Family unwilling to contribute all of EFC

My efc is around $47000. My parents said they will only pay about $15000 of that. Am I just screwed out of the other $32000 and expected to take out massive loans? Or is there some way this is factored into the fin aid equation?

You can’t borrow 32K on your own and colleges don’t give you extra money because your parents don’t want to pay the EFC.

Start local- is there a college within commuting distance of your home?

It is not unusual for the EFC to be quite a bit higher than what the family can actually pay. When I ran the EFC, it expected our family to pay about 40-45% of our take home pay, which is simply not possible.

What you can do is go to a school that costs significantly less than $47000, work part-time, apply to schools that will give you merit aid, etc. The schools will not consider your parent’s actual ability or willingness to pay.

No, you can’t borrow that much anyway. And schools don’t care that your parents won’t pay.

When you were making your app list, did you know that your parents would only pay 15k per year? How did they expect college to be paid?

Where all did you apply and what are the net costs?

What is your major and career goal.

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I would like to get a full tuition scholarship with a 32 on the ACT. I am a junior in hs with a 4.25 weighted gpa and a 4.0 unweighted gpa.
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So you’re only a junior? If so, good!!!

Retake the ACT/SAT and get a higher score. Practice!!!

Now that you know your limitations financially, you can make a smart list. What is your major and career goal.

If you can’t afford it, you can’t go there. It’s unlikely your parents will co-sign for $160k in student loans. Even if they were nice enough to do that, assuming they would even qualify, the debt would crush you. You need to apply to other schools.

Look at your state universities. Between your parents contribution, summer job and $5,500 student loan, many state universities may be an affordable option. What is your home state?

I would very quickly lose the attitude that your parents are screwing you out of $32,000.

The financial aid formulas are really out of whack for many families. They are based on typical family budgets of 1960 (because that was the current census data when the higher education act of 1965 was passed) and then tweaked over the years based on the social security cost of living adjustment and other factors. There is only one formula for the entire country, making no allowance for families that live in high cost of living areas.

If your parents have 200,000 for college and are only giving you 60,000, that is one thing. But for the most part, the problem is that families don’t actually have the kind of money the FAFSA and Profile expect them to come up with.

If you tell us your home state and desired major, someone may have a suggestion for you. Money gives you options so getting a job and saving up will help. Test scores also give you more merit aid options if you have only tested once and think you can raise your score, you should give that a shot as well.

I live in Missouri and plan on being a business major

Check the cost of your in-state publics and their scholarships.

http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/21089443/#Comment_21089443 has a list of large automatic-for-stats merit scholarships to look into (4.0 unweighted HS GPA and 32 ACT can qualify for a number of them; higher test scores can qualify for even more). Verify on college web sites in case of changes.

@goldengriffin101

what about U of Missouri? COA is listed at $26K. you odn’t need $2200 / year on transportation expenses so knock that down to $24K. parents $15K knocks that down to $9K. if you get Chancellor’s scholarship for $6.5K, now you are down to $2.5K, which can be covered by loans or job.

Missouri has lots of affordable options so you can definitely get by without massive loans. With a 32 ACT, your cost at NWMSU would be around $14-$15K all in and that includes books and a laptop. SEMO would give you full tuition and if you get up to a 33 you could get a full ride. I’ve looked at practically every MO school since we live in Iowa but those are two that I can recall that stood out to me as being practical, and not too huge.

Truman State is highly ranked (sometimes called the Harvard of the Midwest) and direct costs are about $16,000, automatic merit for a 32 is $3000. There are other options as well. Or look at neighboring states too.

EFC is only the minimum you need to pay anyway. What is important is the amount your family can afford and the NPC calculated cost for you. You may also want to look at schools that you may get merit aids with your GPA and test scores.

Even if your EFC was $15000 and that’s what your family agreed to pay and could pay, there are many schools where you’d still need to come up with the other $32000 (or $25000, or $43000). Most schools do not meet your need. You need to find a school you can afford.

Your parents are not obligated to pay anything for college. We told our children when they were little that we would pay the cost to go to our state flagship, if they wanted to go to a school more expensive then they needed to get scholarships to cover the difference. Our EFC makes us full pay at almost every school but my children understand what their budget is.

Be thankful your parents are willing to pay anything. My oldest’s D’s boyfriend is putting himself through school, what his scholarship and financial aid don’t cover he is working to pay himself (on top of taking out the max student loan he is allowed).

I agree with the others that the EFC is often much more than the family can afford. We were shocked when ours came back, because we can comfortably afford to contribute about half of what they expect without going into considerable debt. Maybe it’s the same for your parents?

Apply to Mizzou, Truman State, MUST.
Add UAlabama Huntsville, UTDallas (AES), ASU Barrett. Lots of colleges in the Midwest will have good merit aid, too.
Once that’s done, run the NPC on every possible college you could want to apply to.
Retake that ACT since the higher score you get, the better aid you’ll get.
Do you have a job? If not, now’s the Time to start. Work 6-8 hours a week, not more, during the year, and try to get something full time for the summer.

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