<p>My parents income is over 100k, and they have told me we won’t qualify for government aid because their income is too high. They seem to be under the impression ,however, that I will be able to get tons of aid from colleges themselves. I’m a community college student, had a 3.4 uw in high school, a 4.0 now, and a 2060 on the SAT. I’m just curious if my parents are correct when they say that a private school with a cost of attendance of 40-50k a year will give me enough aid/scholarships to bring my cost of attendance below 25k.</p>
<p>Your parents are correct. Their income is too high for you to qualify for federally funded need based aid. You would be eligible for a Stafford loan. </p>
<p>Re: how much aid? It all depends on the school. </p>
<p>You might want to go and talk to an advisor at the community college. Some community colleges have articulation agreements with four year schools. You really want to go somewhere like this where ALL of your CC courses will transfer and you will be accepted. </p>
<p>Some schools in some states have specific scholarships for transfer students from community colleges. That is worth checking.</p>
<p>If you are considering private colleges, you have to find out whether they even award need based aid to transfer students. Some schools do and some schools don’t. Some schools have limited aid for transfers. </p>
<p>Your amount of aid will depend on the policies of the specific colleges. This can vary wildly by school. You “might” get decent aid from one place but nothing from another.</p>
<p>With a family income of $100K per year, your family contribution will be somewhere in the $25,000 to $33,000 per year range. Can your parents afford to pay that amount? Schools will not provide you with need based aid to cover your family contribution.</p>
<p>It actually could happen if you get into one of the top private schools! Although I’m not sure how much money you’d qualify for with an income of 100,000, especially because there are many other factors that are taken into account. But probably you could get some scholarship (aka financial aid). Try a quick FA calculator, such as the one Dartmouth website just to get an idea…[Cost</a> Estimator](<a href=“Home | Financial Aid”>Home | Financial Aid)</p>
<p>My parents make more like 110k per year, but they have told me and my 3 sisters that they are only giving each of us 30k total for all of the years we will be attending college. Luckily I will have 20k of my own by the time I transfer. </p>
<p>I’m actually looking at Bishop’s University in Canada which is one of the main reasons I am asking this question. Bishop’s total cost of attendance is 25k per year, and because of my grades I will qualify for at least 8k total in scholarships while attending school there. My parents are convinced schools in the states would be better deals, and I don’t believe this to be true. However, I am open minded which is why I am asking this question in the first place…to see if I could really get as much aid/scholarships here as they say :P</p>
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<p>A four year public university in the U.S in YOUR state will cost about the same…maybe less depending on what state and which school. </p>
<p>If your parents have $30K and you have $20K, you have $50K total. That will not fund $100K in costs. Where will you get the OTHER $50K?</p>
<p>If your parents have the income you state, you will not receive ANY need based aid from a school with a cost of $25K per year. Your family contribution will be at LEAST that amount.</p>
<p>I’ll only be going there for three years since I am a transfer student…</p>
<p>Actually, I will be 9 credits into Sophomore year at Bishop’s. The rest of the 25k will come from the 8k in guaranteed scholarships I mentioned, summer work, and an on campus job which Bishop’s already told me I would be able to receive. I would use stafford loans to cover any of the remaining debt. </p>
<p>I guess my real question is is going to Bishop’s really a bad deal compared to going to school here in the U.S? I don’t think so, but my parents do…though I’m not sure why since the cost will not be dramatically different.</p>
<p>Most folks find the costs of attending a Canadian university to be a good buy. The exchange rate helps too. If you want to go to Bishops, and can afford it, what are your parents objecting to?</p>
<p>I’m not really sure what they are objecting to actually :/</p>
<p>I think they may have something against Canada or leaving the U.S., but I don’t quite understand why. They have told me they would prefer me to go somewhere else in the U.S, but it makes no sense to me why they object so much if I’ll be happy going to Bishop’s and can afford it. Part of me thinks it’s because they just don’t want me to wind up living up there permanently, and that they always want me close to home…
I’m not sure how to make them feel more comfortable with me wanting to go to Bishop’s, so I’m asking this question so that I can be better informed about the different financial situations I would be in if I stayed here as opposed to going there.</p>
<p>Also, I’m not really sure if this will give people a better idea of my family’s financial situation to better judge the amount I would receive from U.S. schools, but they make about 110k per year, own 4 acres apart from our house, and also own four cars, and a large house. Not sure if that helps…</p>
<p>Since you have a 4.0 at your community college, why don’t you just stay there for another year, complete your A.A. and transfer to one of the 4-year colleges or universities that community college has an articulation agreement with? You would be guaranteed admission directly into the junior year. Also with a 4.0 you should qualify for membership in Phi Theta Kappa which would guarantee you merit scholarship money at a number of colleges and universities around the US. Make an appointment with the transfer counselor at your community college, and ask specifically about which institutions have offered big merit money for students with your profile in recent years. Graduates of Happykid’s community college, [Montgomery</a> College](<a href=“http://www.montgomerycollege.edu%5DMontgomery”>http://www.montgomerycollege.edu) who have profiles like yours can expect to be offered merit money when they transfer with their A.A. degrees. If you go to that website, and then search for “transfer scholarships” you will be able to find the page listing that information. Some of it is specific for students at MC, but most of it would be applicable to you as well.</p>
<p>Wishing you all the best.</p>
<p>I’m not interested in staying in Texas though or sticking around for another year, so that idea is not interesting to me :/</p>
<p>Bah, I suppose I will just spend the next year trying to convince my parents that going to school in canada is not a bad thing…</p>
<p>Your parents are wrong that privates typically give transfer students a lot of aid. The best aid and scholarships are given to incoming freshmen.</p>
<p>Also, with their income and assets, you probably wouldn’t qualify for a lot of aid anyway.</p>
<p>However, you might as well apply to some state schools just to see if they are right (or just to prove them wrong to end that conversation).</p>
<p>What American schools do they want you to apply to?</p>
<p>It’s too bad that you didn’t apply to schools as an incoming freshman, you probably would have gotten some good-sized scholarships for your stats.</p>
<p>My parents would prefer me to go to a university in Texas to be close to home. They want me to look at universities such as UT, Rice, Baylor, St. Edwards, and Austin College. They also want me to look at places outside of Texas (they’ve named a bunch) such as Colorado State University, Elon University, Macalaster College, Iowa State, University of Chicago, etc. just a bunch of random colleges. They want to hire a college advisor for me because they believe she will somehow be able to get me a free ride or almost free ride into college.</p>
<p>Anyway, my plan right now is to apply to Bishop’s University in Canada this year since by the end of this year I will have taken all of the classes at my community college that could possibly transfer there (40 credits). If for some reason I decide that’s not where I want to go then I plan on attending community college for one more year, and then applying to U.S schools. My parents are not fond of this plan however :/</p>
<p>@Paigems, Question for you about Bishop’s: </p>
<p>Parlez-vous fran</p>
<p>Although you are not interested in staying in Texas, it actually might be the best bet for you especially if your CC has an articulation agreement with UT or TAMU. The schools that your parents have listed - particularly Rice and Baylor, Elon, Macalester, Iowa State, Chicago, and Colorado State - are not “random colleges” but are all reputable universities and in the U.S., more than Bishop’s.</p>
<p>Why do you want to go to Bishop’s so badly? Can you compromise with your parents and at least look at some of the schools they are listing, or find schools of your own that you like in the U.S.?</p>
<p>I think your parent’s are wrong, it’s unlikely any US private college except HYPS would be cheaper for you than Bishops. I’ve known several kids who attended, don’t let lack of French bother you.</p>
<p>“They want to hire a college advisor for me because they believe she will somehow be able to get me a free ride or almost free ride into college”. </p>
<p>Take a meeting or two with the advisor because you never know until you know… What harm can it do???</p>
<p>Ok, first, no I don’t speak french, but I am taking french 1 and 2 this year. However, Bishop’s is located in an english speaking town, and I have been told by many people that my minimal French knowledge will not be a problem. </p>
<p>Second, I do not want to go to UT or A&M at all. I have my heart set on Bishop’s for several reasons such as getting to experience a new country, possibly learn a new language, interact with people who are not from the U.S, etc. Also, their program looks good to me and the campus is extremely beautiful.</p>
<p>Thirdly, all of my classes I’ve taken at my community college thus far follow Bishop’s course schedule perfectly. </p>
<p>And lastly, I already met with this college adviser and am not interested. I don’t want my parents to spend $2,000 on some college lady when I am perfectly happy going to Bishop’s which is affordable, and I will not need the help of the adviser to get in there.</p>
<p>*“They want to hire a college advisor for me because they believe she will somehow be able to get me a free ride or almost free ride into college”. *</p>
<p>Meet with this person a couple of time to satisfy your parents. I will be very surprised if this person can get you a free ride.</p>
<p>how much money is your parents going to waste on this person? I don’t think just a couple of appts will work because you won’t know if the person fails to get you the aid until late next spring since you’re a transfer student. By that time your parents may have wasted a LOT of money.</p>
<p>Maybe try this…</p>
<p>Meet with the person and ask for some strong evidence that she can find you a free ride or near free ride with your stats and EFC. Can she provide evidence of getting transfer students with your stats with just one year of college and your EFC “free rides”? I really, really doubt it.</p>
<p>The problem is if you don’t give this person a chance, your parents will always believe that they were right (and it’s unlikely that they are).</p>
<p>I really can’t just meet with this adviser a few times though. She has some sort of plan that you sign up for that costs about $2,000. I told my parents I didn’t want to go along with it because I felt like it would be a waste of my time, the advisers time, and my parents money since I already have a plan which I would like to pursue this year (Bishop’s)</p>
<p>I understand.</p>
<p>If this person isn’t offering some kind of guarantee, then what’s the recourse if after the application process you don’t get a great aid package???</p>
<p>Ask your parents that.</p>
<p>(Do your parents understand that transfer students don’t get great aid ? </p>
<p>The funny thing is that if your parents had hired this person when you were in high school, she could have found some great aid/scholarships for you. But as a transfer student, that is very unlikely.)</p>