AmeriCorps Segal Educational Grant?!

Paying for College
21

@austinmshauri Thank you for checking in!

The University Grant I did have was $614 for the year ($307 per semester)

These are the scholarships/grants I’ve received:

AmeriCorps Segal Education Grant: $1,222.22
ASU Academic Achievement Scholarship: $2,000
Vantage West Credit Union Scholarship: $1,000
NGSC Scholarship (Stipend is included, I was told the way to calculate was to take tuition and add the $2,500):
$13,240

Together, that is $17,462.22

Together, my residence hall and my meal plan will total to $13,460.

Neither me or my parents have accepted any of the loans (I was offered the Direct Unsubsidized Loan and the Parent PLUS Loan).

22

Okay, good. The total cost of attendance is ~$27k/year because it’s Barrett?

@itsgettingreal17, please clarify why @lovenetc has $17k in grants, yet you seem to think she can only take $12k of it. If I understand correctly, accepting the NGSC means losing the AmeriCorps, ASU Academic Achievement, & Vantage scholarships. Does that sound right?

So her net cost is $27k - $12k NGSC, or ~$15k/year? Is that accurate?

Lovenetc, if that’s true, your parents would have to borrow ~$10k/year (the other $5k can be paid with the federal student loan). Is that the amount showing in the PLUS loan?

23

I think she should get to keep the CU scholarship and the Americorps one. Neither is a grant from the school. The $2000 school grant will either be backed out or the NGSC will be decreased by that amount. Shouldn’t matter in the end. It would seem that tuition and fees are covered and she’d have $2500 and about $2200 toward r&b, can take the $5500 stafford and needs to come up with the rest through Plus loans, savings, payment plan, etc.

Very close.

24

Here’s what I get in total for costs:
Resident tuition - $9,684
Barrett fee - $1,500
Honors housing - $7,850 (cheapest option)
Board - $5,316 (min frosh plan)
Other mandatory fees - $956

So OP needs a minimum of $25,306 to attend, not including books, travel, and personal expenses.

Here’s what I get in financial aid:
AmeriCorps Segel Education Grant - $1,222.22 (1 yr outside award, can receive again w/ add’l service)
Vantage West Credit Union Scholarship - $1,000 (1 yr award)
NGSC Scholarship - $12,184
Direct Loans - $5,500

Total Financial Aid – $19,906.22

@Lovenetc Did I leave anything out?

So the shortfall is $5,399.78 freshman year, assuming OP gets work-study/campus job to cover her books, travel, and personal expenses. OP were you offered work-study? Assuming no add’l grants sophomore - senior year and that OP does not receive the AmeriCorps grant again (OP should get full-time summer employment instead), the shortfall will be $4,399.78 sophomore year, and $3,399.78 junior - senior years.

OP and her family are looking at around $16,599.12 (plus fees and interest) in Parent PLUS Loans and $27,000 in Direct Loans (plus fees and accrued interest).

Given OP’s circumstances, this isn’t horrible if the parents can keep qualifying for and make the PLUS payments and won’t ask OP to pay it back. If they can contribute cash to avoid some of the PLUS loans, even better.

25

Thank you, @itsgettingreal17. In an earlier post OP said her cost of attendance was $28k, so the shortfall is $8k. Lovenetc couldn’t find work, so the parents have to borrow it. It sounds like she’ll graduate with the $27k student loan + ~$32k in parent PLUS loans.

I think the original issue was that OP’s EFC is ~$34k (greater than the cost of attendance), but her parents can’t pay anything because they have too much debt. OP isn’t an only child either, if I remember correctly, so the choices of younger children may be impacted by the loans they take for her. And there’s med school to be considered too.

If those numbers are accurate, and they don’t include books, travel, or personal expenses, I don’t know how they’ll be able to manage it.

26

I believe the $28k was full COA (i.e. Including amounts she can control - personal expenses, books, travel). Maybe also insurance?

27

Good points! OP, could you clarify the above information? What about your younger siblings?

28

@Lovenetc, It concerns me that your package isn’t finalized yet. Based on the email you received from the college in April and the types of awards you got, I think you’re overestimating your grants by ~$2,500 to $5k/year.

Email from ASU:

This is the award you posted:

I think this is wrong because the email from the college said their maximum award is $12,500. Whether they apply it as an NGSC award of $12,500 or as the University Grant ($614) + ASU Scholarship ($2k) + NGSC ($9886), the total from the college is only $12,500, not $15,854. You said in post 20 that the college already removed the $614 grant from your award, so my suspicion is that eventually they’ll take the $2k academic scholarship too.

I think this is the package you’ll get:
AmeriCorps Segal: $1222 (1 year only)
Vantage Credit Union Scholarship: $1,000 (1 time award)
NGSC Scholarship: $12,500
TOTAL: ~$15k (freshman), $12,500 (soph-senior)

Cost of attendance: $23,500
Gap: $8500 (1st year), ~$11k (years 2-4). That makes your net cost ~$42k (not counting travel, books, personal expenses, and cost increases). That’s a lot, especially for a student who wants to go to med school.

29

I don’t find it surprising that her FA is not finalized yet. My daughter’s tuition is due on Aug 10 or so, and most of her costs and awards are not posted yet. This is the third year, fifth bill, and it’s never been posted until a few days before it is due (or even after). They are supposed to be posted by July 1, and something goes up on her portal, but it isn’t even close to the final bill.

30

@itsgettingreal17 When I did my FAFSA, I said that I would be interested in work-study, but I never heard anything of that and there’s nothing in my portal :confused:

I guess that just meant I’d have to look for a job myself, so I’m searching for a job in the “Apply/search for student jobs” to look for a job. My aunt sent me an email about several jobs that are available.

Yes, I have two younger siblings, one that is about to start high school and a younger brother who’s beginning middle school. I have definitely began helping my sister with looking for sources for test prep, as I definitely want her to have better chances for a wonderful school and greater scholarship opportunities than I had. (This girl is an Ivy League bound student-she’s absolutely wonderful, she is going places!! <3 ).

I am beginning to feel annoyed with the NGSC stuff. There’s 149 other students that are in my position as well, so I know I’m not the only one, it’s just school begins soon and I have a plan that needs to be finalized!!

31

My Sister has also begun her savings for college, which I’m proud of!

32

She won’t be on here asking for help 24/7 and she’s not dumb like I am!! :stuck_out_tongue: You are all wonderful, I truly appreciate the help.

33

@austinmshauri

When I noticed the $614 had been removed from my Finances Tab in my account, I asked someone ad they said it was a “need based” grant, and around that time that was when I received the Vantage West scholarship.
My $2,000 scholarship (That is the scholarship that is $2,000 for four years- $8,000 total) is my set University scholarship, as long as I maintain a 3.0 GPA and and my Full Time credit hours, I can keep this scholarship and have it renewed.

Another thing with the NGSC, tuition as raised at ASU, so in their email from several months ago before the tuition raise has been released, they say take the “base level of tuition,” which they list as “$10,000” so maybe they need to update the numbers?

34

You keep the $2,000, but that $2,000 also reduces your NGSC grant by $2,000.

35

My interpretation is the same as itsgettingreal17, @Lovenetc. I think the max you’ll get from the college is $12,500. They may call it by different names, but I think that’s what the total will be.

You should figure $23,500 as the direct cost of attendance, and budget for books, travel, and living expenses (indirect costs) separately. You’ll need $2-3k for indirect expenses, so if your net cost (direct costs only) is $8500-11,000, you really need ~$11k-$13,500. Costs will go up each year, but so will the federal loan amounts.

Can your parents pay the balance ($5-6k/year) or will they have to borrow it? Do you have any siblings? If so, your parents need to be careful how much they borrow. There have been posters who found out too late that borrowing for an older child severly limited options for younger ones. Keep in mind that this degree is going to cost you ~$50k. If that’s all debt, repaying could be a problem. Run the numbers very carefully.

36

It’s not $12,500. It is tuition + $2,500. They estimate tuition at $10,000 (see the ~) but it’s actually a little less.

37

And how are you getting $23k. I’m pretty confident my number is correct. Took it from the ASU website for 2016.

38

Well, I just saw on my ASU account the class I need to take for my NGSC stuff, so hopefully this means the financial stuff will soon appear!!!

39

No merit aid at Ivys - so if your sister gets in, consider how your parents and she will pay for it.

40

@itsgettingreal17, You’re correct. The cost of attendance is ~$25,500 for Barrett because of the extra fees. So the gap for firect costs is $10,500 (year 1) and $13k (years 2-4). Do you think $2500 is enough for books, travel, and personal expenses? That would bring the net cost to $13k-$15,500/year. The total cost for this pre-med student would be $52k-62k.

The family income is over $100k, but OP said they had trouble paying application fees. If liquid assets are a problem, coming up with $8-10k year (after the federal student loan) may be a challenge.