Just to clarify, you say you understand CA teaching credentialing. Does that mean you intend to teach there? Because where you want to live and work should influence where you choose to get your education degree. States can vary quite a bit in what course work you need, for example, and schools make an effort to prepare for the licenses in their area. You’ll want to be able to roll directly into your career without needing to miss a September start because you need a course or more time in a classroom. So go ahead and look at schools all over the country, but know that you may have some extra work to get started on your career if your school wasn’t aligned with the state you want to move to.
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@afahrer: Since your parents will not disclose their income and financials to you, you could ask them to run the Net Price calculators on their own just to see if they are OK with the costs.
You could also show them the Cost of attendance for any schools of interest and let them decide if they are able to pay full fees for many of these schools. Hopefully they will realize that they need to give you a budget.
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@StPaulDad yes, as of right now I intend to teach in CA, which is also why I have primarily CA schools on my list. As mentioned earlier, some of the schools on my list offer a Bachelor’s + credential option while others offer a Master’s + credential option for the preliminary CA teaching credential (https://www.ctc.ca.gov/docs/default-source/leaflets/cl560c.pdf?sfvrsn=8db75dfc_16)
@Gumbymom yes, I showed my mom the COAs for all the schools on my list (which are mostly very high) and again she said to not take cost into consideration. From my understanding, my parents have set up a college fund for me but again I don’t know how much is in it.
@afahrer: If your parents are giving you the go ahead, then apply to the schools you want but make sure you have at least 2 schools that are academic and financial safeties such as ASU.
One other consideration for teachers is that they’re usually expected to go on with their education to earn salary jumps. (My sister got two masters degrees.) Any money you save on undergrad now can be used later for those classes, and that can be a big deal when you’re faced with tuition while living on a teacher’s income.
@afahrer have you looked into the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) schools for additional safety ideas in California? The program offers much less expensive tuition than standard out of state rates for the participating schools. There are restrictions as not all particpating schools offer the WUE rate for all majors, but might be worth a look?
No effect on California publics (only the parent you live with matters for financial aid there), but you won’t get any financial aid as a non-resident anyway (except for very-hard-to-get top-end merit scholarships).
However, for other colleges, you need to figure out if each one requires both parents’ finances, or just the finances of the parent you live with, for financial aid purposes. See http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/2083835-faq-divorced-parents-financial-aid-and-net-price-calculators.html
You can only take $5.5k, $6.5k, $7.5k, $7.5k for the frosh, soph, junior, and senior years of college respectively. Taking on more debt would require cosigned or parent loans, which are not a good idea (and large amounts of undergraduate debt is not a good idea anyway).
Also, Princeton is a special case in that non-custodial parent information is required if the custodial parent is not remarried: https://swebapps.princeton.edu/FinAid/finaid_form.pl
A number of California public universities offer WUE discounts to Arizona and other western region residents. Some of them may offer suitable programs for your career goals.
https://wuesavingsfinder.wiche.edu/search-results.php?q=California
@ucbalumnus thanks for the tip about the WUE schools! I’m going to add Cal State Chico to my list as a safety, so my updated list is:
Reach: Stanford, UCLA
Match: Santa Clara, Cal Poly SLO, Pepperdine, UCSB, UC Davis, USD, SDSU
Safety: ASU (Barrett), Cal State Chico
Thanks for all the help!
@afahrer - If I remember correctly from a previous post, you said both of your parents went to Santa Clara and it is your #1 choice. If that is correct, I am guessing they have an idea about the cost of the school.
Santa Clara offers ED1 and expects/likes alumni kids to apply in this round and will favor qualified legacies. You may even be able to get a financial pre-read, if that is something that your parents would like to do. You should also research potential merit awards too.
@coffeeat3 yes, that is correct. ED1 is binding though, right? So if I got in then I would have to accept?
@afahrer - yes, ED is binding and preference is given to qualified legacies that apply this round. Your legacy won’t matter much or even at all if you apply RD.
The only way ED is not binding is if your family can’t not afford the school - that is why it is important to run the NPC and understand your commitment.
You had mentioned in a much earlier post that it was your #1 choice. You should only apply ED if it really is your #1 and if it is a match financially too.
Based on your list, it appears that you may want to take your chance at your two reach schools, so applying to Santa Clara ED would not work.
@coffeeat3 do you know if legacy status is considered in the EA application? Yes, as of right now it is my top choice and although I don’t think I have a chance of getting into Stanford or UCLA, I still want to try.
@afahrer - I have no clue and it would be worth researching. I have always heard it is for ED - but never really thought about EA and if it could be an advantage.
Santa Clara’s ED1 round has historically been very small. I happen to know a legacy (family friend) who was accepted EA and attended elsewhere, though their application would have been sufficient for admission regardless. I’d probably straight-up ask the admission office about legacy and ED vs EA if your stats were borderline, but yours appear to be at or above the 75th percentile, assuming your estimate for scores turns out to be accurate.
Remember that Santa Clara is big on demonstrated interest. Show them the love in the supplements.
@evergreen5 thanks for the info! I attended a virtual info session for Santa Clara last week, and I am on their mailing list and actively follow them on social media. Is there anything else I should be doing? I have done the same for some of the other schools (Pepperdine, Cal Poly) but do you think I should continue?
Common data set section C7 can tell you whether “level of applicant’s interest” is used. If it is used, applying ED is the strongest possible way to express a high level of interest in the college.
SCU: “considered” https://www.scu.edu/media/offices/institutional-research/facts-and-figures/academic/Compiled-CDS-All-Years-2018-2019.pdf
CPSLO: “not considered” https://content-calpoly-edu.s3.amazonaws.com/ir/1/images/CDS_2019-2020%20Final%203.pdf
Pepperdine: “not considered” https://www.pepperdine.edu/oie/content/pdf/cds_2019-20.ver1.pdf – but note that “religious affiliation/commitment” is “very important”