Last night I posted about college (again) and acceptance letters and stuff, and how my parents were trying to bribe me to stay home. Well I got good news, the two schools I was waiting to hear back from accepted me! Yay! ^♡^ It's great! The school I really wanted to go to accepted me, and a school I liked in San Francisco accepted me. I got an email from one, and a phone call from the other. I haven't seen what they're going to offer me yet, but I hope they throw me something. Now I have three schools to choose from. The safety school offered 10 grand a year, and without seeing what the other two schools are offering, it's a bit worrying. Of course, this makes my parents uptight. They were all like "Yeah, okay, that's great, congratulations, whatever" while being super edgy about it. Like, they're not happy with this. If they had they're way I'd be going to the cheapest closest school they could find and then make me live at home until I'm 30. But nope, not happening. I'm going away, if it's possible (mainly financially). This is great news! Hopefully I find out if they give me anything (financial aid) soon. I really hope these schools give me some financial aid, I really need it. I don't know who decides who needs aid and who doesn't, but they need to redefine need based financial aid. It's like "Oh, your parents made X amount of money last year after taxes......you can cover at least three times that out of pocket.." It's silly and weird. Like, where do they get these numbers from? Thin air? But yeah, need financial aid. If these schools offer me nothing, then I'm screwed. Not only will my parents keep stuffing the safety school down my throat, it would be nearly impossible to convince them to let me go to the other schools. It's going to come down to which school gives the best offer and how much nagging I can do with my parents. There's a glimmer of hope, but I'm not out of the water yet. There's still a massive chance this can all go south and I'm stuck at home. But hey, it's a good thing. It's a sign of hope. This makes me feel that my dreams may come true, but time will tell. My parents aren't exactly helping, with being sticks in the mud and all, and I need a decent amount of aid to make any of this possible. If I don't get a good offer, then it's game over (most likely, although there is a slight chance it may not be), but hopefully it's "Cambridge here I come!" It's a thing. ^-^
I'm really glad for you, Natasha. I am going through the exact same process right now, and my parents are also acting "supportive" but edgy and obviously unhappy. Fingers crossed it works out for both of us.
Need-based financial is imperfect; it penalizes parents who are thrifty and conservative with their finances, and rewards parents who spend every dime and go into a ton of debt. That said, each school evaluates financial aid differently. They all use the FAFSA but plug in their own unique formulas as to what aid they offer. And different schools offer different ways of meeting the evaluated need: Some will offer it mostly through loans, while others will do it through grants and scholarships that don't need to be repaid. I hope you find a school you like gives you an aid package that's manageable. Also, don't be afraid, if a school is your top choice, but another school offers better aid, to contact your top choice and see if there's any flexibility. Many schools will match another school's offer for students they particularly want to have.
