College Plans For Dd - Help!!!???

[FOJMO]

Our DD (17) is a Junior in HS and looking at colleges to attend in the 2004-2005 academic year. We live in FL and, of course, she's dead set on attending college out of state! She can't exactly say why, except she really doesn't want to go where "everyone else is going", which I think she means Univ of Florida in Gainesville, FL.

She wants to go to Univ of North Carolina - Charlotte. The tuition is more than we can swing and she already qualifies for 75-100% tuition at a Florida-based college.

I don't know what it is, but it seems like teenagers, for the most part, want to attend far away from home (Northerners want to come to Florida, Florida kids want to go to another state). Guess it's the draw of someplace "exciting"?

We're planning on touring the campuses of a few colleges, UNC and U of F included. She says that she can take out student loans to help pay for college, but I hate to see her strapped with student loans when she graduates and is pressed to find a job, any job, to pay off the loan.

Any help from anyone in this situation? Also, I don't even know where to begin to begin the steps for financial aid, scholarships, etc.

Also, she is interested in Nurse Practitioner, possibly in the orthopedic/sports medicine area.

Any help will be greatly appreciated! VAL

 

[gepetto]

UNC is quite expensive for out of state students.

With regards to scholarships etc...start with her high school advisor. Also, the university financial aid office.

 

[tar heel]

UNC Charlotte was a small, mostly commuter school not so long ago. As such, it doesn't have a very pretty campus, so maybe she won't like it! It's a good school, though, with excellent professors. Just keep her away from UNC-Chapel Hill -- it is absolutely beautiful and very easy to fall in love with!

I don't think of Charltte as being a place to go for a health-related degree since there is no medical school. I assume you know for sure that she can get the degree she needs there.

I have a college freshman and we were amazed at just how little aid we could qualify for -- that has a lot to do with why he's at an in-state university.

 

[Pin Wizard]

"Also, she is interested in Nurse Practitioner, possibly in the orthopedic/sports medicine area. "

I think that's what my cousin does! She wanted to be a sports medicine physician, but my aunt and uncle said there was no way they would pay for medical school. Lisa had gone to Wake-Forest, then some school in the midwest, then Baylor. A couple weeks ago she walked into a small community hospital on the west coast of FL and was offered a job IMMEDIATELY starting at $50,000. She wasn't too gung ho about the "immediately" part. LOL! I think she's still searching.

 

[doxdogy]

What about the University of North Florida? They have a college of health. Here is the link. http://www.unf.edu/coh/

 

[ChibiJones]

I moved 3000 miles away to go to college, CA to Boston. I came here because the state schools were so impacted & crowded that any savings over a private school would have been minimal because it would have taken an extra year or two just to get the necessary classes. My mom graduated from Cal State Long Beach during my sophomore year in high school so we had first hand knowledge about trying to get the classes you needed. I don't know if the state schools in FL have the same problem or not. Plus, if she goes to a state school in another state, she may be able to establish her residency and get in-state tuition after her freshman year.

 

[wdwfam]

I can sympathize with you. Our Senior son started talking about out of state universities early in his Junior year when all the Ivy League school brochures started coming in the mail. We found that there weren't a lot of merit based scholarships and tried "encouraging" him to stay in state. Since the University of Missouri is two miles away, that was not an option for him. Instead he chose the most expensive school in the state. The tuition and fees seemed overwhelming when we visited last year, but now that scholarship money and some loans having been offered, it has become much more affordable. I, too, don't want to have to saddle him with a lot of loans, but on the other hand, his salary when he gets out of school (Biomedical Engineering degree) should make it fairly easy for him. I also think he might become a little more responsible. His fees for one year are $40,000. If he wants to go to this expensive of a school, then he really should have some responsibility.

The Guidance Office is a place to check for scholarships. Also, check Fastweb.com. If your daughter is willing to fill out a bunch of paperwork and write essays, there are lots of scholarships to be had. Good luck!

 

[Evil Princess]

I was dead set on not going to school in New York state. I wanted a city, but I wanted a city still in the Northeast. I settled on Northeastern University in Boston (I'm a senior).

If she's set on attending college out of state, let her. She's going to be miserable if she doesn't want to stay close to home. If in fact she goes to school out of state and HATES it, she can always transfer, its not the end of the world.

As for money, fill out all the financial aid forms and tell her to apply for scholarships. There are alot of great sites on the web, and I know that my school gives out weekly scholarship bulletins. My college is kind of generous with the money, I got 17,000 with financial aid and scholarships from the school, and only 1,000 of that is a student loan.

I second www.fastweb.com Lots of scholarhips there, and as with most scholarships, shes going to have to write essays and work a bit.

 

[FantasticDisFamily]

I would agree that starting with the high school "guidance counselors" is a good place to begin but not always the best resource. We've discovered ours are so overworked just trying to keep up with "scheduling issues" that there is very little information even available much less help.

Once you zero in on a school the financial aid office should be able to help. I'd also suggest visiting a local Barnes & Noble (or check them out on line). They usually have several good titles to help figure out financial aid from many sources.

Also don't overlook ANY possibility of a scholarship. Many community and service organizations give away anywhere from $500 to several thousand dollars a year. Or I should say it is available but not always given out because no one applies! Some of these are pretty specific - for instance I saw in our credit union flyer a reminder to apply for the so and so scholarship for students of CU members planning to attend such and such a state school. But if one of my kids was planning to attend that school you bet they'd be applying. It can take some work but there is money out there!

Good luck!

Deb

 

[Disney845]

I know how she feels. I wanted to go out of state sooo badly for college, no really great reason other than there were certain colleges/universities I wanted to attend. I was accepted and received scholarships, but because of extreme circumstances beyond my control (family member with cancer, I was the only one who could take them to treatment) I ended up having to stay in FL. I attend UCF and got the Bright Futures Scholarship so my tuition is paid. I liked UCF a lot better than UF or FSU. EVERYONE and their brother seems to go to UF. I just didn't like the environment. Plus UCF is nice and close to WDW!!!

As far as the tuition thing. Maybe she doesn't have a grasp of finances yet. Sit her down and really explain the benefits of having tuition TOTALLY paid by the FL Bright Futures Program, as opposed to having to take out loans and accrue interest to pay back an education many years down the line.

As far as the idea about in state vs out of state tuition and applying for residency after her freshman year. While I can not speak for every college in the country, I know this will not work for most. They have clauses stating that you have to live in the state for a full year-not for the purpose of education. Hey if you could do it that way everyone would, so the rule makes sense. The only ways around it really are for her legal guardian to move to the state (thus giving her residency) or for her to live there for a year for another reason other than going to school. Schools are real sticklers about this.


Just an FYI: If she does decide to stay in FL, Make sure, make sure, make sure she does the community service requirements so she can get the 100% instead of the 75%. The 25% might not seem like a lot of money (esp. when FL state tuition is so cheap as it is) but 25% is still 25%. That money can be better spent on her books and living expenses.

 

[DisneyMim]

My daughter is just finishing up her first year of college. I agree that the guidance department is the first place to start. Thankfully my daughter had a great guidance counselor, but if you're not satisfied with hers ask around until you get answers. We live in the Boston area and we have so many schools here that my daughter didn't even think of going out of state. I was so happy. It sure is nice to have her close by. Also when you figure in the price of college, if it is a long-way-out-of-state school you need to figure in cost of tranportation, etc. One of my daughter's friends is in a college about 8 hours from home and her family (who knew this, her mother went to the same college) didn't figure in that they would have to stay overnite when they went to pick her up. There are so many more cars on the road today than when her mother went, which meant more traffic and a much longer commute that she remembered from her old college days. As far as $$$$, well, that is a very tough issue. My daughter is in a private college majoring in Education. She received a scholarship from the college, we're paying part of it and she will have loans. She knows that being a teacher her pay won't be as large as some people, but we will help her all we can. I was so worried for years, but once you get into the whole process it is not as bad as you think!! Do your homework, find out everything you can and you will be OK. Sorry this is so long, but thought I would offer any help I can think of. My daugher had a wonderful first year, trust me, the work is sooooo worth it!!!

Good Luck!!!

 

[bsnyder]

FOJMO,

I'm going through this too, with my DS who's a junior.

He's going to apply to U of F. Like your daughter, the cost would be minimal with the Bright Futures program, but he's not really interested in going there

He's looking at USC in Los Angeles, and NYU in New York City. And UNC-Chapel Hill, but that's a long shot since they take such a small number of out of state students. All very expensive schools, with expensive travel costs to boot!

And to round out his expensive tastes, he's going to look at the University of Miami this weekend.

We'll be looking at scholarship, financial aid, etc., so if I get any tips, I'll pass them along to you.

Also, make sure she completes the paperwork for Bright Futures, even if she does decide to go out of state as a freshman. If she changes her mind, and wants to transfer to a Florida school, she can still use that money, but only if she completes the application after high school graduation.

 

[maleficent1959]

As your daughter would like to be a nurse practitioner, I would advise her to stay in Florida for her undergraduate degree. There are more schools than UF and she can get a fine undergrad education. A Bright Futures scholarship will also mean more money for her graduate degree.

She should save her loans for graduate school, and then she should go for the best graduate school, which may be UNC, since that is the degree that is most crucial for her career. And if she has a stellar undergrad record, her chances at grants and scholarships for grad school will be great.

 

[Pin Wizard]

Originally posted by FantasticDisFamily
Also don't overlook ANY possibility of a scholarship. Many community and service organizations give away anywhere from $500 to several thousand dollars a year. Or I should say it is available but not always given out because no one applies!

That's true! I went to a seminar at my college and they said that they have money that no one is applying for! They're searching for students to apply. And I recently learned that my son's teacher is on the Junior League in town. She told me to hook up with her when I'm headed into my Junior year. She'll get me an application for a scholarship through them. And they would pay for my Junior and Senior years!! Can't beat that! Now...to keep those grades up.

 

[jsmith]

I can relate-My son will be attending Clemson University in the fall. He wanted to go out of state but we were concerned about the cost. Many scholarships are awarded by the university after the student is admited. We allowed him to apply to a number of out of state schools he was interested in and then required that he also apply to two closer schools we knew we could afford. He was admitted to, and recieved some scholar ship at all of the schools he applied to, and thanks to the great scholarships he recieved at Clemson it is going to cost less than Colorado School of mines, which is just up the street. Don't discourage her, but be realistic about the costs and what she may have to do to get that dream college. Then have her apply for every scholarship, both general and specific to the school she is attending, that she can find-you may be surprised how things work out.

 

[FOJMO]

Thanks everyone, for your help and ideas. We've made plans to go and visit the campuses of UNC in Chapel Hill and Charlotte. Not even the visits to the colleges will be inexpensive -- flights from FL, rental car, hotel for the weekend!

But, I feel we owe it to her to show her and then we can make a more informed decision when the time comes.

We'll also visit some in-state (FL) colleges too.

I'll keep you posted!

 

[Kallison]

If it were my child I would say Florida is what we can afford - take it or leave it. She'll thank you some day when she is not saddled with huge loans.

 

[tar heel]

I am a Carolina alum (aka UNC Chapel Hill) and have worked there and at UNC Charlotte. I also visited both from the "parent of prospective student standpoint" last year when my oldest son was making his college decision. He applied to both -- UNCC b/c he was having cold feet about going away from home (it's 15 minutes away) and UNC Chapel Hill b/c it was expected since dh and I went there. They are both good schools but are quite different from each other.

One little warning about the admissions session at Carolina. They have the reputation of going really heavy on telling you how hard it is to get in. It IS very selective, but my son left convinced that he would not be accepted. He did not get that impression at Davidson, Duke or Wake Forest -- Davidson is way harder to get in than Carolina.

PM me if I can answer any questions.

 

[Pugdog007]

Has she considered Auburn University? I'm biased... as it's my alma mater but it's a strong academic, small town school with a very safe atmosphere not too far from FL. A lot of students come from FL and GA since it is in Southeast AL. I think there's something to be said for a small-town college... to me safety comes first and that means staying away from the big cities

WAR EAGLE!

 

[Regina]

It's a bit of misconception to think "oh well, I'll just get student loans." It doesn't work this way. The amount that you're eligible for is based on your family's income.

We found this out the hard way. When our oldest started college (private), we had both of his sisters in the same private Catholic HS that he attended. It's not recognized as a legitimate expense as it's optional. We got zilch in aid that year, OUCH!

When his sister started college (private, again) the following year, it actually was better on the loan front since having two in college is taken into account when determining loan money.

DS is ending up with the loan equivalent of one year worth of his education. With the loan formulas, we're covering 75%. DD gets a decent scholarship, but it will still be about the same.

We're doing the happy dance that our youngest, who enters college in the fall, is going to be paying state level tuition at the private college that she selected. (Their art program is subsidized by our state, yippee!!)

It's a big decision, and being happy with their selection is an important part of it. Over the years, I've seen too many come home/drop out because they didn't like the college that they chose.

Good luck to you!