<p>I'm an incoming high school senior in Texas. I have pretty good stats (3.97, 2180) and am already guaranteed admission to UT-Austin and Bama. I plan on majoring in engineering (chem. or ECE). I am in a financial pickle. My mom makes 45-65k a year in commission, but is in tens of thousands in debt. My dad pays minimal child support, makes 100k and is not a part of my life. I don't plan on getting any scholarship money due to a lack of Ec's and "leadership" positions. I suppose financial aid at a FAFSA school is possible.. Bama is appealing because of the free tuition I am entitled to there plus 2500 from engineering and because it would get me out of Texas.. At UT on the other hand, which has a much "stronger" program, I might barely get into my intended major.... I don't know if Tuscaloosa is my ideal place to be, but 30 or 40k in student loans sounds a lot better than the 90k or so at UT... Any thoughts on what I should do? Is the lower debt by 50 grand going to be worth it in the long run? I hope to get a master's some day if that helps..</p>
<p>Well, apply to Alabama as your safety. Apply to Texas to see if you get into your intended major and to see what kind of financial aid offer it gives you. And apply to scholarships anyway.</p>
<p>After you get the results, you can then make the comparison based on whether you got into Texas in your intended major and what the net cost after non-loan financial aid is at each school.</p>
<p>Why do you think you have to decide now?</p>
<p>Apply to both schools and to other schools and see.</p>
<p>Tuscaloosa is a great city…are you the one who thought it was rural??? No, it’s not rural. It’s a good sized city. And, it sits on the Black Warrior River. I think you’ll be surprised at how nice the city is. </p>
<p>Anyway…before you get ideas about borrowing $90k…YOU CAN’T borrow that much.</p>
<p>YOU can only borrow the following amounts</p>
<p>frosh 5500
soph 6500
jr 7500
sr 7500</p>
<p>So…a total of $27k</p>
<p>To borrow more than that your mom would have to QUALIFY and agree to CO-SIGN larger loans. Since you say that she’s already deep in debt, she won’t likely qualify…and she won’t likely agree to co-sign anyway.</p>
<p>Besides…it’s insane to borrow that much for ANY school…even an elite one.</p>
<p>If you only live with your Mom (and I made that assumption since your father pays CS, I am figuring your parents are divorced) only her income (if she is not remarried) will be used on your FAFSA. With her income where it is at, I am going to go out on a limb and says you will qualify for a Pell Grant (federal) and other instate grants as funding is approved. You could find yourself with no anywhere close to the debt you think. If you receive a tuition grant from Alabama and a Pell Grant plus a scholarship, you could end up with no loans at all. Texas offers the Texas Grant and the Top 10% scholarship, which if your Mom’s income stays similar to last year, you should qualify for. Now I used the word qualify, because it boils down to if the programs have enough money to go around. You need to apply to both schools. You need to weigh the financial aid offers against each other and then you need to decide.</p>
<p>If the mom earns $45k - 65k per year on commission, then it’s doubtful that the student would qualify for Pell.</p>
<p>Also…it sounds like the mom will still be receiving $500 per month for child support for the younger sibling. I don’t know how that will play into FAFSA and EFC or Texas aid.</p>
<p>If you take $55k as the mom’s income…and add $6,000 for child support, that’s an income of over $60k. That’s too high for Pell with only one in college. The EFC would be about…$6500…which is too high for Pell. </p>
<p>And…I don’t know how the fact that the mom will have received $12k in child support for year 2011 will be handled. It’s not like all of it goes away in the future…only half.</p>
<p>And…it sounds like his mom won’t be able to pay her EFC…so that’s another problem. </p>
<p>This student shouldn’t worry about choosing right now because he doesn’t have the facts. Imagine if he chose Texas (right now) and then got some crappy aid package in the spring? </p>
<p>He needs to apply to Texas and see what happens…and he need to apply to places where he knows that he’ll get lots of aid and/or merit scholarships. </p>
<p>Then, in the spring, look over the situation…and make the decision.</p>
<p>Well my soph. year in college and up, my sister will also be in college… will that help me qualify for aid?</p>
<p>That depends on how much your mom is earning at that point. </p>
<p>If your EFC by yourself is 6500, then if your mom’s earnings stay the same (55k), then your EFC would be about 3300…so that would get you about $2200 for when your sister is in school. </p>
<p>But these EFC estimates are rough estimates because other factors come in. </p>
<p>Right now, you just have to apply to several schools and see what your numbers are in the spring.</p>
<p>I used an efc calculator with my mom’s 2010 tax returns… Her gross adjusted income was 35600 and my estimated efc was 1700… it said I probably qualify for the pell… does this mean my financial situation is actually good?</p>