FASFA disaster

Paying for College
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<p>Ill make this to the point:</p>

<p>I am from florida. Hispanic. 1520/2280 SAT, 3.5 GPA, over the top EC
Major:Accounting
Accepted to UIUC, Indiana Kelley direct admit, UMichigan, FSU
Waiting on: NYU, Berkeley, Penn,</p>

<p>Because of my immigration status (I am completely legal btw), I can not receive FASFA. As a fall back (with my stats) I saw UF as an option because money is an issue.</p>

<p>I got rejected from UF though. Will appeal. However, I need a plan B.</p>

<p>My "estimated" wait time for my green card, making me eligible for FASFA, is 6 months to a year. But this is always in the air unfortunately.</p>

<p>The question is: Should I take out a loan for one of the OOS schools, or suck it up and go to FSU. I mean I feel that I've worked too hard to end up at FSU.</p>

<p>Or what are other options aside from transferring or taking out a loan to cover for the first year?</p>

<p>Thank You guys</p>

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<p>OH also waiting on USC if that makes any difference</p>

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<p>To tell you the truth…</p>

<p>Most of those schools would not give you the aid you’d need even if you could fill out FAFSA. Most are OOS publics…they don’t help OOS students with the high OOS costs. NYU also gives lousy aid.</p>

<p>YOU cannot borrow much. </p>

<p>You’re not a green card resident or citizen. No bank is going to lend you the money. You don’t qualify for a fed student loan.</p>

<p>No student should borrow more than those amounts anyway. For you to borrow more than that, your parents would have to co-sign (which most parents won’t do or can’t qualify for).</p>

<p>Why did you apply to a bunch of OOS publics that don’t help OOS students that much???</p>

<p>you may get some merit money, but not much else. </p>

<p>how much will your parents pay each year?</p>

<p>*I mean I feel that I’ve worked too hard to end up at FSU.</p>

<p>*</p>

<p>Why did you get rejected from UF? Was that some kind of mistake? Did your GC call? Something is wrong there. Did you miss the deadline?</p>

<p>Are you a NMF? What was your PSAT?</p>

<p>USC…Calif? </p>

<p>If so, they will give you good aid if you qualify for it. </p>

<p>Do you qualify for Bright Futures?</p>

<p>Are you in the US on some kind of visa?</p>

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<p>Frankly, at this point FSU may be your only workable solution unless you decide to take a gap year. What’s your EFC (for Penn)?</p>

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<p>Does anyone here think it might be worth it for OP to take a gap year? I agree with investigating the UF rejection.</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>Without the green card, USC (California) will not give need-based aid the first year, and all freshman financial aid deadlines have passed for Fall 2011. They are a school, however, that will consider need-based aid in future years even if you did not qualify or apply the first year - so aid in years 2, 3, and 4 might be a possibility IF your status becomes resident alien.</p>

<p>The gap year plan sounds like a good idea at this point - that way you could get your green card and meet financial aid deadlines.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>[USC</a> Financial Aid - Applying & Receiving Financial Aid - Undergraduate - New Students](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/applying_receiving/undergraduates2/newstudents.html]USC”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/applying_receiving/undergraduates2/newstudents.html)</p>

<p>P.S. If you are OOS, Berkeley is not a good option with or without the green card. The OOS cost is ~$50,000, and you would only be eligible for Federal aid.</p>

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<p>Erin’s Dad…</p>

<p>i don’t think this student has an EFC since he hasn’t been able to do FAFSA since he’s an int’l living in the US. </p>

<p>Do you mean what do the IM calculators suggest for Penn?</p>

<p>If his GPA were higher, I would think he’d have an excellent chance at Penn and USC.</p>

<p>I think the UF rejection is very odd. I’d have the GC look into that. The only reasons I can see that he’d get rejected from UF is if he got his app in late or UF restricts int’l admissions.</p>

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<p>I should have asked if the OP had run an institutional method EFC online to get an idea of what Penn might look at. I know a strict EFC (FAFSA) wouldn’t apply.</p>

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<p>^^^^ Although for many with simple situations, FAFSA & Profile EFC’s don’t really differ.</p>

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<p>What is Penn’s policies for int’ls? Do they 'meet need"? Are they “need aware” ? “need blind” ? What’s the admission rate for int’ls? I assume it’s lower than domestics.</p>

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<p>They are need aware for apps but will meet need. [Penn</a> Admissions: Financial Aid for International Applicants](<a href=“http://www.admissionsug.upenn.edu/applying/aid.php]Penn”>http://www.admissionsug.upenn.edu/applying/aid.php)</p>

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<p>It’s all moot until the OP gets a green card I think. As an international the current grades/GPA are a stretch, Hispanic or not, for most of the colleges on the list plus the OP is implying that full pay is not an option. If the OP wants to head to college right after high school, definitely have the GC “investigate” the UF rejection although it’s possible the OP was classified as an international.</p>

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<p>Sorry it took so long to reply. UF is known for doing things like this. The only way that our Guidance Counselors call UF, which results every time in a positive appeal, is by teacher recommendation. In this case, it would be my DECA adviser. He is willing to do it, but the GC wont unless I win at international competition this year. Same situation hapened to my friend two years ago, but the GC are heartless and pretty much look at you with a blank face and say tough *****. </p>

<p>As far as everything else is concerned, I do now know what to do. I mean I was looking at Indiana due to the direct admit scholarship, and since I applied before the automatic scholarship deadline, OOS also included international, I thought.</p>

<p>To be honest, I just want a way out. I really hope I find one.</p>

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<p>OP - what was your PSAT score? Are you a national merit finalist?</p>

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<p>PinotNoir - if sebas9232 is an international applicant, he/she cannot be a NMF. That is only open to citizens and those non-citizens who fall into the immigration categories that qualify for federal aid.</p>

<p>sebas9232 - Is your Green Card actually in process right now? If so, has your lawyer given you any indication as to when you can expect it? Whether or not it is worth it to you to take a Gap Year/Semester while you wait out the paperwork depends on a number of factors. You need to find out what your options are in your current immigration status.</p>

<p>Wishing you all the best!</p>

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<p>*As far as everything else is concerned, I do now know what to do. I mean I was looking at Indiana due to the direct admit scholarship, and since I applied before the automatic scholarship deadline, OOS also included international, I thought.</p>

<p>To be honest, I just want a way out. I really hope I find one. *</p>

<p>Can you clarify? What do you mean that you now know what to do? What will you do?</p>

<p>As for Indiana…even if you have been awarded their scholarship, isn’t it only for about $9k per year? If so, that won’t be nearly enough since the school costs about $40k per year for an OOS student.</p>

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<p>You are pretty much an international student this year. You might want to</p>

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<p>—I mean I was looking at Indiana due to the direct admit scholarship, and since I applied before the automatic scholarship deadline, OOS also included international, I thought.—</p>

<p>What do you mean by “direct admit” scholarships? Are you talking about the 9,000 dollar “automatic scholarships”? Those have nothing to do with being a direct admit to the Kelley School of Business. If you applied by November 1, you should have been notified of the exact scholarship you received and the amount in your admissions letter/package. If there is nothing in your acceptance materials, that would be a huge red flag that you don’t qualify. Call the admissions office at (812) 855-0661 and they can tell you over the phone in only a couple of minutes.</p>

<p>Having said that, Kelley itself does have a number of scholarships that they award to in-coming direct admits. Some of these are pretty generous, and are listed in the link. Minorities at IU-- and especially at Kelley-- are very underrepresented, and Kelley, especially, is working hard to overcome this shortcoming, which could give you an edge for a nice scholarship from Kelley itself.
[Direct</a> Admit Freshman: Scholarship Opportunities: Admissions: Undergraduate Program: Kelley School of Business: Indiana University Bloomington](<a href=“Undergraduate | Bachelor's Degree in Business | Indiana Kelley”>Undergraduate | Bachelor's Degree in Business | Indiana Kelley)</p>

<p>Also, have you applied to the Hudson Holland Scholarship Program at IU. This is a very generous minority program, and can be worth five thousand your first year, and at least seven thousand each year after that, if you meet minimum standards for “gpa enhancement” bonuses. At the very least, if you maintain only a 3.0 gpa, the program will be worth five thousand dollars a year to you.</p>

<p>I can see you reasonably getting about twenty thousand dollars a year from IU/Kelley based on your excellent stats-- if you are eligible for these as an international. This would break down as 9,000 for the automatic scholarship; two or three thousand (or more) a year for an actual “direct admit” scholarship from Kelley (which I doubt you have actually received this early, but please correct me if I am wrong); more scholarship money from Kelley that is not direct admit-based; and seven thousand per year your soph-senior years (five thousand the first year) through Hudson Holland.</p>

<p>Here are links to Hudson Holland. I’m guessing you are close to an absolute lock to be accepted with your minority status, gpa, and your outstanding SAT scores. Must apply by April 15.</p>

<p>[The</a> Hudson and Holland Scholars Program](<a href=“http://www.indiana.edu/~hhsp/]The”>http://www.indiana.edu/~hhsp/)</p>

<p>[HHSP</a> Scholarship Awards](<a href=“http://www.indiana.edu/~hhsp/future/awards.html]HHSP”>http://www.indiana.edu/~hhsp/future/awards.html)</p>

<p>[HHSP</a> Application](<a href=“http://www.indiana.edu/~hhsp/future/hhspapplication.html]HHSP”>http://www.indiana.edu/~hhsp/future/hhspapplication.html)</p>

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<p>^^ I think Cpt of the House was going to say it might be good to take a gap year to let the Green Card process catch up.</p>

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<p>The issue with the gap year is two things:</p>

<p>Because of circumstances at home, i would need to work and get my own place etc. And i feel that these responsibilities make it difficult to even go to college because i feel like i can just drop a lease on an apartment etc.
The other things is how the immigration process works. The last thing you do is get your fingerprints done and then its an estimated wait time of 6 months to a year. I did fingerprints 3 years ago. That is how backed up the process is. So i do not know if a gap year is a viable option.</p>