That other thread on parents paying for college got me thinking that Letsrun could help me decide where to go. I’m a high school senior with pretty good stats (30 on ACT, AP classes etc.). My parents will pay half of my state school tuition and they don’t expect that we’ll qualify for financial aid. Here are my choices:
Flagship State U (Ohio State): All in is about $23,000 with room board etc. my half is 11,500. I have merit scholarships of $2k and I can cover about $2k with savings/working so I will have to take loans for the rest. I’ll graduate with $25-$30k of debt which my Dad says could be payments of $350 per month for 10 years. I hear this school has a good business school which is going to be my major. Internships and jobs would probably be easier to get if I went here. This is my first choice.
Average State School (Kent State): Cost of around $22,000, all in. My half is 11,000. I have merit scholarships of $6,000 and with $2k of my savings, I’ll end up with about $12-$15k debt after 4 years. The business school is pretty good but it won’t have the network of internships/jobs as the first one.
Commute to kind of average State School (Akron U): The total tuition is $10,000 but I have merit scholarships of $7,000. Even though I’ve already covered my half, I’ll split the rest 50/50 with my dad so it will cost me about $1,500 per year. I probably won’t have any debt when I graduate. I’m one of the better students at my school so I’ll feel like a loser if I live at home and commute to this school when my friends all go off to Ohio State.
I could run D3 if I wanted but I don't think I'd like how small those schools are. I'll probably apply to one just to see how much money I'll get for my grades etc. I was best on my cross country team with a PR of 16:42 this year so yes, I'm slow.