<p>Has anyone done this and gotten more? Should I go to the Admissions office or the Financial Aid office? I got an almost full ride from Texas A&M and a full ride from Alabama. My parents aren't giving me a dime for college, even though my EFC is fairly high. Michigan only gave me 5.5k in unsubsudized loans. I don't expect anything, but I guess it's worth a try. So, has anyone done it at UM?</p>
<p>It’s likely that it’s not going to work. Your EFC is what colleges expect your parents to pay and they don’t care if your family wants to pay or not. You can bring your concern to the FA forum, but i don’t think it’s gona be make any difference.</p>
<p>I know they won’t care that my parents won’t pay, I was just giving background on why I need to do this. Some people on FA have had success; some haven’t. I just want to know about Michigan specifically. It’s more that Texas A&M is offering me 110k. I know they’re not exactly on the same level, but A&M is better than MSU. Do you think this will have any effect?</p>
<p>I submitted a special consideration letter at the suggestion of the FA office because my mom had to have an emergency hysterectomy that April and we hadn’t had insurance and we lost her income for several months while she recovered (after my 15 year old sister attempted suicide in november and was hospitalized a week which was also without insurance) and they did not adjust my aid at all, I did not receive anything but the unsubsidized stafford loans available to everyone. I am pretty sure they are not going to care about anything you can come up with to say.</p>
<p>^Wow. You got shafted. Things don’t look good for my chances. </p>
<p>Colleges are the only ones that can offer subsudized loans, correct? Has anyone taken out 60k in unsubsudized loans?</p>
<p>Dang, I think it’s wrong of parents not to pay their EFC (or pay what they can if they’re EFC is messed up) :(</p>
<p>You can only take out what UM offered you in stafford loans, which are the subsidized and unsubsidized stafford loans. Depending on the credit of your cosigner (I assume you do not have a significant credit history) you may be able to take out a private loan, but that is not something I would recommend if you have other viable options. I took out a about a $40k private loan (20k per year approx) to attend Michigan, but it is only because I was paying for the entirety of my education with private loans no matter where I went (and I’d already gone to a CC to save money for two years), the cheapest school I could go to would only be 10k cheaper total and MUCH more problematic in other factors, and going to Mich gave me the option to commute if it became necessary and the other schools did not. If I’d had any other options I would not have taken out this debt. I have no idea if I will ever own a home. If I ever achieve the whole American dream of owning a house and a car and having a few kids and the whole nine yards, it probably won’t be until late into my 30’s or 40’s or later, if ever. That kind of debt is life changing. Unless you think you are going to be making a CONSIDERABLE sum after graduation, I would not consider that kind of debt. As great as Michigan is, it isn’t worth it if you have other options.</p>
<p>^What are you majoring in? If I make it to Wall Street, that debt would be gone within a few years. But if I don’t, then it won’t.</p>
<p>That was why I said “unless you think you are going to be making a considerable sum,” since in some fields that amount isn’t a much.</p>
<p>I am majoring in political science, so there’s the difference. I am not interested in getting to Wall Street. My saving grace is that I am going into public service and should be able to get federal loan forgiveness for the rest of my expenses.</p>
<p>TwistedxKiss, let me try and get this straight, your instate and you had to take out a 40k loan for two years? I thought Michigan tries to meet the needs of all its instate kids first and then plays with the idea of giving money to its out of state kids. They should of atleast thrown more money at you considering you have to pay for all of your education yourself.</p>
<p>If your story is true, then I am screwed beyond belief. I am out of state and I have to pay for all of my education too :(</p>
<p>Well, my EFC is about 25k, that is why. I get 7500 in unsub stafford this year and 8500 next year, I think-- which is offered to everyone, and I have to make up the rest in private loans. The university doesn’t think I have any need. The FAFSA just doesn’t take into account the things that matter for my family’s financial situation and it seems the university is willing to stick to that no matter how ludicrous it is in context. I’ve given up complaining about it. I could have saved 10k and gone to a cheaper school but in the end there were other factors that made that even more unpleasant than these loans.</p>
<p>If you don’t expect a considerable amount of financial aid and your parents aren’t assisting you, I can’t imagine why you’d be looking out of state. I had wanted to go out of state originally too but given my circumstances it was obviously completely out of the question.</p>
<p>Realistically, jrt336 if you’re EFC ( Expected Family Contribution) is higher than normal, than most likely you won’t have any success in getting an increase with your financial aid package. However, there are few exceptions to this rule and if you have a legitimate reason for obtaining a higher amount than by all means proceed because the worse anyone in the fin aid. office can tell you is no!. Btw, if I were you I would consult with one of the Supervisors in the fin. aid office as they can make executive decisions and may know of other resources and alternatives to assist you.</p>
<p>Best of luck man, Dave</p>
<p>The UM financial aid office is a huge (expletive deleted). End of story. Good luck, but I highly doubt they’ll give you anything.</p>
<p>They love screwing people over (unless you are an underrepresented minority and fail organic chemistry, in which case you probably have a full scholarship).</p>
<p>not true. People need to suck it up that education is not free. There are many ways to meet your need, i.e. working ur butt off during the school yr and/or the summer.</p>
<p>@ jrt336: Are you in-state, or out of state? If you are out of state, your chances of negotiating a better award are much smaller as the university is committed to first meeting the need of the in-state students (per the university’s agreement with the state in order to receive state funding). </p>
<p>My advice? Visit Bama and A&M and choose your favorite. You could try negotiating with Michigan, but I don’t think it will get you anywhere.</p>
<p>Texas A&M and Alabama are good universities. I agree with TwistedxKiss, no university is worth $60k worth of debt.</p>
<p>I agree…you will regret graduating with a lot of debt. It is tough enough to get a start in life after graduation in this economy…you will be very relieved to be debt free!!</p>
<p>I am instate. My goal is to make it to Wall Street. Obviously it will a lot harder to do so from Texas A&M. But if I don’t, I should be able to find something good in Dallas or Austin, so it’s not all bad.</p>
<p>jrt, if you are instate, what is your EFC? </p>
<p>They’re not going to give you more financial aid if your EFC is over the COA. That’s just how it is :/.</p>
<p>Right, because working 40 hrs/week every week of the year making $10/hr will easily pay for college… that only gets you $20,000 and it’s a full-time job with no vacations! The days are gone where you can just work at a standard job and pay your way through college. It’s too expensive now.</p>
<p>And yes ^ that comment is completely true.</p>