03-01-03 2:18pm

you're smart enough as it is, aren't you? the money won't be a problem. you did file a fafsa right? that will get you serious financial aid. depends where you want to go. you could always try mcc the first year or two then transfer to a bigger school.

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Re:, 03-01-03 10:31pm

Hey Aunt Jemima,
I love the screen name! But who are you really? I'm still a junior, so I don't file a FAFSA until next year, right? Besides, my dad doesn't think we'll get a lot of financial aid. I guess he makes more money than the average work does, but it doesn't seem like it. And I do NOT want to go to MCC! I want to get OUT of Muskegon. I want to go to a big university in the first place.

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Re:, 03-01-03 10:31pm

Hey Aunt Jemima,
I love the screen name! But who are you really? I'm still a junior, so I don't file a FAFSA until next year, right? Besides, my dad doesn't think we'll get a lot of financial aid. I guess he makes more money than the average work does, but it doesn't seem like it. And I do NOT want to go to MCC! I want to get OUT of Muskegon. I want to go to a big university in the first place...but i have high expectations.

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Re: Re:, 03-01-03 11:38pm

first off, i'm brandy- jijjian's sis. silly me, i forgot you guys were juniors. so yeah, you don't file until next year. but start sending out your applications now...i'm sure wie"whore"a (hee hee) already told you that--if not, she should have. send em anywhere and everywhere that you're interested in. i dunno what kind of degree you're looking for, or if you even know or whatever, but that obviously will play a part in where you decide to go. most colleges charge an application fee tho- it ranges (mine was $20). send out however many you're interested in, and do it early. leave yourself a loophole. if you haven't already, you should take the ACT (if you're thinking about getting out of michigan, take the SAT also). if you already have and didn't get the scores sent to certain colleges, that's ok, you can always get that done later. figure out which college you want to go to by next year, fill out the fafsa. it'll take into account what school you're going to, how much money you've made in the last year, how much your parents make, stuff like that. the dept of education does some calculation w/ all that to figure your EFC (expected family contribution). they subtract that from your expected costs for school and then will give you a crapload of financial aid- pell grants, loans, whatever you're eligible for. grants you don't have to pay back, loans you do- but you can choose whether or not to accept them. i know that you're not anticipating any financial help from your parents for college, but that's not such a big problem. i'm not getting money either- i'm paying for it all myself. it's not so bad tho, as long as you keep your grades up you get buttloads of scholarships. you've done better in school than i have so far, and i only needed $906 total to come w/ after i got scholarships and financial aid. you don't get help from just the university, but also state and federal. that number is extremely low considering the high costs of college tuition nowadays. i accepted all the loans offered to me, but didn't choose to get all of the money. i took out a loan for about $650 fall semester, but got a job on campus which paid for the next semester, so i didn't even need the other loans. a $650 loan so far is nothing compared to the $30,000 one of my friends has added up (in 4 years tho). w/ your grades, you really shouldn't have any worries. i see no reason why you wouldn't get in to any school, same w/ financial aid.

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Re: Re: Re:, 03-02-03 7:16pm

Wait a minute...you're saying that I should start applying to colleges my junior year? That's new to me! Mrs. wie-whore-a didn't tell me that one! I haven't taken either test yet, but I'm registered to take the ACT in April. I still got to sign up for the SAT in may. I guess I get pretty good grades, but isn't this advice coming from the genious that scored a near perfect - if not perfect - score on the ACT?? My expected range is a 24-28 though.

Thanks for the information. No one took the time to explain this stuff to me. My dad thinks there's no way I'll get enough money to go to a "good" school, but you gave me a little more hope that at least it's possible!

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Re: Re: Re: Re:, 03-02-03 10:26pm

wait until after you've taken the tests to start applying to colleges. i got a 32 on the ACT, and i'm guessing a 3.9 cumulative GPA in h.s. from what jill tells me, you got straight A's across the board so far. and catholic is very good as a college prep school- colleges will look at the curriculum and work with you.

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