@mathyone I’m definitely not above working! my parents are NOT of the same mindset though. and that’s the problem. I am fully understanding of the fact that I would probably have to take out some kind of loan, and get a job over the summer and during the school year. I definitely don’t think my college should be spoonfed fed to me. But my parents are threatening not to do my fafsa and are not giving me any support.
“If you apply for a loan anywhere then I won’t do your FAFSA”
I believe you have to submit the FAFSA in order to qualify for federal student loans. You wouldn’t be applying for a loan beforehand.
You might also explain to them that EFCs are estimates only and that sometimes negotiating is possible if you have better offers from other schools that are equal or better in quality. To be clear, this strategy does not always work. But it’s a possibility.
Good luck. Maybe your GC can help them to understand this situation better.
Did you do the NPCs for UChi and Northwestern? My guess is your out of pocket costs would be higher than $3000.
These are great stats but they are not a slam dunk for admissions to schools with 10% admit rates that meet full need.
You say in your OP that the projected net costs at Bates and Midd are unaffordable. Really? How much do you think college should be costing you? Nothing?
You don’t need to apply for loans now. You also need to look at the cost of attendance…and then the billable costs from the college. The billable costs are the ones that are non-negotiable and must be covered somehow. You can also save money by picking a less expensive dorm, less expensive food plan, buy used books or rent them, keep personal expenses to a minimum, etc.
@thumper1 Well I personally am very happy with the financial aid the npc’s have projected. But my parents are not so thrilled.
OP Here, thank you to everyone who’s given me advice thus far. I really appreciate it! I hope I don’t come off as someone who’s ungrateful for the great opportunities for aid I would have in the event of my possible admission to any of the LAC’s I’m applying at. I think I will just try and get my school guidance counselor to talk to my parents and explain that a $4k loan isn’t going to destroy my entire life.
I think I will probably just RD everything and then choose from there, regardless of whether or not I eventually gain support from my parents. Anyhow, thank you to anyone that responded. I really appreciate the advice of those with experience, since my family really has none.
Yes, the FAFSA comes first and then you will be offered loans. You don’t even have to take them–now in your case you’d likely have to take a small loan. But the way it works you don’t have to commit to that until later. So you can get the FAFSA in and sidestep the loan question for now.
Hopefully the guidance counselor can explain in a way that your parents will understand. And with time they may adjust to the idea.
And remember…the NPCs are estimates of you actual net costs. Some are right on the money, and others not so much so. The only REAL financial aid award is the one younactuallynreceive from the college.
OP, it sounds like you are proceeding in a reasonable way. If you take the federal loans that do not require parent cosigners and get a job you will be able to go where you would like.
I have to say that your parents are worse than unreasonable. While scholarships for low income students may seem like a given to them, they are not an entitlement. Alumni and other donors give money for scholarships, and expecting the student to contribute by working and/or taking out loans is a way to ensure that the student feels an obligation to perform and make the most of what they have been given. To expect that someone will go to a top college for nearly nothing (and 1000 out of 65000 is just that- nearly nothing) is really something else.They expect someone else not only to pay for your tuition but your room and board too. Your parents need to understand that these are private colleges and that their endowment and ability to give scholarships comes from donations. The money can be spread around to more students if the students are required to pay something towards their education and room and board. I went to college on scholarships, loans and work/study, and it worked out fine. I now can give alumni donations myself.
There are colleges that offer full rides plus for high stats students, some of which are “top” colleges like Washington University in St. Louis (Danforth). Emory (woodruff) , and I think Vanderbilt and Notre Dame also offer some excellent merit scholarships. There probably are many others that you can find as well.
Your parents need to understand that without filing FAFSA and CSS profile you won’t be getting any aid at all.
Also even the most generous of colleges are going to cost money.
Student contribution, travel costs, books.
And the most generous colleges are the hardest to get into.
If they can’t pay for college and don’t want you to take out loans you won’t go to college at all, or only to community college if Pell grant pays for that, with no way to afford transferring to an university.
Freshmen usually get the best aid packages, not transfers.
See if some colleges have EA (early action, which means you can still apply elsewhere but hear earlier than rd).
Public universities in Massachusetts would likely cost more, but do apply to Commonwealth honors. (I’m confused as to whether you live in Chicago or Massachusetts?)
Surely your parents know you’ll need to eat… You’ll need housing… Whether you’re in college or at home.
They’ll also likely qualify for AOTC, a tax credit that’s supposed to help pay for college (parents are expected to pass the money on to their kids.)
They must have heard of disaster debt stories - but those are students who took on private loans and parent loans on top of federal loans. Federal loans aren’t ideal, but it sounds like you wouldn’t even max them out, and would have the government subsidized ones only.
Haverford, Davidson don’t package loans.
Apply to a variety of schools and have your mother complete fafsa. Loans will only need to be discussed in the spring.
@feebonaleash My son received an email yesterday from the University of Texas at Dallas. I don’t know how flexible you are on your preferences but, this program could make your education possible. Note that the scholarship is a merit award without loans of any kind.
Copying from their email:
The Eugene McDermott Scholars Program at The University of Texas at Dallas is one of the nation’s most generous and selective undergraduate merit awards.
More than a full ride, the scholarship includes:
Tuition and fees.
Book stipends.
$1,400 monthly stipends year-round.
Up to $12,000 to study abroad.
Up to $3,000 for career-oriented support.
Cohort travel to Santa Fe, New Mexico; Austin, Texas; and Washington, D.C.
Support from a network of professional staff, faculty, alumni and cohort.
Apply online by Oct. 25 for early consideration.
I don’t know if this award would be a possibility for you but, now you have the knowledge that this program is out there.
Good luck!
Make sure you include some safeties on your list. As Asian/white I don’t think you will be considered URM…and your stats are good, but not great. Your recommendations and essays need to be fantastic in order to get into some of these meet need (highly competitive) colleges.
So your parents
-want you to go to a “name” school
-don’t want you to work in college
-don’t want you to take loans
-are only willing/able to contribute a total of 4K?
Where do they imagine the money to come from? Any college will expect you to contribute more than $1000 per year. Covering your food and other costs when you’re living at home is likely more than that. Full rides+ for merit at “name” colleges are like unicorns. Colleges which give automatic full rides for merit are mostly southern/western directionals or HBCUs which don’t have a “name” to satisfy your parents.
This must be very frustrating for you. Can you put the ball in their court and get them to come up with a college that fits their criteria? You mentioned they like Brown, but I ran the NPC for a 25K family income (should result in 0 EFC), and it gave me a work-study component and ~2000 left over which would have to be covered by family contribution or federal loan. If work-study is a no-no, that eliminates Brown too.
I know 27K of debt (max federal loans) sounds scary now, but if you aren’t adding other debts to it (credit card, car loans), it should be pretty manageable after you graduate, and it sounds like you may not even need the full loan.
May be worth checking out Notre Dame. A year ago an alumnus donated $20 million dollars to fund “The Fighting Irish Initiative” which will be a “groundbreaking” program to fund fully the education of students coming from low-income households making less than $50,000 annually.
The Fighting Irish Initiative will fully fund the cost for low-income students to attend Notre Dame — including tuition and fees, room and board, books, transportation and personal expenses. At the same time, the initiative will create a comprehensive enrichment program that will help these students get the most from their Notre Dame experience.
I don’t know if the program is fully in place yet or not. You may want to contact the Admissions Rep for your area.
Are your parents willing to pay anything for you to attend college? Most of these schools do have a student contribution, and that can be several thousand dollars a year. For low income students, often work study is included to help with this student contribution. Some schools exoect that students will take the student loans to pay for their contribution…
I mean really…if you find a school that has a $65,000 price tag where you can attend for a $5500 loan, that is a real bargain that many students would die to have.
College isn’t free in most cases.
I’m very unclear about your family finances. Did you run the NPC for Brown? Did that have you paying $0? I doubt it.
And as noted above…your parent choice of Brwon will require the FAFSA and Profile both be filed.
BTW I’m not sure if this changes my chances but I just found out that my most recent ACT Score is a 35.
@thumper1 Brown turned out to be a similar cost, but they don’t include any loans within the financial aid package. My parents tell me they are willing to help out if the school i end up attending is ivy league status. It’s really unclear to me what they want though, they tell me a lot of things but sometimes it just doesn’t add up.
Seems to me that the larger issue is they don’t want you to go to a LAC? They are OK with NU, UChi, Brown, but not Bates or Midd?
@feebonaleash Workstudy jobs are a standard part of aid packages. Workstudy jobs can be great and often a good way to get a job in a lab or get key work experience. My parents had no money and I asked for nothing from them. I got into a university that provided 100% need but that included workstudy jobs all 4 years plus assumed a personal contribution from summer work. I worked in the summer (via jobs set up via the career center at the university). I was also required to take out loans every year. You don’t pay these loans off while in school. Only when you get out and get a job—like all the other students at your school who will also have loans. I’m 30 yrs older than you, but it still the same way. Working and loans are part of the deal.
Apply to a bunch of schools that cover 100% need. Don’t assume you’ll get into Brown/Bates/Middlebury. It doesn’t work that way.
That’s great about your new ACT score.
Could you do some compromising with your parents? Maybe for every two schools,they ask to be on your application list, you get to add one of your choice?
Are you very low income?