<p>I just got accepted to Brandeis. I didn't fill out the financial aid forms when I applied and am just trying to figure out my options for paying it off. I didn't worry about fin aid before - going to a community college helps with that. Now, though, it looks as if I'll be required to pay upwards of $50k for total expenses in the coming semester. Is it too late to apply for grants, loans, individual scholarships??</p>
<p>'preciate the help</p>
<p>It appears you are a transfer student to Brandeis. I do NOT know their financial aid policies but many schools offer less aid to transfers, even WHEN they apply on time.</p>
<p>I hope you don’t think I’m harsh with this response…but how did you think you were going to pay the Brandeis bills? Are your parents contributing to your education? If so, how much can they contribute?</p>
<p>You can complete the FAFSA now. This form determines eligibility for federally funded need based aid. If your EFC (expected family contribution) is $0, you would get the maximum Pell grant (just over $5000). Regardless of your EFC, you would also be able to take a Stafford loan…hmm…I think that’s $6500 or so for an upperclassman. Adding those two together will still leave you with a shortfall of just under $40,000.</p>
<p>Call Brandeis and ask them about aid. My guess is they will tell you…fill out the forms, but our DEADLINES have passed.</p>
<p>Why didn’t you apply for aid when you applied to the school? It does students NO GOOD to be accepted to a school if they have no way of paying for an education there.</p>
<p>And discuss this with your family…do they have the resources to help you?</p>
<p>Past threads by you indicate you were applying for transfer to a bunch of UC campuses…are you instate for the UCs? Hopefully yes, and you applied for their aid in a timely fashion.</p>
<p>Brandeis also requires CSS. It is a bit late to be thinking of how you are going to pay for this as according t the Brandeis web site the FA deadline for transfer students was April 1st. Apply, talk to them, see what can be done. If your income is very low then you would still be eligible for any Pell grant yo are eligible for. You can still get Stafford loans but they will barely make a dent in $50,000. It is too late for scholarships as they all have deadlines also. Hopefully you have other more affordable options if FA is insufficient.</p>
<p>Transfer students are often not considered on a need blind basis, nor do are they guaranteed to bet 100% of need from schools that provide that. I don’t know how Brandeis handles transfer students in either of those regards, but some of the very top schools in terms of giving aid have restriction for money for transfers. You should be talking to the financial aid office. You do have quite a bit of paper work to do to even apply for aid. The others have told you what government money is available to you. What Brandeis has, only they know.</p>
<p>Why did you apply to Brandeis without applying for aid if you didn’t have the money to pay for it?</p>
<p>It would be $50K or so for the year, not the semester. You probably don’t need to live on campus, and off-campus ought to be cheaper, but it is still a big chunk.</p>
<p>Delaying application for financial aid this late could be a pretty big problem. If Brandeis doesn’t have much aid to give at this point you may need to reconsider your options.</p>