0 EFC Maryland senior & family need college guidance. Father high med issues

Parent Cafe
41

<p>lex, I’ve been following the discussion for some time now. Hugs and good wishes.</p>

<p>You mentioned that you don’t mind D leaving home. It may be worth a shot to look up and call
[Berea</a> College-Kentucky](<a href=“http://www.berea.edu/admissions/applying/default.asp]Berea”>http://www.berea.edu/admissions/applying/default.asp), just what you need and might have rolling admissions, [Louisiana</a> State](<a href=“http://www.lsus.edu/admissions-and-financial-aid/online-application-information-and-instructions]Louisiana”>http://www.lsus.edu/admissions-and-financial-aid/online-application-information-and-instructions), which has a freshman deadline of June 1st, low tuition and might have good aid too, and [U.Alabama-Huntsville[/URL&lt;/a&gt;], which I think has rolling admissions & good aid.</p>

<p>All have D’s desired major and seem to be good matches academically. </p>

<p>If D prefers to take a chance on spring admissions for next year, it might be worthwhile to look at [URL=&lt;a href=“http://www.lsus.edu/admissions-and-financial-aid/online-application-information-and-instructions]Clark”&gt;http://www.lsus.edu/admissions-and-financial-aid/online-application-information-and-instructions]Clark</a> University](<a href=“http://www.uah.edu/admissions/sep-apply/welcome]U.Alabama-Huntsville[/URL”>UAH - Admission & Aid - Apply for Admission) (spring freshman admissions deadline Nov.1, no SAT needed starting Fall '13, good aid?, good ranking, combined BA/MBA 5 year program), [SUNY</a> Albany<a href=“rolling%20admissions,%20not%20clear%20if%20spring%20too”>/URL</a>, and [URL=&lt;a href=“http://admissions.ncsu.edu/how-apply/calendar-events/deadlines.php]North”&gt;http://admissions.ncsu.edu/how-apply/calendar-events/deadlines.php]North</a> Carolina State<a href=“Spring%20admission%20deadline%20Nov.1,%20rolling%20review%20starting%20Oct.15”>/URL</a>. Keep in mind the risks though.</p>

<p>You may also want to take a look at the list of colleges with rolling admissions [URL=&lt;a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/354075-list-colleges-early-action-early-decision-rolling-admissions.html]here[/URL”&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/354075-list-colleges-early-action-early-decision-rolling-admissions.html]here[/URL</a>] and use [URL=&lt;a href=“http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/]College”&gt;http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/]College</a> Navigator](<a href=“http://www.albany.edu/admissions/step_apply.php]SUNY”>How to Apply as a First-Year Student | University at Albany) to look up detailed info for the colleges of interest.</p>

<p>Hang in there and work fast!</p>

42

<p>Just following up with your comment Woody-- to your point & your niece’s expereince I actually had better profs at comm college than I did at Cornell. :frowning: I can rememmber so many of the lessons I Learned at CC & being a truly engaged student. Went to Cornell loved the environment but the academics were brutal. Large lectures, taught on lofty levels ( no questions asked unless you wanted 300 kids to stare at you) & every exam was essentially find the needle in the haystack of the 400 pages covered. You are graded on a curve- so you compete with your classmates. Very unhealthy.</p>

<p>I steered my kids away from that environment.</p>

43

<p>Thaks vox101, I will take a look at the schools and see if they would be manageable. Unforunately the distance is seeming to be an issue, D just leans to something closer. D just got notice that she can receive a grant for MD schools so long as funds are available. We are still completing the applicaton for GAG as it just became available online at the end of business on Friday and we need the counselor at HS to sign off on it. We still want to explore other possibilities but a md school may be the best path if D can get the GAG. I just have no idea of how much aid other schools will offer so we are going to be doing a round of phone calls to get some more information. Thank you so much to all who have offered suggestions of school that could be a good match… To lives in NJ I agree I graduated from UMD myself and I got waivers to go back to my cc to take courses due to smaller class sizes and excellent instructors at Montgomery college. I self payed for my education and the cost was definitely helpful as well. D really wants to start at a $(funny the $ is on the same key as the 4) year in the fall but she is recognizing the limitations we have. I really have to find out about the GAG and compare/contrast what other schools might have available to her. Thankful that we see some paths instead of just deadends.</p>

44

<p>if Maryland feels close, also might look at St Marys college in Maryland. I know it is a public LAC, but they have aid for out of state & even transfer students.</p>

45

<p>Your daughter has a number of alternatives open to her. The problem is that UMD is not one of them in the way she wants it to be. She did not get accepted to the fall term (same thing happened to my son), she did not get into the school of her choice within the university, and she did not get enough financial aid to go there. It is her flagship state school and it is understandable that it is her first choice. However, given all of the other things happening in the family, it may not be her best choice nor the best for the family, though it would give her immediate gratification. Really, do not try to make a square peg fit the round hole in this one, with all of the other issues you have. She would do better going locally, and seeing how things go in the next year or so. If you and she force the issue so that she is going there by the skin of her teeth, you leave no room for any problems, and with the way things are, you have a high chance of some issues occurring. What too many famiies do in these cases, is put all of their emphasis on something like what the child wants in terms of college when it is really not that important in the long term and feeding that want is really hurting the long term. It’s just so easy to focus on something like this and make it seem more important than it is. UMD does not look like a wise choice to me, given the information given.</p>

46

<p>

</p>

<p>This college is as selective as UMD. It also is more expensive so there is still a chance of a bigger gap.</p>

47

<p>The OP’s daughter has already applied to colleges and has her choices. If she wants to take a gap year and give it another go next year, that means starting over and making other choices, but in this case, as I’ve stated, I don’t think it’s going to make a whole lot of difference. The odds are not good for that IMO. She has her choices on the table and with the situation as it is, financially and family wise, she’d be better off to go locally for at least a year, probably two. I don’t think this is the answer the OP wanted to hear. She wants to try to make UMD CP work out. With additional grant money and maybe if the girl works or does local college first term, maybe she can. But not with a lot of down side risk. </p>

<p>I don’t know if the funds, UMD gave were for full or half year, and there are always more expenses.</p>

48

<p>I fell off the college track briefly due to a death in the family and I am trying to bounce between the grant application for my D and VA aid and assistance forms for a parent. I am almost done with the GAG forms(filed the online portion Friday) with the exception of the IRS transcripts which I have ordered but will take some tome to receive. In the meantime I have been advised by a HS Counselor to send in everything else and send in the income verification sheet and the transcripts separately since they have an instruction that states if you apply without the proper documentation they will throw you out of the process. I had planned to send in paper copies of the taxes but now I am afraid to do that does anyone else have any experience with this. I have contacted the MHEC office with this question but they are only taking voicemails or emails and returning them in the order received, I am still waiting for my reply. The other issue with D’s application for the GAG is that in her " initial info about you section" they have her recorded as a no for the college prep, I think we did that back in January for the FaFSA and misunderstood the question. I have been told that we cannot change it but we should email MHEC with the info and they will change it to a yes, we can only hope. We are hoping to figure things out with the grant money and see if we can manage UMD if not we will try CC. D is still resisting a gap year. D does work and currently covers most of her own basic expenses and she hopes to do work study or continue in her current job if cc becomes her best option. I hope to look into the schools that are still accepting applications and see if any would be a good match aid wise, but I almost feel like that would be expecting a miracle at this point and do not know if I should expend my energy in that direction. Thanks again for all the good advice and kind thoughts.</p>

49

<p>nothing specific to add lexington, but sending good thoughts your way. It sounds like you have your hands full with various paperwork agencies, it must be very draining.
(((hugs)))</p>

50

<p>Send in a copy of your signed taxes while you wait for the rest. The schools are supposed to accept a copy of your signed taxes as verification right now (there’s a window of time-- from April 16 to July 15) if you haven’t been able to use the IRS retrieval tool or get a tax transcript. I was given this information by the FAFSA federal processor and I found the email online. It was sent to all the college financial aid offices on April 16, 2012. They should have it.</p>

<p>[IFAP</a> - Dear Colleague Letters](<a href=“http://www.ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/GEN1207.html]IFAP”>http://www.ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/GEN1207.html)</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/attachments/GEN1207.pdf[/url]”>http://www.ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/attachments/GEN1207.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Publication Date: April 16, 2012</p>

<p>DCL ID: </p>

<p>GEN-12-07</p>

<p>Subject: Acceptable Documentation for Verification</p>

<p>Summary: This letter updates the guidance provided to institutions concerning the documentation they must obtain to verify income and tax information.</p>

<p>Dear Colleague:</p>

<p>As of mid-April 2012, over two million students and parents have successfully used the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, making the 2012-2013 FAFSA verification process easier and quicker for them and reducing the administrative burden on thousands of institutions. In addition, hundreds of thousands more applicants have received and submitted to their schools IRS Tax Return Transcripts. As the April tax deadline approaches, we are aware that some students and families may not be able to immediately use the FAFSA-IRS Data Retrieval Tool or to obtain IRS Tax Return Transcripts needed to complete the verification process primarily because of the large volume of tax returns coming in at this time of year.</p>

<p>In the limited set of cases where an aid applicant, who has filed a tax return and attempted unsuccessfully to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool or to obtain IRS Tax Return transcripts, needs a timely alternative for meeting the 2012-2013 verification requirements, institutions may, until July 15, 2012, use a signed copy of the relevant (i.e., applicant, spouse, or parent) 2011 IRS Tax Return (Form 1040, 1040A, or 1040EZ, as appropriate) as acceptable verification documentation for the 2012-2013 award year.</p>

<p>After July 15, 2012, institutions must comply with the acceptable documentation requirements included in the July 13, 2011 Federal Register notice and in DCL GEN-11-13.</p>

<p>The Department will require some institutions to obtain verification documentation in compliance with the current acceptable documentation requirements for a sample of the institution’s students whose information was verified using a paper copy of a tax return.</p>

<p>As noted, more than two million applicants and parents have successfully used the IRS Data Retrieval Tool to directly transfer IRS information into their FAFSA, vastly simplifying the process of applying for financial aid. Consequently, it remains important for institutions to communicate to all applicants that using the tool – either when initially completing a FAFSA or by using the corrections functionality of FAFSA on the Web – provides them with the fastest, easiest, and most secure solution for meeting verification requirements.</p>

<p>We remain committed to our goal of enhancing the verification process and will continue to work with the financial aid community toward that goal.</p>

<p>Sincerely,</p>

<p>David A. Bergeron
Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Policy, Planning, and Innovation
Office of Postsecondary Education</p>

<p>Attachments/Enclosures:</p>

51

<p>What about Antioch College, free tuition.</p>

<p>[Resurrected</a> Antioch College offering free tuition - UPI.com](<a href=“Resurrected Antioch College offering free tuition - UPI.com”>Resurrected Antioch College offering free tuition - UPI.com)</p>

<p>[Antioch</a> College extends full-tuition scholarships to all four founding classes - Antioch College](<a href=“http://antiochcollege.org/news/archive/3523.html]Antioch”>http://antiochcollege.org/news/archive/3523.html)</p>

52

<p>Lex: List of schools taking apps for Fall 2012. You can sort by state.</p>

<p>[Space</a> Availability Survey Results 2012](<a href=“http://www.nacacnet.org/research/research-data/SpaceSurvey/Pages/SpaceSurveyResults.aspx]Space”>http://www.nacacnet.org/research/research-data/SpaceSurvey/Pages/SpaceSurveyResults.aspx)</p>

53

<p>to 2 collegewego thanks for the IRS transcript information my online request for The IRS transcript was kicked back and when I tried to request the transcript by phone the system said it is unavailable. We filed our taxes by mail after many failed attempts to file online and I think the data has not been entered yet. D received an email from MHEC saying online application received but they will not award any grant money until all the information is received. The worst part of this is we were not required to file taxes this year but only did so to help with the FAFSA. There is this line wi/in the instructions for the Grant on the Dependent Verification Worksheet that said “forms received without documentation will not be reviewed and your award will be canceled” therefore I want to submit all that I should and was not sure if the paper copy would get us thrown out of the process.<br>
I did contact Antioch College and D could still apply but he said it is incredibly competitive at this point and they do not consider need at all.</p>

54

<p>I am trying to compare the space available list with a listing of schools that are helpful in terms of meeting need. I think I saw a chart somewhere listing schools helpful with need does anyone know where I might find that type of information? I am going to start by calling some of the MD schools but do not want to overlook any out of state that might be more generous with aid and possibly a better match for D. I am amazed and grateful all of the opportunities available out there for people in our situation but the process to request the assistance is difficult at best. Feeling frustrated that i was not able to do all of this last year.</p>

55

<p>Lex: Here are some sites where you can research schools based on aid:</p>

<p>See [Most</a> Students Receiving Merit Aid | Rankings | US News](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/most-merit-aid]Most”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/most-merit-aid) and [Best</a> Values in Private Colleges, 2011-12](<a href=“http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/privatecolleges/]Best”>Kiplinger | Personal Finance News, Investing Advice, Business Forecasts)</p>

56

<p>I’ve done a quick visual perusal to match schools from the Kiplinger’s lists (private unis and LACs) with [Space</a> Availability Survey Results 2012](<a href=“http://www.nacacnet.org/research/research-data/SpaceSurvey/Pages/SpaceSurveyResults.aspx]Space”>http://www.nacacnet.org/research/research-data/SpaceSurvey/Pages/SpaceSurveyResults.aspx)</p>

<p>I would suggest taking a look at the following schools:
Agnes Scott (Ga - this might be all-girls)
Baker (Ks)
Canisius (NY)
Centre (Ky)
Guilford (NC)
Hood (Md)
Juaniata ¶
Knox (Il)
Lebanon Valley ¶
Loyola (Md)</p>

<p>Frostburg (Md-Public) is still taking apps.</p>

57

<p>Agnes Scott is all women. Hood would be commuting distance for the OP’s daughter which might make it no more appealing than the community college.</p>

58

<p>i also suggest looking at york… They have a great business program.</p>

<p>I’m not sure what the breakdown of the sat score was but the below may help</p>

<p>$30,000 Scholarship over four years - $7,500 awarded annually as a full-time student living on campus
$18,000 Scholarship over four years - $4,500 awarded annually as a full-time student commuting from home</p>

<p>Scholarship award is for eight full-time semesters, excluding summers</p>

<pre><code>Accepted applicants with a minimum SAT score of 1250 (Critical Reading and Math) or a minimum composite ACT score of 28 (optional writing test required)
You also qualify with a minimum 4.0 cumulative GPA and a minimum SAT score of 1150 (Critical Reading and Math) or a minimum composite ACT score of 25 (optional writing test required)
Minimum grade point average of 3.00 is required to renew the scholarship each year for up to four years. One-half of the scholarship will be awarded annually to those maintaining a grade point average of 2.75 to 2.99
Eligible students are first-time, full-time students
Student must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident to qualify
Students under disciplinary suspension lose future merit scholarship eligibility
All information is subject to changes in the federal/state regulations and York College policy
Eligible students may receive only one academic achievement scholarship
</code></pre>

<p>Dean’s Academic Scholarship
$22,000 Scholarship over four years - $5,500 awarded annually as a full-time student living on campus
$10,000 Scholarship over four years - $2,500 awarded annually as a full-time student commuting from home</p>

<p>Scholarship award is for eight full-time semesters, excluding summers</p>

<pre><code>Accepted applicants with an SAT score of 1150-1240 (Critical Reading and Math) or a composite ACT score of 25-27 (optional writing test required) and a cumulative GPA less then 4.0
You also qualify with a minimum 4.0 cumulative GPA and an SAT score of 1000-1140 (Critical Reading and Math) or a composite ACT score of 21-24 (optional writing test required)
Minimum grade point average of 3.00 is required to renew the scholarship each year for up to four years. One-half of the scholarship will be awarded annually to those maintaining a grade point average of 2.75 to 2.99
Eligible students are first-time, full-time students
Student must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident to qualify
Students under disciplinary suspension lose future merit scholarship eligibility
All information is subject to changes in the federal/state regulations and York College policy
Eligible students may receive only one academic achievement scholarship
</code></pre>