[JESSCHOI]

Hey guys.

I recently got accepted to PURDUE UNIVERSITY, which was my #1 reach school. The problem is, it's out of state and my dad's just worried about financial costs. It's about 32,000 a year, which is very expensive, and i have no idea what to do! I don't wanna pass on this great opportunity for me and let it go only because it was too expensive. My dad said he really recommends me to stay in-state, but why not pay more and get a better education? He also said if i could get a scholarship that would help me a lot.

so, what should i do? what can i do? -your thoughts and opinions would be greatly appreciated.

[clairdeluned]

^ Did they not offer any financial aid??? If you cannot afford it, you almost always can receive financial aid (unless you are an international student).

[JESSCHOI]

^well, i'm applying to FAFSA, if that's what you mean.
haha, sorry, i'm really bad & confused with all this college stuff.

[InSong]

Hey cousin , I thought you had a scholarship already to Purdue -.-;;

[c h r i s t i n e]

there's always FAFSA, student loans, and a gazillion scholarships that you can apply to. ask your counselors about scholarships that are not well known but are trustworthy.

[mnmadi]

apply for a lot of scholarships

I don't know about Purdue but most public colleges don't generally offer that much financial aid to out-of-staters

[hailing from ny]

FAFSA and CSS PROFILE for federal and private school financial aid.

state schools offer quality education. you're from PA, and i kno Penn State is a great state school

[ms.park]

loan..i have the same problem even though i'm not a senior yet. my dad wants me to go to the army then go to a college THEN transfer to korea. blahh..but my brother told me to get studen loan or a scholarship. so i guesss loan? =)

[carol]

Go look for scholarships. I know there are some really weird ones out there that don't require a lot of work. It's just that no one hears about them. You can get scholarships for just being left-handed!

[cherri_blossom]

apply for as many relevant scholarships as possible...that'll help.....and i dunno...but over here in sydney...there's thing thing where students sign this thing and the government pays for student fees (you're borrowing money off them) until you finish uni...then when you start work, they'll deduct your money slowly, until your debt is paid...

[keywoni]

there are really big scholarship search engines like http://www.fastweb.com/

[chibifry]

The point is, just because you apply to scholarships doesnt mean you'll get any money. You could apply to 100 scholarships and get nothing.

I think you would have to get a loan. Those can really kill though. I suggest you research on college loans.

Your father is worried because he might not be able to pay it off, or he just doesn't awnt to pay? You've stressed that it is your reach school and that your'e dying to go, right?

[JESSCHOI]

^correct. i don't know what to do though. like you said, i could apply to thousands of scholarships and i could get no money for it.

[chibifry]

Well is your dad saying that he is not willing to pay, or that he REALLY STRONGLY recommends you to go to an instate school?

When it comes to education, I seriously dont think financial issues should hinder your way to going to which schools you want.. perhaps you'll receive financial aid from the school. Maybe it won't be much, but a lot of college kids work and try to pay off school. So I guess you'll have to do that if you attend Purdue. Talk to your dad and tell him you really want to go and that you know its going to be a burden .. if he says "I'll think about it" or something vague like that just keep telling him that you REALLY want to go and that by going, you'll get good grades and that you want to be successful in life etc etc. but if you tell him the last part, you really DO have to get good grades lol

OR
You could attend an instate school, then transfer.. but who knows if you're going to be able to transfer at that time, right?

This post has been edited by chibifry: 08 January 2006 - 12:27 PM

[JESSCHOI]

^yeah, i understand what you're saying. i was in the car today, on my way to church, and we got into another arguement. he recommends me to stay in state and go to a better grad school, but i told him purdue is in the TOP 5 rank for hotel management (my major) and he said if i get scholarships, grants and things such like that, we'll calculate it and go from there. he says it's hard for him too because he still has bills to pay, and he thinks he'll be the one paying my college bill.

i heard that you could just get loans and pay off all the money AFTER your 4 years of college, so I COULD pay for them myself and not my dad. i'm so confused though!

[gary]

you can only get so much from federal loans. i thought i could do that, and i was sooooo wrong. what you need is a private loan, under your name wiht a cosigner. that would work. it has an interest rate, unlike federal loans, but i think it's a way out of it. you should talk to the purdue financial office, and see what they offer and recommend.

[ronmexico]

Purdue will give you financial aid after you've submitted the FAFSA and whatever else they want. There are also a number of federal loans available (with much better terms than private loans), which Purdue will be able to tell you about. But for now, wait until you've submitted the information and they've made a financial aid offer before you decide on anything else.

[JESSCHOI]

^ the thing is, i don't understand any of these aid things, such as loans, grants, etc. i'm really clueless when it comes to things like these. but yeah, what are the differences between a federal loan and a private loan?

my dad has been stressing me out with purdue because i know he wants to send me, but he knows financially it'll be hard for him and myself. so i heard you can get loans and don't have to pay for college until AFTER you're done your 4 years of college, but people are telling me that's a bad idea. the only reason why i was interested in that was so I could pay it off and my parents wouldn't have to be so stressed about paying it themselves.

so what do you guys think i should do?
your opinions would be greatly appreciated.. =)

[AiLing]

I have a lot of friends whose parents want them to stay in-state for the same reason. My advice is to start applying to a lot of outside scholarships. Even if some of them are only $500 or $1000, it really adds up, especially in addition to aid you might get from the college itself. You could try scholarships.com or supercollege.com's scholarship search. Also ask your school guidance office if they know of any scholarships you can enter. I'm starting on that process now that I'm done college apps - I know a number of deadlines of prominent scholarships are coming up in February and March. I know they're not guaranteed but chances are that if you apply to alot, you should be able to get some aid.

But if you're worried about the fact that scholarships aren't guaranteed, I guess you'd have to start looking for outside loans. Also keep in mind that you can barter with Purdue when they give you your financial aid information. If you contact their office and express that you're very interested in their school and would love to attend, but you really don't feel they gave you enough aid to make that possible, they can re-evaluate your package.

Good luck =)

This post has been edited by AiLing: 09 January 2006 - 05:44 PM

[chibifry]

^ the thing is, i don't understand any of these aid things, such as loans, grants, etc. i'm really clueless when it comes to things like these. but yeah, what are the differences between a federal loan and a private loan?

my dad has been stressing me out with purdue because i know he wants to send me, but he knows financially it'll be hard for him and myself. so i heard you can get loans and don't have to pay for college until AFTER you're done your 4 years of college, but people are telling me that's a bad idea. the only reason why i was interested in that was so I could pay it off and my parents wouldn't have to be so stressed about paying it themselves.

so what do you guys think i should do?
your opinions would be greatly appreciated.. =)

Its cause with loans they can start charging you crazy rates for random crap and you'll have no choice but to pay them after college.. a lot of college kids get stuck doing this. I have a teacher and he went to NYU (very expensive..) and he's 36 I think and he's still paying his loans. Its crazy.

I know Purdue is good for HM.. you need to stress that in majors like yours that are kind of related to business, graduate school really depends on several factors, one MAJOR factor being the name of your undergraduate school. If you go to a good undergrad school, you have better chances of going to a good grad school.

Good luck.~