<p>Yes, in December I said that my parents could not pay. I did a little persuading and all issues were worked out. Sorry for that confusion. It’s never really been that my parents couldn’t pay at first, its that they didn’t want to pay at first.</p>
<p>My mom is the one making the financial decisions for me. And I trust her judgment.</p>
<p>Plus I appealed NYU in January and got moooooore money from them.</p>
<p>Ugh, for me. Its been like this: December, couldn’t pay. January - June, could pay. Late June, maybe pay? Plus I’ve had a really good job since March and have saved up like $6000, so that helps a lot.</p>
<p>I think that ED to anywhere for someone with financial need is short-sighted. Matter of fact, I think that with emotions running as high as they do senior year (and minds changing), it is a real gamble to apply to one school that is binding. I guess I am just too practical.</p>
<p>Looking back, I wish I had not applied ED, obviously.</p>
<p>I missed out on UCLA, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Columbia, and UNC Chapel Hill. But, its all over and done with. I’m happy with my decision… right now.</p>
<p>$60K is the cut-off though for some of the Ivies (I think Harvard, Yale, and Columbia?) that offer full finanical aid to admitted students below that point. There then is sliding scale up to about $180K where families pay up to ten percent of their income for the tuition cost. It’s a great opportunity for those who qualify.</p>
<p>*Looking back, I wish I had not applied ED, obviously.</p>
<p>I missed out on UCLA, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Columbia, and UNC Chapel Hill. But, its all over and done with. I’m happy with my decision… right now. *</p>
<p>I think you should take a gap year and this is why.</p>
<p>If you start at NYU, then you can’t get the scholarships (or better financial aid) from schools as an incoming freshman. After NYU becomes unaffordable (either after one semester or two), you’ll be stuck paying nearly full-freight everywhere else, unless you get into a school like Columbia.</p>
<p>UCLA wouldn’t have given you anything. It’s a state school that only gives financial aid to instate students.</p>
<p>I don’t think we all need to pile on stohare – he’s still a kid, and we are talking about decisions he made at age 17. One reason I am so much against the idea of binding ED is that I don’t think 17 year olds are mature or sophisticated enough to be making the kind of binding commitments that ED entails – and very often parents really don’t understand the financial aid process either, especially the first time around. (I know I didn’t, although I did balk at the ED thing).</p>
<p>I do think that stohare is at least coming to grips with the current situation in a way that shows that he stepping up to take some responsibility – such as earning as much money as possible now and over the summer. </p>
<p>It’s somewhat ironic that a prospective econ major finds himself in this situation – though he certainly is NOT the first NYU econ/finance major I’ve seen going down this path. It’s a hard lesson to learn at the outset – in a sense he made a bad call on an investment, failed to protect himself with a diversified investment strategy, and now is faced with the consequences of a loss. But then again, look at all those knowledgeable investors who ignored all the red flags and put their money with Bernie Madoff – its easy to see how the lure of the “dream school” will entice a high school kid into making bad choices. </p>
<p>Stohare and his parents make enough money to weather the impact of 1 year at NYU, even if they need to take on debt - and obviously he will be looking at other alternatives for years 2-4.</p>
<p>^^I agree that Stohare’s family will weather the year. Hopefully he/she can pull out some decent grades freshman year at NYU and put together a strong transfer strategy if necessary.</p>
<p>Yeah, year 1 we’re good. I appreciate ALL of your advice. You’re all more knowledgeable than me. I know this And its really cool how you come to CC and give us advice. We all appreciate it a lot.</p>
<p>stohare quote: The problem that arises is that my step-dad’s place of employment, Ford, is supposed to close in October. So he will be laid off at that time MOST LIKELY. Then he’ll still get 1 year of pay, but at reduced amounts (like 85% I think?).</p>
<p>*Stohare and his parents make enough money to weather the impact of 1 year at NYU, even if they need to take on debt - and obviously he will be looking at other alternatives for years 2-4. *</p>
<p>I agree that Stohare’s family will weather the year.</p>
<p>I guess I look at things very differently when the main breadwinner is about to lose his job and a new one has not yet been found. If I were the parents, I would be saying, we can’t spend a bunch of money until we’re certain that the stepdad has found stable employment because we’re going to need that money if he doesn’t. </p>
<p>But, I guess everyone looks at things differently.</p>
<p>Well he’s getting laid off, with a guaranteed transfer to a different plant. But we’re not sure when that transfer is going to happen. They offered him to transfer in May, but we weren’t ready.</p>
<p>Yeah, he is totally cool with paying my education. He’s been my step-dad for a lonnnnnnng time, so its not a big deal.</p>
<p>And no, my mom is not employed. But she is currently looking for a job since I"m going to NYU. This would obviously probably bring us over 100k a year.
She quit her job when my little brother was born like 5 years ago… so she could be with him, but he’s older now so she’s looking to get a job to help.</p>
<p>Yes, but you aren’t – and we know that Stohare was ready to give up on the dream, and now his mom had made the decision to go ahead with things. </p>
<p>We don’t know the whole picture. Maybe the mom is making a mistake, but maybe the mom is aware of other assets, such as the value of a retirement account or cash value in a life insurance policy, that are available to be drawn on now or provide a good cushion for the future. </p>
<p>I get irked when I see petulant kids whining about parents who refuse to take out massive loans on their behalf – Stohare doesn’t fit that mold. I’m not really bothered at the prospect of parents making overly generous decisions to fund their kids at colleges they might not be able to afford – they are grown ups, they are entitled to spend their money however they want. </p>
<p>As I said above, it looks like Stohare is now age 18 and is stepping up to the plate to take on what I feel is an age-appropriate level of responsibility. He’s got a job, he’s looking for ways to cut costs, such as signing up for a triple – and he’s got his eyes closely on the financial situation for next year.</p>
<p>And actually, given the family’s income picture – it’s not so clear that they would get much better aid anywhere else. Quick & dirty FAFSA calculation on a $90K income is a $20K EFC - and that’s without accounting for any assets. A CSS Profile school would add home equity into the mix – so the NYU vs. anywhere else issue for Stohare might be a matter of only a few thousand dollars up or down.</p>
<p>Stohare is from Indiana and wants to work on Wall Street? He could have gone to IU with all in-state tuition ($10,000 a year), and still worked on Wall Street, where many of these finance majors get summer internships and will wind up working after graduation. IU has top ten programs in both finance and accounting, and a pretty good econ department, but no subways or skyscrapers. How did you get into NYU with your SAT score? It wouldn’t even qualify for a small scholarship at IU.</p>
<p>I did not want to go to IU because thats where 90% of my high school graduates go. As well, I’m NOT an IU fan (for athletic reasons, not logical, I know!). I chose NYU over an IU-related program because I dont want summer internships only, I want them during the school year too.</p>
And its really cool how you come to CC and give us advice. We all appreciate it a lot.</p>