I need some advice - and a lot more moral support... As many of you know, I have a very bright 16 year old homeschooled daughter who plans to graduate from Charter Oak in June with an AA. Here's more background on her: ACT Composite Score: 30 (she retook the exam today-should have scores in about 4 weeks): Subscores: English 34 Mathematics 25 Reading 33 Science 29 SAT (Doesn't plan to retake) Reading 800 Mathematics 620 Writing 690 Here's the senior year homeschool schedule: Calculus I - Will CLEP in October - (Using Thinkwell Calculus) Calculus II - Ohio University Credit by Exam (Thinkwell Calculus) Latin I - LSU Independent Study (currently enrolled - started in late August) Introduction to Christian Ethics - Seminary Extension (ACE Evaluated for 3 credits in Ethics - satisfies COSC GE Ethics requirement, currently enrolled) Chemistry for General Education - (Clovis CC -currently enrolled) Principles of Speech - (Spring Semester - LCO Community College) Personal Finance - (Spring Semester - Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College) She will complete , Intro to Christian Ethics, and Chem for Gen Ed in December. Calc II and Latin will roll into Spring, along with the Principles of Speech course and Personal Finance. So far - so good: Here are the top two choices for my daughter to attend college: The clear #1 - Southern Virginia University (SVU): www.svu.edu - Price tag: about $24K a year (including books, room/board, etc.) #2 - BYU-Idaho (BYU-I): www.byui.edu - Price tag: about $10K a year. My daughter and I have a clear preference for SVU - small school, beautiful campus, etc. Not that a BYU-I expereince would be bad either (I went there for a time before I transferred back to Shippensburg to earn my BA - I love BYI-I). Of course, the issue is...money. More than likely - my daughter will have an EFC of 0 (that's my current EFC for this academic year - and my income has not changed significantly). So - doing some research today while my daughter took her ACT- I put some numbers together: Pell = 5350 SEOG = 1000 ACG Grant = 750 Total = 7100/year - Note - no WI grants because she is going out of state; no Commonwealth of VA grants because she is not a Virginia resident. I believe I have the opportunity to transfer my Post 9/11 GI Bill to her - which would add another 10500 of aid to her. (I listed "I believe" because while I meet the eligibility requirements - I couldn't use Post 9/11 in my current program because I used Chapter 1607 for my current program). So if I can transfer the VA benefits to her - we're looking at a 6700 annual shortfall; if for some reason the VA doesn't happen - then the shortfall is 17300 annually. We have visited both schools, and SVU assures us that as a private school, there is "sticker price" and what students actually pay through institutional scholarships. We are also searching the web for scholarships as well. As far as local scholarships go - I hate to say this, but our family lives in a small town and since we don't attend the public school, any scholarships going through the public school (even the private local ones) will probably be awarded to public school kids. Besides, our relationship with the local school district has had its moments... http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/wi/200606070.asp I don't want to say I'm worried about funding her education at her dream school, but I am concerned. Thoughts? P.S. - Please no comments about SVU not being RA. They are well on their way: http://www.svu.edu/news/archives/2009/regional-accreditor-plans-visit-to-southern-virginia.aspx http://www.sacscoc.org/details.asp?instid=66260
Wow! I liked you before, but you were a real life HSLDA case for Christoper Clicka, you're a rock star to me Glad they backed down. Sorry, I don't have financial advice. (except maybe to lengthen her list)
Shawn, I'm sure you have already checked the scholarship opportunities at BYU: BYU Have you looked here: Scholarships e-scholar Your daughter's ACT score is great and would get her a tuition scholarship at a number of state schools. But if she completes the AA degree she will self eliminate from many due to nor being a first time freshman. Just to clarify are you specifically trying to get scholarship and grant money for the two schools you list?
Hey Shawn, it looks like she has two good options. SVU grads appear to be able to access grad-school without problems. BYU-I is a more "known" option but both are good, IMHO. Does she know what she wants to do? I have a son who is a HS Junior now but who will graduate with 2-2.5 years of college done through AP, IB and UWash classes taught on-site...very cool program. His PSAT was 218 as a sophmore and his imputed ACT is 34-36. The problem with him is that he doesn't know what he wants to do or what he wants to major in, and a four-year degree plan will need to have a major (or two) picked out ASAP. So he may not finish in two years, but will have somewhat of a head-start. If your daughter knows, that's a positive factor. If she knows what she wants to do and if either of her two schools would be better for that major, that might be the tie-breaker. What about teaching/learning style? Are either of the schools a better fit? If she's only going to need two years tuition, the price difference after "discounts" and other aid doesn't look too bad. Don't the schools send out an award letter in April...? I guess for planning ahead that is a long time to wait. Best of luck to you and your daughter.
Impressive! This is a great option for those students who are academically prepared to handle college-level courses to get a jumpstart on their post-secondary education. I am recommending my sister steer my nephew in this direction of earning an associate degree by the time he graduates high school. Of course, he only started first grade this autumn so gradation is a long ways off. Since she will be on-campus for only two (2) years and money is an issue I suggest BYU (Idaho). This will allow for a significant saving which could allow her to graduate debt free. Afterwards, if she decided to pursue graduate studies on-campus at Southern Virgina University she will have more flexibility in monetary terms since she will not be carrying an existing debt load. 10K - 7.1K = 2.9K (annual shortfall) * 2 years = 5.8K debt with a BA/BS in-hand. Not bad at all.
