Are you talking about negotiating with your parents? If they told you their budget is ~$15-20k/year, I wouldn’t expect a lot more than that.
Leaving a private high school undoubtedly saved them money, but it doesn’t mean it’s available for college. Comparing what they’re spending on your sister for college to what they want to spend on you is one thing; tallying up what they spent on each of you in high school is quite another. They didn’t force you to leave the private school, so unless you were both given the option to leave (with the understanding that the tuition money would be rolled over to college) it’s unfair to retroactively change the rules. Just because you “instruct(ed)” them to put the tuition in your college fund doesn’t mean they wanted to or could afford to do it.
It sounds to me like you’re willing to throw your sister under the bus to squeeze more money out of your parents. Whether or not she’s doing well, has decided on a major, or wants to attend law school really has nothing to do with you. That’s between her and your parents. Instead of trying to browbeat them into coughing up the money you feel you deserve, why don’t you find a program you can afford on what they feel they can spend? Your sister had a budget and didn’t get to go to her dream school because it wasn’t affordable. How is it fair, in your mind, that you should be able to disregard the budget and go wherever you want? In effect, they’d be taking the money they didn’t spend on her and giving it to you. If that happens, I don’t think it will end well.
@thumper1 PLU gave me REALLY good merit aid. I got the max amount as far as test scores. I still am in the runnings for their presidential scholarship so it could get even better. Possibly even a full ride.
@austinmshauri You are right. I reread my post and I am pretty ashamed to be thinking like that. I in no way intend to take tuition money from my sister and I need to be careful not to talk to my parents in ways that might compel them to do that.
Poor excuse: I am just super stressed about all of this right now.
I am looking for programs I can afford. It is just frustrating that most of them end up being over 50k for tuition + fees + board. I don’t even look at tuition until I have gotten to know the school for a little bit. Generally, the first thing I look at at a school is their course catalog and CS webpage.
BTW here are COA’s considering aid (that I have gotten so far). I have added 2k to each of the amounts just because of moving expenses, buying clothes for their weather, and to have margin for the unexpected.
Northeastern: 57.6k
WPI: 45k
Champlain: 34k
PLU: 28k
WSU: <22.8k (I am eligible for their scholarship, I just have to go visit them on a day in February. 22k is price with no scholarships)
Also I am currently thinking about adding MSU to the college list. I could get tuition likely down to 15k and I think they would be better for me than other schools. I would also really stand out there which might help for research or something.