’re not mature enough to handle college?
My dad is willing to rent me an apartment in Auburn. My stats are 3.9 GPA and 34 ACT
Oh those are great stats! Go to UA or Auburn at a greatly reduced rate (and see if you can do a study abroad program while there) and then set your sights on grad school for out of state.