Lament on the US college system
penn state pitt money college system major stress
Satsuki's Lament on the US college system
I got decisions from Penn State Berks and from University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. Both came back as acceptances, Berks came about 4 days before Pitt. Now I'm stuck deciding where to go. I've made pro and con lists, but they don't seem to be helping too much. I've visited both campuses, Greensburg twice because I visited last summer but couldn't remember the feeling I got there.
Besides deciding, there's now the "how am I going to pay for this?" stress as well. Penn State has over 70,000 students across it's 20 campuses, and only about 14,000 (or 25%) get scholarships. 32% of those scholarships go to the main campus, but the other 68% go to the other 19 commonwealth campuses to be shared between them. Penn State tends to base scholarships (according to the College board) on academics and alumni association. I don't have any alumni associations anywhere but down in Texas, because my whole family lives there. That leaves academics. However, because they have over 70k students, their scholarships are very, very competitive and it's unlikely I'll receive one.
Besides the competitive scholarships from the school, FAFSA (Free application for federal student aid) hands them out, and things like work-study, but those are need based. Good and bad, assets have to be declared on the form. There's the college account I have, and my moms business she invested in with my cousin. Both will have to be declared, plus, I'm an only child, so my parents aren't paying for more kids to go to college and would need more cash because of that, which also has to be said on FAFSA. Because of those three things (and others I can't think of right now), it's possible I'll get nothing from our federal government because I wont be declared "need-based".
Need-based is calculated like so:
Cost of Attendance (COA) - Expected Family Contribution (EFC) = Need
I was also accepted to Pitt Greensburg, as I noted before. I feel a small connection to that campus, but it's nothing too large to go "HEY, GO HERE!" Plus, how am I supposed to know where I'll want to live for the next 4 years? I'm not psychic!
Then they've also offered me a 3k scholarship every year if I get a 3.25 GPA, if I get over a 3.5, the scholarship goes up. I don't want to choose my school based on financial things though.
At least they give me till May 1st to claim that scholarship and enroll, and get housing. It gives me some time to think about it, but I'd like to get this done so I don't have to stress anymore.
Why must America's college system be so expensive and so based on money? I don't want to be one of those students who drowns in debt and then defaults and ruins my credit. "STOP CALLING ME SALLIE-MAE. I DON'T GOTS NO MONIES"
Opinion from a recent college grad with only $2,000 debt compared to $70,000 most people without scholarships/leadership positions/Workstudy throughout their four years of undergrad (on top of going to what I consider a great grad school virtually for free except for apartment rent): Know what job you want and know which college's education path will lead you to that job. Even if it's just a dream and not a fully committed decision, any direction is better than going to college for college sake. If your job requires a graduate level education, go to a state school/start cheap and local and excel there first. Then go to a good grad school on the costly side.
Believe it or not, the same investors that sunk the US economy because of the housing debt retargeted their interest from housing to higher education because it became the next expensive "necessity".
From personal experience, I knew financially, I couldn't stay at NYU because even if I got approximately $6,000 in scholarships per semester, it was still was too expensive. The bill doesn't even include stuff like personal groceries and past times (bars, video games, conventions). I transferred to a SUNY (state school for New York) college even though I got like a 3.92 on my one semester in NYU easily. The flat rate bill for a full time student is $8600 per semester (which includes room, board, and food) is still way cheaper even with my scholarships in NYU.
Also going to a good school doesn't mean success EVEN if you have great grades. The one thing that I count almost as important as actual learning and grades is self-motivation. I know people who graduated at Harvard, had no direction or motivation in their lives and left with a Sociology degree just to have a degree. If they didn't buy a name brand product, they would have almost nothing to show for themselves.
(I really want to write more but I have to get back to studying)