<p>Okay, so... I got accepted to all the schools I applied to, and my dream school is Pratt Institute. They were the only ones who offered me a scholarship. I've gotten my financial aid awards from 3/4 schools, and at this point so far I would only have to take out 32, 672 dollars in loans a year if I go to Pratt. If I go to the other three, it's more money. (This is just me calculating for the money that's left from cost of attendance to the three schools.) So, obviously, that's a lot, and now I don't know what to do. I've applied to many many many scholarships, and am still applying, and I keep getting back rejections from a lot of the major ones and so far no acceptances from any. I'm kind of at a loss at what to do. I don't even know if I'll be able to take out loans, cause my mom's credit is bad, and what sucks is that the FAFSA accounted for my step dad's income cause they filed jointly but they have separated now as of... Saturday (he left w/ another woman, but that's another story,) which is prob why I didn't get as much for Pell Grant as I thought I was going to.</p>
<p>I'm going to keep applying for more scholarships, but am kind of hoping for a miracle right now, because obviously I don't want to get out of school with almost 160k of loans to pay off. Question is, what would you do? Should I go to Pratt or just apply to my local community college and be stuck in Florida for another two years... I have one side of me saying "you only live once" and another one saying "yeah but you're gonna spend it having too work to pay off that debt" like... I don't even know. I have so many dreams, but it costs so much money lol. And I'm going into graphic design, which isn't some fabulously paying job (and depends on many factors.)</p>
<p>Also I have a question - I got offered 5550 a year for Pell Grant for one school, but only 3,000 in another. Is there something affecting the differences? My EFC is 2570</p>
<p>With an EFC of 2750, I am a little surprised that you got $5550 in pell at one school (which is usually reserved for students with a “0” efc). I am not telling you anything that you do not already know; if you have to borrow 32k a year for the next 4 years and you are a pell grant recipient, this school is not a financially feasible option for your family. Pratt is not worth your family accruing more than $120k worth of debt.</p>
<p>You gotta let it go and move on to some affordable schools. Are you eligible for bright futures in Florida? Did you apply for any in-state schools that are more affordable?</p>
<p>If you enroll at a CC, you can do that for only one year instead of two. Then if you apply to transfer next year your EFC may be lower since presumably your mom and stepdad will be truly separated or divorced.</p>
<p>Some CCs also have an automatic transfer to a state U if you earn a certain GPA.</p>
<p>It’s probably not too late to apply to state schools that aren’t the local CC…</p>
<p>You can also take a gap year and apply to more affordable schools. This way, if you have high stats you can receive not only need-based Pell grant, but also merit-based scholarships. Merit-based scholarships are hard to get as a transfer student. Taking a year off may let you save money in a long run.</p>
<p>at this point so far I would only have to take out 32, 672 dollars in loans a year if I go to Pratt</p>
<p>???</p>
<p>ONLY have to take…</p>
<p>You probably already have loans in your package. Those loans are ENOUGH. </p>
<p>If your EFC is $2750, then your Pell should be a LOT less than $5550. That Pell is for EFC 0. There will probably be a correction/reduction to your aid. </p>
<p>I don’t know if anything can be done if your mom and SD now separated.</p>
<p>It doesn’t sound like you were advised well for your schools…none would be affordable. No one should borrow much…but especially someone who won’t be earning a lot. HOW WOULD you pay back the loans???</p>
<p>I did apply to in state schools, but they were private - such as UM. and I only am eligible for 75% Bright Futures so it’s only like a few thousand a year (Bright Futures doesn’t actually cover as much as people would think.) And yeah, I got a merit based scholarship from Pratt for 19k a year but that only covers like 40% of the cost per year. @mom2collegekids yeah that’s what I meant, like on my package for Pratt they offered me a 21k Direct Plus Loan plus some other loans. @_@ I would probably pay it off by selling my body at this point lmao.</p>
<p>And I knew they were all expensive, but I thought my high stats and high need would help cover at least a majority of the funds. I was wrong. UM is supposed to be very generous but I guess I just don’t qualify. @_@</p>
<p>I am an AP Scholar, have a 4.65 GPA, in the top 5% of my class, 10 AP classes, 6 honors, 1850 on SATs, a member of seven organizations (National Honor Society, Key Club, International Thespian Society, Book Club, Art Club, Yearbook, International Order of Rainbow for Girls), I’m an officer for NHS, Key Club, and Thespians, layout editor in Yearbook. I’ve done for comm. service the LOTL Renaissance Faire for 3 years which raises money for schools, Relay for Life, New Beginnings, volunteered at South Lake Animal League, Special Olympics, Empty Bowls, mural projects with elementary kids</p>
<p>IORG is a masonic youth organization that also does a lot of service, and I’ve been the Chaplain, Drill Leader, and am going to be a line officer this upcoming term.</p>
<p>You should be proud of your achievement, but you should resolve yourself that the only choices you have right now is to attend CC next year (with the goal to transfer to state PUBLIC school in a year or two) or take a gap year and apply to state PUBLIC school next year.</p>
<p>I am not trying to pick on you, but I cannot understand why anyone would assume that their tuition will be covered on a need-based basis? Colleges have bills to pay, why would you assume that you can attend them for free? </p>
<p>Only the most selective schools offer to meet need and your stats are not high enough to be admitted to one of those. The only reason why those schools can offer this help is because they have large endowments, not because they forgo paying their bills.</p>
<p>i didn’t think they would cover everything, nor did i expect to go for free, i thought the least i would have to take out is like 10k a year, not almost 40k. thanks for being condescending about it though, appreciate it.</p>
<p>franny101, even if we agreed that it was OK to take on the kind of debt you are proposing, it wouldn’t be possible for you to do so anyway without a co-signer. So just put that notion out of your mind.</p>
<p>If you can’t afford any of the places you have been admitted to, start planning now for a gap year or semester. It will give you time to think about your college options, and find some that will work better for you.</p>
<p>The situation that you are in is not entirely your fault. The grown-ups around you failed to help you make sure you found at least one good safety school for yourself.</p>
<p>what i don’t understand is why, during my four years of high school, these people come to my school telling me about the beauties of college and how you should start your college search soon to find the college that is right for you - location, size, majors offered, etc. (that’s why i applied to small art schools besides UM) when none of that even matters. at the end of the day, it’s about the money. which ever one you can afford and which ever one will take your sorry poor behind. i like that they instilled this image of picking and choosing a school that you really like, a dream school, when 80% of the time it’s not feasible. expectations: dream school. reality: you’re going to a public state school with 98% of your classmates.</p>