If you are applying to Northeastern, I know for a fact they give merit aid, so it could be more affordable than UNH in the end. I don’t think you are spoiled. But you need to sit down with your parents and talk. Is this just a matter of money? Is there a reverse - elitist thing going on, with your parents disliking private schools? If it’s the latter, emphasize that it’s not that you’re “too good” for public, it’s that you believe the opportunities for you personally will be better at Yale/Tufts/Northeastern.
You are definitely not a spoiled brat just for wanting a better education. Money is an issue, but don’t let that stop you from trying to be the best you can be. Apply, see how much FA the schools offer you, and then make your decision from there.
If your major is OT, then getting a direct admit to that major at a place that is affordable and has good job placement upon graduation is what matters. The program itself is pretty “selective”. You can safely ignore the “selectivity” of the rest of the institution.
Ten years from now you will be happier, and more free to follow whatever path you’d like, if you are debt free. Your point of view is that of the teenager you are, and it is really difficult for a teenager to imagine the chains that loans can create. You need to sit down with a dispassionate, neutral person and do the math.
You may not be spoiled, but there is a lot you don’t know, a lot you don’t understand, and your impressions of the kinds of kids who attend less selective public schools is uninformed.
No, you’re not in the least a spoiled brat. People have different values. Yours may differ from your mom’s. It doesn’t make her right or wrong or you right or wrong.
There is no point in arguing with your parents. However, you might say, as calmly as possible, that you understand that paying for college is an expensive proposition and you are grateful for your parents’ contribution, but…could they let you know how much they are willing to contribute? Say that if you know that, you’ll have a better idea of how to plan. If your dad’s in the picture, try to have the conversation with both your parents at the same time. Do not lose your temper. Do not cry. If possible, have them put the number in writing. You may have to do this yourself–just put it in writing, saying I just need to make sure I understand–you’ll pay $X per year for every year. Ask if they can still do that if you take a year off between high school and college and work for a year. Could you live at home if necessary during that year?
Then wait for the fin aid awards to come back and see how they turn out. Decide whether you want to go to college or work for a year. Would 1-2 years of working be enough to pay the difference?
Yale doesn’t offer an UG OT degree as far as I know.
When you apply to colleges theoretically you only apply to colleges you are willing to attend. Parents can and should support applications to colleges they can afford. So, no, IMO you’re not a spoiled brat…yet…as long as you’ve applied to colleges you are willing to attend and your parents can afford. So knock off the “I deserve” rhetoric now and talk to your parents about waiting until the acceptances and the financial aid letters are all in hand. If at the end of April what you have is UNH then suck it up…after all you did apply for admittance to that university so you had to have considered it for good reasons…right?
@Tkat97
UNH will likely also be unaffordable unless your parents are paying for all the OOS costs minus the modest scholarship award.
If you needed merit and wanted a more selective school, then you should have applied to more schools that would have given you larger amounts.
UNH should not have been your only “safety”.
and…no…it’s not your decision in regards to loans. You can only borrow $5,500. To borrow more would require parent cosigners.
And since OT grad school is desired, borrowing for undergrad is a bad idea.
Your parents can only afford what they can afford. And they have every right to refuse co-signing loans with you and assuming the risk of those loans and the hit on their credit score.
Any less expensive/less prestigious school you attend will have other students just as deserving/smart/hardworking as you who also had to “settle” for less than they could have attended if money were not an issue. In today’s economy, many students are in your situation. Others applied to schools with very good merit scholarships and were fortunate to find great matches.
It hurts, I know. I had to go to my second choice school for financial reasons, as did my daughters. But you know what? All of us found employment. All of us have friends that we are still in contact with after graduating. You can do well wherever you attend.
My DS is feeling just like you right now. He has worked hard in school, has done well, is applying to some high ranked schools, but I am unsure if we will be able to afford them. He has applied to UA, and will probably end up with some great scholarships. He is feeling confused right now that that school will not offer him as good of an education or opportunities as other schools. I have spent hours upon hours researching UA, with so much more to still research and understand, however, I am convinced he will get a great education and wonderful opportunities. I scheduled a visit for him in March, but really considering bumping it up. I have a DD who attended 3 years at community college (obviously zero debt), applied to Pharmacy School and was accepted at both schools she applied (Univ of IL Chicago and Midwestern) she chose Midwestern. She will now have debt, but how nice to start Grad school debt free. It’s what you put into it that matters. You are in control of your destiny. Other kids can go to “better” schools but may not necessarily come out better for it. Best of luck.
I think Tufts also only has OT for grad school.
I totally get wanting to attend a highly selective school - I felt very strongly that my oldest absolutely needed that. But your parents can afford what they can afford. A general rule of thumb is that you, the student, shouldn’t borrow more over four years than your expected first year salary - and in a bad economy you might want to borrow considerably less.
FWIW, my niece studied engineering at UNH after having applied to places like Harvard and Columbia and had a very good experience. She’s working full time and getting her master’s one course at a time at Tufts (paid for by her boss).
Good luck to you.
I think it’s wise to look at more selective schools with your stats. You need to be with people who are your intellectual peers. But–and this is a big but–if your parents can’t afford the other schools, you will need to learn to like UNH. Before you proceed, you’ll have to sit down with them and ask them to help you with the net price calculator, and you’ll need to do this in a way that doesn’t alienate them. Tell them you have goals and that your hard work is proof that you won’t waste money in college, but listen carefully to them. If they aren’t able or willing to pay more than they have to pay at UNH, you are stuck, at least for undergrad. But if you do well there, you may be able to go to grad school anywhere you like.
In all honesty I think your mother handled the matter very inappropriately. i would not sit back and watch my child do all the work on additional applications if I knew I was only going to finance one school. You do have to accept your parents financial constraints but I do think all of this should have been discussed prior to you completing all the applications. The dismissive off the cuff comment seems really mean spirited to me. This should have been the subject of a sit down conversation long ago.
You can find intellectual peers at UNH. It’s not a continuing ed program or some sort of place where everyone needs remedial help. For all the talk by some about how the NE drives the Ivy frenzy, UNH has a very good rep here.
In my mind, you don’t just pick a school based on some idea more kids (say, at Yale,) will be as hard working. (Or that, straight off, it’s more competitive to get in.) You look deeper, at your program. As we’re saying, Yale and Tufts don’t even have the OT program for undergrads. Maybe OP has a second choice major. We don’t know. But it freaking matters.
And all the talk about finaid is theory; we don’t know what her parents financial state is.
Ok so I should probably clear a few things up…
Last night I came to the horrible realization that my parents and I looked at the in-state tuition for UNH
The out-of-state tuition is $40,000, which sucks so I’ll actually be paying $30,000.
And I didn’t apply to that many safety schools because Occupational Therapy is my goal so I didn’t apply to non-selective schools that didn’t even offer that major.
I don’t really know my financial situation completely, idk I have a sister in college so it’s expensive.
My dad is a self-employed software designer and my mom’s computer consultant. I honestly don’t know how much money we make though. We live in a 4 bedroom house, 3 baths, idk we’re middle class.
So will those elite schools even give me any money? And I feel like everyone at northeastern has good stats, so how will they choose who to give merit aid too? Thanks so much for all your feedback guys.
@lookingforward @harvestmoon1
So your parents filled out the Fafsa and CSS Profile to go with your apps? Find out. Finaid depends first on how much a school can afford to give out and their policies, then on your family’s financial position, number in the household, number simultaneously in college, etc. Legit retirement funds don’t count but assets do. You need to verify your parents filled out this info, see what their Fafsa EFC came out. That’s generally the minimum amount, based on all this, that your family will be expected to pay. Some colleges give merit aid, without respect to this. But Yale is need-based only.
Breathe. But try to sort this out. We can answer some questions.
But like as a regular kid in a middle class family whats your guess as to need based aid? any at all?
Also, do you think it’s possible for me to call UNH and request more money off…?
I mean for the scholarship i got you need only a 1200 combined cr and math and I had a 1390. You also needed only to be the top 15% where as im in the top 3%.
And for the honors program you only needed a 1970 and I had a 2180.
Is there a chance…?
@lookingforward
Regarding need-based aid (families that cannot afford full list price; this is different than families that can, but don’t want to.) Do you know if you are a “regular middle class family?” (That’s not the modesty of the house or the lifestyle.) Some of us can guess what a sw designer and comp consultant can make, but this work can range from ‘not much work’ or jobs primarily for non-profits up to quite generous incomes. Plus, if they are self-employed, there are addl calculations the colleges throw in.
See if they ran the Fafsa. You can run NPC’s (net price calculator) for the other colleges, but these aren’t reliable for self-employed.
Merit depends on what a college offers. I’m not up on that, my kids did meet full needs schools. Yale and Tufts meed full need, but don’t offer merit awards. Northeastern has some merit money. Others will need to comment on how NE does it or their record. And you can quick check their web. Plus, for some colleges, any merit money is then subtracted from the need calculation.
What other OT schools still have open deadlines?
Have they run the NPC yet?
It’s hard for us to advise you on FA without knowing (in some detail) your family’s financial situation. Just telling us that you live in a 4-bedroom 3-bathroom house means nothing: for all we know, your parents have 2 mortgages on it and lots of credit card debt. Or, your parents have had a banner financial year which will be reflected in their FA applications.
You need to sit down WITH YOUR PARENTS and figure it out. As an excellent student you may have a little wiggle room and be able to negotiate more aid, especially from private schools such as Northeastern. Northeastern, while expensive, gives you the option of earning money during co-op; some of that money could go toward your tuition. OTOH, Boston is a very expensive city, and unless you do your co-op in your home state while living at home, a lot of your co-op earnings will toward your living expenses in Boston. Keep that in mind when calculating the financials of attending Northeastern.