Financial aid for UMASS Amherst

<p>my efc is around 15,000 and im applying out of state to UMASS Amherst. I have the grades to get in, thats not the problem. how much need based aid do you guys think umass would give me given the low efc and that total cost for out of state is around 33k. any ideas on scholarships or anything? also i am hispanic, i qualify for ada, my mother is applying for dissability. these are some extraneous factors that may not be calculated in efc.</p>

<p>my efc is around 15,000</p>

<p>Typically OOS state students don’t get much need-based aid from OOS publics because those schools have very little money to give away…so they need to save it for their own instate students.</p>

<p>Most of the aid that state schools give is federal aid (which your EFC is too high to get fed grants)…and state aid…and you won’t qualify since you’re OOS.</p>

<p>It is VERY likely that all you’d get is a $5,500 federal student loan.</p>

<p>What state are you in?</p>

<p>What are your stats?</p>

<p>i live in new jersey and my dad makes 115,000 a year as a cop (works 80 hrs a week, most of pay is overtime). and my mom is out of work and is about to start receiving disability from the state.</p>

<p>one of the calculators i used that included my parents’ debt said my efc was 13000, the efc that didnt include debt said 17000.</p>

<p>Make sure you apply EA.</p>

<p>If you go through the accepted student threads you’ll see that many OOS EA applicants received $5K-10K in scholarships. Regular admit students got much less.</p>

<p>i was planning on going early action, is the 5-10k $ in scholarships, each year? or over the course of 4 years? btw my gpa is a 3.9 (weighted), 3.25 (unweighted), 1740 on sats. and i am in one of the most competitive public schools in nj (we have been ranked in several magazines). my school provides stats for all the students being accepted into colleges from our school and shows that the average acceptance is a 3.68 weighted and 1700 for mid 50% accepted.</p>

<p>It would be per year.</p>

<p>UMass is trying to get more OOS students because they pay more tuition, and they are essentially discounting the OOS tuition as an enticement by giving scholarships.</p>

<p>Your SAT may be on the low side to be near the $10K end though, are you planning to take them again?</p>

<p>yes i plan on taking them again. i took them once without a class so i hopefully will be able to get a 1900. are these scholarships through the school? if not and i need to apply for them could you please send me the links to them?</p>

<p>Look through this thread, note the kids who are OOS for UMass, their stats, and how much money they got.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-massachusetts-amherst/1052740-umass-amherst-class-2015-acceptance-thread.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-massachusetts-amherst/1052740-umass-amherst-class-2015-acceptance-thread.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>They are all school scholarships, I don’t believe there are separate applications required. I’m sure you can find more info on the UMass web site.</p>

<p>one of the calculators i used that **included my parents’ debt **said my efc was 13000, the efc that didnt include debt said 17000.</p>

<p>???</p>

<p>FAFSA does NOT consider debt. So, you may not have used the right calculator for FAFSA EFC.</p>

<p>my dad makes 115,000 a year</p>

<p>That sounds like an EFC of more than $13k…that sounds like an EFC of at least $20k per year…unless you have a sibling in college.</p>

<p>I think your mom’s disability checks will get figured in as well. So, if she were to receive - say $10k for 2011, that may also push your EFC up.</p>

<p>Anyway…once your EFC is above the Pell amounts (which is about EFC 5000), then you really can’t expect much from OOS publics…unless you get a merit scholarship.</p>

<p>HOw much will your parents pay per year? If you don’t know, ask them. </p>

<p>UMass is trying to get more OOS students because they pay more tuition, and they are essentially **discounting the OOS tuition **as an enticement by giving scholarships.</p>

<p>That may be so, but it sounds like they’re still charging them more than the instate kids if the goal is… MORE MONEY.</p>

<p>UMass-A</p>

<p>In-state tuition and fees: … $11,917 (much of this is “fees”)</p>

<p>Out-of-state tuition and fees: … $23,813 (about half is fees & half is tuition)
Room and board:… $9,339<br>
Books and supplies: … $1,000<br>
Estimated personal expenses:… $1,000 </p>

<h2>Transportation expense: … $400</h2>

<p>OOS COA…about…$36,000</p>

<p>So, are you saying that UMass might discount the tuition a bit…like give $4k-5k…because then it lowers OOS tuition…but, it’s still higher than what the instate kids pay so it brings in more money???</p>

<p>1740 on sats
*i hopefully will be able to get a 1900 SAT. *</p>

<p>That’s about a 1260 M+CR if you can get the 1900… I don’t think that’s high enough for much merit from UMass.</p>

<p>SAT Critical Reading: 520 - 620<br>
SAT Math: 540 - 640<br>
SAT Writing: - </p>

<p>OP…why do you want UMass-A?</p>

<p>Why don’t you want the colleges in your own state?</p>

<p>It’s one thing to apply “just to see”, but unless you get a really high SAT score, or your parents will pay most of the costs, I don’t see how UMass will work out for you.</p>

<p>What are your safety schools?</p>

<p>rutgers would be my second choice. it would clearly be the cheaper option but what is strongly hindering my decision is distance. i want to get away but i know rutgers would be the cheaper option. can you chance me for rutgers given my stats above? also i am an nj resident and 2/3 of the students in each grade from my highly competitive nj school get accepted there 544/750. 3.2 unweighted, 3.9 weighted (out of 5.3, however highest able to achieve statistically is around a 4.8). 580 math 590 critical reading 1170/1740. played jv baseball freshman year, members of a couple clubs, going to first year letter in ice hockey next year, extremely involved OUTSIDE of school. created an adult league roller hockey team. played 20 seasons in local roller hockey league, reffereed, coached, etc. also heavily involved volunteering in local little league.</p>

<p>

Exactly. OOS tuition and fees is about $12K more than IS. Even if they give $5K off, it is still $7K more than IS. That was last year though, who knows what will happen this year.</p>

<p>Most of the IS kids got at most $1K-2K.</p>

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<p>I’m a bit confused by this statement. UMass is a FAFSA only school meaning it uses the FAFSA for determination of need based aid. The FAFSA doesn’t have ANYPLACE on it for debt…debt is not factored into the FAFSA formula for computing financial need. If your family owns a SECOND piece of real estate, that would be listed on the FAFSA (not your primary residence…but a second home) and the value of that home would be listed on the FAFSA. I believe the debt against a second property would be listed…to determine the equity in that property…but that is the ONLY debt that is included on the FAFSA in any way.</p>

<p>If you used the institutional methodology for the online calculator, the ONLY debt that is considered is what your family owes on it’s primary residence and any other real estate. BUT this is actually used only to determine the equity in those properties. </p>

<p>With an income of $115,000, and a family with two parents and two children, your family contribution would be in excess of $20,000. </p>

<p>Do you have a sibling in college at the same time as you? That could make the lower family contribution for just you. Otherwise, I would guess your EFC would be well in excess of what you are reporting…perhaps up to double that amount (>$30K).</p>

<p>You might want to recheck those numbers you entered into that online calculator to be sure they accurately reflect your family finances.</p>

<p>UMass does give some scholarships to high achieving OOS students. We know someone who got one…but he was a VERY high achieving student.</p>

<p>the efc is low because my parents have no assets, no money in savings.</p>

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<p>NO…your EFC is not low because of this. EFC is primarily driven by INCOME…not savings. There is even an asset protection allowance for parents that is many thousands of dollars…and even after that, assets are only assessed at 5.6% or so of the value. </p>

<p>The VAST bulk of the FAFSA family contribution is determined by your family INCOME. With an income of $115,000, your family contribution would be (as a guestimate) somewhere between $28,000 and $37,000 (25-33 % of your family’s GROSS income…I know it sounds ridiculous but there it is). </p>

<p>I can’t imagine a $17,000 EFC with an income of $115K. When we had that income (and assets well below the protected amount) our kid’s family contribution was well over $30K.</p>

<p>I think you need to recheck your numbers on that online calculator. Something is NOT right.</p>

<p>UNLESS you have a lot of siblings…or more than one sibling in college. </p>

<p>I think you may have entered something incorrectly.</p>

<p>i think i found my mistake, for parents tax paid i entered total tax withheld and not tax paid since they got a refund. wow im screwed :(</p>

<p>Seriously, with your dad’s income…and whatever your mom’s income from disability will be for 2011, your EFC is going to be a considerable amount. </p>

<p>And…FAFSA does not consider DEBT…so if you’re using a calculator that does consider debt, it’s wrong for federal EFC.</p>

<p>Let’s imagine that your parents income for 2011 (dad’s income and mom’s disability) will be $120,000. </p>

<p>If you have a family of 4 people, and only one student going to college, then your EFC could be as high as $24-32k per year. </p>

<p>Anyway…have you asked your parents how much they’ll pay? THAT answer will likely determine where you should APPLY…and where you’ll ultimately end up going to school.</p>