College - Financial Aid IMPORTANT INFO NEEDED

Paying for College
1

<p>So I am looking to go to many great colleges, but financial aid is my main concern at the moment. My top colleges include (for private) Boston University, Carnegie Mellon, Temple, Bentley, Northeastern, Brown; (for public - all out of state) Michigan, UNC, UConn, Arizona State, Pittsburgh, UPenn. I would love to go to any of these colleges, as I have been putting in lots of research on finding the college that suits me.</p>

<p>But now I have to look at financial aid. Based on my income, it will be extremely difficult for me to apply to a private school without significant financial aid. Actually, I have middle-class income but most of it is currently used on health/medicine for my mom, so the income number really doesn't show how much that can be spent. It looks like I wont be able to show this through any financial aid applications, as I'm really afraid that because of the higher income number that I wont be able to get much financial aid (and we really need it). I need to find any way to show colleges my real financial aid situation. How can I best show to colleges my need for money because of our money that is much lower than my parents income???</p>

<p>ANY help is greatly appreciated because I don't know what to do, so thank you!</p>

2

<p>You need to start by looking at colleges that you know you can afford (which may mean colleges that you can commute to0, and those that have excellent financial aid and promise to meet 100% of documented need. Most colleges are not able to meet 100% of students’ documented need. Often colleges’ web sites provide information about financial aid. You also can find detailed info on the college’s common data set (which sometimes you can find by Googling) or by paying $15 to completely access the U.S. News college site until next Aug.</p>

<p>Unless you’d be at the top of their admission pool, don’t bother applying to colleges that don’t promise to meet 100% of students’ documented need.</p>

<p>Unless you have sky high stats – far above the colleges’ norm – you need to stop looking at out of state publics because only UNC and UVA promise to meet all of their students’ documented financial need. Most public schools can’t even meet the documented financial need of their in-state students.</p>

<p>Since you have the stats to consider applying to Brown and U Penn, you may have the stats to get excellent merit aid from your in-state publics including the flagship. </p>

<p>If you have sky high stats AND the out of state public offers excellent merit aid (check their web sites), you may be able to get that merit aid. For instance, some public universities offer full rides to National Merit Scholars.</p>

<p>I believe that you can attach supplementary information to financial aid forms to let colleges know about the costs of your mother’s medical expenses. If you get into colleges like U Penn and Brown that have generous financial aid plans, that information probably would help you get the money that you need. You also can talk to financial aid officers after getting your offer.</p>

<p>However, it’s most important to be realistic about where you apply. For instance, unless you are an outstanding student who may qualify for their limited generous merit aid, it’s a waste of time to apply to BU, which is not able to meet the financial need of many accepted students. </p>

<p>If your mother has significant health problems that could cause medical emergencies or shorten her life, you also may wish to consider how far away from home you wish to travel for college. While in college, you may wish to go home more frequently than you might if your mom were healthy. Anyway, most students in the U.S. go to college within 250 miles of home.</p>

3

<p>What are your stats?</p>

<p>Most out-of-state publics will not likely be affordable unless you qualify for big merit scholarships.</p>

<p>Do you know if your parents can afford to pay for their “expected family contribution”?</p>

<p>How much will your parents pay each year? If you don’t know, ask.</p>

<p>FAFSA-only schools probably won’t work for you unless you get a huge merit scholarship.</p>

<p>What is your home state?</p>

<p>You need to make sure that you have some financial safety schools since your financial situation is precarious.</p>

4

<p><a href=“for%20public%20-%20all%20out%20of%20state”>quote</a> Michigan, UNC, UConn, Arizona State, Pittsburgh, UPenn

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<p>First…UPenn is NOT a public university. It is a private university which is a part of the Ivy League. Did you mean that school or do you mean Penn State (the flagship in PA)?</p>

<p>Of the schools listed, your best bet for a signficant merit aid as an out of stater will be at U of Pittsburgh. They have some very generous merit awards for out of state students. </p>

<p>The honors college awards at ASU are also quite generous…but the GPA to keep these awards is VERY high (I think it’s 3.5).</p>

<p>Michigan and UNC are very tough admits for OOS students. UNC does have a couple of highly competitive merit scholarships…look on their website for info.</p>

<p>I honestly think that UConn will be pricey.</p>

<p>I gotta ask…isn’t there ANY public university in your home state???</p>

5

<p>“UNC does have a couple of highly competitive merit scholarships…look on their website for info.”</p>

<p>Most of their such scholarships are for students with such impressive stats and ECs that UNC is competing with places like Harvard and Yale for them.</p>

6

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<p>Temple is public.</p>

7

<p>You won’t know until you 1) apply to the college and 2) fill out the FAFSA and CSS Profile forms (on time!) and 3) it’s late March or early April. </p>

<p>College fin aid folks keep their cards close to their chest. They will give some broad guidelines but no promises until they see your stats, letter of recommendation, essay, extra curriculars and financial info. Only in the late winter does Admissions let them know who they want in the next class – and only then do the particulars start getting hammered out. </p>

<p>So, play some poker. Play your cards to the best of your ability. Apply to two reaches, two likelies and at least one school that is truly affordable and truly an option (see the various threads titled “love thy safety”). Some times the privates have some deep pockets for a student they want. Sometimes they want you and there’s just not much they can offer. There is NO way for you to know where you fall without applying and filling out the fin aid paperwork (ON TIME). good luck! </p>

<p>Don’t bother to fill out an application if you don’t truly match the college profile (ie, if you are a 3.0 GPA student, it is highly unlikely you are headed to Brown or UPenn). Don’t pray that they see your inner potential. Trim your list and do a GREAT job on a few applications. Don’t do a junky job on two dozen.</p>

8

<p>edu, What is your FAFSA EFC and IM contribution? You need to run the online calculators to see what your family is expected to pay. Here’s a link:</p>

<p>[College</a> Calculators - savings calculators - college costs, loans](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>Calculate Your Cost – BigFuture | College Board)</p>

<p>In general, schools do not meet need at FAFSA EFC levels. The very tip-top schools meet need at IM level. So these numbers are the <em>minimum</em> you will be expected to pay. (Don’t forget that on top of that, most schools will require you to take out loans, work in the summer and do a work-study.) </p>

<p>State schools to which you’re out-of-state probably won’t be too generous with money. They may give you some but probably not nearly what you need. </p>

<p>“I have a weighted 3.5 GPA with an 1860 (630 Writing, 610 Math, 620 Critical Reading) on SAT plus 650 on US History SAT Subject Test (will take second subject test in October).” </p>

<p>Brown, UPenn, UNC and Michigan should not be on your list. They are not reasonable. CMU and Boston shouldn’t be on the list either. You also need to get rid of any out-of-state publics unless your parents can pay for them. (Oos publics often get kids whose parents don’t qualify for need but can’t afford oos privates. The kids want oos privates and the parents are willing to pay $35K for an oos public instead of going into debt for an oos private.) </p>

<p>What state are you in? Your best bet will be some instate schools. Your state may also participate in some special programs that give reduced tuition to certain oos schools. What do you want in a school (big, small, urban, rural) and do you know what you want to study?</p>

9

<p>***“I have a weighted 3.5 GPA with an 1860 (630 Writing, 610 Math, 620 Critical Reading) on SAT plus 650 on US History SAT Subject Test (will take second subject test in October).”</p>

<p>Brown, UPenn, UNC and Michigan should not be on your list. They are not reasonable. CMU and Boston shouldn’t be on the list either. You also need to get rid of any out-of-state publics unless your parents can pay for them. (Oos publics often get kids whose parents don’t qualify for need but can’t afford oos privates. The kids want oos privates and the parents are willing to pay $35K for an oos public instead of going into debt for an oos private.)</p>

<p>What state are you in? Your best bet will be some instate schools. ***</p>

<p>2collegewego is right. You don’t have the stats for schools like Brown, UPenn, UNC, Michigan, CMU and Boston. These schools expect super high stats. </p>

<p>You also cannot afford OOS publics, and you don’t have the stats for merit scholarships to make them affordable. OOS publics aren’t going to help you with costs.</p>

<p>Don’t bother with a subject test in Oct. Your stats aren’t high enough for the schools that require subject tests. Take the SAT again. Take the ACT. If you score high enough on the SAT in October (like over 2100), then take a subject test in Dec.</p>

<p>What state are you in?</p>

<p>***I have middle-class income but most of it is currently used on health/medicine for my mom, ***</p>

<p>How much medical costs are not covered by insurance each year? Don’t guess, ask. You would need to show proof of how much is not covered by insurance.</p>

<p>What is your likely major/career?</p>

<p>What did you like about the schools on your list?</p>

10

<p>Stop calling BU ‘Boston’. No one calls it that.</p>