Parents have $0 saved for college, won't qualify for financial aid
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Anonymous
I'm a high schooler who frequently stalks the college forum for advice, and the thread about kids having to pay their own way got me thinking about my own circumstances. My parents have no money saved for my college education, so I will need to rely heavily on trying to get scholarship money. However, they combined make $300k and our house is worth well over $1 million, so FAFSA and any need-based financial aid is pretty much out of the question. Putting our info into the calculators usually only gets me an average of $5-10k in need-based aid. I just don't know what to do. I have high stats and decent ECs. I have a job and work two in the summer. My dream schools (Hopkins, NYU, Columbia, MIT) are wayyy too expensive. I've considered ROTC but I don't think the military is really for me. I just really want to go to a school that I love but will also give me enough money so I can attend, and I think the only schools that I can get fantastic scholarship money at are going to be at southern schools  . Does anyone have any recommendations for great colleges that give great merit scholarships? I'm in VA but I don't like most of the in-state schools with the exception of W&M
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Anonymous
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Look for schools that are unusually strong for your planned major(s) considering their ranking.
Look for schools in regions you'd like to work in after graduation. With the William & Mary interest, perhaps a second-tier LAC might suit. A smaller school with highly motivated and engaging professors. With your parents' profile, they might assume you can pay more than your parents are actually willing. Don't rule out Honors Colleges at Southern flagships. How about universities that offer co-ops? Jesuit-run universities also can be a good deal. Take a look at those categories. A real hack might be community college then transfer to the better school. There are a number of good schools that accept sophomore transfers. |
Anonymous
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Do community college and then transfer to a 4 year institution. Apply for scholarships then.
You also have to deal with the cards you are dealt. The most important thing is to get a degree, you may Need to look at different options. Go visit schools in the South. You may like them. Good luck. |
Anonymous
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Your parents didn’t save for your college costs, but are they planning to help pay for college? With $300k per year and some budgeting, they should be able to provide a reasonable chunk toward tuition, if they are willing to help you out.
Definitely community college to save and get distribution requirements out of the way, then transfer. Depending where you live, many states have programs for guaranteed transfer to state universities from cc — search carefully to be sure you know any requirements for classes and GPA, and talk to an advisor both at the cc and, ideally, in the 4-year schools you’d be interested in transferring to. |
Anonymous
| ED to william & mary. Or do rotc, if you can get into MIT you must be a science person, and typically you wont see combat in the military coming from a school like that. Also, if you can get into MIT, you can get into a place like Olin or RIT with merit. |
Anonymous
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Are your parents helping at all? They may have millions in retirement and can just pay as they go from their income.
Did you go to private high school? What did your parents do with their money? I would go to community college. My kid is going to CC even though I have money for him. |
Anonymous
| Whatever you do begin with the end in mind. Can you get any job shadowing or intern experiences? Any work connections from a friend of a friend? A school helps give you a network for jobs prestige won't pay your bills unless it gets you a better job. |
Anonymous
I have heard great merit for TCU (Texas) and also have heard many Jesuit colleges give excellent merit. There are a ton of Jesuit colleges so just google and you do not have to be Catholic. I also wonder if your school counselor could sit down with you and talk through schools that are better with merit given your situation. I realize the large schools may not do this but you never know. I think it is great you are beyond proactive. There is always a way for things to work out. |
Anonymous
| Why the eyeroll for "southern schools?" |
Anonymous
I was just going to post this same question. Op, please explain. |
Anonymous
| So much of this depends on whether your parents are willing to help pay or not. If so, you all could easily cash flow W&M, no need for community college. If not, you are almost definitely looking at community college or a much lower ranked school that will offer a lot of money for high stats (there are plenty, and can even be good experiences). |
Anonymous
I want to work in the Northeast after grad + South is way too red |
Anonymous
They tell me it's because they can't afford it, but I'm pretty sure it's because they're not willing + resentful that their parents made them pay their own way to college, but they both got really good in-state deals |
Anonymous
I plan to major in pre-med, pysch, or neuro so I'm shadowing a few doctors this summer 0 work connections that are in any way related to what I want to do |
Anonymous
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Definitely apply early to W&M, that should be the goal. Your parents went in state, probably expect you to too.
Otherwise, Case and Oberlin are generous with merit aid. Tulane has some full scholarships. |