Financial Aid Appeal process.

I really, really want to attend Fordham Gabelli LC but financially, it’s almost impossible. I was qualified for a large sum of aid (my EFC was almost 0) and I didn’t receive much at all. If I were to go, I would have to take out almost 150k worth of loans so I was wondering if Fordham’s financial aid appeal process is flexible? If I were to be able to bring it down to 100k I may be able to go.

You should appeal in writing and explain your situation. If your parents are not willing to contribute and they have assets or equity in their home, there is not a lot of hope, and that is on you not Fordham.

I would not recommend attending ANY college where your undergraduate loans will be 100k let alone well above the national average of 30k for four years total.

Save your money for graduate school or another purpose. sorry.

I will probably be attending Rutgers New Brunswick Business School. I got a full ride there.

@sovereigndebt‌

That may be the best option, ds. While ranking has some impact on job searches, its mostly about grades. And you dont want too much debt seriously. 30k at graduation is fine. 100k is not.

Congratulations on your scholarship. Now go and work your behind off…like a laser beam and get the highest gpa you can muster, then get great internships and jobs…and then go to grad school for accounting or business finance or marketing and get a great MBA somewhere, maybe even Fordham.

Best of luck.

how do you check your aid?

i am also struggling to figure out how i would pay for fordham… it is my first choice at the moment, and i received a high merit scholarship, but not very much other aid, so the cost is still unrealistic for me. any advice on the best way to negotiate aid?

also considering looking at apartments nearby to rent with other fordham students… is this a valid option for cutting costs?

@curlyllama there was a link to my aid letter attached to my acceptence letter

Unfortunately @squirmeir any apartment in NYC, especially close to Lincon Center, is going to cost more than 17k a year.

Fordham is expensive. Fordham does gap people…meaning “meeting financial aid needs” often is done by loans. Fordham expects parents to make substantial contributions for their childrens education and for students to save money in summer jobs. Sadly that means some may not be able to attend or choose not to attend because the loans will be too high at graduation to make it worthwhile (see above.) But I also know that every year there are people (parents and students) with unrealistic views of how to pay for college, they didnt save any money for college expenses, and made “other choices like buying cars” etc. and think that their 4.0 gpa is going to get them a “full ride, including room and board.” Sorry, but that is not true. Its urban legend and a very high percentage of kids at Fordham come in with 4.0 gpa’s. Fordham scholarships are based on the SAT scores. Even if you get a full tuition scholarship for a perfect SAT you are still going to have to finance the room/board. That is reality.

Also, parents can take out loans, called…“Parent Loans” . Low interest and not repayable until after the student leaves their studies or graduates.

I dont mean to be brutal, but blunt. Too many people expect the university to blow trumpets and roll out red carpets and pay for everything. That may happen at a different school, or state school or lower ranked school, but not at 90% of elite liberal arts private colleges. It is what it is.

In summary, I would NOT take 100k in loans to attend Fordham as an undergraduate because you may need loans to pay for graduate school, and/or you will have a hard time paying off those loans with startup jobs. DONT DO IT.

30K at graduation? Sure. 40k? Probably…and so forth. Good luck.

Fordham is not worth taking on huge debt. If you have a better option then take it. Save you money for grad school.

How do you check your financial aid? I haven’t been able to access it

@sovereigndebt Number one I do agree with most of your argument above parents saving for college and not buying expensive cars etc but I do take issue with the fact that maybe not all parents are alike. Many parents of very bright students who happen to misfire on standardized tests (e.i. SAT) are as good as those who did well . My problem is not with those issues but with these so called Catholic universities that do not try to compensate those less financially less fortunate "bright catholic students and their families after maybe 40 +years of filling the basket at Sunday mass with donations whereas they could have put that money away for college. If these catholic colleges and universities want to proclaim their "catholicnicity 'then maybe they should be taking care of catholics first then worry about diversity

Quick update: I’ve decided to commute, and I was able to bring down the cost of my education to only around 8k per year. In all, I will be leaving Fordham with only 20k worth of subsidized, low interest loans.