Where should I apply to for college with my budget?

College Majors Nursing Major
21

This is very general. How do you know the parents ‘should get’ the tax credit? To qualify for the AOTC the income has to be below $80k-$90k for a single parent, or $160-180k for a married couple. The student has to have paid QEE (tuition, books, fees). The parent has to have tax liability as only $1000 each year is a refundable credit.

Getting the $2500 credit each year is not guaranteed, and the parents may not be willing to give it to the student if they have already committed $30k per year to college expenses.

Don’t spend other people’s money.

22

U of Miami is another competitive school with a direct-entry BSN, where you may be competitive for merit aid.
“Merit-based scholarships range from $5,000 to full cost of attendance.”
https://finaid.miami.edu/resources/FAQs/merit-scholarships/

23

@Banker1 and @hellohello24601: I don’t believe that SDSU as a public university would give $900K to one student. I am assuming that the total was 90K?

24

@“aunt bea” the $900k is an aggregate amount from all the schools that offered her merit. The number has no significance other than to show the original poster that it’s possible to receive merit from many nursing programs even with no nursing specific ECs.

25

@hellohello24601 she received a full tuition scholarship from SDSU so she is still on the hook for room and board.
It’s called the SDSU merit scholarship and you can read more about it from the school’s website: http://go.sdsu.edu/student_affairs/financialaid/academic-achievement-scholarships.aspx

26

@Banker1 Ooh thanks! Too bad the scholarship is only limited to SD locals (I’m in SJ). So is the essay an option or even required? I don’t remember seeing it on their website, but would be willing to write one if necessary.

27

I believe both Pitt and Temple have direct admit to nursing and you might well get enough merit to meet (or even beat) your budget. Great urban locations for clinicals (although while Temple is pretty safe overall, I have heard that the area where nursing students travel is a bit dicier).

28

@hellohello24601 there’s no essay or EC requirement for SDSU. CSU GPA, test scores and courses taken appear to be the key admissions criteria.

She applied to many common app schools that required essays and ECs.