Double edged sword if one twin leaves school. The EFC for the remaining twin would double. So…if attending a school that provides need based aid, that could mean a reduction in need based aid if only one kiddo is in college instead of two.
@elizajanebh I see on other posts you said you were applying to Middlebury, Bowdoin, and Northwestern. Did you apply to those schools? You said your dad donates to Bowdoin as an alumni. I’M really having a hard time reconciling the fact thst your parents are alumni doners to elite schools and make over 160k per year but are not going to support you more than $5k per year (in favor of supporting your twin at way more) for college. What am I missing?
People here are trying to help you, please be forthcoming with all the information so we can make good recommendations.
@suzyQ7 I have not only applied to 5 schools, I’ve applied to 10. But even if I had applied to 5 schools, I think that is perfectly reasonable because applying to 5 schools is often $300+. And I have mentioned in the previous comments, my parents are in denial about the cost of college and think that we can take out thousands of dollars of loans and be fine. I did not apply to MHC because I didn’t like it, and it would not be worth going to a college I didn’t like unless I got a full boat that covered everything. And you know as well as I do that they probably will not give us a twin discount. My parents are willing to “pay” for any college me or my sister want… which is part of the problem, because they don’t understand that they can’t.
OK, that helps. I think I get it. Your parents want you to go to a prestigious school, but they want you to take loans for them because they don’t have the money. Do they know they will have to cosign?
My sister has many emotional special needs and going to a big, cheap state school or community college would be too “traumatic” for her. The only money in my college fund is 20k, the only “real” money allocated for me. My family is going to try to pay for me through “hypothetical” money, which is the key issue here. They are willing to pay wherever I go, but I need to save as much money I can for medical school.
@suzyQ7 no!! They aren’t unwilling to do anything
^“They aren’t unwilling to do anything”
i don’t know what you mean by this.
The reality is that the hypothetical money can only be
- they have the money (inheritance, or something else
- they will take loans for you.
They may think there is surprise money you are going to get from the colleges for your grades and that is where they made a bad assumption because most of your schools don’t give merit. I really hope you get full tuition at Alabama!
Since your ultimate goal is to become an MD I thought it might be worth mentioning that Baylor is very reasonably priced for med school https://www.bcm.edu/education/schools/medical-school/prospective-students
I’m not sure if doing your undergrad in Texas would give you an advantage in admissions but it may be something to consider.
The deadline for the Alabama merit considerations was December 15. Wouldn’t this student already KNOW if she was accepted…and what aid she received??
'twin discounts ’ a top private colleges aren’t that rare, especially when one parent is an alumna. What if your only choices were MHC or Alabama?
You can’t put all your eggs in the Alabama basket.
Applying to Mississippi State and UA Birmingham was also necessary for you to negotiate a scholarship at UA - have you done that? If not, do it today. It’ll take you less than 30mn for both.
Apply to Truman State for sure. It’d be cheaper than UMass.
West Chester University and SUNY Geneseo would be cheaper too, but Truman State is better academically (Geneseo is close, West Chester below both).
When you run the NPC on the 10 colleges you applied to, do you see sufficient scholarship so that our cost if attendance is about 13-15k?
Some colleges are ‘free to apply’. Among free to apply that have good support for premeds, Drake, St Olaf, Gustavus Adolphus, Lawrence, Beloit are good. Drake has the highest likelihood of sufficient scholarship (no certainty).
Don’t worry about paying for medical school right now. Worry about college. Many who start as premeds wind up in something else. Some then wind up applying to medical school anyway. If you have great undergrad grades, you can then move to a state with cheap medical schools right after you graduate, work for a year to establish residency and buff your credentials, and then apply in state.
I am just now seeing this thread and am so sorry for your situation. I want to suggest Roanoke College. I am a low income, single parent whose ex won’t pay anything & my D has good scores & a great gpa. Due to finances, this college kept popping up. Go to their website, they give generous merit aid & are having a scholarship competition in late Feb to give more aid awards, plus need based aid that we qualify for. My D got $19, 250/yr just based on her gpa. She has a friend in CA & in MD who are going there due to this merit aid. This school in recent years has been throwing merit aid at higher level kids in an attempt to attract a better rep. For a small private school they have a lot of $! Might be worth a look! BTW, I am in SC, moved here from MA. I went to UMASS Boston & graduated from UMASS Amherst so small world! Good luck! Let us know what happens!
Did you apply to UAH? What level scholarship would you get there? They might offer full tuition and more. Also they let you send in updated scores until August I think, so you would have time to retake ACT for a higher score.