I am a high school senior and I got accepted into the University of Arizona. I have wanted to go to this school for a while and y parents know this. We visited the college and I was over the moon about it, but my parents don’t want me to go. UofA has my major, Criminal Justice, and it is a very good program. I would have to pay out of state tuition 200%, but my mom works at a school that has a contract and we would only pay 150%, and they also applied for a FAFSA. Even though they said it was too expensive, and they think it is not good for me. Is there anything I can do to go there and pay my self or convince my parents? (I have tried almost everything to convince them).
The general opinion here is that you should respect parental concerns about finances. If it is too expensive after scholarships and financial aid (i.e. needing parent loans or parent-cosigned student loans), then that is typically a bad idea.
That said, your parents should not have led you to believe all this time that it was a likely school (including visiting) and then telling you “no” this late. Really, they should have said last summer at the latest that “we can only spend $X, and you can go to University of Arizona only if the net price is less than $X plus $5,500 federal direct loan plus $3,000 that you can realistically earn from work”.
College tuition at 150% is a GREAT DEAL of money. It could be that your parents simply don’t have it, and don’t want to get into huge debt for a degree you could get for a lot less closer to home. It’s painful to have a dream school and not be able to go. But your parents probably also had dreams – a dream house, a dream car, a dream vacation – they’ve had to forgo. That’s adult life: making choices within your means.
Finances are part of.the equation for most people. If UArizona unaffordable then you need to move on to other colleges that are affordable.
“ONLY 150%” is still thousands and thousands of dollars.
Think of how many hours YOU would be working to make up the difference.
And applying for FAFSA is not a guarantee that you’ll get a dime.
Look at your instate options, and do due diligence about your cited major. Look at the career path is really offers students like you. What are your stats?
How about 2 years at your instate college and then plan to transfer? You have nothing to lose by proposing this as currently you are looking at 4 years at your instate college.
That’s part of the college process 
Sometimes the bank account makes the decision for us. You’ll need to research criminal justice from schools in your state that are more affordable. Remember one thing. You have to go to college with an open mind. College is a world of opportunities, and you might find that you like something completely different. Most college students change their major 2-3 times before settling on a degree path. I started out wanting to be a doctor…until I took biology.
It’s real simple…your parents are the ones paying for this. It’s not about fairness or what anyone wants (geez). It’s about money. They either can afford it or not. If they can’t, discussion over. If they can, they must have their reasons for not allowing it, and seeing how it’s there money, that’s good enough. Maybe I’m too “old school” for CC. Not trying to be a grouch, just a realist. This is how thngs in the grown up world work. Time to get acquainted…
At UofA, instate tuition is about $12,000 and OOS is about $36,000. I’m guessing that 150% means you’d pay 150% more than instate, which is $30,000. (Right?) Your own instate options are probably more like $12,000 already, so that $18,000 difference times 4 years is quite a lot.
If you look at the link below, you’ll see a chart for merit scholarships for non-Arizona residents. It goes by your test scores and core GPA (not including electives, I guess). If you are eligible for one, it might make up some of that $18,000 difference. (Assuming they also give you the discount you mention.)
http://financialaid.arizona.edu/types-of-aid/scholarships/freshman-transfer
You don’t really “apply for a FAFSA.” You send in a FAFSA and they give you their number for estimated family contribution and tell you if you are eligible to borrow $5500 freshman year and $27,000 over four years (you almost certainly are) and whether you’d be eligible for a federal grant (you only are if your family income is pretty low). No matter what your FAFSA result, UofA will probably not give you any aid itself other than the discount and any possible merit scholarship.
All you can do is figure out the lowest amount UofA could cost and ask your parents again. It sounds like they’ve made it pretty clear they won’t go along with the 150% option, so you’d probably have to come up with some pretty different figures to have a chance.
^Slight revision to above post. I’m not sure if the FAFSA report actually tells you if you are eligible for the $5500 loan. It’s more like you’re not eligible if you don’t have a FAFSA report.
My heart goes out to you, @arosselli12. We’ve discussed the cost issue with our D. She got a fantastic scholarship to one of her top choice schools, but COA is $70k a year, so we’re making her get all of her acceptances and finaid/schols in before final assessment and decision. We have an excellent flagship state U, and so want to make sure we weigh all financial options and implications. We want as low a debt as possible for our D (who wants to go to med school). She’s applied for additional scholarships at her schools, and needs to apply to other scholarships, too.
Lots of good thoughts and advice for you from posts above. Here are a few more:
- Perhaps you can do a junior year at UA. I attended an LAC (way back when) and a friend spent a year at her state U (UVA) to save costs. She LOVED it. And it saved thousands for her famiy, plus she was able to get a degree from her dream school. It was a successful outcome for both.
- As another suggested, go two years at a state U, then transfer.
- Apply for scholarships on Fastweb and Cappex. Lots of money out there. This needs to be done now… so go to their sites and join and begin.
- Rather radical idea… have you considered moving to AR to get instate residency? I know that for ASU, you only need to live there for 6 months to get instate tuition. You could actually do a gap year, perhaps taking classes as a local CC and then apply. or defer and move and get in-state residency.
Having made these suggestions, my heart goes out to your parents. As my hub says, “this is a FAMILY investment.” If there is not the money there to pay, there is not the money there. If you can come up with viable solutions that gets you there, then negotiate. Look at doing a junior year at UA. Look at Arizona’s in-state timing and rules. Apply for scholarships. Move forward.
Best wishes to you. Keep on the path!
150% of $12000 would be $18000.
Still not affordable if parents won’t pay.