What to do with my future

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Okay, so I am just starting my senior year of high school and I am at a crossroads with my future. My GPA is currently a 2.5, but honest to god, this is due to a bad start in high school. I am expecting to get a 3.7+ for my senior year. My SAT is 1470/2400 and ACT is 23. I have played varsity soccer since freshmen year, played basketball, I am in TRIO, and am currently taking medical careers.

My dilemma is that I know I am ready for a university but I do not have the grades for the good schools. I am planning on applying to ASU, U of A, WSU. Now, the problem is cost. I am a resident of Washington State but none of the schools here are what I am looking for. So, because of my circumstances I believe I am left with only 4 options.

  1. Hopefully get accepted to WSU and then staying in state for college. (preferably not what i want to do)
  2. Hopefully get accepted to ASU or U of A, but these are very costly schools so I will have to take out loans.
  3. Go to a community college in California and then transfer to a UC school, but I want to experience the freshmen and college life at a university + community college in Cali is rather expensive since I am out of state.
  4. Go to my local Community college for 2 years. (my least preferable option, as I want to leave home)

I would like for you all to pick one of those options for me and let me know why you believe its the best choice. Keeping in mind that I plan on attending medical school so I will have that debt on top of my undergrad debt. Also, should i not worry about the debt and just do what i want to do?

2
  1. As a student, you can only take out a total of $27K/4 years worth of loans. The rest would have to funded by your parents through Parent Plus Loans etc... Are they willing to do that if you are accepted OOS?
  2. As an OOS student, you would be paying around $20K/year for a California community college not including room/board/transportation so again this would unaffordable unless your parents are willing to help.
  3. Find out how much you parents are willing to pay? Your grades and test scores will not get you any merit aid, so you need to look for schools that will provide need-based aid if you qualify.
  4. I think your best option is to attend a local community college, prove that you can handle college work and then transfer to a 4 year of your choice.
  5. Since you plan to attend Medical School, definitely want to keep undergrad costs as low as possible. Ultimately, no debt at all after 4 years.
  6. Also apply to any in-state 4 year universities and run the Net Price calculators on all schools of interest to determine if these are affordable options.
3

  1. I did not know that, and i am sure they will be willing to help, but I do not want to put them in lots of debt.

  2. The cost of tuition for a OOS student at a California Community College is only about 7,000$, but the cost of living is about 12,000$. Also, I will be splitting the cost of living with a roommate. So, 6000$.

4

You are OOS for California community Colleges so tuition can vary. Also $12,000 a year for living expenses is unrealistically low for California. You probably couldn’t find an apartment for under $1000/month. Not sure where you are looking for Cost of Attendance, but here are 2 examples. Tuition is only part of the fees; Health insurance/Books/Supplies/Room/Board/Transportation etc… You want to keep your debt low, coming to CA is a bad idea. Getting into a UC will not give an advantage in getting into Medical School. The competition is fierce for Pre-Meds in California. Go somewhere affordable, where you can get a High GPA, High MCAT and give you a chance for internships/volunteer or medically related EC’s.

For Non-Resident students Mount Sac:

TOTAL YEARLY EXPENSES* $26,999.00
Tuition of 24 units at $241 per unit: $5,784.00
Enrollment Fee of 24 Units at $46 per unit: $1,104.00
Health Fee ($19 per semester): $38.00
Student Activities & Rep. Fees ($11.50 per semester): $23.00
Student Transportation Fee ($9 per semester): $18.00
Books & Supplies: $1,791.00
TOTAL TUITION AND FEES: $8,758.00
Food: $5,220.00
Housing: $11,463.00
Medical Insurance (required): $1,585.00
TOTAL LIVING EXPENSES: $18,241.00

Non Resident Fees for SJCC:

​Tuition & Other Fees: ​$6,312
​Books & Supplies: $1,422
​Health Insurance: $1,400
​Room & Board: $9,200
​Other Personal Expenses: $2,520
​ ​
​Total Estimated Cost: $20,854.00

5

I did the net price calculator for Santa Barbara City College and these are the numbers that came out:

Tuition - 7,254$
Estimated cost of books - 1,680$ (Im sure I can find them online somewhere for less)
Estimated other cost - 2,900$ (Could eat cheaper meals, and ride a bike to cut this cost down)
And I found an apartment at “The Loop Apartments” 4 bedroom - 1,300$ a month, divide the cost by 4, 325$ a month * 10 (going home for the summer) = 3,250$ a year.

All together = 15,084 per year at sbcc. Also, I might be able to get an athletic scholarship, plus FAFSA.

6

It’s admirable that you have gotten your act together! Unfortunately, college admissions decisions are generally made using only grades up to junior year.

You might consider taking a gap year to enable you full senior year’s grades to be included on your transcript, before you apply. The upward trajectory in your grades will make a good impression