<p>From NU:
Pell Grant 1100
SEOG Grant 500
Scholarship 39459
Sub Stafford Loan 3500
Unsub Stafford Loan 2000
Workstudy 2500</p>
<p>From Vandy:
Need-based Grant 47665
Workstudy 2200</p>
<p>Q1: There is a 6k free money difference. My heart has been set on NU by a slight margin, but this gap continues to bother me, as my parents will have to loan more privately if I pick NU. They tell me to go anywhere I like. From the viewpoint of parents, 6K difference every year is ignorable as long as their kids are happy?</p>
<p>Q2: NU's aid package is decent? Should I try appealing?</p>
<p>Q3: In either case, I am supposed to accept the loans. Right? I am asking this because I heard that, if I don't accept loans/work-study, my total aid decreases the next year? </p>
<p>Go to Vanderbilt so you can graduate debt free. Regarding not accepting loans, will your chances of getting SEOG increase if you taken out more loans the previous year? I know this girl has took $10000 in loans at a UC the previous year and got a SEOG this year while I take out like $3333 average in loans every year and never get the SEOG. We both have a 0 EFC.</p>
<p>My son’s close friend had that choice and picked Vanderbilt without hesitation. Loves it there. Vanderbilt is a great school and you have some breathing room with the Staffords available if you have a money crunch. That’s a nice bit of security.</p>
<p>You need to have a serious talk with your family. The offer from Vandy gives you a financial “buffer” as noted above. That is always a nice thing. However, having said that, if your family is willing and able to make the financial contributions to fun NU, you will be in the enviable position to make a choice between the two.</p>
<p>I think both schools are EXCELLENT and you will get an outstanding education at either.</p>
<p>Are you comparing apples to apples? The information you have shared is missing something … what are the true costs of each school? Add up tuition, room, board, and fees for each school. Then subtract all free money (scholarships/grants). What is the net cost TO YOU for each school? You will be able to borrow $5500 unsub Stafford at Vandy (you just have to ask). </p>
<p>My D is about to graduate from Vandy, and she has loved it. Her aid has consistently been awesome. You have to decide what is best for you, though … if you prefer NU, and if your parents are willing to pay for it, then your family may feel the extra money (if it does indeed cost more in terms of true cost) is worth it. I know my D could have had a full ride to some schools, but we were comfortable paying what we are paying & consider it money well spent. Each family must make its own financial decisions. There is no right or wrong.</p>
<p>@kelsmom: Both schools cost virtually the same: about 59k.</p>
<p>Now I have a new question as I have studied some old posts (yours included):
I can ask Vandy for Stafford Loan of 5500. Right? If I do request it, receive it, and decline work-study, how does it affect me?
(1) I do not have to work in college? I, tbh, would rather concentrate on studying especially during my first year so I can have a clear feel of what the workload is like.
(2) Once I get stafford, I get it each subsequent year, as long as my family’s economic standings stay the same?</p>
<p>You might want to take a wait-and-see approach with the work-study. Accept it, but don’t apply for a job right away. That way you have it to fall back on in case you decide you want a job after all. </p>
<p>In fairness to other students, if you know a few months into the school year that you won’t be using the work study grant, you can inform the financial aid office so they can release the funds to someone else who might need them. </p>
<p>-
In comparing costs between schools, you need to keep in mind that loans will increase slightly over the years. I don’t know what Vandy’s loan policies are, but if NU wants you to take a subsidized Stafford loan of $3500 this year, next year it will be $4500 and the year after that $5500. </p>
<p>(If you were my kid, I’d be singing the praises of Vandy right now. I think under the circumstances its the better option).</p>
<p>Not only will Vanderbilt keep your parents out of debt, but it will keep YOU out of debt. Go to Vanderbilt! It’s a great school.</p>
<p>Why would you decline the work-study? Work-study isn’t like working 25 hours a week at McDonald’s. They are usually student-friendly jobs - the library, monitoring the dorms, filing at the admissions office, etc. Most of my friends who had work-study could do their homework during their work-study hours, and they only worked 10-15 hours a week. Take the work study and save the debt!</p>
<p>From all of your enightening advice, I concluded that:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>For Vandy, I should request all or some of Stafford loan and also accept 2200 workstudy. And see for a few months whether I actually feel up to ‘work-study’. @calmom: Thanks! I did not know that I could wait and see about work-study.</p></li>
<li><p>For NU, I will have to review its fits and merits, now that I know that its loans will gradually increase.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>You might want to ask the financial office exactly how work-study works at the school.</p>
<p>At most schools, it works like this: you are asked to attend a meeting early in the year, where they explain how the process works and also collect the type of info needed for employment, like your social security records.</p>
<p>Then it is up to you to find a work-study job on campus. If you don’t want a job right away, no problem – you just don’t apply for any. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that some of the jobs may enhance your academic experiences. For example, my d. first had a job working for a department at her college – that put her in a position to get to know a lot of the profs, even to help some of the profs with research; later she got a job doing research for another department. </p>
<p>But there’s no need to rush if you aren’t sure about working. At some schools there aren’t that many jobs available, and the best jobs are taken early on – that would be bad if you were counting on the job, but it won’t really matter if you aren’t sure anyway.</p>
<p>Here is a calculator that I really like because it helps you see everything apples-to-apples: [FinAid</a> | Calculators | Award Letter Comparison Tool](<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Award Letter Requirements - Finaid) If you run your figures through it, you will have a better sense of what the differences really mean.</p>
<p>And, like everyone else, I’d say you should go to the place that leaves you with the smallest cost after all of the gift aid. Right now that is Vanderbilt.</p>
<p>Bottom line is that you have to decide whether you like NWU that much more than V, that you are willing to pay the extra. Just like if you are looking at any two purchases with one costing more than the other. Sometimes you go for it, if you really feel it is worth the premium. The problem with college costs is that the amounts are not a one time shot. You have 4 years of the expense, and with loans, you’ll be repaying them for 14 years thereafter.</p>