Did I get a bad deal for NYU Stern?

<p>I applied early decision for NYU Stern and got in. They are expecting me to pay about $15k/yr with work study with no dorm (i'll just commute). MY EFC is 0 according to fafsa, and my parents make <$30k/yr. We don't own a house; we rent. I have friends that applied regular decision to a lot of schools and got in with basically full rides to places like Georgetown, Cornell etc and I feel that I could have possibly gotten a much better deal if I applied to these kind of places. I do believe that I had the stats and stuff. My main concern is I just feel like I'm not getting as good of a deal as I could've gotten whereas if I waited a little I could've gotten full rides and stuff. What is your opinion?</p>

<p>Stern looks to be unaffordable for you. Did you apply anywhere else? Many places with rolling admissions are still accepting applicants.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, you were badly advised about the college application process. No one with your EFC should apply to NYU ED. In fact, you should not have been allowed to apply ED anywhere. You need to be able to compare financial aid packages. </p>

<p>You do not have to attend Stern. Send them a letter and tell them that you won’t be coming because they are unaffordable. If you don’t find an affordable place for this fall, take a gap year and apply for fall of 2014.</p>

<p>NYU does not meet need. Gtown and Cornell do. Big difference.</p>

<p>Your Fafsa is not an indication of what the college thinks you can pay- it’s just a Federal calculation. Is this 15k the balance after you take a student Stafford loan, after you kick in your contributon from summer earnings, and/or after w/s is subtracted? Ie, the final bottom line your parents are supposed to pay? Or is it: 15k - 5500 loan - 1500 w/s - 1500 summer = 6500? Your friends may have gotten more covered because their costs are higher, living on campus. Their bottom lines may also reflect the expectation they will take the Stafford, have work study and contribute from a summer job. Or?</p>

<p>NYU is well-known for terrible financial aid packages for low-income students. You can’t afford NYU - time to look at your other options.</p>

<p>I don’t understand why this is a question now. If you applied ED, then you were given an aid estimate a long time ago…which you could have decline and applied elsewhere.</p>

<p>This school isn’t affordable.</p>

<p>If you have the stats for Stern that you have the stats for elsewhere.</p>

<p>Take a gap year, do not take ANY classes, and reapply.</p>

<p>Work in the meantime.</p>

<p>Well it’s not as BAD as you guys are making it seem. Luckily my parents have a bit of money in their savings that they’re going to contribute and I could just take out loans for the rest of it. Ofc i’m gonna get a job and have already applied to a lot of scholarships. What I’m really asking is was it all worth it? Should I be jealous of my friends? lol</p>

<p>Your parents can contribute at least $10,000 in your first year, $9,000 the second and so on? Are you sure?</p>

<p>The most you can borrow your freshman year is $5,500. Loan amounts go up $1,000 per year of college.</p>

<p>If you are counting work-study in your award package, you already <em>have</em> a job you will have to do - are you going to have time to go to class, your work-study job <em>and</em> a significant off-campus job?</p>

<p>Was your parents savings for emergencies/retirement or for your post high school education?
Not getting enough aid to NYU is predictable, not an emergency.</p>

<p>???</p>

<p>Your parents earn less than $30k per year and they’re going to give you their very precious savings? And…worse…you’re considering taking it? Oh my. Reality check time.</p>

<p>Yes, it is as bad as we’ve made it all sound. You can’t afford this school. You should have realized it when you got your aid pkg and declined.</p>

<p>Also, you say you have to pay $15K per year. So I’m assuming that they gave you a financial aid package already. Does that package already include Stafford/Direct loans and Perkins loans? I have a feeling it does, and if it does that means that entire $15K either has to come out of your parents’ pocket, through Parent PLUS loans (which your parents don’t make enough to borrow) or a private loan. That’s at least $60K for NYU, and I don’t think that’s worth it. And the price will go up each year, too.</p>

<p>Since you said you will commute I assume you live in NYS. Have you applied ti any CUNYs or SUNYs?</p>

<p>Take a gap year and reapply ED to a school which meets full need without loans. NYU was a very bad choice for ED.</p>

<p>No one knows enough about this family’s situation to advise. All we know is that the income is currently less than 30k. The original question was, compared with what her friends got, living away, is it a bum deal? That answer needs more info.</p>

<p>*No one knows enough about this family’s situation to advise. All we know is that the income is currently less than 30k. *</p>

<p>Well, unless this very low income family has a Swiss Bank acct somewhere or is sitting on a bunch of paid off real estate that was somehow ignored by FAFSA (and I think $30k is too high to ignore assets), then we should be able to logically advise. However, if the OP comes in with later info that his fairy godmother has informed him that she has had a large college fund set aside for him the whole time…then we’re all very, very wrong and he can happily afford NYU. </p>

<p>It’s unlikely that his parents have so much in savings that they can give him - say $40k - and not jeopardize their own future situation and financial stability. If they did have so much in savings that $40k wouldn’t be missed, then their EFC wouldn’t be 0.</p>

<p>I’ll amend my statement, if the Profile EFC is also 0, this student should take a gap year and apply ED to a carefully chosen need-blind school which meets full need with no loans, or capped loans. </p>

<p>OP, be business-savvy, this is a bad deal.</p>

<p>There’s no such thing as a CSS EFC.</p>

<p>If a CSS school gives you an aid pkg that leaves you with X to pay, that’s it.</p>

<p>another CSS school using the same info, may leave you with “half X” to pay, and that’s it.</p>