<p>@yolanda1996 </p>
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<p>There are always going to be several schools that can be a “fit” for a student. HOWEVER, more often than not, those other “fit” schools simply aren’t affordable. Many/most OOS publics or privates simply don’t give enough aid or merit to bring costs down to what a student can have instate.</p>
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<p>Certainly! Look around and see what else is out there! But, as you know, most of us don’t have bottomless wallets so in the end affordability tends to eliminate a number of choices.</p>
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<p>You really do not have to worry about that. College is NOT high school. Your high school probably had a few thousand kids on a campus that is a tiny fraction of Bama. And, in high school, nearly everyone is on campus between the hours of 8am - 2pm. </p>
<p>Not so at Bama. First of all, Bama is on 1300 acres and there are 30,000 undergrads spread out over many, many, many buildings in over 100 different majors. My two sons were at Bama at the same time for two years, and they were both STEM majors (which means that their classes were pretty much in buildings on the NE section of campus…YET…they rarely ever ran into each other. In fact, they had to SCHEDULE a regular Tuesday lunch just so that they WOULD see each other. It is doubtful that you would be frequently running into old classmates. </p>
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<p>Just to clarify…YOU can’t borrow much anyway. YOU can only borrow $5,500 for frosh year. That won’t pay for much. How much will your parents pay each year? Do you qualify for any Bama scholarships? If so, which one?</p>
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<p>Lousy aid is one of the main reasons I can’t look at NYU or the UCs anymore. If I don’t get into my first choice (that meets 100% of demonstrated need), I’ll have to sit down and look at both cost along with any outside scholarships I may get and see. But the chances are that I will end up at Alabama. My parents simply don’t make enough money to foot the bill for my entire college so between UA and PSU, they definitely lean towards UA. As does everything else in my family that loves football!</p>
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<p>Even if you get into your 1st choice school, you don’t yet know if it will be affordable. When a school says it “meets need,” then it means that it will meet need as THEY define it…NOT how your family defines it. Your family may say, “We can only pay $10k per year,” but that school may say, “we expect your family to pay $28k per year.” Then what? </p>
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along with any outside scholarships I may get and see.</p>
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<p>Be aware that most outside scholarships are for FRESHMAN year only. They disappear after that. You need to look at college as a 4 year plan. A few outside scholarships cobbled together to make frosh year affordable will only work the first year. We see this mistake every year. Kids affording the first year of their college, but then when those outside awards “disappear,” the students realize that their school is no longer affordable. </p>
<p>Also, keep in mind that outside scholarships get applied to “need” first. If a school gives you need-based aid, and then tells you that your family has to pay $20k, but then you get a $4k scholarship, the school is not going to let you apply that $4k towards the $20k you owe. NO, the school will take away $4k from your FA award and still expect your family to pay.</p>