Anything more to help her?

Paying for College
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<p>I'm hoping you can help me... Looking for a stone still unturned, or something we missed...</p>

<p>My neighbors passed away in 2007 & 2009, leaving behind 4 children (then ages 21, 19, 18 & 14). The eldest was appointed guardian of the youngest, and the middle two were on their own. Family home was sold to pay medical debt, there was no life insurance left. #1 & #4 live in a crummy little apartment, paid for with #4 social security money.</p>

<p>Fast forward to last spring, when I run into #4, who is a cashier at the supermarket. We reconnect and I start helping her out where her brother won't... Driving, college visits, etc.</p>

<p>She applies to 10 schools... A mix of state, private, local, out of town... We visit them all, and she falls in love with Pace (NYC). </p>

<p>We file FAFSA in early February. Send letters verifying independence, copies of death certificates, etc. She also sends a letter requesting a review of her aid package. EFC = 0.</p>

<p>Package came today, and it's ugly. I'm doing this from memory... $15,000 honors scholarship, $11,000 institutional grants, $3000 NYS tap... $9500 in sub & unsub loans... Im forgetting something, but the Bottom line is that she's still $10,000 short for the first year.</p>

<p>She has applied for at least 15 private scholarships, but won't find out about them until early June.</p>

<p>Is there anything we are missing? I'm new to this... My own kids are young. All I want is to help this kid achieve her dream... Life dealt her a raw hand.</p>

<p>Any advice, suggestions, etc are so very much appreciated!!!!!</p>

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<p>I’m guessing with a 0 EFC that she must also have a Pell grant in there.</p>

<p>Even if she finds a way to cover the extra $10,000 a year (which seems unlikely), she still has a package that contains a lot of loans. With interest accumulating on the unsubsidized part of the loans, by the time she graduates the debt will probably be closer to $50,000 which is a lot to start her young life with - almost $600 a month or more in payments every month for 10 long years. To be honest, I think the very best thing you can do for this girl is sit her down and talk to her about the impact such a debt will have on her future life and guide her toward a more affordable option. Don’t let her “dream school” turn into a nightmare of struggling to pay debt. I would have very strongly discouraged my own kids from taking on such debt.</p>

<p>It is so wonderful that you are trying to help her out, and I can understand why you really want her to achieve her dream. But she really does not need to start life with such a burden of debt, and she can still achieve her dreams but hopefully at a school she can attend without the heavy debt.</p>

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<p>I really agree with Swimcatsmom – this girl desperately needs a school with virtually no out-of-pocket costs or loans. Are any of the SUNY schools an option? #4 will (I believe) lose SS once she turns 18, or as soon after that as she graduates from high school. </p>

<p>It won’t help for Pace, probably, but this is the kind of situation where sometimes a Rotary, McDonald’s owner, or church might step in with some assistance to help get her started. </p>

<p>What an incredibly sad story.</p>

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<p>I am sorry to read this. The bottom line is that PACE does not meet full need as a matter of course. The SUNY, CUNY system has inexpensive tuition so that nearly all New Yorkers can afford to go to college, but… the room and board is high. It assumes that the student will commute. </p>

<p>Independent students don’t get a windfall. When they work, a goodly percentage of income is claimed for college costs. It’s cases like this that hurt, because the kid really does not have any fallback. </p>

<p>What are the plans of the sibling with whom she is living in terms of making rent payments when that social security ends? Are there any relatives that can take her in while she commutes to a local state school? </p>

<p>I wish I had more to add to this, but I really do not. College money is not intended to be a social welfare net, but in cases like this, I wish there were some provision.</p>

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<p>What are some of the other school options, op?</p>

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<p>I really appreciate your comments.</p>

<p>Pell grant is in there… you’re right… I forgot to add that one to the list.</p>

<p>The “family” as it stands will dissolve on Sept. 1st, when the apartment lease expires. The brother/guardian set it up that way because he knew the social security would end and she would be going away to school. He is moving in with the girlfriend. It’s so sad – in addition to the financial decisions, she has to figure out where to store her furniture, where she’ll stay during college breaks, where to send her mail, etc. Not normal decisions for an 18 year old to make! </p>

<p>There really aren’t any other family members who are in any position to help her out, other than a couch to sleep on temporarily. </p>

<p>As far as state schools, she’s been accepted to Fredonia, Purchase, New Paltz, Oneonta. Fredonia & Purchase are definite possibilities – she’d need to borrow “only” $3500 a year. Not bad options at all, but neither school fits the profile of what she wants. (I know, from a rational adult perspective, sometimes we need to make sacrifices…)</p>

<p>I want to make sure that we’ve done everything we can though. When we met with FA, Honors and Admissions at Pace, we left with high hopes, and we’re a little confused at how it didn’t work out. Is there anything else we should be submitting?</p>

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<p>You are an absolute angel to help her like this. A friend of our family was in a similar situation (orphaned). There were a number of schools who were sort of in denial about her being an orphan–the first FA pkgs came back ugly. In some cases, they stayed ugly. But she or maybe one of her relatives called her top choice schools and spoke with FA and reiterated that she was an orphan with no support.</p>

<p>In her case, she does have some life ins money and lots of relatives. But in the end, one school really stepped up and offered extra aid. I think it is worth calling and talking to someone, to see if there are any other ways to lower the debt, etc.</p>

<p>She’s basically homeless, with no support. I know schools don’t have lots of money lying around but perhaps if you get the right person involved there would be some possible cost cutting at the SUNYs–ie, lower-cost dorm, extra work-study, something! Or maybe Pace will reconsider and offer more.</p>

<p>I hope it works out for her. Again, you are so wonderful to be stepping up like this.</p>

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<p>I’m curious to know what the big attraction is with Pace–it’s not the kind of school that usually ignites infatuation, unless the student is accepted to its theater BFA program. Perhaps the most useful approach at this point would be to demonstrate to the girl that her SUNY options are really quite fine and not inferior to Pace. Attendance at any admitted students days might help do the trick, as well as an exercise in which she picks out tentative first year schedules of classes from the catalogs. Even the Facebook pages that have likely been set up for her entering classes at each school might help engender some enthusiasm.</p>

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<p>Could she receive free R&B by becoming an RA after the first year?</p>

<p>Also, it might help to let her know that Pace may not be well-known outside of the area.</p>

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<p>PM Sybbie. She is truly the guru in this sort of thing in the NYC area.</p>

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<p>New Paltz and Purchase are both nearby the city so if she wanted to visit her brother or come into the city for weekend excursions, she could. New Paltz in particular is easily reachable by Metro-North. I also had a friend who went to SUNY-Oneonta and loved it - she was from Brooklyn, so very used to the city environment, but she really enjoyed her Oneonta experience.</p>

<p>College is what you make it. Perhaps you should begin to bring her around to reality now? IMO, all of those SUNYs are far more reputable than Pace.</p>

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<p>Just wanted to say thank you for all your sage advice. We really weighed everything out, and in the end she chose to deposit at Purchase. You all had excellent points that factored highly into her decision.</p>

<p>And selfishly, I learned a lot from this process that will help me in a few years when my own babies start the college search.</p>

<p>THANK YOU!!!</p>

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<p>Thanks go to you for helping her.</p>

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<p>I hope she gets a great roommate with a family not too far away. Tough, tough circumstances. </p>

<p>Thank you for the update.</p>

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<p>I am so happy to hear she made the decision to avoid the high debt. Thank you for updating us and for taking the time to give her help and advice.</p>

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<p>Late to the thread but I am glad that everything worked out. Purchase is a great school. I agree with Juillet, that all the SUNYs that she accepted to are better than Pace. </p>

<p>Buffalokarma,</p>

<p>Just curious, did she apply and was accepted through EOP at any of her choices? If yes, then I would say follow the money.</p>