I would love to go to the Citadel, but it is more that $40,000 per year, and I don’t think that my parents are paying for my college at all. How would I go about paying for it by myself? I plan on joining the military afterwards.
You can’t pay for it yourself.
What are your other choices?
If I went to a service academy, it would be free, but I don’t see myself getting in.
If you’re interested in the service academies, it wouldn’t hurt to apply as the applications are free. You could also apply for a ROTC scholarship. Both are highly competitive options, but if you’re interested in serving and don’t mind the service commitment, they’re excellent ways to fund your education.
What are your stats?
Agree, see if you could get a ROTC scholarship.http://www.citadel.edu/root/finaid-cadet-scholarships?catid=167&id=2546:rotc-scholarships
I have a 4.2 gpa, will have 8-10 ap credits, will have 3 years if jrotc, but I have no extracurriculars though. I play banjo of that helps.
I will also have 2 years of an automotive maintenance class, would that help?
You are saying your parents will pay zero for you? Then you are out of luck. As a student you can only borrow a limited amount. Without good credit and a job no one will lend you an money. Debt usually has to be parent borrower or cosigner.
freshman 5,500
sophomore 6,500
jr 7,500
sr 7,500
Any aid will be based on parent income. You can look at what scholarships they offer.
“I have no extracurriculars”
What do you mean by that? Do you just go to school, go home, do homework, go to sleep, get up, and go back to school?
An extracurricular is anything that you do outside of class and homework. So, if the JROTC is more than just a class you attend during the day, then whatever you do for JROTC outside of school hours would be extracurricular. If you study banjo outside of school, or perform occasionally then that be extracurricular. If you work on cars using the skills from your automotive maintenance classes, then that would be extracurricular.
What is your home state? Take a look at your net price for other universities that have a corps of cadets, like Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, VMI, and North Georgia.
Are you certain that you would not qualify for any scholarship awards from The Citadel? Your grades certainly look strong enough. We know a young man who received a very generous scholarship (possibly full freight) for their academic honors program from NJ (so no in-state advantage).
Below is a link to the Citadel’s scholarship program. They award 25 full scholarships each year to incoming freshman. There are many other scholarships as well. Don’t know your family’s financial situation, but you can also apply for financial aid.
I believe that in your second year at The Citadel, you can contract with one of the military branches and they will pay the remaining two years. My H (a Citadel grad) suggests looking into joining the reserves the summer between HS and college. You would have to do basic training that summer and then give up one weekend a month during school to serve. I think The Citadel still makes accommodations for students to serve in the Reserves during school (and you get paid). You may also qualify for GI benefits.
Talk to your JROTC officer and the ROTC officer at The Citadel for whatever branch of military you are interested in.
Good luck to you!
http://www.citadel.edu/root/images/Financial_Aid/1516_schol_cat_web_5.18.15.pdf
@nervousguy38 - I saw you mentioned the University of Kentucky on another thread. They offer a very generous merit package for National Merit Finalists. Prepping for the PSAT for October of your junior year (I’m not sure if you are going to be a sophomore in the fall of 2015 or a junior) and doing well enough on it to qualify as a NMF might help with your concerns about paying for college.