Feeling guilty....should I feel this way? HELP

JL50ish
Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:13:43 +0000

If your daughter is ECOAZ, the below letter is the advice I gave her on another thread. Please take special note of the last two paragraphs… Make sure your daughter applies to a couple of in-state schools as well her out-of-state choices - just in case her “out-of-state” choices cannot provide enough aid.

I would not want her to take out much money, if any, in student loans, because she is unlikely going to be in the position to pay them back after graduation unless she snags some high paying position. Usually, new graduates get paid just enough to pay for rent, utilities, food, cell phone, car and car expenses, clothes, and some entertainment. Therefore, there isn’t a few hundred dollars a month left over to pay back a student loan. And paying back that student loan - month after month - can get really “old” if that money is needed for her on-going living expenses.

Dear ECOAZ…

Ok… I see that you’re a girl from AZ. (Boys are sometimes able to snag some $$$ at LAC’s that want more males on campus).

Now, I know that you want to go out-of-state, but your SAT’s are not that high (M + CR = 1200, right?) to get much merit money.

So… in case the “FAFSA route” does not yield the type of financial aid that you will need to go out of state, you need to pursue a few different options NOW, so that you won’t be left “empty-handed” come spring.

Along with all the great options that others have offered so far, you need to apply to state schools as well (again, so that you won’t end up “empty handed” in the spring if the other options don’t “pan out”.

AzSt and UArizona offer some pretty generous merit scholarships that as an “in-state” student, you should qualify to receive. I know that you want to go “out of state,” but if either (or both) of these universities are not close to your home, then you will have the “going away from home” experience - just in your own state. (My son goes to an in-state school that is 250 miles away. He still is getting the “going away to school” experience.)

I strongly advise you NOT to ONLY apply to “out-of-state” schools. My friend’s child did just that (she refused to apply to state schools during the fall of her senior year) and when enough F/A did not come thru from her “chosen colleges”, she ended up having to apply late to a state school, However, it was too late to get any merit money from the state school (often there is a Dec 1st deadline for apps if you want a scholarship). IF she had applied to the school on time and did the scholarship app on time, she would have gotten a full tuition scholarship. Her stubborness has cost her parents thousands of dollars each year. Of course her mom wishes she had filled out a state app behind her d’s back!

Also, if AzSt and/or UArizona will accept December SAT scores for scholarship consideration, please consider taking the SAT again… I can send you our family’s “tried and true” method for improving your test scores.