<p>The D of good friends of ours in a rising senior. They have no money, so they will be applying for loans, aid, etc. I wanted to help them assemble a list of potential schools to which to apply. </p>
<p>She loves NYU because she loves theater (especially musical theater), but I'm told NYU is not kind when it comes to financial aid. Truthfully, anything close to NY would probably make her happy. She loves New York (big cities). That said, her search shouldn't be limited to the east coast or big cities. Expense/Financial aid is the most important.</p>
<p>She likes Northern Arizona University because it has a good criminology program (something she's interested in) and because it's beautiful there. </p>
<p>She is a B+/A- student attending a private school in Los Angeles. I don't know her test scores. I assume they are decent (but not stellar). She is a first generation college student.</p>
<p>Anyhow, any suggestions would be appreciated. CC has a decent search engine (i think) that I will suggest they try...</p>
<p>How much will her parents borrow each year? How much do the parents intend to borrow total for 4 years? They may need help thinking about that.</p>
<p>If they can’t borrow much each year, then her choices will likely be very limited. Is their income lowish? Or do they make a good income? If they have a low income, then she’d get some Pell money and Cal Grant money (if she stays instate). However, if the family income is decent, she’d likely get no free grant money.</p>
<p>Do they understand that each year they would have to reapply for loans and re-qualify? Every year will be more difficult to qualify for more loans because the previous year’s debt will be on their records. </p>
<p>If she lives in Calif, then her best bets will likely be her instate publics or some privates that might give her some merit money if her test scores are high enough.</p>
<p>To make better suggestions, can you find out her test scores? We also need to know whether her lack of college money is because of low income.</p>
<p>They have said that they think they can afford NAU’s tuition ($20K/year), but they are very low-income. They rent. It would be a stretch. They would apply for loans. I will find out her scores. I know that’s a big part of the puzzle.</p>
<p>I did not realize you have to reapply for loans each year? Is that right? I know very little, but they know even less. I want to help them get educated on what they need to know. Their GC is not great, clearly.</p>
<p>Except it’s very expensive and does not give good aid.</p>
<p>Very low income and can afford $20K/yr? They must have significant assets which will impact aid. Hard to know what to suggest with such a confusing picture.</p>
<p>If she likes NAU she may get a tuition discount with the WUE program. California participates in the program along with many other western states. Maybe another school in the program would appeal to her as well.</p>
<p>Just another point to consider - if she lives in LA will they be able to afford travel to another region (particularly the east coast) several times a year for 4 years? That can add quite a bit to the cost of college.</p>
<p>Check out WUE at NAU. With her GPA and coming from California she will be eligible for a
WUE scholarship which will be about 8K!
Also, they have a 4 year guarantee rate, so the rates stay the same for 4 years/ guaranteed…which is very helpful for planning financially</p>