<p>Ok, so I got accepted to NYU earlier this month but I never received my financial aid packet. So yesterday, I finally called the finaid office and they told me something about my FAFSA not having been downloaded (so basically they never made a finaid package for me) and the (very nice!) man said he'd get back to me on it. Finally, today I received my financial aid package. </p>
<p>Although I received about 62k in aid (which is basically the full tuition and room/board), most of it is in loans (all but 9k). Do you think this is because of the whole FAFSA issue or something else? Also... my EFC was about 20k, do schools normally excede the EFC (in loans)?</p>
<p>Ugh I really want to go but even if i reject 20k of the loans (my efc), it'll still be 33k a year i'll be taking in loans & they're parent PLUS loans for the most part.</p>
<p>You got a very bad FA pkg. It’s unknown if it would be this bad if they had processed earlier. It may have been if your stats aren’t super high for the school and/or you are in a college that doesn’t give much merit.</p>
<p>NYU aid is largely tied to how strong a student you are.</p>
<p>You can’t afford this school. Too much debt.</p>
<p>other option is GWU which gave me 15k scholarship and 5k loans or W&M (instate) with no finaid (tuition+roam and board is like 22k, my parents can afford that)</p>
<p>but i really want to go to NYU.
how bad of an idea is it to sell assets to pay for college tuition? i feel like it might not be a good idea in the long run but there really is no other way unless i want to take loads of loans</p>
<p>“other option is GWU which gave me 15k scholarship and 5k loans or W&M (instate) with no finaid (tuition+roam and board is like 22k, my parents can afford that)”</p>
<p>Yes to W&M…great that your parents can pay that!</p>
<p>“but i really want to go to NYU.”</p>
<p>But you can’t afford it. “Really” wanting to go is not enough. Put your big boy (or girl) pants on and accept the situation. You’ve got a great option with W&M.</p>
<p>“how bad of an idea is it to sell assets to pay for college tuition?”</p>
<p>???</p>
<p>How much are your assets worth? $200k???</p>
<p>" i feel like it might not be a good idea in the long run but there really is no other way unless i want to take loads of loans"</p>
<p>William and Mary is an excellent college…and it appears this is affordable for you without selling assets (which quite frankly I do NOT think is a good idea if you can avoid it…they are not YOUR assets…they are your PARENTS’ assets).</p>
<p>Kids in my state are dying for a chance to go to W&M. But you’re from VA, so you think W&M sucks. You see, grass is always greener on the other side.</p>
<p>NYU ranks I think it was #5 in the nation for highest debt upon graduation. It didn’t matter that you received your award letter so late, as all of their award letters are terrible.</p>
<p>I disagree with this. NYU is an expensive private university. It does not guarantee to meet the financial need of all accepted students. That does not make it overpriced OR terrible. </p>
<p>“That does not make it overpriced OR terrible.”</p>
<p>FULL DISCLOSURE: I’m a bit biased as I went to a low-income HS in Brooklyn for a while (you can imagine the stories of tearful students with terrible award packages, and annoyance at shockingly sheltered and affluent NYU students at clubs and college parties obsessed with calling themselves new yorkers).</p>
<p>But when you consider college in a cost V. worth scenario NYU is honestly terrible (for anyone but the most affluent). According to US News: AVERAGE amount of debt: $41,375. That’s wretched, and far worse in context than simply stating ‘it’s an expensive private university that doesn’t meet full-need’. </p>
<p>And when you factor in other things, such as quality of life and amenities (even ignoring the overblown stories of depressed and disillusioned NYU freshman), cost of living and transportation, student participation and satisfaction, campus feel, regional employment competition upon graduation, amount spent on students, etc., it gets worse and worse for NYU compared to similar schools.</p>
<p>I’m not saying people should go to a community college over NYU, but I am saying that more often than not students with the stats that got them into NYU have gotten into, or could get into, comparable schools with better financial aid, a better college experience, and equal or better opportunities (like the OP with W&M). I’m sorry to hash on about it, but a lot of 17 year olds can’t comprehend the idea that $50,000 in debt isn’t worth going to the same school Felicity did… </p>
Sonybd, What Thumper implied by this is NYU is very upfront about not meeting need. That doesn’t mean that starry eyed HS seniors don’t still take on obscene loans to go there. To do that they have to willfully put on blinders. I would welcome you trying to put some sense in their heads about this. Just keep reading the boards and commenting on those cases. BTW, I grew up in a low income family in Queens.</p>
<p>Unless you have some weird phobia of people dressed in historical costume, then you are crazy not to go to W&M. W&M is great school for many reasons. Sounds like you want to get away from Virginia. My advice, use the money you save by going to W&M to go on a study abroad program for a semester or two.</p>
i feel like it might not be a good idea in the long run but there really is no other way unless i want to take loads of loans</p>
i’ll have to talk it over with my parents</p>