Cannot afford the college ? What to do now ?

College Search & Selection
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<p>Chiming in about Slippery Rock University as well. Looks like on collegeboard.com COA of in-state is about $22K:</p>

<p>tuition and fees - $8,747
room and board - $9,364
books/supplies - $1,470
estimated personal expenses - $952
transportation expenses - $1,327
total - $21,860</p>

<p><a href=“BigFuture College Search”>BigFuture College Search;

<p>(click on “paying” for above information)</p>

<p>…and if BobWallace says they are still accepting applications for the fall you ought to check it out! Good luck!</p>

22

<p>Actually, PSU left me a 15k gap if I take the fafsa EFC into account. </p>

<p>I think people are misunderstanding. My EFC according to fafsa is 1000 but actually, our family can pay around 8000. I am gonna apply to IIT and see what happens. </p>

<p>Not really a fan of State owned schools and branch campuses. Would rather attend cc and commute. I can save tons of money that way.</p>

<p>I think its pointless to turn down cc and take a gap year.</p>

<p>So, I can’t take the parent plus loans ? Its just 7k.</p>

23

<p>YOU can’t take the Plus loans. Those are PARENT loans. Your parents would have to take those and be financially responsible for them.</p>

<p>What is IIT?</p>

<p>I think the idea of going to a CC first is a better idea. You and your family can set aside the amount that they would pay for the first two years for the second two years.</p>

24

<p>yeah I meant parents but those loans have an extremely high interest rate of 7.9%. I would be in a debt of 50k. Is that reasonable ?</p>

<p>IIT is Illinois Institute of Technology. Its private so I might get more aid compared to publics. Its free to apply.</p>

25

<p>Go ahead and apply. I doubt you’d get much aid from them. </p>

<p>What are your parents saying about paying for those Plus loans? Would they happily pay those back?</p>

26

<p>In order to get aid from IIT to start this coming Fall, everybody else admitted to IIT and on their wait list would have to turn down that money. It’s one thing to be admitted somewhere else at this late date, but quite another to get financial aid. IIT is a respectable school. If you are willing to go community college, I would think you’re better off doing that while you formulate a new plan.</p>

<p>This is just another opinion, but I would stay away from Parent Plus loans. You have alternatives.</p>

27

<p>IIT does not have a waitlist. If the class is full, I might get rejected out-right.</p>

28

<p>Does your community college have the beginning Engineering classes? Ours does not. (Others might.)</p>

<p>If you want engineering, it’s common here to recommend PSU branch campuses over cc. Engineering is a sequential major. You need to start freshman year to easily finish on time and there isn’t much wiggle room.</p>

29

<p>It does not but the first year is just Calculus 1&2, Chemistry 1, Physics 1 and other gen eds right ? I might have to transfer after 1 year to some other college because PSU needs 2 years of credit.</p>

30

<p>Hubby did not go to PSU, but his Engineering Fundamentals class started fall of freshman year and there was at least one engineering class each semester. There was no wiggle room for him if he wanted to graduate on time.</p>

<p>PSU may be different.</p>

31

<p>The transfer advisors at your local CC know about the Penn State system. Go talk with them about your situation. If you can successfully transfer into an engineering program after starting at that CC, they will know.</p>

32

<p>^^^ According to IIT’s 2011-12 CDS, it fully met the need of 59 out of 305 students who were awarded any aid. On average, it met 85% of need. IIT’s aid numbers (the percentages) are a bit better than Penn State’s, but their costs are higher, too.</p>

<p>Not many colleges claim to meet 100% of demonstrated need ([Universities</a> That Claim to Meet Full Financial Need - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2013/02/11/universities-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need]Universities”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2013/02/11/universities-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need)).
Most of them are very selective; many don’t have engineering programs.</p>

<p>The aid opportunities often get even worse for transfer students (but investigate the aid available for CC-to-Penn State transfers.)</p>

<p>I think the OP’s solution is likely to involve some combination of:

  • community college
  • commuting from home
  • graduating in more than 4 years (allowing time to earn & save money)</p>
33

<p>Student loans and grants</p>