<p>First, let me introduce myself. I am a senior graduating High School. I am probably not as smart as some of you guys but I am happy with my success up to now.</p>
<p>I applied to FIU (Florida International University), I knew I was going to get in, I just wanted something secure, public institution, and located in Miami because I dont want to move etc. </p>
<p>I am in the IB program with a 3.25 UW and 4.1 W GPA. FIU offered me a scholarship for $10,000 ($2,500 per year for 4-years) along with an invite to the Honors College. Besides that, I just finished my FAFSA application and the EFC came back with $3770, which I think is not too bad?</p>
<p>My issue is, I want to get a FULL ride (Meaning I dont want to pay anything out of my pocket, which is why I chose such a low-profile college) but I am not really sure. First of all, I have BrightFutures which covers 100% of my tuition and fees. Thats a relief. The only stuff I need cover now is Room and Board, Books and Meals. Considering my $2,500 scholarship, how much financial aid should I be expecting to get yearly?</p>
<p>Last question, I have applied to several other scholarships but Im an AP Scholar I was wondering if there was any scholarship that I could get because of this? (Even though its not a big deal...).</p>
<p>^^^ look not to be a doomer but, ppl in America have perpetuated this idea of not having to pay a cent for college. it RARELY works like this. RARELY! I would love a full ride too and i think i've deserved it but i understand that my parents are going to have to pay at least 5 grand a year for me to go where i want to go. Expect to have to pay you EFC, at least!....good luck...im in a similar boat.</p>
<p>You do know that EFC means Expected FAMILY Contribution??... so don't expect your award letter to fund this amount. They will start with the cost of education (you can most likely find this on their website) subtract your EFC (which means YOUR FAMILY will be expected to pay this amount), along with any scholarships/grants etc your have and if you're lucky, they'll fund the remainder. These funds could be loans. Just meeting 100% of need is good. You can pick and chose what you accept on your award letter.</p>
<p>If you have extrenuating circumstances, you can appeal to the Financial Aid office and attempt to waive your EFC.....but you'll need a better reason than you "want a full ride."</p>
<p>Besides the $2500 scholarship from FIU, I am planning on getting some other scholarships that dont have anything to do with the University itself. I could use this to cover the EFC right?</p>
<p>rlm919: When I moved to the US, I lived in Miami for 4 years and then I moved 2 hrs north, and I've living in a boring town for 2 years now. You dont know how much I want to go back to Miami...Well, my dad and grandma live on Miami but I wouldnt like to live with them. Only if it was really needed. </p>
<p>Btw, in my current situation. If I dont live on-campus, then I would get a full ride?</p>
<p>Dont pick on me for wanting a full ride, no one wants to pay money :D</p>
<p>Tricky... Depends on the school and if you're fully funded. Usually they'll reduce loans first. Most o/s scholarship programs send the money to the school so they find out and adjust your financial aid package.</p>
<p>"...located in Miami because I dont want to move etc. "</p>
<p>Does this mean you'll be living at home? Brght Futures scholarship that covers tuition & fees + $600 per year. College Board lists tuition & fees at $3466, with $6936 estimated for other expenses (books, transportation, miscellaneous expenses-- although this seems high to me). So Cost of Attendance (living at home and commuting) would be $10,402. The school would put together a financial aid package to cover most (not all) of the difference between COA and the EFC: $6632. </p>
<p>FIU only meets 64% of need, on average, so a typical package would cover .64 X 6632 = $4244. But since you're offered tuition & fees and $2600, that would cover nearly all of the difference between the COA and EFC if you lived at home. The EFC would have to come from the family. But, as I said, these numbers seem inflated, so your actual costs might be much less.</p>
<p>If you're planning on living on campus the numbers for room/board and miscellaneous jump to $15,313, and the COA becomes $18,779. Subtract the EFC and you get need of $15K, which means an average aid package of about $9600 (grants, loans, work study), and unmet need of around $6700. Your 6K in grants and scholarships would be part of the grant portion of that package. With the EFC, your actual costs could still be around 10K.</p>
<p>So-- congrats on the scholarships. But if you're looking for a school that will end up costing you very little, FIU probably isn't it. Look for other publics that meet a much higher percentage of need than the 64% that FIU does.</p>
<p>Thanks for your dissertation of my situation. It didnt come to me pleasantly but it was an eye-opener. </p>
<p>I am going to have to review the final figures ($) and see if I decide to go live on campus or not.</p>
<p>One thing I have noticed though is that scholarships dont really help that much. I mean, I have done like 3-4 applications and had a cut-down list of them in fastweb.com etc but now what I see is that if I get a scholarship, what happens is that my need-aid goes down and therefore the outcome is the same. It shouldnt work this way. There's no incentive involved. It should be sort of like, you a get an amount based on need and it covers a certain percentage of your total costs, leaving you to pay the EFC. Here is where scholarships should kick in and you use them to cover this expenses.</p>
<p>Yeah. If you're eligible for need-based aid, the colleges consider any of your outside scholarships in the aid package they prepare. Often they'll reduce the loans or work study, sometimes they just substitute your outside scholarship for grants they would have included in the aid package anyway. But you generally won't be able to use it to reduce the EFC, or the gap left by schools that don't meet full need.</p>
<p>Btw, in your calculations from last post. You mentioned that my yearly expenses was going to be 10,402 without living on campus. First of all, the 3466 of tuition & fees are covered by BrightFutures, so shouldnt be left out? Also $6936 estimated for other expenses (books, transportation, etc) is just way over. Books is the only thing that should be factored in here. Gas used to commute shouldnt have anything to do with school since I will be paying that day to day. I sure hope that books dont come to 6936! :p </p>
<p>Acere the scholarships from fastweb are pretty impossible to come by. There was a thread a while ago asking if anyone had ever won one and no one had or knew of anyone. Probably because you are competing against the thousands of other students getting the info from fastweb. My d & her friends find they don't hear back on most of them. As my d says "even a 'you suck' letter or email would be nice". Best to look into local scholarships which your high school counsellor may have a list of.</p>
<p>The 10,402 was the total cost for living at home and commuting (tuition, fees, miscellaneous, books, transportation, and they include a small room/board for some reason). Your tuition & fees (3,466) should be covered by the BrghtFutures, and the school is offering $2500 on top of that, plus the adtl $600 from BrightFutures. So aside from tuition, if you can make it work on $3,100 per year (books/transportation/miscellaneous), then you wouldn't have anything out of pocket. You might also get a work study offer as part of an aid package that's worthwhile.</p>
<p>Yeah-- I've found that the estimated figures for misc and transportation are sometimes, and that a frugal student can do it on much less.</p>