I’m going to be a 9th grader this fall and hoping that in the spring of 2021 that I will accepted into my 2 dream colleges: Kansas University and Cornell University. If anyone on this site knows the tuition and costs for those colleges, please reply to me with the details! I’m also looking to see if anyone in college or has experienced college for themselves knows how much per week a college student can work with also juggling school, extra-curricular activities, friends, and a part-time job… And if anyone knows about either of the Universities or any information about them, please notify me!! It will be greatly appreciated! Thanks to anyone that helps!!!
Those two are starkly different (even though both are great). KU is pretty easy to get into (and is public), and you should have no trouble at all if you are even close to Cornell. Cornell, on the other hand, is the easiest ivy league school to get into; that still makes it extremely selective, and many would suggest that you need to be at least in the 95% of KU’s applicant pool to even have a shot at Cornell.
Cost-wise, do you live in Kansas? Cornell will cost a little more than they estimate your parents are able to pay. For some, that means around $5K - $10K per year, and for others it means $70K per year. Depends, hehe. Assuming you don’t get ANY merit aid from KU, you can expect to pay around $26K in-state and 43K out-of-state per year if you started this year and lived on-campus. You can expect this cost to rise (I’d guess around $2K - $4K more) by the time you graduate high school. If you’re smart and make good grades/score highly on SAT/ACT tests, you can get most of that reduced, though. Only time will tell.
I’d say a full-time college student can work around 20 hours per week. You will not be expected to pay your way through college unless you’re extremely smart (or lower income and make it into a 100% need meeting school like Cornell) and manage to get a full ride at a college. Even then, they’ll probably expect you to have to take out a small loan (think $3.5K - $5.5K) to get through. You’ll have time to pursue your hobbies (juggling, I assume), friends, and extra-curricular activities if you manage your stuff right; some of it may have to be compromised to meet demands of the college, though. Don’t be surprised if you colleges break your schedule, and be ready to adapt to it.
I answered your question, but it’s too early for you to care. Just try your best and enjoy your school time; you won’t get to do it again. Come back in 2 years when you have a bigger picture.
I think that 20 hours per week is too much unless you are at a relatively easy university. We have tried to keep it to 10 hours or less per week for outside work. My oldest is working at a part time job which is related to her major. My youngest starts university in September – it is too soon for her to start working while being in university.
As an incoming 9th grader, you have a long time to think about which university to attend. The two main things that I would suggest at this time: (i) When it is time to think about universities find a school which is a good match for you; (ii) For now, don’t spend much time thinking about universities. Instead, concentrate on high school. Keep ahead in your classes, pay attention in classes, and participate in extracurricular activities which you like and that allow you to do things you find interesting. Try to get your work done early and try to get enough sleep.
You might find over the next few years that some people get rather excessively stressed out about universities, and also excessively carried away with going to the most “prestigious” universities. Don’t let them get to you, just “keep calm and carry on”. 