Aid for Undergraduate + Graduate?

[Soybean]

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[cinntsp]

Anyways, my mom says that the only reason they accepted me was because private schools have no money and are taking everyone...

 

Your mom sounds awesome!

[Soybean]

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[delco714]

Well I would print out all the articles you can find about the profession and its growth and how hard it is to get a seat, etc. Explain to them that you'll have a nice job with a solid salary that will grow substantially throughout your career. Obviously your parents have no idea what a pa is and what it takes to be one, plus how much more expensive it would be to go through a full undergrad to get your bs, then apply which is expensive, then go to master and pay for it.. at minimum it'll be 7years of school...

[Soybean]

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[physio]

your parents have no clue how lucky you are. I have a friend who payed 30k for 4 years of undergrad, then is paying another 40k/yr for 2 years of pa school...and after interest and other loan-costs is going to be looking at over 220k after coming out of pa school....

 

...50k for undergrad + pa school is almost unheard of, your quite lucky to be in your shoes.

 

 

 

...You are not your sister, if you work hard there is no reason you won't be able to pull through pa school and isnt SUNY or CUNY the same tuition anyways?

[Soybean]

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[physio]

4-6k a year for 4 years is around 20k... and you will have a degree where youll have a hard time finding a job period. isn't the average undergrad state sschool degree make 42k on average or something?

 

 

10k for 5 years...50k and you have an almost guaranteed 80k job...

[Soybean]

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[delco714]

First of all, this is ny, you NEEd to go for the masters to be a good candidate. Yes legally, a bachelors is required, but go for a masters. If your parents are truly typical asians, and I AM stereotyping, wouldn't they love you going into medicine? I do honestly feel bad for you in your situation. I had no idea I wanted to do medicine when I went to college. I wanted my phd in psych. When I decided to do pa I stepped my game up and graduated undergrad in 3 yrs. Now here I am @21yo and just finished my midterms for year 1, semester 1 @nyit mpas program. If you are that dedicated and have taken ap courses and what not and you stick with it, I'm sure you can step up to the plate. We have 3 bs-ms students in the program and they are doing well. If you are going to spend a hoddle of money going to college you might as well do 1) what you love/want and 2) go for something that will earn you good money and allow you to pay off the loans. You have the world in your hands right now. Worst comes to worse, dorm and take out the loans. Your parents can't prevent you from this if you are paying for it.. after you do well your first semester or year, maybe they'll open their eyes and change their heart/mind.

[Soybean]

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[Soybean]

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[Guest guthriesm]

Your parents do not co-sign your loans unless you are under 18 years of age. I was a full need student (EFC 0) and most schools' financial aid office will be happy to discuss any concerns you have especially after the FAFSA is submitted. I went to college with no financial assistance from my parents so I can understand how challenging it is for you to see them not being supportive.

 

Things to know about financial aid- private schools often have more of an endowment than public and more "free" money (despite what your mother has said). Check out websites like fastweb.com to try and find scholarships you do qualify and spend the next few months writing essays.

 

Try to keep positive and make sure once you get to school, you focus but don't give yourself a nervous breakdown.

[Soybean]

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[CJKitty]

All I can say is, I am so sorry your family isn't supporting you with this decision. But you said you are 17, how soon do you turn 18? You will be a legal adult fairly soon, and you may need to make some difficult decisions. That may be financing your entire education on your own, through student loans, whether they are federal or private. The biggest challenge will be the FAFSA, which will require your parents' financial info until you turn 24.

 

It sounds like there are other issues between you and your parents that you need to resolve first. Why do they have THIS much doubt in their own child? Did they honestly complain about a 7 hour drive to simply get you to your school? All of this really worries me.

 

If they are afraid of ponying up the money or cosigning on a massive amount of loans, try to turn the situation around and look at it from their perspective- they are right to fear that kind of burden, as countless other families have been torn apart or (pardon the phrase) royally screwed over by children who did not follow through. As co-signers, they will have to take responsibility if you default on your loan payments. Have you ever messed up with things like a credit card payment? Look at your history together and perhaps even sit down with them and say, "I know this is a big leap of faith for you. And I know I can't possibly explain how difficult the PA program will be. But being able to do a BS/MS degree is actually a massive advantage and opportunity for me that SO many other students will never have, for these reasons...."

 

Best of luck to you... if nothing else, you need to make an appointment with Gannon's financial aid department on your own and talk to them. Explain your situation, they will be your best resource in the future.

[Soybean]

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[CJKitty]

Aha. First of all, get your driver's license ASAP. Not having a car during your rotations in the future is NOT an option. And the added freedom during your undergrad years, if your parents really aren't going to help out, will be an added plus.

 

And to reiterate, you really need to sit down with your parents and talk about this. What you are describing is not a healthy parent-child relationship. Preferably have the conversation with a neutral third party. Of course I don't know your whole situation, so all I can go by is your posts... and they suggest one of two possibilities:

 

1. Your family truly is this unsupportive and regularly behaves in an obvious manner (perhaps even stating it outright), that you are mentally incapable of taking on a challenge, or the only reason you have gotten this far is based on the program being sub-par. This is emotional and psychological abuse and does not occur in healthy families.

2. Your posts are exaggerated somewhat, or you are misinterpreting your parents simply acting like parents and coming to the conclusion that they think you are dumb, when in reality they are hesitant to make this financial leap of faith, particularly when BS/MS programs may not guarantee admission to the final 2 years of the PA program.

 

Let's be reasonable here- it's probably the second option. They are your parents, they love you, and they don't literally think you're an idiot. Trust me, when I was a teenager, there were many times where I thought the same thing simply because my parents didn't agree with me or didn't seem to be giving me a chance. Looking back, I can see that in many instances they were acting out of fear or sadness at seeing me grow up and become independent, and most often my outbursts at them were emotional and over-the-top.

 

No child should ever truly think their parents look down on them like this... racial stereotypes or not. You need to have that talk.

[Soybean]

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[JasonD]

Soybean,

Think about applying to Lock Haven [Penn.] University's 3+2 PA program. The BIG difference is that it is a state school, and the out-of-state tution is about half of any private school like Gannon. Become a Penn. resident and the tuition is cut in half again. It's by far the cheapest accelerated program in the nation.

[Soybean]

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[Guest guthriesm]

I did receive a full Pell grant as well as some other school scholarships plus full access to federal (lower interest) loans. I'm sorry you are having a hard time.

 

remember- if you do the "traditional" route of an undergrad degree and then a masters, you may ultimately add a year or two on your education but you might do it with less heartache. An RT degree will get you the patient care and you can get a CNA certification over a summer break if you want to get more hours plus a part time (paid) job while in school. While it seems like adding an extra year or two is a ton, especially at the beginning, it can be worthwhile. You won't need a parent's signature to attend a traditional masters. Good luck!

[Soybean]

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[Guest guthriesm]

*fingers crossed*

[Soybean]

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