<p>Thank you for the Book advice, I will look them up, The only College Book I have purchased so far is... "Straight Talk on Paying for College" by Trent & Seppy. I heard Grove City is really hard to get into, My son is better than Average, but Not an A student, more a B student. He hates essays and writing, his gift is Math. Someone mentioned Juniata College , I looked them up on the net, I dont' think they have a Cross COuntry Program. That is a must for him.</p>
<p>juniata indeed has a cross country program (one of my friends is on the womens team). a link to their site: <a href="http://athletics.juniata.edu/mcrosscountry/%5B/url%5D">http://athletics.juniata.edu/mcrosscountry/</a></p>
<p>most colleges and universities are going to have cross country teams because, well, theyre cheap. what i would recommend you do this summer is get a feel for the quality of many of the teams in the area. most colleges have meet times on their sites, which for men are 10k (with some exceptions). keep in mind that it might not be in your sons best interests to go to a top cross country school.</p>
<p>also, as an above post suggests, i would recommend that you fill out some online financial aid calculators. you can calculate your estimated family contribution here: <a href="http://www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml%5B/url%5D">http://www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml</a></p>
<p>the 'federal methodology' option will show you your expected contribution at many public schools, though few have the financial resources to meet need entirely for many students. the site also will give you an estimate of how much you may be expected to pay at a private institution by selecting the 'institutional methodology' option in the second box from the top. </p>
<p>then, make sure your son signs up for the psat this fall. his score here will give you a much better idea than you currently have as to what kind of school he may be able to attend. his score will likely go up when he takes the sat as a junior, but it will give you a basic idea from which to work.</p>
<p>at that point youll have a rough financial picture of yourself, a rough academic picture of your son and a rough athletic picture of schools, setting you up for some visits next summer and the beginning of the recruiting process.</p>
<p>Hey, if he has ANY relatives that live in Florida, her will be able to have a florida prepaid college account. Take a look:</p>
<p>My daughter is 2 and I just cut a check for 13K. This guarentees 4 years of tuition and fees at a Florida public 4 year university when she goes, no matter what the cost of tuition. The program is guarenteed by the Florida state gov't, too.</p>
<p>Just to throw out one more private in Pa. in a similar price range as Juniata, with similar aid on average--Elizabethtown College. They offer slightly less in the way of grants, but sticker $ is slightly less than Juniata.</p>
<p>Thanks for the Cross Country link for Juniata,when i found the site doing a search on Google, I seen all kinds of sports listed but no Cross Country. Ok, question about INstituational Meth " ---isnt' this where they want to know the value of your HOUSE & Property? If so, I want NO part of that, our income is low but we have a house with acrage worth alot more than someone with our income would normally have, and I didn't want that counted against us when my kids go to college. I want Colleges that just require that FASTA calculation--solely on Current income & dependants. We basically have NO assets except our House/property/some retirement in 401K. Period. And some cash in bank, I understand they only take less than 6% from the parents?</p>
<p>No relatives in Florida, my son wants to be close to home, he is going into 10th grade only. I am doing research EARLY, I want to be thouroughly prepared for all of this, since me & husbdand were not College People. I am basically terrified of how much debt I will be in when this time goes, and I do not think I am willing to C0-sign any big loans, and from what people in my area say, that is exactly what I will have to do-or he WILL be at a Community College or State is only option with the prices of College today. They did NOT get decent Financial aid packages, they had similar income, but maybe a kid less at home.</p>
<p><<they did="" not="" get="" decent="" financial="" aid="" packages,="" they="" had="" similar="" income,="" but="" maybe="" a="" kid="" less="" at="" home.="">>
You know more than anyone else how expensive a kid is. (Even if it is a boy.) Colleges take that into account.</they></p>
<p>In my parents' case, we itemized our expenses on a monthly basis, and contrasted it with our income. Though it initially seemed like alot, once we broke it down for the colleges they realized it wasn't much at all. </p>
<p>My point here is that you shouldn't rule out a given school right off the bat, or panic about financial aid just yet. Your son may in fact have something particularly intriguing to a given college, therefore making them more likely to "woo" him--with money. He may come up with some scholarships on his own. </p>
<p>I do think it's great that you want to be thoroughly prepared for all this. Also, please bear in mind that alot of things will be considered into institutional methodology. Some things may be counted against you; but they may not be. You will probably get a break for owning older, more modest cars, for example. Oh, and you can always negotiate. Some books offer tips for doing so.</p>
<p>For What it is WOrth-you could do a LOT worse than Penn State.</p>
<p>A private school sometimes costs less than state schools, as proven by the anecdotes within this thread.</p>
<p>I personally take classes at the local community college (I'm an 11th grade high school student). They are very so-so. The mix of older adults taking the classes, along with the high school students who wanted to expand their opportunities while in high school, along with students using the cc as a 'bridge' creates three distinct groups who are comfortable with very different paces of learning. Nothing is wrong with it, but for many people motivated enough to seek out a college website, community colleges are less than ideal. However, they sound like they might be a good match for your son.</p>
<p>All I'm trying to say is don't rule out other options. Over the next year and a half your sons interests might change. Concerning Geneva, their website (<a href="http://www.geneva.edu/object/fin_aid_faqs.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.geneva.edu/object/fin_aid_faqs.html</a>) says that you can request an approximation of your financial aid before your son applies. This might be of value to your family.</p>
<p>
[quote]
from what people in my area say, that is exactly what I will have to do-or he WILL be at a Community College or State is only option with the prices of College today. They did NOT get decent Financial aid packages, they had similar income, but maybe a kid less at home.
[/quote]
Here's a tip. You can rely on anecdotes from other people, or you can use the same computer you're using for these posts to find a financial aid calculator and see what it estimates your family's financial contribution (EFC) to be.</p>
<p>Then apply to colleges that meet need, and use this forum to get advice which among the ones you are considering are more generous with grants compared to loans when meeting your need.</p>
<p>Berkeley, William and Mary, and UVA are public schools and are some of the best schools in the country and there half the price of an ivy league education.... i would choose to spend less on my undergraduate and go to a good public school and spend more on graduate school.</p>
<p>Many state colleges-UMich, UVA, UW-Madison, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UIUC, etc-are excellent schools.</p>