Am I going to drown in debt?

Paying for College
1

<p>So, I'm middle class (my household income is about $85,000), and an in a family of four (dad, stepmom, brother, and me). My parents have decided that they won't be contributing to college, so other than textbooks, I'm on my own. This is because both work at places with no retirement plans, so all of their saved money is going towards that. </p>

<p>I am mainly interested in top LAC's that meet 100% of need with no loans (Amherst, Swarthmore, Bowdoin, etc.) I was wondering how much my EFC might be (typical assets, 1 other sibiling in college). Will the colleges take into consideration my parent's situation? I'm fine with taking out about $5,000-$8,000 in loans each year and then do work study, but I'm not so sure about taking out $10,000+ each year.</p>

<p>As of right now, I want to go to med school as well, and I would have to take out loans to cover all of the tuition/fees, so no matter what, I'll be $200,000+ in debt after that. Because of this, I want to take out the least amount of loans during undergrad.</p>

<p>So, what does my situation look like? How much debt do you think I will accrue in undergrad? I'm not exactly sure how much money they actually give students I just hear the same 100% need, no loans.</p>

2

<p>Use the calculators which many schools have on their websites to get a feel for what you may receive. Schools do not give consideration to a family’s internal priorities (e.g., should I pay for my child’s school or buy a new car or fund retirement), although some Ivy league schools do consider the age of the parents and do not count retirement savings as sources of school funding.</p>

<p>I would think carefully about 8k per year - that’s 40k in debt with expensive grad school on the horizon.</p>

<p>With “typical assets” (a term left intentionally vague and undefined by all schools) and 85,000$ in w-2 wages, you would not have to pay very much to attend an Ivy. But, if the 85k is your family adjusted gross ncome (or even worse, taxable income) arrived at after lots of deductions (e.g., a small family owned business), your EFC will be much higher.</p>

<p>I would make your college list (taking into account what the calculators show), and NOT apply binding ED (EA is fine)(because your financial contribution may really interact with your choices), apply to the schools on your list, and weigh the financial issues when making your final decision.</p>

<p>I would also include one school which will give you a lot of merit money. That school may not have the same cachet as the schools you have mentioned, but finishing at the top of your class at that school will give you plenty of choices for grad school.</p>

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<p>What YOU think you need and what those LACs are going to think you need is not going to be the same thing. Need is based on family income and - as you acknowledge - you come from a middle-income family. The fact that your parents choose to invest in their retirement instead of your education will be viewed as a choice . . . and the schools are not going to fund you based on that choice. (I know that sounds harsh . . . but that’s just the way it is.)</p>

<p>The full need, no loan schools are NOT going to work for you. You need to focus on schools that will award you significant merit aid. Choosing carefully, you should be able to identify schools where your stat’s would qualify you for either full tuition or a free ride. That means finding schools where your stat’s are ABOVE the average for that school. (If you’re just average, why would they want to pay you to attend?)</p>

<p>If you have the stat’s to get into the top LACs that you mentioned, you should also be able to find the merit aid you need . . . although it won’t be at the same well known schools. But it can be done, you’ll end up with minimal (or no) debt, and med school will be significantly more manageable.</p>

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<p>Keep in mind that once your older sibling leaves college, that your aid will decrease.</p>

<p>Your schools will determine what your "need’ is. </p>

<p>Since you will have to borrow your family’s EFC, then it’s best to apply to no-loan schools.</p>

<p>Is your mom still alive? If so, her family’s income will also get considered when calculating aid (including a new husband).</p>

<p>Also, be sure to apply to some financial safety schools…these are schools that will give you large merit for your stats.</p>

5

<p>OP, I see you’re a sophomore–glad you’re starting to plan early.</p>

<p>If you want to go to med school, your goal should be to finish undergrad with no debt, or at most just what you would receive from the federal government’s Stafford loans. That would keep you under the $8k of loans per year you’re comfortable with.</p>

<p>You won’t be able to get more loans on your own. Any private student loans require a cosigner, usually a parent. Your parents might agree to cosign…or they might say that they don’t want to be on the hook for loan repayment. Though the loans would be in your name, the cosigner is liable for repayment if you default. If your parents have little in retirement savings, they might be especially skittish about cosigning tens of thousands of dollars of loans for undergrad.</p>

<p>Since you’re a sophomore you’ve got plenty of time to create as strong an academic record as possible. You’ve got a strong GPA and you’re taking AP courses where possible. You have time to prep for the PSAT so that come junior year you can aim at getting a score high enough to qualify for National Merit (which offers some generous merit scholarships). That will get you ready to perform well on the SAT and ACT, making you a great candidate for merit-based aid at schools you’ve not yet considered but which will give you a great undergrad experience and get you ready for med school without crushing debt.</p>

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<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1367319-how-families-sometimes-do.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1367319-how-families-sometimes-do.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I wrote the first post on this thread because this is a real life example of someone who is in a very similar situation as you are. As you can see, the private schools, felt that this family could afford to pay still a substantial hunk of the tuition, including a school that guarantees to meet all need. $85K is not considered low income, and it is assumed that your PARENTS had saved some money, will be paying some money out of salary, and maybe borrowing some money as well as you towards your college costs. Also, if they have been saving for their retirement, if that money isn’t in a qualified plan like an IRA, it will be hit up for what the colleges feel is a reasonable contribution. </p>

<p>You also mention stepfather, which means there might be a non custodial parent out there and possibly another step parent. Most schools that meet full need will want to hit both of them up too. That a school meets full need, means that it usually defines the need, and home equity, non custodial parents and other things are all taken into consideration.</p>

<p>So take that all in and use those figures as well. Most important of all is to have a school that you know you can afford that will take you, and then you can take your chances on a number of other schools. You should include some schools where you have a shot at a lot of merit money as well as the LACs and other private schools that guarantee to meet full need. When you want or need the money, you have to cast a wide net and not have all of your eggs in one basket, and have a sure thing there as well.</p>

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<p>Thanks for all the replies!</p>

<p>My mom makes about $10,000 and below, so I don’t think colleges will be asking her for money.</p>

<p>Luckily, I still have some time to think about it. I’ll definitely consider state schools where I could get merit aid (I’m in VA, so those would be JMU and VT, for me) and there are other more selective schools that would be cheaper in state, but it would be harder for me to get merit scholarships there (UVA and William and Mary). I’m definitely considering William and Mary, because it is extremely cheap for a school of its caliber, and it’s in state, so win-win.</p>

<p>I always have outside scholarships, but I don’t like the way some schools handle them. The fact that they take away from the grants and financial aid instead of the EFC kind of screws me over unless I get an astronomical amount. For VT, W&M, and JMU, I guess it would be possible for me to get enough for the full COA, but I would need to spend A LOT of time looking for scholarships, which I would be willing to do if it meant graduating debt free.</p>

<p>I definitely won’t apply ED, when the time comes. Financial aid is a HUGE factor, and inevitably, I’ll probably go to the school that gives me the most, no matter its prestige. That kind of depresses me, because for a long time, I’ve dreamt of attending Amherst or Swarthmore, or somewhere where everyone was as smart and hard working as I was. Unfortunately though, I know I have to do what’s best for me financially, and that probably doesn’t include those schools. -_-</p>

<p>Oh well, life goes on after college anyway. It’s only four years, after all.</p>

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<p>You would be better off with your mother being your custodial parent, if you can manage to live with her a bit more than with your father the year before you go to college. With that income, you would likely have a zero EFC and be eligible for full PELL of a little over $5K.</p>

<p>Here is how financial aid generally works. You have to complete a FAFSA with your custodial parent and his/her spouse. This is for government money. Your non custodial parent does not complete this. The number generated, your Expected Family Contribution will be what qualifies you for the PELL grant and other FEderal aid. PELL and Stafford loans are not given by the colleges, but by the federal government to the college you end up going to. </p>

<p>Those colleges that tend to guarantee to meet need, to not just use FAFSA. They will want ALL your information including non custodial parent and spouse as well as the custodial parent, primary home equity, and they will come up with a package based on that information.</p>

<p>The thing is, the schools that use FAFSA alone do not guarantee to meet your need most of the time, though a high scoring, high grades student may well get need met. So you have to balance these things when applying to colleges.</p>

<p>The reason outside scholarships can be important is that it is very difficult to get need 100% met even in schools that guarantee it, in pure grants. You may get work study and loans in your package and most schools will let you replace those with outside awards before hitting up the need based grants. It gives you more flexibility to have that money in hand, so don’t just discount it out of hand. There really are very few students who are privileged enough to have grant money reduced by outside scholarships.</p>

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<p>Great attitude! Is there any chance you could get a job and put that money aside for college? It sure would be a help once you get there.</p>

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<p>JMU has limited merit aid at this time, and all is competitive. I am not as familiar with other in-state options.</p>

<p>You still have a few years, so things could change, but currently the largest scholarships at JMU are the Dingledine and Centennial. Both require a separate application, Dingledine requires November 1 Early Application.</p>

<p>Other smaller scholarship are offered by the university and individual programs, and range from smaller amounts (like 1000 - 2500 per year… some renewable, some not) to approximately 1/2 in-state tuition renewable scholarships. </p>

<p>There is information about scholarships on the JMU website.</p>

<p>As an undergraduate student you are personally able to take out Direct Loans of 5500 for freshman year, 6500 for sophomore year and 7500 for each of junior and senior year. Most other loans need to be taken by parents or with the assistance of a qualified co-signer. These numbers may change slightly by the time you are applying, but likely not significantly. Depending on family EFC you could be eligible for Work Study, Virginia grants, Perkins Loans, Pell grant. If your family applies for a Parent PLUS loan and is denied you would be eligible for approximately an additional 4000 in Direct Loans per year.</p>

<p>You also could look into the possibility of attending a CC for 2 years then transferring to a four year university. Most of the fou year universities in VA gave articulation agreements with the state CCs.</p>

<p>VA has terrific state school options… you also could look at private and OOS schools that will give you significant merit for your stats. Focus on doing well in HS, and on strong test scores ECs… do your best, you are certain to have great options!</p>

<p>Good for you for starting to think of this now. :-)</p>

<p>Sent from my DROID RAZR using CC</p>

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<p>One other thing… You may want to look at dual enrollment in community colleges during your last two years of high school. Talk to your guidance counselor and the colleges themselves about how those courses would transfer but it’s likely that, if you choose carefully, they will transfer into an instate college even more generously than AP credits.</p>

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<p>Yeah, I’m definitely getting a job, and saving all that I can.</p>

<p>And actually, I’m starting to take DE classes this year (DE Pre-Calc), and as long as I get a C, I’ll get a credit. And, in my junior and senior years, I’m planning on going to a governor’s school for half the day, and then spend the other half at my high school. At the governor’s school, you can opt to take all your classes DE.</p>

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<p>A note of caution regarding college credit granting classes while in high school. And this is in regards to those specific classes and med school.</p>

<p>When you apply to medical school you must list all those classes regardless if you are a high school student at the time on the AMCAS (med school) application. So 6 years down the road when you apply to med school you will need to list those classes and they will affect your overall GPA and if need be, your BCPM (science/math) GPA. </p>

<p>So be mindful of that when you take college credit classes, they will be following you for med school applications.</p>

<p>Kat</p>

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<p>This is not true. You can PM me for more information, but in my experience, that income with 2 kids in college may pay full tuition plus at some 100 percent need met schools (look at Williams and Amherst). But financial packages vary and you need to cast a wide net.</p>

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<p>I have direct experience, too, with one of these schools and very similar family income, 2 kids in college, etc. I can’t speak to your parents’ assets, as you didn’t give us that info – but outside of that I think you can expect those 100% meets-needs LACs you mentioned to expect approximately $10,000 a year with one in college, about $6,000 for you if you also have a sibling in college. These, are of course, super-rough estimates, but it’s likely to be in that range.</p>

<p>Included in the amount you and your family would be expected to pay is probably $1000-$2000 in student summer earnings contribution. Probably $1500-$1800 in your personal “walking around money” (what you might earn with a part-time workstudy job on campus.) About $1000 for books. So you can save a lot by getting cheaper books, lowering your personal walking-around-money budget by half (both my kids have done this, no problem), and whatever you earn in the summer to put toward school. You may then end up with annual loans in the $6000-$7000 with one in college, maybe the $3000 range with 2 in college. Of course this is only the case if the school does NOT package loans already in its financial aid. Not sure if Williams is still loan-free, although it used to be.</p>

<p>But, yes, it can vary widely. The numbers above reflect our experience. I recommend the online calculators on the Williams and Amherst websites. I have found them to be very accurate if you input accurate data.</p>

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<p>Williams does now have loans of $1500/year in the financial aid package for the class of 2013. But, the financial aid package is still more generous than most. The unique book grant given to financial aid recipients at Williams is worth $800/year and DD gets about $250 selling them back.</p>