<p>Hi…
I need some advice. My parents are wonderful, supportive parents. However, I am the youngest of 4 children and my parents are simply “tapped out” financially for college. I am applying to 13 schools, 9 of which are safetys and I should be offered some fairly good merit based scholarships. I have a 4.8 weighted gpa and 4.0 unweighted. I am currently Valedictorian and have SAT’s of 1950.
My question is if I receive good scholarships, can i take out the difference in student loans?
Thank you for your help! :)</p>
<p>Yes, you can. Do I recommend taking out a large amount of loans? NO!!! I work in a financial aid office. I cannot believe the amount of money students are borrowing. Everyone wants their dream … but sometimes, you have to be realistic.</p>
<p>Here is my best advice: Search through the threads on CC regarding schools with great merit programs & schools with great need based aid. Find some schools you like where you would be competitive for merit. Apply to these. Find some schools that would be affordable if you don’t get merit. These schools would probably be state universities and/or community colleges. Apply. If you REALLY don’t have much money saved & won’t qualify for anything but loans, please make sure you apply to at least a school or two that you could attend as a commuter & live at home. Apply to these. Apply EARLY for financial aid at each school, making sure you follow all instructions carefully & completely. Respond to all financial aid requests immediately. This will put you in the position of getting the maximum amount of aid that you could get (some pools of money run out early).</p>
<p>If you do the above, you will be able to look at your financial aid offers & figure out what you are really willing to finance when the time comes. Put your offered loans into a loan calculator & figure out what your payments would be down the road - remembering that you will probably be borrowing more each subsequent year. Be realistic. There are options for you - but you must be open to the realization that $80,000 of debt may not be worth it to you. In that case, you’ll have other choices available.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the advice. I am applying early to 8 of my college choices in hopes of being offered the maximum financial/ merit aid possible. :)</p>
<p>What are your Math and CR scores (since some schools are only considering those for merit money).</p>
<p>Did you take the ACT? Some do better on that test and colleges will take whichever is the higher one.</p>
<p>If there is any way that you can go to college without taking any student loans, you should do so. You have NO IDEA how hard it is to pay those back after you graduate even if you get a decent paying job - because your living expenses (rent, utilities, cell phone, car, clothes, food, etc) are going to most/all of your income for many years.</p>
<p>Since you are the youngest child, and your parents aren’t going to have the expenses of other kids once you are in school, are you sure that they won’t be able to help out “at all”. After all, their expenses will go down once their last child is out of the home.</p>
<p>Is there a certain area of the country that you are interested in? We can make some suggestions for schools that might provide some merit money if we know what area of the country you will likely be going to school.</p>
<p>I would never knowingly pay so much money for something that did not meet my expectations but college forces me into that box. Please don’t get me wrong. I am a big supporter for education but the system needs reviewed.</p>
<p>Why is so much emphasis placed on the SAT score? If I am paying for my college experience, why do schools care about my stats to the point they aren’t looking at me? When one prepares for anything in life they should do well but what will a high SAT score get me? It certainly doesn’t help a painter or dancer perfect their skills, not does a high score assure an academic kid has skills to work with their hands, And, how about the expense of preparing, testing, sending test scores to colleges. Who benefits really? Am I not worthly of scholarship money because my SAT isn’t a certain number? Should I be denied admission for a low score? </p>
<p>Why can’t I be more in control of the classes I want to take and build my own experience while getting a degree? Does college really need to be four years! One way to cut college costs would be to cut the amount of time spent in school on filler classes taken to meet the credit requirement. Is a degree the ultimate stamp of approval to say I am a worthy person, society values me?</p>
<p>The current financial situtation has been caused by some of the most educated and experienced people around yet greed won over. The trickle down effect has become very personal for many. I see peers/students take on so much debt without the understanding of what it will really cost them in years to come. </p>
<p>Colleges need change… what are your thoughts?</p>
<p>I agree that the emphasis on the test scores is not fair. However, it is a quick test to get through all the kids. There are exceptions. There are athletic scholarships and performing arts, and other special talent scholarships. But you are right, there is an overemphasis on the test scores. Sometimes admissions people do pick kids that the college particularly want, and they are offered merit aid even if they do not exactly fit test parameters.</p>
<p>Hi all, thanks for all the insightful comments. My SAT is 650CR 650Math …I have re-taken the SAT’s in October and will get my new scores this next week. Obviously, I am hoping for higher scores. 
I am hoping with my class rank and 4.8 GPA W and 4.0 GPA UW and also I am a full IB diploma candidate that I will get some $$$. So the area in which I would ideally like to go to college is on the west coast. However, I am applying to some schools on the east coast and midwest solely based on my hopes of merit based $$$. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>I know my parents will help out as much as they can, however I know it will not be much money. So…I am going to go to whatever school offers me the most merit $$$ and I am applying early to 8 schools to take advantage of any money that may be made available! That said…will I be able to take out loans (w/ my parents co-signing) for room, board and fees?
thank you in advance for the advice!</p>