Eigibility for Scholarships or Financial Help

Paying for College
1

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>My daughter has applied to a few colleges this past week and is planning to apply to a few more until Jan 1. Now in case she does not get accepted in CA and has to go out of state, I was wondering if there are any scholarships out there that she can apply to irrespective of which college she is going to go to?</p>

<p>After we have gotten to hear about some scholarship programs that you may all suggest, do you think it matters how much the parents make even if we are able to give documentation regarding how much it costs for our family to lead our lives -- I mean, would there be some sort of analysis done on our income vs expenditure in considering the application for a scholarship or financial aid to the student? Like in our case, we both (parents) have good jobs (as software professionals) but at the same time, we have been incurring numerous medical bills as well as the House we live in does not have any equity at this time.
So I was wondering if there is an organization of some sort where just the parents' income is NOT taken at a face value in determining financial help to the student -- like a place where they ask as to "why the student requires financial help inspite of parents making that much money?" at which time we can provide documentation of the medical bills that we have been paying so far ?</p>

<p>Thank you fro any inputs you all may have.</p>

<p>Best regards
RS</p>

2

<p>Everyone has living expenses. The only scholarships that do NOT take your income into consideration are merit awards. There is a stickie at the top of this forum that discusses these awards. Hopefully your kiddo has applied to places where she is guaranteed merit air.</p>

<p>Need based aid is based on your income and assets. Your living expenses are not taken into consideration at all. This includes your mortgage costs, utilities, taxes, clothing. Insurance…everything you spend your income on. As I said up top…everyone has living expenses.</p>

<p>Your lack of home equity will only matter at schools that USE home equity in their equation. Any school that is FAFSA only does NOT consider primary home equity at all.</p>

<p>If you haven’t already done so, I would urge you to run your numbers through the net price calculators on the college websites for schools your kiddo applied to. The reality is the best merit awards come from the schools.</p>

<p>Your student should keep an eye out for local scholarships. These are typically small in amount and are for one year only. Usually the guidance office at the school gets info about these. Some of these awards do consider financial need…and your student would not receive an award without need. BUT many are given to outstanding students who apply irrespective of need. Our kids each got about $4000 in awards for their freshman year from local organizations. They DID have to apply, write essays, get recommendations and/or interview for these awards.</p>

<p>If you have high unreimbursed medical expenses from 2013, You would need to document these expenses and the necessity for them. You would also need to show that they were actually unreimbursed…in other words, insurance didn’t cover them. Most scholarship applications we saw (for the local scholarships) had a place to provide additional information.</p>

<p>If this is the case, you can also request a special circumstances consideration from the colleges. These are reviewed on a case by case basis. Some colleges do not do these at all. But if they do, you would provide documentation regarding the unreimbursed medical expenses from 2013, and the necessity for these expenses. If considered, the financial aid office can make the decision to adjust your need based aid.</p>

3

<p>It’s very doubtful that you’re going to find outside scholarships to pay for “any school”.</p>

<p>Outside scholarships are usually for FROSH year only, and for small amounts…won’t do much for your situation.</p>

<p>The outside scholarships that are for four years are usually for LOW INCOME students…you wouldn’t qualify even if you have family expenses. </p>

<p>There just arent’ entities out there with loads of cash giving money away to students to attend whatever school they want…when they they come from families with good incomes. </p>

<p>With two parents in the software field, that suggests an income that $150k+. </p>

<p>What are your D’s stats? IF they’re good enough, then she should be applying to schools that give money for her stats.</p>

<p>.</p>

4

<p>*UC GPA: 3.76 (for grades10-12)
SAT: 2180 (CR:750 M: 630: W:800)
APs: WH (3), US (4), BIO(3), PSYCH(5) and ENG(3) *</p>

<p>Your D has good stats. If she gets into her UC schools, can you afford the $32k+ to attend? You’re not going to get any aid. If you can’t then the bigger problem isn’t getting in, it will be that you can’t afford the schools.</p>

<p>With your D’s stats, she could get some very large merit scholarships at the schools that award them…if she applies very soon (some deadlines have passed, but some are this month).</p>

<p>For instance, Alabama would give your D free tuition (about $24k per year award). Your remaining costs would be about $15k for the best housing and meal plan choices, books, fees, transportation and personal expenses. </p>

<p>And if your D majors in eng’g or Comp Sci, then she’d get another 2500 per year. Remaining costs would be about $12,500. </p>

<p>But, she’d need to apply by Dec 15. The app is VERY easy…no essays, no LORs. Takes like 5 minutes. The scholarship app is a formality, but needs to be submitted…also very easy…no essays…no LORs. </p>

<p>The scholarships are assured for stats as long as you meet the Dec 15th deadline.</p>

<p>Calif is #5 in sending students to Alabama. There are kids from all 50 states there. OOS numbers are approaching 50% since the last 3 year’s of frosh classes have been over 50% OOS.</p>

<p>The campus is gorgeous (makes all those UC schools look like @#$%…lol I’m a UC grad), the students are friendly and the academics are strong. </p>

<p>Visit the Bama forum here on CC…it’s very popular.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-alabama/[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-alabama/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>What is your D’s major and career goal?</p>

<p>how much CAN you spend on college each year???</p>

5

<p>Thank you, thumper1 and mom2collegekids for your detailed responses.</p>

<p>My daughter is applying to UCs, UMich @ Ann Arbor, NYU, Amherst College, Univ of San Diego, Boston University, Umass @ Lowell and her major is Psychology – nope, I could not convince her enough to get into a Computer Science career :(</p>

<p>Am glad I asked this question here…</p>

<p>We do have some 529 plans on but the thing is we have been constantly in medical bills (for my D’s surgery and for the after effects of that) and I was hoping that the colleges would consider the fact that we have been paying her medical bills while we know we would have to pay for colleges. And these medical tests were all very complicated ones and so a lot of CoPays was thrust upon us and we are still paying in installments.</p>

<p>Will look into the Alabama Uni link that you have pointed. I just hope we have enough time to apply still.</p>

<p>Thanks again!</p>

<p>Best regards</p>

<p>RS</p>

6

<p>mom2collegekids:
And she intends to do a Phd in Psychology and become a Research Professor or get into Medical school for Psychiatry. She has her heart set on helping with the social stigma that covers Psychological issues and so no matter how much I have tried, I have not been able to steer her towards an Engg career :frowning: </p>

<p>Btw, how would we know what colleges offer merit-based scholarships and their deadlines? Is there any link or search that you would suggest?
Looks like we have only taken the normal route to look for colleges and it is high time we are aware of other colleges that would help us financially…</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

7

<p>Like I said above…for colleges using the Profile, there is a place for other info. You can put the medical expenses there.</p>

<p>You could call each college NOW and find out how or if they consider special circumstances considerations. That way you will have the necessary “stuff” to submit when the time comes.</p>

<p>What did the net price calculators tell you about EACH separate college on your daughter’s list? These are good estimates of your aid and net cost for each school. But you have to do each one. No question…the results from one school will differ from another. </p>

<p>Most of the colleges on your daughter’s list do NOT guarantee to meet full need of all accepted students.</p>

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<p>thumper1:

  1. wonderful idea of calling the colleges and checking about special circumstances. will do that right away.
  2. oh, so there is a net price calculator for EACH college? I did not know that. I will try to get to that calculator link.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>Will look into the Alabama Uni link that you have pointed. I just hope we have enough time to apply still.</p>

<p>lol…time? Seriously, a child or parent could do the online app in 5 minutes. It is THAT easy. No essays, no LORs…just basic info, send scores and transcripts. With permission from child, a number of parents do this cuz the app is just formula.</p>

<p>Bama admits by stats…GPA, test scores, and having taken the req’d courses, which generally most high school grads have taken…certainly your D has taken them.</p>

<p>Yes to your Q about NPC for each school’s site.</p>

<p>And she intends to do a Phd in Psychology and become a Research Professor or get into Medical school for Psychiatry</p>

<p>Bama has a very good Psych dept. Also, if she’s interested in med school, Bama has very good advising and DOES do Committee Letters (which the UCs do NOT do).<br>
<a href=“http://prehealth.ua.edu/student-organizations/[/url]”>http://prehealth.ua.edu/student-organizations/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>My son went to Bama and now is in med school.</p>

<p>I’m from Calif and I wouldn’t recommend a UC for a premed student.</p>

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<p>Great info, mom2collegekids…I will work on having her apply to this school right away. One last question sorry – how’s the diversity at the University? I mean International student population as such? That’s one issue that bothers me to send her across the country as we wont be able to able to visit that frequently from CA to AL :)</p>

<p>Looks like you have done good research into UCs – thats so ggod to learn…</p>

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<p>How much is in the 529 plan(s)?</p>

<p>How much is currently owed for unpaid medical bills?</p>

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<p>I noticed your D is applying to UMich and the UCs. Is she in state for either? OOS costs for both are high.</p>

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<p>We are in CA and so she will be in State for UCs. And she loves to be in Umich for 2 reasons – 1) Psych there ranks #3 2) and we used to live in Ann Arbor and so she loves it there!
I have let her apply to OOS only if CA schools dont work out for her since her GPA is kind of low when compared to other stats of hers…honestly, I am banking on the holistic admission process where the admission officers are able to see what kind of a persistent and hard-working student she is (despite her illness) and hopefully they wont write off her application based on her GPA alone.</p>

<p>I see that as of today, we have in her 529 account, just about enough for one year of OOS school maybe…</p>

<p>And we will be paying close to $400 a month until middle of next year for the medical bills in US. Also, we have had to get medical help Internationally for her – we were able to get some improvement with her symptoms after a treatment last summer and the plan is to have her go for another treatment this summer right before her college starts and those trips are easily about 7-8K each time :(</p>

<p>Although I am only mentally ready for InState public Univs, I am trying to gather information to see what does it take if we have to send her to a private CA school or an OOS school…</p>

<p>She has worked very hard in her High School and refuses to go to a Junior College which I am not forcing her to either!</p>

<p>Also, while we are at this: do you think getting a degree from a state Univ is better than getting an associate degree from a Community college and then reapplying to a University?</p>

<p>Our home price is down from what we bought in 2005 and so we cannot even get any equity loan there…</p>

14

<p>how’s the diversity at the University? I mean International student population as such? That’s one issue that bothers me to send her across the country as we wont be able to able to visit that frequently from CA to AL</p>

<p>Are you asking how many non-citizens are at Bama? </p>

<p>Or are you asking about ethnic diversity of the student body?</p>

<p>Do you belong to an ethnic group? If so, which one?</p>

<p>I see that as of today, we have in her 529 account, just about enough for one year of OOS school maybe…</p>

<p>Well, that won’t work for schools like UMich. :/</p>

<p>She doesn’t need to go to a CC…she has the stats for merit elsewhere.</p>

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<p>yes about ethnic diversity of the student body…</p>

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<p>DIBM96</p>

<p>Are you originally from the UK by any chance? (I don’t hear the term “uni” here very often).</p>

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<p>18% are US minorities
2% are international (non domestic)</p>

<p>we wont be able to able to visit that frequently from CA</p>

<p>What ethnic group are you?</p>

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<p>Asian with our children born in US.</p>

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<p>No, not from UK – from India and so probably some British influence there :)</p>

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<p>With regard to the international medical help (glad it helped your daughter)…you may find that schools will not care about the costs for the airfare, food, lodging costs associated with such a trip…but only the actual unreimbursed MEDICAL portion of the trip. Plus, you will have to demonstrate that this was a necessity in order for them to view this as a special circumstances consideration. Hopefully, you have a doctor here who can document this for you. Otherwise, the college MIGHT view this as elective, alternative or unnecessary treatment.</p>