I’m generally a very resourceful, Google-it-first type of person, but in my current situation I feel completely lost. I’m a 21 year old GED recipient who applied for a public, in-state school (University of Arizona) for fall 2017. I was not able to take the SAT because I was deathly sick for the three months leading up to the deadline to submit scores, so I am not eligible for any sort of merit aid from the school. I submitted my FAFSA and was given an EFC of something like 009000, which I have read means my family is expected to contribute $9,000. When I raised this issue with my parents, they basically told me they can’t really contribute anything beyond offering to pay my enrollment fee of $390.
I have no money myself (I’ve been unemployed for some time), my parents have no money to contribute, and it looks like the FAFSA is expecting a lot of money to come out of pocket. So how do I pay for tuition, let alone room and board? Do I just need to take out loans? How do I go about getting these? I’m genuinely lost on this issue, so any help to point me in the right direction is greatly, greatly appreciated.
Where do you live- commuting distance from an AZ campus?
Can you sign up for the next SAT and defer your admission until January?
Can you get a job now, live with your parents, and save as much as you can until January?
What is the actual amount of tuition per semester at AZ-- not your EFC, but the amount that appears on your bill?
As an individual student, you can borrow a 5,500 federal direct student loan for freshman year.
Otherwise, you need to have your parents co-sign a private student loan. If their finances are such that they only have 400 to give you for college, they may not have the credit rating to co-sign for four years of college loans. Furthermore, paying 100% of your college expenses through loans is rarely a good financial decision.
Some options might be:
Take a year off and work to build savings, plus study for the SAT to get merit aid. Can you work now that you are not deathly sick?
Choose a school with a very low price tag. Could your parents (or another extended family member - grandma, uncle, etc) let you live in their home rent-free? You would want to live within commuting distance of a decent community college or a four-year school with lower tuition, plus a decent job market so you can work.
Based on what you’ve written of your financial situation, I would think you should be considering schools to which you can commute. Going away to school is a luxury a lot of students can’t afford. Do you have any state colleges within commuting distance? How about community colleges?
Would you expect to get SAT scores that would earn you merit aid at your preferred school? If so, I’d do as @blossom suggests and defer until you get those scores. If you would not expect to get scores that would make you eligible for merit aid, then I wouldn’t bother with that. You probably already know how you fare on standardized tests, but you could take a sample SAT and see how you do.
You say you’ve been unemployed for some time. Is there a reason for that (illness, lack of jobs in the area, etc.)? Could you realistically get a job now? That would help with some expenses, although I don’t see how it will get you all the way there.
As for loans, as a freshman you can only borrow $5,500 on your own (federal loans). Any additional loans would require a cosigner. Would your parents be willing to co-sign? If so, would they qualify to co-sign? There are also Parent Plus loans, if your parents are willing to apply for them. If they apply and are turned down, you would be eligible for an additional amount (I believe it’s $4000) in federal loans. The financial aid office at your school would be able to give you some guidance on this. Have you received a financial aid package, and did they include the loans in your package?
If I was in this situation, I’d probably head over to the local community college and look into the programs there, as well as their articulation agreements with the state flagship. That would allow you to get your ged ed requirements out of the way at a much lower cost.
Just because the EFC from FAFSA is $9,000 that’s not what you pay. You may pay more or less, depending on what the school costs, and what aid you get.
If the EFC is over $5,000 you cannot get a Pell grant. In some states you might still be able to get a state grant.
And you can get a $5,500 student loan.
So if you can commute to a school and live at home, you only need to pay for tuition, fees, books, transportation.
If you need to dorm, that costs about $10-$15k depending on school.
Some schools give merit aid and possibly need based aid. Net price calculators can help determine what aid a school might offer.
U of A is around $11,000 in state tuition if remember right. I recommend two years of a community college and try to transfer. Admitted by 01 May was deadline for merit so you would need to ask if there are merit awards if you start in Spring or if you would need to defer a full year.
Many CCs have 2-year programs that will give you credentials and certification that will earn you higher wages–EMT, nursing, Paralegal, auto shop, etc. these can also help you earn more while you save up to get a college degree. Some of the coursework you do in CC should transfer to most colleges, such as college English, higher level science & math, etc.
In addition to what your local CC has to offer in the credit division,check out the non-credit programs (often called Continuing Education or Workforce Education). Some of those programs can give you immediately employable job-skills. There may even be scholarship money available to help pay the tuition for student who have GEDs.