We have changed the way we log in on College Confidential. Read more here.
Financial struggle
Rektmani
7 replies11 threads New Member
I'm going to be a senior in High School this upcoming year and Baylor has been on my radar for prospective schools I want to attend, assuming I get into the school. I was wondering how most of you pay for this school. I used the estimator online and out of the $60k cost per year, $34k would be covered in grants/need-based aid and $8k in loans. That still leaves $18k uncovered and I have no idea how I would pay for it. I've looked at the scholarships I can apply to, but many of them seem far fetched. I wouldn't get into UT, and TAMU doesn't feel like it's for me. I'm planning to major in Computer Science. My Estimated Family Contribution is $0....what can I do to cover the remaining cost? Should I just abandon the idea of attending a private school?
- Hispanic, First-Generation to attend University
- 3.4 GPA, Top 25% Class Rank
- 1340(out of 1600) SAT, hoping to get +1380
- AP Scholar with Distinction
- Academic Decathlon(Top 10 Individual State Finalist)
- Varsity Tennis(All-District Team)
- Varsity Band(All-Region Runner up)
9 replies - Hispanic, First-Generation to attend University
- 3.4 GPA, Top 25% Class Rank
- 1340(out of 1600) SAT, hoping to get +1380
- AP Scholar with Distinction
- Academic Decathlon(Top 10 Individual State Finalist)
- Varsity Tennis(All-District Team)
- Varsity Band(All-Region Runner up)
This discussion has been closed.
Replies to: Financial struggle
Baylor's and SMU's scholarships (merit aid) didn't bring the cost to anywhere NEAR a Texas public school - even at their top-most levels. They filled in some of the gap with loans, but even so it was almost twice the price of a public.
A friend of mine got a pretty decent need-based aid package from TAMU. Try it and see what you get...
UT-Dallas is an excellent school (all dorms are brand new, all single rooms- sweet!) that offers generous merit-based aid based largely on SAT scores. You lack something like 5 points for a 50% scholarship. Bump it up a little higher and you'll get full tuition and fees -PLUS- $2k/year stipend.
http://oue.utdallas.edu/aes/ (If the link doesn't work, search 'UT-Dallas AES')
* Achievement *
Average SAT (Critical Reading + Math only): 1345 - Average ACT: 30
$3,000 per semester applied toward UT Dallas tuition and mandatory fees
Total value over four academic years: $24,000
* Distinction *
Average SAT (Critical Reading + Math only): 1436 - Average ACT: 32
Complete coverage of UT Dallas tuition and mandatory fees
$1,000 per semester cash stipend to defray the costs of books, supplies and other expenses
Total estimated value over four academic years: $55,224
* Honors *
Average SAT (Critical Reading + Math only): 1528 - Average ACT: 34
$3,000 per semester cash stipend to defray the costs of books, supplies and other expenses
Total estimated value over four academic years: $71,224
I've seen scholarships for Hispanic students. There are also awards only open to you, something like National Merit. I would check those out.
College websites are notoriously hard to navigate; Google - or for better privacy - Bing is your friend!
I mentioned that even at the highest level, Baylor's merit and need-based aid packages weren't competitive. (After the foootball/rape scandal - all their football Draftees are trying to get out of their commitments - Baylor will probably lose lots of incoming students - it doesn't sound like a great place to go.)
Also, be careful about outside scholarships. Most schools do not 'stack'. Instead, outside scholarships are subtracted from their aid package, so you net out even - after a LOT of essay writing.
Perhaps the elephant in the room is being overlooked. The problem, all along, is that the Baylor Administration has been focusing on the importance of their football team, and completely ignoring, covering up, etc. the multiple rapes committed by football players over the years (i.e. 'elephant').
My daughter's reason for turning down Baylor's generous academic scholarships was that women can't feel safe on that campus when known rapists are allowed to do whatever they want - continue raping - with complete impunity. Without any accountability whatsoever, campus heroes can turn into monsters.
I hope this is the reason so many football draftees are also turning down Baylor's athletic scholarships - that they want no part of a rape culture.
There is so much more to this situation than football. I hope you dig back into the stories from several years past, read what happened to these women, and how Administration dealt with them. Also, please take note of what their life was like afterwards, so you can understand the devastation of this long-lived elephant.