<p>“If it makes you feel any better, the higher value of those scholarships is to offset the higher cost of the tuition, room and board at those schools. It’s not as though you would have had all that money in your bank account at this point”</p>
<p>You are missing the point. Those awards weren’t only for two years. They were for FOUR years. So, he’s missing the opportunity to use those merit dollars to reduce those last two years.</p>
<p>It sounds like this student lives in a rural area where there isn’t a college to commute to, other than a CC. So, he has to be a resident student. Therefore, unless he gets into a school that gives transfers lots of aid, he’s facing paying $80k for his last two years. </p>
<p>If you see how low his EFC is, you’ll see that’s impossible for his family to pay that.</p>
<p>1) I never said that no one in my HS Class attended a 4-year U to start. I will, however, say that no one attended a 4-year U to start without A) their parents paying for it, B) taking out huge loans, and/or C) going to a small (usually religious) school that did not have good engineering programs.</p>
<p>2) I’m not here to stir up drama or throw all of the blame on my GC. The title of my post even clearly reads, “Have I really cost myself tens of thousands of dollars?” I’m here only to gain information about what I can do moving forward. Do I feel a bit cheated? Yes, I do. But are there things I could have done to better my current situation? You betcha, and I regret that I didn’t take advantage of them.</p>
<p>3) The thing is, I did assume the GC was telling me the right thing. It was incredibly naïve/lazy/stupid of me to do, I get that now. Did I get mail from colleges? Sure, some (none saying “We offer full tuition for people who have your GPA/ACT scores,” of course). But my GC, starting 2nd semester of my junior year and on through both semesters of my senior year, said that the CC was the best option.</p>
<p>4) All of what I’ve posted was true, and I’ve included all that I’ve known to include. I have no motivation to lie or exaggerate at this point. It would do me no good to falsely claim inflated stats or that I wasn’t told about certain things.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids, exactly. They wouldn’t have covered my entire list of college expenses; they would, however, have quite drastically reduced them. I don’t see the point in arguing otherwise. And yes, there is no state U within 2 hours of where I live.</p>
<p>I dont know how/why GCs accept those jobs w/o getting a modest amount of info of what’s out there…merit-wise, good FA schools, etc. </p>
<p>I’d be embarrassed to accept a salary w/o knowing some of this rather basic info. I don’t want to hear how “busy” they are. Everyone is busy at their jobs. And they’re not busy 12 months a year. There are low months…those weeks should be spent learning what’s out there. </p>
<p>Hey, one weekend spent on this website would be a big education.</p>
<p>I agree mom2. These GCs want to be considered professionals with all respect due to them, but so many utterly fail to serve the more able students when it comes to college advising. If they’re not doing the old “don’t worry about costs, there’s LOTs of free money out there for you” song and dance, they are mindlessly funneling all their college-capable kids to the same old local options without bothering to explore wider horizons.</p>
<p>I don’t care if they are responsible for 20 kids or 200. Each school has only 10 kids in the top ten and if the GC has one of those kids in his cohort, they are guilty of negligence if they don’t help them maximize their potential. The unprofessionalism of many of them is inexcusable.</p>
<p>At this point, lets see if you can find a college that will accept you as a transfer, and that you can afford. The full ride and even full tuitions are pretty much off the table. If you look at Fastweb and other scholarship listings, you can see that the pickings are slim for transfers. So it is for the awards colleges give too. But rather than focus on what are NOT options, let’s look at what are options </p>
<p>Look for transfer awards. A big one is the Jack Kent Cook award I mentioned earlier. You are a strong candidate for it.</p>
<p>Get together some schools that guarantee to meet full need, call and find out how many transfers they accept each year, and if they also extend that guarantee to transfers. Research the schools and get strong statements as to why you want to go there. Yes you are a strong candidate for such schools. More kids drop out of engineering rather than transfer.</p>
<p>Most importantly, you need to know how much you and your family can pull together for school each year, and what the NPC says for the schools you check out. Can you afford your expected contributions? What is the gap? </p>
<p>But yes, if you would have gone to Alabama or some such school that guarantees full ride, you would not be in this situation and you did cost yourself tens of thousands of dollars. But you are in good company.</p>
<p>Not speaking of this person’s GC in particular, but many schools are now pointing kids toward cc. Makes it easier for the GC, and it’s a popular notion right now (certainly it is in Calif, where our public universities are overloaded and getting very costly, and those facts are even impacting California’s private colleges due to increased demand for privates in California because you can usually get out in four years and often get some merit. I have had dozens of people around me advocate for CC the last 3 years–it’s cheaper, you can transfer credits, etc. We never considered that, but the fact alone that a lot of kids who start at CC never end up transferring to a four-year school was enough to dissuade us. Then when we visited lots of privates across the country, many made it clear they would only take some credits from most cc’s. It will all work out for this person, but I find it sad that this is a growing issue, promoted by some GC’s (we are at a private school so not an issue there) and by parents and the public…</p>
<p>I don’t know too many GCs, or any, for that matter that point kids towards the auto full rides/tuitions that UAlabama, and other schools on her Full award threads have. I don’t know one kid in my 15 years of dealing personally with the college process with my kids where that has come up with any of the kids in their classes. Not a one have gone to those schools, and many could have used a full ride, and some ended up at not so optimal options. Instead of CC, many take out loans they and their family can’t afford and end up at private schools, and often behind the financial 8 ball. Some friends are really in trouble this way, owing more than they will likely ever be able to pay. They can’t even make the interest payments. </p>
<p>So what would a GC at a school in a state where the flagship and other state universities are all priced out of range of what the student says the family can pay,and the money just isn’t there? And the kid has no idea what he wants do do? Yeah, I agree CC is evidence of a sloth of a counselor, for the Val with such stats, but really, how many outside of the states close to those schools that have the guaranteed merits have GCs recommending them? The GC at my son’s school looked at him like he had 6 heads when he mentioned Bama. Only kid to consider it this year, and I truly think there are a number of them that could use free rides.</p>
<p>I didn’t think there was a “the” ASU but I live in the land of “the” OSU and apparently some school in Oklahoma also goes by those initials. In fact my first thought about Miami U is of one that has existed a lot longer than the Miami most people think of first. </p>
<p>In any case, it’s a full ride for a transfer and may be of interest to the OP.</p>
<p>^^
I would not recommend Alabama St Univ for this particular student. First of all, it doesn’t have a College of Engineering. Secondly, he’s too strong a student for the school. </p>
<p>He needs to look at top schools that accept transfers…USC, Cornell, etc…and some others that may give good merit…like NMTech or UNM. He might also look at one of the Dakota schools that doesn’t charge OOS rates. </p>
<p>Also, look at North Carolina State Univ…excellent for eng’g and the school gives good aid to OOS students. Run their NPC and see what comes up. </p>
<p>So, I have been applying to schools and for scholarships, but honestly, I’m a bit stunned right now. I got rejected by UIUC for MechE. I know I didn’t have a world-beater application, but I thought for sure I’d get in there since my friend got in with lower credentials. I really don’t know what to think at this point.</p>
<p>At many public universities with rolling admissions (or even if not), it’s pretty much how soon you apply: apply 5 months before everyone else does and you’re in, apply as 90% class has been filled and you’re not.
Another possibility is that you didn’t take their required classes in the guaranteed transfer block, or the classes required for MechE. </p>
<p>Where else have you applied?</p>
<p>If that’s the only university you applied to, many universities have April 15 deadlines.</p>
<p>You can look at neighborhing COE’s within the public universities: MN, WI, IA, etc… plus the Schools of Mines/Tech (South Dakota School of Mines is rather cheap and with an excellent reputation). You can also look into Rose Hulman But you must hurry.</p>
<p>Apply to UAH. Send everything…including your test scores so that they can see how strong you are. They may offer you a scholarship. Excellent eng’g…lots of co-ops nearby which can also help you pay for college.</p>
<p>UIUC is pretty competitive for engineering and MechE especially so.
You need 2 semesters of calc and chem,one of engineering physics, and first semester freshman English to be even considered. They have a very limited # of slots for transfers, so even if you have completed all the necessary coursework and maintained good grades, you might not get in. It doesn’t mean you won’t get in elsewhere. Keep your spirits up. UIUC can’t admit all the qualified applicants. </p>
<p>It’s a huge shock to many that state flagship engineering slots are so competitive even on the UG basis. I 've known top kids get turned down directly from high school because they were too late with their apps. No spots left. As a transfer, even fewer spots as they may take internal transfers first. </p>
<p>One reason that I suggested UAH is because:</p>
<p>Excellent eng’g, excellent facilities.</p>
<p>They want more OOS students. They’ve been known to throw merit at these kids. They are located smack dab inside Cummings Research Park, the second largest research park in the nation…so lots of jobs, internships, and co-ops. Redstone Arsenol Army Base is next door, so also civilian opps for eng’g internships. </p>
<p>The city of Huntsville is a Geek City…full of STEM PhD and brainiacs. Transplants from all over. A non-southern city. Int’l airport 10 minutes from campus…practically could walk to it. </p>
<p>Unlike the OP, I do blame the GCs. They position themselves as experts. When we are being advised by people who are being paid for their position, we’re supposed to be able to trust their advice to some degree’…especially about BASIC uncomplicated stuff…cuz that is their job. </p>
<p>And as experts, the GC’s should convey to their students that there is a lot that they don’t know (FA, scholarships, etc), and encourage these kids to find out these details. When they only present info, and don’t reveal their limitations, the kids are going to believe what they say. </p>
<p>Maybe the parents trusted the GC’s college advice because it IS one of the things listed in their job description. According to the Illinois education regulations, one of the responsibilities of high school guidance counselors is to provide “college counseling.” Apparently, at least in IL, the GCs are supposed to know about these things.</p>
<p>I agree. that’s why I do blame the GC for the OP’s situation. It really is boilerplate info that can be passed on easily year to year. “Hey high stats students, there are universities that will give you large merit scholarships for your stats. Here’s a list that I have, but things change often so look at various schools’ websites. And when you find something or get a merit scholarship award for your test scores, please let me know so I can update the list later.”</p>
<p>Some schools do this rather easily by having students report their merit awards to the GC office. Then the GC adds new ones to the list for next year’s seniors.</p>