<p>My ex girlfriend’s parents were far more stupid. She had a 4.0 and graduated HS in three years. HS isn’t a good predictor of college success.</p>
<p>They paid tuition in cash, purchased her a new tahoe, purchased her a HOUSE (it was in a nice suburb, I would guess 300-500k), some fake titties, and gave her a credit card that was magically paid off every month.</p>
<p>The kicker: she would ask me to pay for dinner because it made her feel special when I paid.</p>
<p>She failed her way out of school since she was too busy banging frat guys. Somehow, her parents still think she is an innocent little girl that was screwed over by the uni system.</p>
<p>In other news, my guy friend got his parents to help him out with $1,000 towards tuition for junior year… (I’m seeing a trend when it comes to parental financial help… a gender based one)</p>
<p>Yes, because one example of each gender makes a trend, lol.</p>
<p>Bard - Distinguished Science Scholars
[Financial</a> Aid | Bard](<a href=“http://www.bard.edu/admission/finances/scholarships.shtml#dss]Financial”>http://www.bard.edu/admission/finances/scholarships.shtml#dss)
Bard is a LAC on the Hudson which offers a few scholarships in the sciences, cs or math.
There is no engineering, but you could major in Computer Science and get an amazing education with small classes and close interaction with professors.
GWU, CWRU and U Rochester have merit aid for engineering.</p>
<p>I have to agree with mom, there are no assured schools on the list. If you dad owes you money, you will be needing a school that gives plenty of aid.</p>
<p>I would get your parents on the FAFSA train right away, since federal aid might be up your alley if your dad isn’t making much money. That money can be substantial (one of my friends JUST got 10,500 after applying late so don’t worry about the economy hindering it).</p>
<p>Schools will look at your financial need as determined by the fafsa and might be inclined to give you alot more ‘merit’ and financial aid based on your situation. Even so called merit aid can be hard to get if a school thinks you are not financially needy because they don’t have your fafsa information.</p>
<p>Schools tend to look at a student’s income from all sources, then they try to ‘spread’ the aid among the poorest and smartest students. Also, departments within universities can have a reputation for being generous, so consider your major.</p>
<p>fallenchemist. You have no idea how many other examples I have in reserve. PM me if you want to hear some crazy stories. I do agree though, there are plenty of examples that don’t fit that trend. I am just ‘**<strong><em>ing to </em></strong>’ as they say.</p>
<p>*If you dad owes you money, you will be needing a school that gives plenty of aid.</p>
<p>I would get your parents on the FAFSA train right away, since federal aid might be up your alley if your dad isn’t making much money. *</p>
<p>The problem is that the student won’t qualify for much, if any, aid. Both parents work, make decent money and they own two homes. He won’t qualify for any free fed aid. </p>
<p>I do think he needs to find out what his likely EFC will be, but it is likely going to be high because of income and the second home.</p>
<p>He needs to look at schools where he’ll get merit.</p>
<p>I can’t find the post where he mentions the second home and the money, although he does mention that both parents work. I’m not fully certain what the ‘aid cutoff’ is. Here in AZ it is 45k for state money.</p>
<p>If dad owes him money, and won’t spring the ACT, it makes me wonder if perhaps one of the jobs is part time or something. (For instance, my mom has a ‘job’ as a real estate agent)</p>
<p>Why isn’t Cooper Union on that list? </p>
<p>And do you know what your parent’s EFC is?</p>
<p>I can’t find the post where he mentions the second home and the money, although he does mention that both parents work. I’m not fully certain what the ‘aid cutoff’ is. Here in AZ it is 45k for state money.</p>
<p>In a past thread he mentioned that he won’t qualify for much, if any, aid because of parents’ combined incomes and the fact that they own a second home. </p>
<p>I think the debt/borrowing money from the OP situation is because the family is financially stressed because of the second home that they can’t sell. </p>
<p>Either way, the family’s EFC is too high for (much) aid and the parents can’t pay their EFC. So, the student needs to use a careful strategy of picking schools that want his stats, that want his URM status for diversity numbers, want his National Achievement status, etc, and will give him a generous scholarship. :)</p>
<p>Again, I really think Cooper Union should be on the student’s list. As a matter of fact, if the student could commute from home, this student may want to visit the school and look at it carefully, considering whether he/she would be willing to go ED. If living at home is an option, the OP could graduate from an excellent engineering school (electrical eng major, not sure about computer engineering) debt-free. It’s a long-shot for everyone but worth a shot, it seems to me.</p>
<p>Kalookakoo, check out this thread:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html</a></p>
<p>You sound very responsible and are acting with a great deal of foresight. Keep up the good work and don’t let the financial issues sidetrack you. </p>
<p>Remember too that the more schools you apply to, the more money you’ll have to spend on that process too. Many schools may offer fee waivers for needy students or students who have high stats. It’s cheaper to send test scores from the ACT + writing ($9 each for one score) than for the SAT plus subject tests ($9.50 each and you usually end up sending 2 or 3). The FAFSA is free, the CSS profile is $16 (I think) for each school that requires it. It all adds up pretty quickly!</p>