<p>so i was talking to my parents about what colleges i wanted to apply to and i told them about the ucs,vanderbilt,dartmouth,upenn,colorado,and john hopkins which are all of interest to me but are out of state...they told me to forget about applying to those colleges since they are all out of state and will be pretty expensive...but i thought that i would apply and see how much financia aid in the hope of going to one...do you think i should apply or not worry about wasting time since there is no way i can cover at least half of the out of state tuition</p>
<p>Unless the cost of the apps would be a problem, I see no reason why you shouldn't apply.
You said it yourself- you may just receive a terrific fin.aid/merit package.</p>
<p>But apply to in-state schools as well. And have your family fill out the FAFSA to see what you qualify for. You may very well find that your family will only get 10k a year in grants (if that), leaving your family with between 20-30k a year to pay out of pocket. If your parents don't have the money and/or aren't willing to pay, it really is something that you should consider on the off chance that you get a really crappy financial aid package.</p>
<p>Most of the schools on your list are private schools and thus, do not differentiate between in-state and out-of-state students. Show them this by going to the websites of the schools and looking at the costs. </p>
<p>After they get over the shock, explain that private colleges are often much better at aid/scholarships that public institutions.</p>
<p>You will get no money in the slightest from any UC schools.</p>
<p>Be sure your parents will be willing to fill out the FAFSA and Profile. And to have their taxes done as early as possible.</p>
<p>When parents make those noises they usually are the ones that haven't saved for college and are not prepared to pay their EFC. Let's face it, all but the very poor are usually surprised by their EFC. Someone on the FA board today with shocked parents who make $100K figuring out they will pay over $25K. And that's not including profile! That may or may not be the case here.</p>