If you read my other comments, you’d see that I am an EXCEPTION to most students. My schools only had 8-10 APs. That’s why I have very few. Also, once again, test-optional, which does not hurt me. I even have more exceptions than that. And no, nobody tried conveying that, everyone was bashing my potential and acting like I don’t know anything about this.
It’s not like I’m applying to Harvard. I want a small-medium sized school, where I think I got a shot at aid. I know it’s not guaranteed, but it’s a shot. Literally I can’t afford any school on my list and that’s just the hard facts.
My safety is on the thread. The first post…this is how I know this thread has gone bad facepalm. It’s the only safety I have…
I thought neither WVU nor Penn State are affordable? What about all the other suggestions for safety schools that posters have given you on this thread?
Someone said WVU would cost $40,000, but that’s incorrect. It would be in the 20s
So WVU’s net price calculator shows a net price in the $20Ks? How will you pay for college if it’s $20K-$30K? That’s what you have to figure out.
If you have to rely on competitive scholarships, most of which are small dollars and non-renewable, the only safety you have is likely your community college, where the $5.5K first year loan will cover much of it.
My parents are going to have to co-sign
Also, I can’t do the net price calculator because my parents hide the FASFA info, and are narcissists. I don’t care if that’s too dramatic for the thread. Explains it short and simple. I am estimating what the cost of WVU is, and it’s a pretty good guess
Ok. That’s between you and your parents then, and hopefully they are in a position to co-sign loans for four years.
I would encourage you to reconsider taking out $80K-$100K in undergrad loans because that is too much. The monthly payments ($800-$1,000+/month for 120 months) on that level of debt will have a big impact on your life for 10 years, and beyond.
Is living at home and attending community college for two years an option? Note that I am not suggesting in any way that you not apply to matches and reaches, as well as competitive scholarships. But, you need a plan that is certain to have you in college in Fall 2022.
I have a feeling CC would be a bad thing for me because of the things I’ve been hearing. I don’t know how anyone else pays that much in loans, especially when scholarships are that hard to come by.
I keep hearing about how the credits won’t transfer to the 4 year universities, which means I have to go to college for another 4 years. I don’t know any local schools that take them either. I doubt OOS will. I’ve heard other stuff too
You have to stop relying on what you have heard, and go do the research. People here will help if you are accepting of it. Pick a community college that has articulation agreements with four year schools. Then the credits will transfer.
It also doesn’t matter how other people pay their loans back, or not. You need to understand how having a $1k payment every month for 120 months in a row will impact YOUR life. Until you understand that, don’t take out that much in loans. Full stop.
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I was accepting help till people started insulting me. There is literally no community college around here that does that
There is a huge college debt problem in our country right now, it’s a real issue. There are kids who’s parents have fully funded their education. There are families who make under a certain income and are eligible for financial aid. And then there are a lot of folks who just don’t understand the ramifications on taking on college loan debt (I’m on 3 different Facebook parent pages and parents are recently asking who they should take loans from, parent or private, and this is only the first semester of freshman year). My graduates are paying $1000 a month plus throwing extra at their loans to get it done ASAP (fortunately they can afford to). My kids could’ve saved a ton of money staying local, but their options wouldn’t have been as good as going away.
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I realize that, but what am I supposed to do? Local is pricy here. Like 10k. And on top of that, most colleges will not accept the credits. I legit don’t know what to do. I need a degree for the career path I want to pursue.
ESU offers in state residents who are first generation college students with a 3.7+ GPA half off tuition (according to what I could find out). I think your best bet is a lower cost in state college (not Penn State or Pitt). Your state has options.
What do you mean by a lower in state college? Like a local one?
She means the PASSHE schools. Schools like West Chester, Shippensburg, ESU, IUP, Millersville, etc. Those are your affordable safeties. West Chester is $19k for tuition, fees, and room and board for PA students. That’s without any financial aid or scholarships. They are in a different system than Penn State, Pitt, and Temple. The PASSHE schools get more of their funding from the state than those three. If I had to pick one of the PASSHE schools, it would be West Chester. Great town with lots to do and within an hour of Philadelphia.
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And I believe she would get merit with her GPA and first generation.
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First off, you have a solid resume and should have plenty of options. You should feel proud about putting yourself in a competitive position. The first question I have is this - you state that you are paying for college all by yourself. Are your parents not in the picture, or just not willing to contribute? Even if your parents are quite well off (depending on a number of factors but up to and including people with incomes of up to $250K), you should still be eligible for need based aid, so you don’t necessarily need merit aid. You need to focus on schools that meet full demonstrated need. Those will be largely private schools. Some I would suggest that you take a look at Davidson, Washington & Lee (both probably on reach side), Lafayette & Lehigh (high target / target); Franklin & Marshall (target), Dickinson (target / safety), Gettysburg (target /safety). If you expand the geographic area you are willing to consider there are many many others that may be a good fit.
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