<p>I attend a Dept. of Defense high school in England and have lived overseas all my life. My father is American (he teaches at my school) and my mother is a dual UK/US citizen (so am I). To make a long story short, my father no longer can claim residency in any state (he is originally from Maryland, but moved overseas in 1985). All of his relatives now live in northern California and that is the only state with which I am familiar. I’ve been accepted to USF and Santa Clara, but am still waiting to hear from Stanford, USD, Pitzer and Claremont McKenna. I will probably major in English/Creative Writing. USF has made me a generous scholarship offer ($19.5K/year); Santa Clara not sure yet, but probably around $8k/year. Stanford is my first choice, but it’s a real reach. CMC and Pitzer sound good, but may be too expensive for my teacher dad. USD - I’m not sure. I applied there, because they offered my brother $16K/year last year (he ended up going to USF).
Any thoughts as to where I should go? It’s a long way from North Yorkshire to California and I would appreciate any advice on the matter. Thanks.</p>
<p>I too applied to CMC, and I’d say that if I get accepted I’ll probably be attending there, unless I get 0 financial aid. From what I hear, CMC’s financial aid is rather generous, and they just got rid of college loans as a part of their packages, so it should be a bit more affordable.
The only other school I thought about on your list was Stanford, but you’d be looking at the same problem as far as costs, a larger school, but one of the best educations you can get in the country.</p>
<p>Wow! Thanks for the news about CMC! So the hardest schools to get into - Stanford and CMC - are now the least expensive for my family. I can only hope…</p>
<p>Everyone I know who’s visited the schools liked Santa Clara better than USF, so keep Santa Clara in your considerations! If they don’t give you enough aid, you can call and ask for more (they’re usually pretty good about that).</p>
<p>I agree with your assessment of SCU vs USF, however, last year my brother faced the same dilemma that I have now. USF offered him $12K more per year than SCU did. My father appealed to the SCU Financial Aid office, but they said sorry, that was all they could offer. So, consequently, my brother is a freshman at USF - he seems to like it.</p>