<p>So, you've gotten into your dream school and can scarcely contain your excitement...until you start climbing that mountain of securing financial aid. Cassie Dagostino is a high school senior from New York who gives us a first-hand look at her experiences with the pain and confusion of paying for college.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I debate with myself over what the Fafsa can really determine and think of it in another way. I know I want more money, but dont colleges want more money, too? Dont they want students who can pay as much tuition as possible?
<p>As an independent transfer student pretty much in the same boat, I also applied to a variety of schools, twelve all together, for the same reasons. Two local state schools accepted me but I have no idea what financial aid will be like. The transfer counselor at my school said the same thing mentioned in the blog: </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Agreed, paying to apply for financial aid through the CSS Profile is ridiculous. Unless paying guarantees aid, it comes off as a raffle or a lottery. The $9 app. fee plus $16 for each school can add up.</p>
<p>The author has demonstrated that perhaps she /her family did not do their due diligence when it comes to financial aid. The fafsa at minimum is going to ask for the income/assets of her custodial parent and stepparent.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Another major misconception. With 2 parents and 2 sets of stepparents, unless most of her siblings are also in college (she states she is the first to go to college) it is highly unlikely that OP is going to a private school at a lower cost than SUNY. There are at least 6 schools on her list that will require the CSS profile and non custodial profile.</p>
<p>Along with Bronx Science, Stuyvesant and others. </p>
<p>I graduated from one of the specialized high schools in NYC but now I understand that my school is called a “Career and Technical Education High School.” Interesting.</p>
<p>Agree with Sybbie, that the SUNY’s will probably be cheaper than the privates after the Fafsa. Son applied to 6 schools last year, accepted at 3 privates and 2 publics. One private offered free tuition (merit and need based) however their room and board was still about $12000. The other 2 privates came back with COAs of 18k and 26k respectively. The SUNY schools with merit aid and TAP came in lower than than the best private offer. It also helps that the SUNY room and board costs were around 10k. Often it seems that students don’t realize that many SUNY schools do offer merit money in addition to the already low tuition.</p>
To me it comes off as the cost of processing the data. If the student is actually needy they can get a waiver. For other families, it’s the cost of applying to a school that requires the Profile. You didn’t have to do that.</p>
<p>I wish parents would actually pay attention to college costs and financial aid issues well in advance of spring of senior year. I gave many presentations that were not as well attended as they should have been. Those who did attend were often very surprised to hear my “this is how it is” talk. </p>
<p>Sometimes I think I should take my show on the road and try to reach as many people as possible to explain the way things are. Unfortunately, I couldn’t even get a decent number of parents at my own church to come to a presentation aimed at parents of younger kids. One parent told me that her little prodigy would be doing “all the right things” so that she is certain to get a full ride for college. Keep burying that head in the sand, Mom …</p>
<p>kelsmom, what I would tell parents is that by doing all the right things, the kids might have a better chance of ACCEPTANCE, but not necessarily of financial aid. I was one of the clueless parents who thought a kid with excellent stats would get lots of money. Ha!</p>
<p>There are approximately 4000 colleges and universities in the US. Less than 10% (~350 schools) require the CSS profile to award institutional aid. This means for every single school that requires the profile for financial aid, there are 9 schools that do no require the profile.</p>
<p>Just our luck that those 10% of schools in the US happened to make up 50% of the schools where my D applied. CSS/Profile is NOT fun to fill out!</p>
<p>Kelsmom-
I think you should take your show on the road!! So many could learn what to do and keep those many kiddos from disappointment like we see here each year on CC.</p>
<p>Curm calls it the “swallows returning to capistrano”, think he even titled the thread as such.</p>
<p>Happens every year, accepted with no understanding of the finances and how financial aid applies. Been going on 10+ years now on CC.</p>
<p>I would attend and try to bring people in for you, like the barker at the fair!!!</p>
<p>Kat
you could give out flash cards:
Loans are considered financal aid.
They will gap if they can, and they do!
FAFSA gives no money! It just determines eligibility for federal aid.
No, they aren’t just going to give you money for being smart.
and on and on and on…</p>
<p>I don’t disagree with anything here. However - if you don’t apply to a school in the hope of getting a good FA award, you’ll never know. Of the three places DD has been accepted thus far - neither of them a place that causes oohs and aahs on CC - two came with merit aid awards far higher than I would have predicted. Obviously, YMMV.</p>
<p>That said, every family needs a solid financial safety (and, pending need-based awards, our financial safety - with no merit and where we won’t get any need-based money - is still cheaper than either of the two that have given merit awards).</p>
<p>With child one–the one who did everything right and looked beautiful on paper–we did not limit her applications based on price knowing that we would be full pay ( and could have paid it without loans). However, when everything was in, we did want her to take some loans just to have some skin in the game so to speak. She took the scholarship.</p>
<p>For child two, we limited his applications to schools within a certain price range, again knowing that we would be full pay and that he would not be as likely to earn merit money.</p>
<p>I third that. kelsmom road show would be awesome. But everyone is a naysayer. They can’t even fanthom that a public school education could costs at a minimum of $20k in CA if you attend anything beyond a CC. Even in the city of San Francisco CC is getting pretty pricey.</p>
<p>Kelsmom…100% agreed…I also am on the road trying to get the word out; I speak at high schools, town halls, community centers, etc. trying to help families…it is a personal passion of mine. I simply wish parents would take advantage of learning their options/opportunities before its too late and their kid’s dreams are shattered…I wish the “process” was simple and easily understood, but it really is not as described in the NY Times article. Great for you that you are out there trying to help!</p>