What are options for paying OOS tuition?

<p>I don’t believe you need parental permission for ROTC, unless you’re under 18 when it comes time to sign a binding commitment. That said, ROTC scholarships are highly competitive.</p>

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My answer to that, is both. I have gotten advice to pursue private schools OOS with good scholarships as well as staying instate with affordable tuition, so I will research both options.</p>

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i was one of the few freshmen in my class that didnt take the PSAT._.

do I speak with my counselors to apply for said PSAT? Nothing about a PSAT was mentioned at registration…</p>

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my school has an amazing ROTC program but it is also 30 miles away from my house, and I would need my parents to drive me, meaning its a no go. Only form of EC activity in allowed to do is UIL and academic clubs…</p>

<p>Some school districts are more active about encouraging (or even insisting) that students take the PSAT in 9th and 10th grade. But please do not worry about missing it. The results of the early exams are used primarily for the principals of different high schools to score points off each other. The PSAT is sufficiently like the SAT so as to make any SAT prep course or review program a more than reasonable substitute for “practice” 9th and 10th grade PSAT exam.</p>

<p>If you live in a Western state you should look into the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) for reduced tuition at participating schools.</p>

<p>The OP lives in Texas.</p>

<p>I think this student is doing a good job in terms of gaining information about college and college finances. Better to ask those questions now, than after applications are sent. </p>

<p>Teach…you might want to do a search here for a thread by a poster Momfromtexas. She had a good strategy for finding full rides for both of her kiddos. Some of the specific scholarships mentioned in her thread no longer exist…but the strategy is timeless. Perhaps someone can link that thread here. It is getting very old…but still a good read.</p>

<p>Old, but still good:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/148852-what-ive-learned-about-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/148852-what-ive-learned-about-full-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/291483-update-what-i-learned-about-free-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/291483-update-what-i-learned-about-free-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Thank you all:)</p>

<p>Not JROTC in high school. ROTC in college.</p>

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wowwww… Learn something new everyday haha,:)</p>

<p>We had a major thread on this. Check out:<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1509000-five-sneaky-ways-get-instate-tuition-out-state-kid.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1509000-five-sneaky-ways-get-instate-tuition-out-state-kid.html&lt;/a&gt;
The thread cites an article that was partially derived from a book entitled, “Achieve Financial Freedom:Big Time.” Get the book. It has a lot more detail on the subject than the article.</p>

<p>Some colleges that do not have their own ROTC program do allow students to participate at a neighboring college. </p>

<p>Also, while full scholarships for ROTC are rare, many ROTC students are eligible for a monthly stipend, pay during the summer and other college financing benefits. Those benefits seem to vary greatly from service to service and from academic program to academic program, and may vary over time.</p>

<p>There also are college financing benefits for students who join a reserve or national guard unit while they are in college. That may involve becoming an enlisted person, such as a Specialist. Your active duty service is typically during the summer and one weekend a month (unless we have another pre-emptive war). You would need to schedule your recruit training, which hopefully could be done over the summer.</p>

<p>ROTC is a different animal than National Guard. Used to be you had to give uncle sam 6 years of full time service active duty with the ROTC scholly. The Guard is 6 years of part time non active duty, 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks of training is the summer.</p>

<p>If you live the mid-Atlantic region, you can ck out the ACM academic common market to pay instate tuition at oos school offering majors not offered at your state schools.</p>

<p>The OP lives in TEXAS!</p>

<p>California is not a good state for OOS students to get scholarships at large public schools, but many other states offer good scholarships to OOS students with good grades and good test scores. If you decide that you really want to go to a large public school out of state, your test scores will play a major role for scholarships. It is definitely not too early for you to start to practice/study for ACT and SAT tests. There are a number of options available for students with a GPA over 3.5 (or even 3.0) and high test scores. There are a number of threads here about choosing which test to take and how to improve your scores. Look for free practice tests in your area and library books with practice tests.</p>

<p>After you’ve been through the “what I learned about full ride scholarships” threads, you might also want to look at the long “automatic/guaranteed scholarship” thread
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>If you want to investigate having a nearby beach as part of your college experience, you are not limited to California schools. You might also look at schools in Florida or at North Carolina’s UNC Wilmington or South Carolina’s Coastal Carolina.</p>

<p>If you don’t end up with a clear path to get out of Texas, I wanted to say that I think that Texas State San Marcos would be large enough that you will find a wide variety of types of students and available experiences and could have a great college experience there. Scholarships are available and the price is a lot more doable for a student who won’t be getting a lot of family support. I know it is only about 50 miles away but that would save travel costs for you. [Cost</a> of Attendance : Financial Aid and Scholarships : Texas State University](<a href=“http://www.finaid.txstate.edu/undergraduate/cost.html#In-StateCoAFallSummer]Cost”>http://www.finaid.txstate.edu/undergraduate/cost.html#In-StateCoAFallSummer) UT Arlington, 5 hours away, again would be large enough that you will find a wide variety of types of students and available experiences and could have a great college experience there. [What</a> Will It Cost? - Admissions - UT Arlington](<a href=“http://www.uta.edu/admissions/costs/what-will-it-cost.php]What”>Tuition and Scholarships - Admissions - The University of Texas at Arlington) I think that if you look at <em>large</em> in-state public schools, you will find places with many different types of students and you will be able to find people who are different from what you are picturing as typical Texas students.</p>

<p>OP, I have followed this thread the past few days, and wish to stress something others are not saying. Not talking with your parents at your age is a problem. One that really needs to be addressed. It may be a very difficult thing to do, but it is in your best interest to do so. It sounds like they are a bit controlling, but they may think they are doing what’s in your best interest (and it might in fact BE in your best interest).</p>

<p>But even if you never come to an understanding of why they control you the way they do (I’m going to guess it is a cultural thing, but it doesn’t really matter), or an agreement on how you should live your life, you need to understand that if you want to attend college, you will still remain under their influence or control even once you turn 18. You have said you want to study humanities or biology, and then possibly go on the med school. If you go to med school, you need to spend as little as you can on your undergraduate education, and save your money for med school. There are 4 possible ways to do that:</p>

<p>1 - Go to the least expensive college that will still give you the quality of education you seek. That might mean a local CC and transfer to a 4-year, or it might mean a low cast 4-year school</p>

<p>2 - Qualify for significant merit aid - enough to bring the cost of a more expensive school down to a similar cost.</p>

<p>3 - Qualify for significant need-based aid. If your parents are indeed broke, you would still need their support to file FAFSA forms each year. If they refuse to file the forms, because they don’t support your choice of schools, you won’t get any aid. You might get them to fill out the first year because you’ve included some schools they like in your application list, but what happens the second year, when they are not pleased with your final decision?</p>

<p>4 - get someone else to pay for college. This could be parents, grandparents, the military through ROTC (or enlist and then return to school), National Guard, and employer…</p>

<p>You need to start talking to your parents, so you will know the answers to a few questions:</p>

<p>How much can they afford to pay each year?
How much are they willing to pay each year?
How much will they (and/or you) be expected to pay, based on their income & savings?
(If they do in fact have $100,000 annual income, expect this to be $20,000 or more)</p>

<p>Are there any restrictions they would impose, in terms of their willingness to pay?
Any restrictions in terms of their willingness to file forms, if they don’t have to pay?</p>

<p>Even with the schools that offer full rides, you may be required to file FAFSA. This is because those schools would prefer you to get a portion of that full ride in the form of federal aid. </p>

<p>The only other option I see is to completely sever the relationship, but it is not an idea to be taken lightly. Given your comment about “registration” I am guessing you attend a private HS. Severing your relationship with your parents would make you a ward of the state, and while it would remove you from your parents’ control, it would mean the state controls where you life and what schools you attend until you graduate or turn 18. It’s really only an option if the relationship is truly broken beyond repair, or they are abusing you - and that doesn’t appear to be the case here. </p>

<p>You sound much like my own daughter who is the same age as you. A year ago, your posts could have come from her. I’m glad to say we have repaired our relationship, and you can too. It’s not easy, but if you make that effort you will see that there are in fact many options available to you. By they you might find that you can in fact afford the schools you now would like to attend, but you also might find you no longer want to. </p>

<p>You need to work with your parents so you and they both understand their needs and yours. Some of your “wants” might indeed be emotional “needs,” but that is something to discuss with them and you guidance counselor at school. Your guidance counselor can be a great resource, and might be able to help you start that conversation with your parents, and maybe act as a mediator if necessary (or direct you to someone who can).</p>

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I am certainly looking into private schools in coastal areas of Florida, as well as San Marcos. Thank you for the suggestions</p>