-I am in the throes of some serious "stuff". I wish I could say more to give specificity to the prayers. It is taking me away from my regular posting of articles (and Notes have become a diversion/distraction unfortunately, got to rein that in.). At any rate, prayers would be appreciated for me and my present crisis.
College Related:
Smart plan for Colleges. I am new to my current state and after reading you for a while i am starting to think it's the same state you are in. There is no better set up for a childs future than to get them out of college debt-free.
Some of my friends did a two year stint at a community college and jumped to a "traditional" school midway, which I understand made it affordable. I think you might be able to take all your "prerequisite" courses at a community college so you can focus on just the program courses at the traditional school, which may be points towards graduating early, depending on how all that shakes out.
The only school that I know of in this state because I see billboards for it is Trident Technical College. I don't know what subject area your daughter is pursuing but if it's something within the Trident umbrella I understand from the billboards that there's even a tuition-free option. I don't know how that works but it's certainly in their marketing.
We're with you on in-state schools, though we've also found a few smaller out-of-schools that offer in-state tuition waivers as well, with varying criteria. (Georgia and Alabama both allow it, though not all schools do so.) Interestingly, this child is interested in pursuing a traditional BA/BS but is keeping vocational school in her back pocket for the both the pleasure of learning hands-on skills and the potential of running her own business down the road.
I have no connection to, but everyone I have ever met that has had wonderful things to say. To be honest, it is the school I usually offer up as the joke school that schools like Alabama put on the Football schedule because they Need a low threat opponent and a guaranteed win - I don't even know if they have a football program but.... College of the Ozarks.
I could go on and on about colleges and trying to get thru cheap or free when you have no money and smart kids but no athletic scholarships.
Email me. Seriously.
However, it breaks down into:
1) community college to traditional state college (commuting is a bonus)--this is one of my daughters, and she will graduate debt free.
2) college with national guard or ROTC, which is not everyone's thing but it is for some
3) check and ask around about your state grants (not scholarships). Can really make the difference.
4) Catholic schools are *scandalously* awful at this. Sorry. However, my second daughter is attending one next year because of state funding plus their scholarship program plus work study--she'll probably leave with 5k debt over all four years if she plays it smart. She has a major with a guaranteed job afterward, so it's okay if not ideal. If you are interested in Catholic schools, use their Net Price Calculator to get a basic idea of what the financial aid package will be. But see #7....
5) If she is smart enough that she is "national merit scholar finalist smart," that really opens doors and they will come to you. Trust me. My son was a semi-finalist and that helped some as well. (He graduated with $12k debt total, which was acceptable to him.)
6) Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana are remarkably straightforward in their scholarships and VERY generous to smart out of state students. Look up their flagship schools and other state schools in their systems. Yes, they aren't small, but if she is in an honors program that will FEEL small. I would say this about a lot of other state schools as well...the not-flagship state schools really want the smarter students to give them a look. And they tend to be smaller and more student-focused.
7) You can challenge a financial aid package if it is a private school. You may not win but they want you to come. They need your tuition.
8) Look up a US News list of "need blind/meets full need" schools. These would be Ivy league, etc. But they exist, and it is worth a try. Depending on your income, Questbridge is an option (look it up--full ride scholarships at elite schools for lower income students).
9) If she likes cold--Univ of Mn at Morris is small (1200), liberal arts, a grad school feeder, and VERY generous. Even to out of state, I hear. It's also in the middle of the prairie near no towns of any size. But lots of students don't go off campus, so...life of the mind and all that.
10) Worth giving U Mary (Bismarck) a look. They are trying to keep it reasonable. Also Thomas Aquinas College in California, I hear.
100% on all of this. Something interesting about AL and GA is that the public colleges vary tremendously in what they offer out-of-state students, and on what terms -- state legislature gives options, but it's up to the school to decide when/how to implement. So you really have to check school by school. (So far we have two viable contenders from those states, and more on the back-up list, plus a few closer to home).
At last check Arkansas was also in on incentives to bring in out-of-state students. I want to say I've seen one or two TN public colleges that are similar.
In SC, with the in-state scholarships and grants, there are some private schools that are working hard to bring their tuition as low as possible by taking advantage of the state help, and others who seem to be just bumping up sticker price so net tuition remains out of reach.
It's fascinating to see how much some schools are serious about affordability and others just aren't.
For family reasons, we looked at University of Southern Mississippi. VERY generous aid to very smart out of state students, including paying for housing the first year! Worth a look.
Somebody somewhere might be interested in the Dougherty Family College at University of St Thomas in Minneapolis. It is a two-year college specifically founded to keep costs low and to smooth the way to finishing 4-year college if desired. It’s relatively new, Catholic, and I don’t think many people know about it.
Prayer Request:
-I am in the throes of some serious "stuff". I wish I could say more to give specificity to the prayers. It is taking me away from my regular posting of articles (and Notes have become a diversion/distraction unfortunately, got to rein that in.). At any rate, prayers would be appreciated for me and my present crisis.
College Related:
Smart plan for Colleges. I am new to my current state and after reading you for a while i am starting to think it's the same state you are in. There is no better set up for a childs future than to get them out of college debt-free.
Some of my friends did a two year stint at a community college and jumped to a "traditional" school midway, which I understand made it affordable. I think you might be able to take all your "prerequisite" courses at a community college so you can focus on just the program courses at the traditional school, which may be points towards graduating early, depending on how all that shakes out.
The only school that I know of in this state because I see billboards for it is Trident Technical College. I don't know what subject area your daughter is pursuing but if it's something within the Trident umbrella I understand from the billboards that there's even a tuition-free option. I don't know how that works but it's certainly in their marketing.
Good luck and God bless you!
I've been praying for you and will keep it up!
We're with you on in-state schools, though we've also found a few smaller out-of-schools that offer in-state tuition waivers as well, with varying criteria. (Georgia and Alabama both allow it, though not all schools do so.) Interestingly, this child is interested in pursuing a traditional BA/BS but is keeping vocational school in her back pocket for the both the pleasure of learning hands-on skills and the potential of running her own business down the road.
I have no connection to, but everyone I have ever met that has had wonderful things to say. To be honest, it is the school I usually offer up as the joke school that schools like Alabama put on the Football schedule because they Need a low threat opponent and a guaranteed win - I don't even know if they have a football program but.... College of the Ozarks.
Football program is completely optional, small schools are good. Thank you for the suggestion!
I could go on and on about colleges and trying to get thru cheap or free when you have no money and smart kids but no athletic scholarships.
Email me. Seriously.
However, it breaks down into:
1) community college to traditional state college (commuting is a bonus)--this is one of my daughters, and she will graduate debt free.
2) college with national guard or ROTC, which is not everyone's thing but it is for some
3) check and ask around about your state grants (not scholarships). Can really make the difference.
4) Catholic schools are *scandalously* awful at this. Sorry. However, my second daughter is attending one next year because of state funding plus their scholarship program plus work study--she'll probably leave with 5k debt over all four years if she plays it smart. She has a major with a guaranteed job afterward, so it's okay if not ideal. If you are interested in Catholic schools, use their Net Price Calculator to get a basic idea of what the financial aid package will be. But see #7....
5) If she is smart enough that she is "national merit scholar finalist smart," that really opens doors and they will come to you. Trust me. My son was a semi-finalist and that helped some as well. (He graduated with $12k debt total, which was acceptable to him.)
6) Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana are remarkably straightforward in their scholarships and VERY generous to smart out of state students. Look up their flagship schools and other state schools in their systems. Yes, they aren't small, but if she is in an honors program that will FEEL small. I would say this about a lot of other state schools as well...the not-flagship state schools really want the smarter students to give them a look. And they tend to be smaller and more student-focused.
7) You can challenge a financial aid package if it is a private school. You may not win but they want you to come. They need your tuition.
8) Look up a US News list of "need blind/meets full need" schools. These would be Ivy league, etc. But they exist, and it is worth a try. Depending on your income, Questbridge is an option (look it up--full ride scholarships at elite schools for lower income students).
9) If she likes cold--Univ of Mn at Morris is small (1200), liberal arts, a grad school feeder, and VERY generous. Even to out of state, I hear. It's also in the middle of the prairie near no towns of any size. But lots of students don't go off campus, so...life of the mind and all that.
10) Worth giving U Mary (Bismarck) a look. They are trying to keep it reasonable. Also Thomas Aquinas College in California, I hear.
Good luck....
Good luck!
100% on all of this. Something interesting about AL and GA is that the public colleges vary tremendously in what they offer out-of-state students, and on what terms -- state legislature gives options, but it's up to the school to decide when/how to implement. So you really have to check school by school. (So far we have two viable contenders from those states, and more on the back-up list, plus a few closer to home).
At last check Arkansas was also in on incentives to bring in out-of-state students. I want to say I've seen one or two TN public colleges that are similar.
In SC, with the in-state scholarships and grants, there are some private schools that are working hard to bring their tuition as low as possible by taking advantage of the state help, and others who seem to be just bumping up sticker price so net tuition remains out of reach.
It's fascinating to see how much some schools are serious about affordability and others just aren't.
For family reasons, we looked at University of Southern Mississippi. VERY generous aid to very smart out of state students, including paying for housing the first year! Worth a look.
Will do - thank you!
Somebody somewhere might be interested in the Dougherty Family College at University of St Thomas in Minneapolis. It is a two-year college specifically founded to keep costs low and to smooth the way to finishing 4-year college if desired. It’s relatively new, Catholic, and I don’t think many people know about it.
Nice! Thank you for that suggestion. This is the first I've heard about it, so I'm glad you spoke up.