My family is on the needy side ($15k annual income) and fafsa estimated an efc of $0. I’ve gotten great aid from the schools I’ve heard back from so far (like Northeastern and UConn) but it’s not enough when these schools are 50-60k a year. I’m expected to take out loans myself, which I am fine with since they’re really not much, but then my parents are expected to still contribute 15-20k a year. That’s our entire annual income and my parents wouldn’t get approved for any loans. This still makes college impossible to afford and I’ve made sure my schools all promise to meet most aid. Even Umass (my local state school) is still unaffordable. I have no idea where to begin trying to work this out so I’m turning here for advice. Should I call the financial aid offices of these schools? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
What was your aid package from Northeastern? Don’t they meet full need? How much are they asking you to pay?
ETA…something isn’t right. You say. NEU is asking you to pay $15k-$20k? What is on your Profile that does not get counted on the FAFSA? Home equity? Non-custodial parent? Self employed parents? Rental property?
Clearly there is some difference with a $0 fafsa EFC…and an expected $15k-$20K from NEU!
UCONN does not meet full need, and you are OOS.
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I’ve made sure my schools all promise to meet most aid.
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Most need isn’t enough for a low income family. You didn’t apply to any safeties where you knew all costs would be covered.
I don’t know why very low income kids think that “most need” would be enough…unless the most need only leaves like $500. A school that costs $60k, but gives you $45k of aid, is meeting “most need” even if it’s not enough for you…that’s why that strategy is not a good one.
What is the COA of UMass and breakdown of costs?
What aid did you get for UMass??
Did you get accepted to ANY affordable schools?
I think your EFC is still $0 while the schools do not meet the need. That is a kind of typical no matter how much the EFC is.
After grants and scholarships from a $60k list price I’m supposed to take out around $7k in loans a year (which I think will be manageable to pay off after college) but my parents are still asked to contribute $15k which is absolutely impossible when that’s how much they take home a year. My dad can’t work because of a disability and my mom works multiple part time jobs with no college degree, I thought there would be more sympathy for my situation 
Please answer the questions I asked.
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<<< I've made sure my schools all promise to meet most aid.$12,537
Average 1st year financial aid package
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UConn’s avg FA package is only $12,537, so applying there was a waste…it does NOT meet “most need” at all.
Besides, you’re OOS at that public.
What is the cost breakdown of UMass
what aid did you get?
Please read my edit above. NEU pledges to meet full need this year. What is different on your Profile that gives you a family contribution in excess of $15,000? Your FAFSA EFC is $0.
Something is not comolete in this story.
I haven’t received a package from UMass yet which is why I’m not going to make definite statements about it, but I discussed it with my guidance counselor and we estimated an efc of $10k to them. I applied to UConn for biomedical engineering which allows me to take advantage of the New England Regional Student Program. I have no idea why the efc at NEU doesn’t add up but I suppose I should just call their financial aid office?
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What is on your Profile that does not get counted on the FAFSA? Home equity? Non-custodial parent? Self employed parents? Rental property?
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This is an important question.
Something on CSS profile is suggesting that your family has other financial assets or something…
How much does your dad get from disability?
How much home equity do they have?
I don’t think rental properties are the problem since those would show up on FAFSA.
Is anyone self-employed?
What results do you get from the NPC on UMass’ website?
Northeastern uses the CSS but that should not account for the huge difference. Do your parents have a big equity in a home?
Northeastern does not claim to meet full need. Neither do the other schools you’ve listed. As @mom2collegekids said, “most need” is not enough. You can’t rely on sympathy - what you need are colleges that guarantee to meet each student’s full financial need.
You need to tell us what other schools you applied to - there may be one or more “meet full need” schools on that list. If not, then you have two choices - take a gap year and apply again (to a different range of schools), or start at a local (and affordable) community college and then transfer to an affordable 4-year school later on.
Tell us where you applied that you’ve either been accepted to or haven’t yet heard back from. And tell us your GPA and SAT/ACT score also.
Actually, Northeastern DOES make that claim this year. But it is need based on the CSS, not the FAFSA.
Something is missing here.
I have a 3.9 UW/4.5 W GPA and 34 ACT score. I’ve been accepted to UVM, UMass Amherst, Villanova, Northeastern, UConn, (Honors Program at every school), I also got a likely letter from GW and still have 2 reaches to hear back from (I’m not counting on good news but I know for a fact they meet 100% need if I’m accepted by some miracle). I only have fa packages from neu and UConn. I wish I could answer your specific financial questions but my parents are very difficult to speak with about finances and keep all this information secret from me. That’s why I have to take it upon myself to figure out how I’m going to afford these schools. It might be because I work a lot myself (30 hours/week during the school year) but all that money goes to help out my parents and I have virtually no savings for college. However I know disability isn’t much and there can’t be any significant outside income besides my moms work
Low income students in our state (NY) attend our local community colleges or commute to one of the 4-year SUNYs if they’re lucky enough to be close to one. The federal student loan ($5500) plus Pell (about $5k/year) is enough to cover the tuition and fees if they commute to our state schools. Are you within commuting distance of UMass? Dorming may not be possible, but if you have a school within commuting distance it’s still possible to get a degree.
UVM and UMass won’t give great aid. There are school that you could get a full ride but you’d have to take a gap year since it’s too late to apply.
UMass is over an hour away, so unfortunately no. Northeastern is currently my top choice, close enough to commute to, and my aid package was already rather generous, so I suppose I might call and just ask why my efc is what it is.
Well, even without your parents’ help, you can contact the FA office at NEU and ask them to explain how they calculated your family contribution (the portion that needs to be paid by your parents). Also, if you submitted the CSS Profile to NEU, you should be able to look at that simply by accessing your College Board account.
Also, with your GPA and ACT score, you’d be a strong candidate for merit aid at any number of schools, so forget about my suggestion about starting at a local CC. If you end up without any affordable options for this coming fall, you should take a year off and apply for the following year. Merit aid is generally offered to freshmen ONLY, so a year at community college would make you ineligible.
Actually, you may even still have options for this coming fall. At University of Alabama-Huntsville, for example, your weighted GPA and SAT score would make you eligible for an automatic/guaranteed grant that covers both tuition and on-campus housing for all four years:
[UAH Charger Excellence Award](UAH - Admission & Aid - Scholarships)
This could explain the shortfall from NU.
NEU announced in April 2014 that they would meet full need for all incoming freshmen doing so three years ahead of their schedule to do so.
Here is part of the article:
Northeastern will provide a record $221.4 million in institutional grant for the 2014-15 academic year.
Northeastern University has announced that it will provide a record $221.4 million in institutional grants—not loans—for the 2014–15 academic year. Over the past five years at Northeastern, financial aid has increased at double the rate of tuition.
Undergraduate tuition for 2014–15 will be $42,534, a 4.3 percent increase from the current year. Factoring in the record level of financial aid, the “net increase” in tuition will be 3.2 percent.
Notably, Northeastern will meet the full demonstrated need of all freshmen aid applicants this year—an important goal that the university is achieving three years ahead of schedule and one that has been guided by the institution’s Long Range Plan. More than 70 percent of first-year students currently receive either need-based grant aid or merit scholarships.