Feeling a bit depressed...

[Anonymous]

My daughter slacked off and didn't apply to as many schools as she should've (and as I advised). So, she's in a tough position. The two OOS that she's interested in cost way too much (Rutgers: $26500/year, OOP; UNC-Charlotte; not sure but probably somewhere in the range of $15000/year OOP).

She doesn't qualify for any grant money, is a B student so no university scholarships and she has yet to apply for an independent scholarship.

Last two schools to hear from are Drexel (pretty sure it's gonna cost too much) and UMD-CP. UMD is in-state so definitely a great option, but that's if she gets in. With a 3.0 and 1800 SAT score (no extra-curriculars) that might be pushing it.

Not really sure what I'm looking for here. Just feeling a little depressed that she didn't take the initiative to apply to more schools and upset with myself for not pushing her harder to apply to more schools. I honestly don't think I can stomach her living at home while she goes to community college for a year (she's turned into the sulky teenager from hell).

Not really sure what to do. If we completely stretch our budgets to the limits, we can afford UNC-Charlotte, but I'm not even sure if that school is worth the sacrifice.

[Anonymous]

She could still apply to other schools:

http://www.careervision.org/about/PrintToo_Late_to_Apply_to_College.htm

[Anonymous]

I am feeling the same way! I'm sure many parents are in the same boat. The Virginia publics have become so competitive. I could write a whole essay about that. Too bad I wasn't submitting essays! Drexel is ridiculously expensive, BTW. It's about 50K with room and board I would love to hear from any parents who have made these tough decisions: break the bank for a "better" school, or go for the "lesser" school that you can afford to pay in full so your child graduates with no debt.

[Anonymous]

Don't know w about VA, but in Maryland there is a program where if you complete 2 years at Montgomery College successfully they have to accept you at U of MD. Maybe not ideal, but if you run out of options it's one at low cost with a good result, and maybe you can transfer in after one year -- not sure, bu t worth asking

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am feeling the same way! I'm sure many parents are in the same boat. The Virginia publics have become so competitive. I could write a whole essay about that. Too bad I wasn't submitting essays! Drexel is ridiculously expensive, BTW. It's about 50K with room and board I would love to hear from any parents who have made these tough decisions: break the bank for a "better" school, or go for the "lesser" school that you can afford to pay in full so your child graduates with no debt.

Personally, I'd hate to advise people on how much debt to take on. But here are my two cents. I think it depends on what she's planning to study. If she's planning to go into an profession where there will definitely be jobs (computer programming, something in the medical fields) then taking on some, but not too much, debt could work out OK. If she's planning to study theater or music (I have one of these kids) then entering a tough job market with a lot of debt seems like a pretty bad idea.

[Anonymous]

OP, that's a tough spot. What if you offer one year at UNC? Then she'll have to work hard to transfer to UMd (from what I understand, there's not much chance she'll be accepted withayer current 3.0). That's better than CC if living at home is not a great option for your family.
One question, though, if you're in MD and publics were your only choices, and $15,000 is too expensive, I really don't know what's left? Some of the small MD publics may have a march app deadline. I'd look TODAY. Insist dd apply if this is an option (we're in VA, so I don't know).

[Anonymous]

How about applying to a local CC, going for a year or two (while saving money on tuition and by living at home), upping her grades and then transferring to a good, solid college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, that's a tough spot. What if you offer one year at UNC? Then she'll have to work hard to transfer to UMd (from what I understand, there's not much chance she'll be accepted withayer current 3.0). That's better than CC if living at home is not a great option for your family.
One question, though, if you're in MD and publics were your only choices, and $15,000 is too expensive, I really don't know what's left? Some of the small MD publics may have a march app deadline. I'd look TODAY. Insist dd apply if this is an option (we're in VA, so I don't know).

This is actually where I was leaning. If she doesn't get into UMD-CP, offer her one year at UNC and if she makes no effort to get a great GPA and earn scholarships, she'll have to move home and hope to transfer into UMD. I just don't understand her. While her GPA is not great, she's a black female interested in the sciences and scholarships are there if you just make the effort to actually apply for them. I fear that I've coddled her way too much and now she doesn't want to put in the work to get results. And trying to handhold her through the process usually results in her getting an attitude so I ration out my advice.

I don't necessarily mind paying $15k, but this package includes $6k/year in loans on her own (so student loan debt of $25k when she graduates). And honestly while she likes UNC-Charlotte, are they even worth paying that much? I don't mind paying this for UMD-CP, but UNC-Charlotte? Not so much. There's only so much I'm willing to indulge for an OOS college experience.

I advised her to apply for Virginia Commonwealth, Old Dominion, Towson and UMBC and she applied for none of them. Very frustrating.

At this point, I'd rather pay for a year at UNC-Charlotte than have her stay home a year while going to CC. I just can't do it...it's definitely time for her to fly the coop.

[Anonymous]

^^^ what about jmu?

[Anonymous]

Making great grades in the sciences will not be easy. But being a black student will def help with scholarships.

[Anonymous]

What about a non-school option for a year? Some kind of job/internship/etc? Could be a good learning experience, and could help solidify just why college is necessary / make her more focused when she does go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about a non-school option for a year? Some kind of job/internship/etc? Could be a good learning experience, and could help solidify just why college is necessary / make her more focused when she does go.

Taking some time off might change that "when" into an "if" or "never".

[Anonymous]

OP here. DD wants to be a physician assistant (I posted the recent PA thread here). While she is smart, she does not want to work "above and beyond" for her grades. She's a solid B student, but gets A's in relatively easy courses. Hard classes gets her a B (sometimes a C).

I'm hoping that college will make her go that extra mile to earn the grades to get into a good PA program. I'm also promoting the idea of majoring in a non-science area so that she can maintain as high a GPA as possible. While she does well in science-based courses, I think majoring in Biology/Chemistry/etc will be too rigorous with her lax approach to studying and going the extra mile.

I'm starting to realize my only options are to pay the OOS rate for UNC and hope that she can either maintain a high GPA to earn scholarships and stay there or do well enough to transfer into UMD. I just can't stomach paying $60k for Charlotte when I could pay that for the highly rated UMD.

I also can't stomach her staying home (for any purpose) for another year, so it looks like I'll have to pay the piper!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, that's a tough spot. What if you offer one year at UNC? Then she'll have to work hard to transfer to UMd (from what I understand, there's not much chance she'll be accepted withayer current 3.0). That's better than CC if living at home is not a great option for your family.
One question, though, if you're in MD and publics were your only choices, and $15,000 is too expensive, I really don't know what's left? Some of the small MD publics may have a march app deadline. I'd look TODAY. Insist dd apply if this is an option (we're in VA, so I don't know).

This is actually where I was leaning. If she doesn't get into UMD-CP, offer her one year at UNC and if she makes no effort to get a great GPA and earn scholarships, she'll have to move home and hope to transfer into UMD. I just don't understand her. While her GPA is not great, she's a black female interested in the sciences and scholarships are there if you just make the effort to actually apply for them. I fear that I've coddled her way too much and now she doesn't want to put in the work to get results. And trying to handhold her through the process usually results in her getting an attitude so I ration out my advice.

I don't necessarily mind paying $15k, but this package includes $6k/year in loans on her own (so student loan debt of $25k when she graduates). And honestly while she likes UNC-Charlotte, are they even worth paying that much? I don't mind paying this for UMD-CP, but UNC-Charlotte? Not so much. There's only so much I'm willing to indulge for an OOS college experience.

I advised her to apply for Virginia Commonwealth, Old Dominion, Towson and UMBC and she applied for none of them. Very frustrating.

At this point, I'd rather pay for a year at UNC-Charlotte than have her stay home a year while going to CC. I just can't do it...it's definitely time for her to fly the coop.

I think she may have this week to still apply to the colleges you listed.

[Anonymous]

The deadlines for Fall 2013 have passed for all of those schools.