<p>^^Bingo, that is the question that the OP needs to ask the finaid office at the college…how did they use the information in her Profile and determine her ability to pay…</p>
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<p>Or rather the question Fairfielder should be asking the GU FAO is what additional information did the FAO find (either in the FAFSA or the CCS Profile or both) after the initial call that caused them to change their initial mind from telling Fairfielder the expected parental contribution be $9,000 to $51,000 since it seemed like the first FAO didn’t make a mistake in telling Fairfielder about the $9,000 figure.</p>
<p>With 14,423 views, 243 posts from over 60 different CC users, this thread seems to be the most posted threads that I have ever seen the the Financial Aid sub section.</p>
<p>Has anyone ever seen any other thread on CC in the FA sub section that has more views and replies than this thread?</p>
<p>Also, I think M2CK should be like a super moderator for the FA sub forum. :)</p>
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<p>Yes and no. High-paying jobs in the international field will most likely be in international business, where an MBA would be a desirable qualification.</p>
<p>The reality tho is that US Foreign Service Officers or executives in NGOs do NOT make a lot of money. OTOH they don’t require an advanced degree either.</p>
<p>The most advantageous measurable qualification for a would-be FSO is knowledge of a foreign language, especially one of the Critical Needs Languages or Super Critical Languages. Here’s the current list from the State Dept website:</p>
<p>Super Critical Languages
Arabic: Modern Standard, Egyptian, and Iraqi
Chinese: Mandarin
Dari
Farsi
Hindi
Urdu</p>
<p>Critical Languages
Arabic: forms other than Modern Standard, Egyptian, and Iraqi<br>
Chinese: Cantonese<br>
Azerbaijani
Bengali
Kazakh<br>
Korean<br>
Kurdish
Kyrgyz<br>
Nepali
Pashto
Punjabi
Russian
Tajik
Turkish
Turkmen
Uzbek</p>
<p>If the OP’s daughter is really interested in being an FSO, she should find a way to develop fluency in one or more of these languages. (The State Dept offers scholarships for summer language study.)</p>
<p>Despite the name, SFS is not a fast track to a foreign service job. Because the State Department is looking for people who will thrive in unfamiliar and often difficult surroundings, personal qualities and experience living abroad are very important. Perhaps as a result, the most common backgrounds for beginning FSOs are the Peace Corps, the military, and Mormon overseas mission work. In one recent A100 class I’m familiar with, there were more grads from BYU than from Georgetown. </p>
<p>In short, the OP’s daughter does not need to attend SFS if she’s intent on a foreign service career.</p>
<p>Some people have a misconception that FSOs mostly focus on developing policy. But Political is only one of five career areas, the others being Management, Economic, Consular, and Public Diplomacy.</p>
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<p>Does “Bama” mean The University of Alabama? If so, can someone elaborate how this is a viable option? Is it because they have an extended deadline for NMFs? Is U of A a more viable option that community college for the daughter in question?</p>
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That’s not accurate – they do either need an advanced degree or many, many years of experience before they start qualifying for higher end pay. This is my d’s career interest, so I’ve got some pretty specific knowledge. I’d note that it is also difficult to even get internships as an undergrad… (my daughter had one with a UN agency, but when she was working in Geneva almost all of the other interns were graduate level students working on their master’s or Ph.D. – and that was for an unpaid internship.).</p>
<p>I’d agree that they aren’t ever going to make the kind of money that might be achievable in private business, but I’m talking about the difference between earning $25-$35K and earning $70K+. Obviously it doesn’t make sense to pay 6 figures for an elite education in order to aspire for a $30K job.</p>
<p>I suspect our disagreement here is partly on the definition of “higher end pay.” $70K+ is not a salary the makes it easy to pay off student loans, something the OP hopes/expects her daughter will be able to do. Obviously an unpaid internship, however prestigious, is even less feasible for her. </p>
<p>A Foreign Service Officer can make over $70K just a few years out, esp. with allowances for hardship and danger posts–even more for an unaccompanied post like Baghdad or Kabul. A graduate degree is NOT required. Once you pass the rigorous written and oral tests and make it off the list, the Foreign Service trains you, most often at the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, Va. Selected mid-level careerists will undertake graduate study at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton, but that is a very limited number of people.</p>
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<p>This wouldn’t be a safe plan because you still would have to pay the $51,000 for the other 3 years.</p>
<p>Chaospaladin, with all due respect you have arrived late to the party and you are merely repeating stuff that has already been said by others… and it appears that OP is currently out of the country and does not have internet access. So it might make more sense for you to read through the thread and then focus on whatever discussion is taking place currently, rather than trying to engage in a conversation that was taking place 2 or 3 days ago.</p>
<p>All right. Got it. :)</p>
<p>The State Department is not the only source of jobs related to foreign affairs. Straight out of college, or with a Masters Degree, typical starting pay in the federal bureaucracy can range from the low $30Ks to about $50K. It might take about 5 years to hit $70K+ in today’s dollars (at which point, you’ll still be struggling with big student loans). For federal senior executive positions, even an ambassador, salaries top out in the high $100Ks in today’s dollars. To make significantly more, you’d need to parlay your experience and contacts into a private sector job. </p>
<p>A PhD can be a significant advantage in moving up to $100K+ positions especially in technical areas, but it is neither necessary nor sufficient. And I’d agree that Georgetown University’s perceived advantage in federal career placement probably is a little overblown. Its DC location, the associated internship opportunities, and the interests of its students may boost the numbers of alumni sitting in cubicles at federal agencies or in junior postings around the world. Some alumni do go much farther, but I doubt the SFS programs per se give you a serious leg up over a liberal arts degree from any peer school when it comes to long-term federal career potential. So I’d hesitate to cash in all my retirement chips to bet on a big pay-off.</p>
<p>As discussed previously, what is lack in this case is a backup plan. Hope other schools D applied have good news.</p>
<p>OP’s other posts implied she is from Iowa. I checked the website of the University of Iowa. The COA is $20,000 for in-state students. However, the application deadline is April 1. The trip to Italy may turns out to be very costly.</p>
<p>If the OP has her ducks in a row, so to speak, and her D has the stats, she could apply to Univ of Iowa right before the 4/1 deadline and still get some merit $$, which could significantly cut down that COA, which in-state ain’t that much to begin with.</p>
<p>Happened to D1. Applied all over the Midwest & East, decided at the last minute to apply to Iowa. Think she was accepted with 2 days to spare, and got the merit $$ which is based on a class rank/ACT formula.</p>
<p>My own S applied to our state honors college many weeks after the deadline had passed, and was accepted. He wound up attending another school but the lesson I take away is that you should not be absolutely deterred by posted deadlines (if there are extenuating circumstances). Call someone close to the top and explain the unfortunate situation. They’ll probably want to help.</p>
<p>Commuting to a directional state university might be an option that gets you under that $9K ceiling.</p>
<p>*Does “Bama” mean The University of Alabama? If so, can someone elaborate how this is a viable option? Is it because they have an extended deadline for NMFs? Is U of A a more viable option that community college for the daughter in question?
*</p>
<p>Early on, the OP mentioned that her D is NMF (and she turned down some big NMF scholarships in anticipation of G’town). So, since it appeared that her D didn’t have a financial safety school, I suggested that she apply to the University of Alabama since its big NMF scholarship is still available to all NMFs who apply (deadline is in April).</p>
<p>NMF scholarship: full tuition, housing (including honors), 1k per year, $2k for study abroad, and a laptop. AND…she could use the approx $11k per semester tuition rate ALSO towards a semester abroad. </p>
<p>For someone with foreign interests, that seems like a nice option. I’m not sure how a student who would be stretched to the limits at G’town would be able to afford study abroad activities. </p>
<p>I would certainly say that going to Bama on its NMF scholarship (at least for 2 years) is much better than going to a CC. Since the D would also get about $1500 in Pell as well, the mom would only have to pay for her D’s meal plan. </p>
<p>And certainly, going to another school with a similar NMF scholarship would work just as well. </p>
<p>*The State Department is not the only source of jobs related to foreign affairs. Straight out of college, or with a Masters Degree, typical starting pay in the federal bureaucracy can range from the low $30Ks to about $50K. It might take about 5 years to hit $70K+ in today’s dollars (at which point, you’ll still be struggling with big student loans). For federal senior executive positions, even an ambassador, salaries top out in the high $100Ks in today’s dollars. To make significantly more, you’d need to parlay your experience and contacts into a private sector job. </p>
<p>A PhD can be a significant advantage in moving up to $100K+ positions especially in technical areas, but it is neither necessary nor sufficient. And I’d agree that Georgetown University’s perceived advantage in federal career placement probably is a little overblown. Its DC location, the associated internship opportunities, and the interests of its students may boost the numbers of alumni sitting in cubicles at federal agencies or in junior postings around the world. Some alumni do go much farther, but I doubt the SFS programs per se give you a serious leg up over a liberal arts degree from any peer school when it comes to long-term federal career potential. So I’d hesitate to cash in all my retirement chips to bet on a big pay-off. *</p>
<p>The above is the concern. It appears that the mom is willing to either spend her nest egg for this education or let her D take out large loans with the idea that her D will end up with a high-paying job. The inference is that either her D will somehow support her after she graduates or her D will be able to afford to pay off large loans. </p>
<p>It sounds like the undergrad degree is not that important. It sounds like an undergrad elsewhere, and a graduate degree at a school like G’town would achieve the same without incurring a financial crisis.</p>
<p>And, as I mentioned earlier…all it would take is a serious love interest with someone who can’t live overseas to put the kabosh on plans of being some kind of high-flying diplomat. When my family was moved across the country in a division-wide corporate move, many had to quit their jobs because their spouses’ careers weren’t ones that could be easily relocated (physicians, law practices, established realtors, insurance agents, business owners, etc). As a matter of fact, NOT ONE WOMAN moved. Only men.</p>
<p>I feel sorry for them both regarding the loss of a Husband and a Father. </p>
<p>That being said, the OP did not pay attention to CC when she started visiting in 2009. Instead, she dreamed of an inexpensive ride to Georgetown among other schools for her daughter without a plan B,C, or D. She felt entitled to aid because of what someone at Gtown “said to her”, and because of her specific situation, again without listening to advise from CC, or seeking out counsel from other sources.</p>
<p>If I did not know of friends who did the same thing or something similar, I would have thought the OP was a ■■■■■, which clearly she is not.</p>
<p>You have all posted incredible alternatives for her and her daughter, and I also hope that she listens and does the right thing. She clearly has either ignored this board while in Europe, or did not listen to an earlier post explaining how she could access her email while overseas, which is very easy to do.</p>
<p>Hopefully, her daughter does not pay the price, as losing a Dad was tough enough for her…</p>
<p>Peace to all of you!</p>
<p>This reminds me of that guy who was trying to game the NYU FA system by living off interest and then trying to claim a low income. Technically the OP does have a low income but, like that other guy, she chooses not to work. (I think the other guy claimed to own a non-profit that didn’t earn him any income.) </p>
<p>So basically, this is someone who has a bunch of savings(from whatever source), is willfully unemployed, and still expects a college to pay at least 80% of her child’s costs? Why did everyone go after that guy but this time people are on her side?</p>
<p>Not to criticize the OP but to agree with NotAClue, around here for private schools, the literature on financial aid says that the school expects that both parents will work (if indeed there are two parents).</p>
<p>I don’t know about the example you are giving,but when someone posts with a problem, issue or situation here, I try to address the facts of the case. Even when it is suspected that someone is a flaming ■■■■■, if the question has merit in that it addresses a particular situation that can occur, I’ll address the issue.</p>
<p>In this case. there is a 58 year old woman who is distressed about the huge discrepancy between her FAFSA EFC and GT expected contribution. The crux of the matter is why this discrepancy exists and whether it can be resolved, and what her D’s alternatives are if they cannot, and that much higher cost is what she will be expected to pay for her D’s college. The answer is that she needs to talk to GT and find out how they got their figure and whether what they used and how they used it can be changed. Maybe it could. Maybe it can’t. Only GT can answer that one. There have been financial aid calculations that have be redone with drastically different results when certain non traditional, unusual items could be viewed differently. For small businesses, in particular, I 've seen this happen. There is a lot of extra information in the post as well, but the bottom line is that expected contribution.</p>
<p>My example was for private high schools; I dropped that word.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, the only thing the FAFSA does is qualify a person for federal aid. Schools use the CSS profile or their own financial aid form to determine how they are going to distribute their money and can use what ever criteria they choose to determine need. For all intents and purposes, the Op may have had a 9000 EFC on the FAFSA, especially if she does not work and her income puts her in a postion where she passes the simplified needs test and her assets are not taken into consideration. Remember the fafsa also does not count home equity on your primary home. </p>
<p>Gerorgetown uses the CSS profile and counts home equity as an asset. So in their minds the Op minimally has 400,000K available to use for college. Mom not wanting to work, or not seeking a job or what ever other reason barring disaility where she cannot work, has made a conscious decision not to work. OP decided to barter her services for 4 years in exchange for tuition. Op should see if she can turn this into a paying job and use that 20k a year to offset the college expenses.</p>
<p>Mny SAHMs work when their children start attending college to help defray some of the cost. Some SAHMs take on jobs where all the money they make goes toward the cost of their child going to college. Some parents take on part time second jobs or work overtime to make more $ to help defray the cost of their child attending college. When it comes to paying for your child’s education, the line starts with the parents. When parents have the means and do not want to pay for whatever reason, they are essentially saying let someone else’s parents pay for my child to attend school (as the money given to the endowment comes from alumni, many who are other people’s parents).</p>