I got into this one school that is really highly ranked (24 in America, top 40 in the world) for a business undergrad degree. I am still waiting on my dream school to answer me, I applied back in September and haven’t heard since. I have contacted my admissions counselor, and she told me that I would get an answer by March 31. Should I wait for my dream school? Even though the other school I got into gave me 6,000/year and is highly ranked. My dream school has been mentally and emotionally torturing me for months and I just can’t take it anymore. I have a chance to commit to the University of Arizona (the highly ranked school), but my parents want me to wait (ha, they were the ones that called me a fool to go to my dream school over the University of Arizona, literally) because they think I have a shot to get in to the University of Tennessee (now that they finally came to terms). My parents aren’t helping me, I can’t get any answers from my friends or my counselor, what do I do? Do I go to the school that would secure a good career path, or do I go to the school that I have been wanting to go to for over 10 years?
And by the way, The University of Tennessee is ranked 31 for a business undergrad degree and not even in the top 100 in the world. They probably wouldn’t give me any money either. What should I do?
So you are admitted to UA with a scholarship, but are wanting to go to UT? The smart money is on UA.
Do you have to decide now? How much can your parents pay per year? If you didn’t apply early action and can wait to get all acceptances and financial aid offers on the table, I’d wait and do that. Make sure you know how much your parents are willing to pay though. No sense keeping a school on your list if they won’t pay for it.
I won’t say how much my parents will pay each year, but they told the that they will pay a certain amount each year and then I would pay off the rest. That sounded perfectly fare to me. I don’t have to decide now, it’s just that I have to commit for housing by April 1st for UA. Since UT won’t tell me their decision by March 31 I want to go ahead and get a good dorm room. It might sound like a foolish way to make a decision, but this is what I think the decision is going to come to. I’m just getting confused because one minute I’m being told that I am a fool to go to UT over UA and the next I’m being told to wait for UT. Whoever said that your senior year in high school was easy was full of it, this is the worst year of my life and I’m not exaggerating!
I don’t know how much you have in your savings, but with loans (5500 the first year; 27K for four) and work you can only contribute a maximum of about 10K unless you’re working more than 20hr/wk (and that’s an awful idea). So keep these limits in mind.
@4everVol if money is not the issue, I’d say go to the one that will secure a good career path. UA is a better school for business, even if you’ve been dreaming of going to UT. It sounds like you’re warming up to the idea of going to UA anyway, but your parents are telling you to wait for UT’s decision; remember that it’s your decision!
Is the Univ of Arizona the school that offered you $6k? If you’re in state, the COA ($25k) - the $6k grant - $5500 federal student loan leaves a balance of ~$13k. If your parents will pay that, you could put a deposit down there and change your mind later if the other school accepts you (and is affordable). You’ll likely lose some or all of the deposit though.
If you’re OOS for Ariz, the COA is $44k, so your parents out-of-pocket after the $6k grant & max student loan ($5500) is closer to $33k. As long as they’re willing to pay, you could send in a deposit.
Call UA and find out how they do dorm assignments. Does getting the deposit in faster give you a better dorm room? For many schools it does not as long as the deposit is in by the deadline. They make the decisions all together not one at a time. If UA is like that, hold off on making the decision even though you can’t stand the wait. It would be a shame to make the decision on partial information. You are likely to get a decision from UT before March 31. I bet they tell you that date to discourage inquiry phone calls before that date. If it gets close to that deadline you can call again and inquire. It is early Feb. There is plenty of time. Don’t prematurely close out options you may have.
If you’re worried about the dorm, deposit at UA and if you hear back from UT, ask to get it back, and deposit at UT (if that’s allowed - not all universities allow that.) How bad would it be if you lost your deposit?
Email your admission rep at UT and say you’re under pressure to commit at another university.
Are you instate at either one?
Why do you like UT?
(Both universities are rather similar, except for the geographical location; UA is a bit better for business but not dramatically so.)
Finally, you can “only” borrow $5,500 for your freshman year : is your parents’ budget sufficient to cover costs at both universities?