Have you completed your 2014 taxes and submitted them? If so, and you don’t owe the IRS, you can link to,the FAFSA about three weeks after you file. You can do this even if you have already submitted the FAFSA. If you do this, after you link, you resubmit.
Did your kid’s college request 2013 tax returns last year?
Did you run the net price calculator on Misericordia’s website? Did you call and see if they still have openings for pa program and when scholarship deadline is? I believe online app is free.
When I did some net price calculators a while ago St Francis came in at about $25,000, Seton Hill, King’s and Gannon at about $20,000 and Misericordia was the lowest. If she can still apply and get merit aid and price comes to about $20,000 the $50k you can provide per kid should cover almost the 3 yrs and she can then take out grad loans for last two.
Of course the full tuition option would be great also. You could then use the $50k for room and board for 4 years and then she takes out grad loans again.
D’youville is in NY and has a 4.5 yr pa program. Are they still accepting students?
I think part of the problem is the NPCs use older/lower tuition figures, and also have higher estimated grant $ than I am getting in reality. I just reviewed Duquesne – uses 42k COA vs 54k actual – a HUGE difference, and estimated 13.5k in grants vs 12k actual. So under $29k/yr is what I was planning on based on NPC results – not $42k.
^^^
NPC’s are notorious for being old with info and also overly optimistic with merit/grants.
Also…remember that any “real” COA’s that you’re seeing now on the school’s website is for the CURRENT school year (2014-15)…so those COA’s will be higher in the Fall 2015…and every year after that.
I also would be very hesitant about over-paying for an aspiring PA. At this point, you really have no idea if the interest will remain or if grades and GRE scores will be high enough for admission later. Being pre-PA is a lot like being pre-med…lots of kids want to pursue, but many never make it.
We just got an award letter from Duquesne and estimated tuition for 2015/16 is $38,929 for Health Sciences and Room and Board $11,418. We also got a $3,000 need based grant, but our EFC is $10,000.
The point I was trying to make is that you might still find other PA programs for your price point, namely Misericordia (because it seemed to come in at around $20,000 net price or less compared to all others I’ve checked).
Or even D’Youville. If you would want to investigate these options.
If not it might be better to take the full tuition offer and have her get a BS with minimal or no debt and see if she still wants to pursue PA later.
Also I don’t think Duquesne’s NPC takes into account the difference in tuition between the programs.
Basic Undergraduate Tuition is listed as $33,778 and with room and board that is closer to the $42 K number you had. But Health Sciences and Pre-pharmacy tuition for example is much higher $38,929.
I use the NPC to see what we might qualify for from the college as far as grants, scholarships. Then I look at the latest tuition and R&B figures and see if it might be affordable.
I do take into account that it is more of a ballpark figure, but it helps to compare bottom line between colleges.
That is weird, I could have sworn that Duquesne’s net price calculator was more detailed before than the one they have now. It used to ask for income and assets, ask for gpa and SAT scores and tell you what merit scholarship you might qualify for. Now it just asks how old you are, household size, number in college and a ballpark income figure.
I ran the NPC for Misericordia with $180,000 income, 3 in college. I used a GPA of 4.00 and 650 each for M&CR
This is what it came up with:
Costs Paid to Misericordia: $39,840
Tuition: $26,670
Fees: $1,540
Room & Board (on campus): $11,630
Estimated Indirect Costs
Total Indirect Costs: $2,100
Books & Supplies: $1,100
Transportation: $500
Personal Expenses: $500
Grants & Scholarships
Estimated Grants & Scholarships: $21,000
Presidential Scholarship: $19,000
McAuley Award: $1,000
Non-PA Resident Grant: $1,000
Net Price Results
Estimated Net Price: $20,940
If you look at their current costs, add about $1,000 to tuition and $1,000 to R&B
http://www.misericordia.edu/page.cfm?p=1418
My son has been accepted to Misericordia as well, and it is his first choice, we received the financial aid offer yesterday, only offered the presidential scholarship of $15000, $1000 non PA resident grant,$1000 merit and loans. The total cost that I Calculated was $42500. I also have will have 3 in school, no “need” based aid offered. I emailed the admissions rep today to appeal the financial aid offer. She replied stating that there is a process so I hope for more grant aid.
Found my problem. Last year I neglected to enter retirement contributions. So this year’s is likely accurate.
Ah! Yes, the pre tax retirement contributions made in the year for that FAFSA are added back in as income.
So, if both parents contributed the max to their 401k, for example, that could add almost $50,000 to the incime for FAFSA purposes.
Glad you found it!
@ny4mom, thanks for posting your experience. Did you run a net price calculator beforehand and what number did it give you? I hope they will consider your appeal and it ends up affordable for you.
Do you happen to know the application/merit deadline for Misericordia?
The OP stated that Duquesne was the daughter’s first choice, but tuition and r&b would be $50,000, after the $12,000 merit it would still cost $38,000. So I was trying to come up with another (similar) PA school that offers a 5 yr program and might still accept applications/give merit and will be less in cost. I thought Misericordia might be that school, since the tuition and r&b comes in at around $42k and if she got the same merit as your son and OOS grant then that would subtract $16k, resulting in $26k.
There are also private schools in NY like D’Youville (catholic), Daemen, Wagner, I don’t know if the OP’s daughter applied to any of these and don’t know the deadlines.
We are too late for PA schools. Misericordia’s npc gave me $22k. I had never heard of it. we didn’t apply to dyouville. It’s in a bad neighborhood and my wife went there and didn’t feel it is safe.
Wish I was aware of Misericordia before.
Good to know about other aid from duquesne.
2nd daughter will go to suny. Considering sending 2nd daughter to suny as pre med. with her grades it could be as low as 15k
It’s good that you have an affordable option. And she can get a BS and then consider what she wants to do.
We are going for the full tuition option ourselves, doesn’t hurt that it is daughter’s first choice.
@nickkomp27
Can’t both girls go to the SUNY? If one wants to try to become a PA and one wants to try premed, then a SUNY would be fine. It will also provide options if the girls end up with other career paths. 75% of premeds never apply to med school. Likely, similar numbers for PA.
I thought the OP’s one daughter was applying to PA direct entry 5 year programs.
Did your daughter apply to SUNY Albany
http://www.albany.edu/academics/preprofessional.shtml
Would she consider oneonta
http://www.oneonta.edu/undergradcatalog/pre-physician-assistant-albany-pa-program.asp
Lemonye
Lots to think about…! So since last night I did more research on the pre-med thing at a SUNY, then PA in grad school. There are many posts on this website’s forums that warn against trying to get into PA school as a graduate, e.g. 800 applicants for 20 spots. She has been accepted into at least 5 direct entry programs (deferred at LeMoyne sybbie7219). As long as she maintains good grades, e.g. 3.0, and pass the test, she’s a PA in 5 years (and making $90k or more). I’m thinking “A bird in hand is worth more than 2 in the bush”. I have no doubt she will be a PA – she is in a high school program spending half of each day at a hospital. She’s working with PAs, loves it and wants to be one, and I believe she is smart enough. I think med school is a whole other level.
Also, at many of the SUNY’s the pre-med students are cut throat, so if she were to come out of that with mediocre grades, she might lose out on becoming a PA.
Last night she researched AmeriCorp types of loan forgiveness programs based on serving in underserved areas.
I just checked Misericordia’s website, it appears that the FA deadline is 5/1/15. Not sure of admissions deadline, maybe rolling.
Maybe give Misericordia a call, see if she can still apply, if they still offer merit, what the criteria is to advance to masters part of pa program, mention her stats and hospital volunteering experience?
I believe online app is free.
Are any of the 5 direct entry programs affordable? The problem is not just paying back the loans she takes out, you also might have to take out additional loans and will you be able to qualify for those for the next few years especially with 3 in college?
My daughter will take out grad loans for pharmacy school, but we are not able to take out additional parent plus loans, we have two other kids, although we will only have 2 in college at the same time for 3 years.
That’s why she was only able to go to a direct entry program because with her scholarship we can afford it.