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Wait, OP has 2 siblings, when did that become “a lot of kids” or “a large family”? Outside of China, that is?</p>
<p>MD Mom: Students from MD would need pretty good merit aid to beat out UMD. OOS Tuition, room, and board at Pitt is 33-35K, depending on major. UMD is around 18K. </p>
<p>I do agree with others that in-state tuition in GA is a great option.</p>
<p>I know a bunch of kids wait-listed at UGA who would gladly take your spot.</p>
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<p>For some reason, I read “family of five” as having 5 kids. Not sure why. </p>
<p>In this case, the school can “expect” even more than I thought.</p>
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<p>DD had essentially the same offer from Pitt and UMD: full tuition. She wanted OUT of Maryland.</p>
<p>Memento7 -</p>
<p>Your father isn’t the only person who has believed what he believed about the college application process. While I cannot say that the colleges and universities engage in false advertizing, it is indeed difficult to dig through all of the information and find out what we do need to know so that we can determine our own best strategies. Not to mention that for every family there always is a “first kid”. The learning curve is very, very steep!</p>
<p>Michelle Singletary who writes personal finance columns in the Washington Post, has been focusing on just this topic recently. Your dad might like to read some of them. Here is a link: [Michelle</a> Singletary - Get real on scholarships](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/12/AR2011031204262.html]Michelle”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/12/AR2011031204262.html)</p>
<p>What made you expect financial aid? I want a new car and it would not occur to me to receive financial aid from the car dealer. It seems to me that your research was flawed. Go to the cheap school. There are thousands of lawyers who did not go to NYU.</p>
<p>If you have plans to go to Law School, do not burden yourself with debt, that does not make sense. You might have to take on a lot of debt to get through Law School, you will be independent and your parents are not obligated to help you, especially with two other siblings to put through college. </p>
<p>Your family should evaluate their life style choices: cars, life insurance, home insurance, car insurance, cell phone plans, satellite TV, perhaps health club memberships or country club memberships? Families are often surprised at what they can do without!</p>
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If you can’t afford it why did you apply? The costs are listed on the web so you knew what it would cost and your EFC is 57K. The colleges did NOT engage in any type of false advertising for the costs. You just chose to believe it would be different for you because you worked so hard.</p>
<p>memento7, you have my sympathy. 170,000 may sound like a lot, but with a family of 5 money just doesn’t go that far. As far as suggestions to give up cell phones, etc. …are you kidding? I see too many cases of kids getting lots of FA running around w newer phones, cars and clothes than my kids and it is frustrating. My kids have been in the same situation as you. It’s a little late now, but they did apply to middle tier schools that do award merit $$ and that is where they went. So not the top tier privates, but not the state schools ( not that there is anything wrong w the better ones). It’s just frustrating that lower income students get to attend the best schools, but middle income ( i know people will say that 170,000 is not middle inc, but depending on where you live, after taxes and expenses there isn’t that much left to save for college)…students who worked hard can’t attend those same schools. Also to criticism about expectations, I think the first time a FAFSA is filed most people are shocked at how high the EFC is.By the time the FAFSA was filed I’m sure it was too late to apply to other schools. I know I wish I could pay the 34,000 my Ds said we can pay. She is the 4th child to go to college and we will take out more PLUS loans, pay some each month, student loans… By the way we drive a 2005 crossover and a 2003 van. Kids share a 1995 Honda.</p>
<p>Well, the lower income lifestyle does not allow for a lot of extras…you probably would not trade years of lower class/poverty line living in exchange for a “better” college for your kids at a lower price…a solidly middle class, stable home plus an average college is still a good foundation for success.</p>
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I hope you are not seriously suggesting that people should do without home or car insurance. First of all, most mortgagors require home insurance, secondly, most states require car insurance, thirdly, being without either is not a good idea.</p>
<p>I’m having a hard time feeling sorry over here with my $37,000 family income and an expected contribution of around $10,000 for grad school. I had amazing grades, activities, IB scores, etc. in high school, and I ended up a school you’ve never heard of because it was completely paid for with a merit scholarship. It didn’t hurt my job prospects any (I make a lot for my field in this area), and I was just admitted into a very competitive grad school program, a program, I might add, that doesn’t offer any graduate financial help in the form of TAs or whatever. Not that I could take one, since I work full-time, too, to make that $37,000. The Ga. schools are good, and the HOPE scholarship is great. Go there, get a good LSAT score, and move on with your life. Crushing debt will hurt you more than a school that doesn’t quite measure up in your eyes.</p>