<p>It would be woefully lacking of a parent not to discuss finances before the app process.
I don’t have a perfect answer for the Op, but I can say how our family handled it. Our student was advised beforehand that he could attend any school that accepted him. However, we gave him a dollar figure of what we were willing and able to give him as a gift toward the costs of his college choice. If there was a shortfall, he either made up the difference, or he’d have to make a different choice. This would be true for the Op’s child- she and her God could find a way if it was meant to be.
I might also question the student- what have YOU done to afford X college? Top grades? Top standardized scores? Top EC’s? Worked while in high school and saved?</p>
<p>OP - does she have a long term goal in mind that would require graduate or seminary study? If so, have her talk to someone in the field or research grad schools/seminaries for her desired end goal. It is sometimes hard to convince kids that they don’t need an exact undergrad degree to reach their goal. Similar to premed students who are Spanish majors, grad schools care about course work…so she may be unnecessarily limiting her undergrad choices.</p>
<p>At most schools she can be a religion major, she can be involved in whichever campus ministry fits her views, she can do mission work and volunteer in Christian settings and intern in church settings in the summer. In the past our church has hired youth ministers with English degrees and right experience, but have also hired Bible majors. I would encourage her to find schools with lots of options (D is math/religion double major) in case she later decides that church work is better as a personal passion than a job.</p>
<p>One other comment about non-denominational schools. As a religion major (or pastoral ministry) she will certainly take classes that challenge or don’t match her world view. Learning about other perspectives while being able to defend her own faith will make her stronger in the long run, but can be discouraging when the Bible class she is excited about is taught as, for example, just history. This will probably happen in most college settings unless she only goes to school that teaches her point of view. And I would say that, for instance, going to historically Presbyterian college will not guarantee 100% Presbyterian theology.</p>
<p>If I have missed someone else’s post I apologize, but please be make sure that when you give D your requirements that you insist the school be accredited. That will be crucial if she changes her mind and wants to transfer, or if she will require loans. We have a few colleges in the area that do not accept Federal fund and are not accredited. I have seen several students attend for a year or two to please their parents only to have to pay for 4 year when they transfer since no work was eligible for transfer.</p>
<p>cpohio – Our DD attends Belmont University, in Nashville, TN, which is a non-denominational Christian university, which appears to have a ministry degree, although it looks to be geared more to an adult student, with evening classes? The link below takes you to their ministry page, which indicates that a student must take their last 32 credit hours at Belmont. But she could attend a junior/community college, plus her junior year at a local university and simply the last year at Belmont. Of course there would have to be great coordination concerning which credits Belmont would accept from a junior/community college and another four-year college/university for junior year, but perhaps if you show this to her she can see that it can be done…Belmont describes it here:</p>
<p>[Belmont</a> University | Nashville, TN | Belmont University – Adult Degree Program–Ministry Overview](<a href=“http://www.belmont.edu/uc/ministry_program/overview.html]Belmont”>http://www.belmont.edu/uc/ministry_program/overview.html)</p>
<p>…if you cannot get to the link simply google “Belmont University ministry program”</p>
<p>Our DD is attending Belmont for an entirely different degree, but we’ve really been impressed with Belmont. Belmont also has merit scholarships if one meets four of six requirements, although they do not cover a significant portion of the COA. They are not a 100% meet need school, and it’s not inexpensive, with COA at around $40K. What prompted me to post this reply is that I knew Belmont is non-denominational and they have a ministry program. After looking at the link where it describes that one could transfer all but the last 32 credits it appears as though it may be an option. Perhaps you can review it yourself before deciding if you want to show it to her. Good luck, and keep us posted :)</p>
<p>For many kids, this is the first time being faced with real world financial issues. Many don’t have a clue as to where money comes from, how it is spent, etc. When my D (now 25) was about 11, I was offered a job paying $50k annually. “Wow, that’s a lot!” was her reaction. Being an accountant I gave her the rundown, how much went to taxes, rent, utilities, medical insurance, food, car expenses, savings (hopefully) and fun. Her poor head was spinning at at the end her response was “you need a better job!”. Today she is very cognizant of finances and budgets pretty well.</p>
<p>Time to sit down with your D and go over where the money comes from, what it costs to go in state VS out, private VS public, and include all those extras like airfare, or whatever it would take to get her to/from during school breaks, etc. Don’t exaggerate, but spell it out. </p>
<p>Similar to this (my favorite Cosby scene):
<a href=“Season 1 Episode 01-Pilot Presentation - YouTube”>Season 1 Episode 01-Pilot Presentation - YouTube;
<p>“Theo, that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard in my life!”
I saw that umpteen years ago and pretty much used that entire scenario (let’s whittle down your paycheck) to teach my kids finances from when they were little. Worked great then and works well now.</p>
<p>Note that in-state versus out-of-state affordability makes the biggest difference with public schools, which a non-denominational Christian school with a pastoral ministry major won’t be. Travel costs and medical access may be a concern, however.</p>
<p>But such schools appear to have a low chance of affordability if you can only contribute up to $10,000 per year. Have you run the net price calculators together with your daughter so that she will see the reality of the cost limitations she needs to consider?</p>
<p>Maybe you could work with your daughter to see alternative paths to her pastoral “calling.” For example, if she gets an education degree from an accredited school, she could teach children in a Christian school. And, at least that way, she would have her degree to fall back on</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, and none of my business, what kind of degree is her boyfriend pursuing? Will he be able to support them, and a future family, if she gets only an undergrad pastoral degree?</p>
<p>Another thought for the OP–have you read through the Christian college forum under the College Search and Selection section here on CC? You might get some help there.</p>