Hello! I’m currently a student at the University of New Mexico, who previously attended Seattle University then community college. I should be a senior right now, but am a junior. I left Seattle U because of undiagnosed learning disabilities and finances. I had applied to a number of private universities this last Spring, and was accepted to a number of them, the most selective being Boston University and Syracuse. I graduated with my Associate’s in Multidisciplinary Studies this summer.
I enrolled at UNM this semester at the insistence of my mom and grandfather. I didn’t want to enroll in school remotely because I knew I would struggle. That being said, I really am struggling. I had hiccups in community college, but school online is incredibly difficult for me. I was planning on transferring when I was enrolling at UNM, and I had wanted to apply to some more selective schools (the women’s colleges, a couple of other selective liberal arts colleges). I’m not sure what type of grades I’ll have this semester - I’m thinking B’s and maybe a C - and I’ve struggled in engaging in campus activities. I’m attending school from my home in southern New Mexico, and all I want to do is get away from my family; the thought of living on-campus and only being three hours away from them isn’t incredibly thrilling.
I’ve had to re-evaluate my college search since I’ve been performing so poorly. What schools should I be applying to? Financial aid is incredibly important to me. I am an NM resident, so I’m eligible for Western Undergraduate Exchange, and my dad lives in Texas, where my driver’s license is also based, so I can apply to Texas schools as well. I’d like a school that’s somewhat reputable, it doesn’t have to be prestigious.
Note: I became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while I was in Seattle, so obviously BYU or another Utah school like Weber State would be economical choices for me, but my family is not happy with me so Utah is not realistic.
I don’t think you should be applying to schools right now with online learning because of the Covid situation and because you state that you are performing poorly. Your grades are not strong and financial aid for transfers is usually very limited.
WUE tuition is reduced and may be able to fit your Pell Grant, but most schools have higher tuition rates. WUE discounts don’t apply to room and board. You are limited in how much you can take out in loans.
A previous post:
. No one will loan that to you and you’ve indicated that your father won’t help. If you have an EFC of $0, this means your mother wont qualify for those loans.
Do you have a lead on a job and is there a contract awaiting you once you get your degree? From what I understand, media and film majors have difficulty in locating jobs. It’s very competitive and long hours.
Thank you so much for your response! A question that I was having was related to whether I’ll be able to be approved for a loan without a cosigner, so thank you for including that answer.
I was looking at becoming a film professor but was discouraged due to grad school costs. When I was writing that previous post I was looking at a number of careers, including becoming a diplomat. I’m double-majoring in international studies and history now - lots of career options with that degree.
People can have no income but high credit ratings. The qualifications for a parent plus loan are that the parent have not filed bankruptcy in the last 4-5 years, that parent is not in default on major debts and hasn’t defaulted on government loans.
I don’t think a parent without income should take out Plus loans, but it’s likely she would qualify. She may not qualify to be a cosigner on a private loan but she might. It is unlikely you can get a private loan without a cosigner.
Look at U of Wyoming. It has a very good international studies department thanks to Dick Cheney, and it does have some transfer scholarships. You would not be eligible for WUE (freshmen get it) but you might get a lot of merit money and other aid. My daughter has a degree in history from Wyo, so I think it is pretty good there too.