Soo… I’ve got a little situation and could use some insight. My cheapest out of state option right now is Middlebury College, which is a perfect match for me all around. They already gave me a generous aid estimate of around $16,000 which would be doable for me if I won some scholarships that I applied to. I am likely going to get around $7,000 this year in scholarships, with a few less certain ones being released in July. Those ones would possibly pay off the rest of the EFC but there is the large possibility of me never getting them. I also am able to do work-study, and will be working all summer to try to make money to pay for college, but my parents aren’t contributing anything, and will not cosign loans. I live in Idaho and my best in-state option is University of Idaho (which I really hate but what else can I do), and I have really not heard anything about financial aid from them, but I would assume it would be pretty cheap because I am one of the top students in Idaho. There is no part of me that wants to go here. There is also the option of taking a gap year before Middlebury to earn some more money, but I don’t know how far that would go.
I am a little confused. What is the cost of Middlebury once all of the aid is applied? $16,000? What is the cost of Idaho? Are these the only schools that you applied to?
Keep in mind that those scholarships you earn will not reduce your EFC. They will go towards reducing your need, most likely reducing your loans or work study amounts first.
The cost of Middlebury is about $70,000 a year. Where is the $53,000 they didn’t give you? The school meets full need. If your family contribution is $50,000 or so, your family income is pretty high.
How much are your parents paying each year?
As noted, you are required to report those outside awards to Middlebury and that might reduce the need based aid they gave you.
Is this school affordable for your family? Ask your parents that question
University of Idaho is $17,980 without factoring in aid or scholarships. I haven’t received notice of any of these. Middlebury gave me an EFC of $16,000. These aren’t the only schools I applied to, Middlebury is just the cheapest and best option out of state. Some of my scholarship are one time, and some are 4 year. I am not a NMF, and I am not going to school in Alabama.
Again: any outside scholarships that you receive will change the financial aid offer from Middlebury.
You can’t reasonably compare the amounts you will pay to Idaho and Middlebury (your net costs) until you know the amount of aid that Idaho will offer you. Contact the financial aid office at the University of Idaho and ask when you can expect to receive your aid offer.
“my parents aren’t contributing anything, and will not cosign loans”
I am worried that if you go to Middlebury, you might get part way through and discover that you just cannot continue for financial reasons. There are very strict limits on how much you can borrow without an adult cosigner.
To me Middlebury looks financially risky.
At a minimum I think that you should wait until you get your financial offer from the University of Idaho.
Right now, with Middlebury’s cost of $16K is the least expensive option for you, unless you stay at home and commute to a local state school. I get a higher number for University of Idaho main campus for total cost when I look it up., like over $20K but perhaps you are not including the average books, travel, other expenses. Hopefully, you are including some estimate of the such in your Middlebury number because these are real cost dollars that you will need.
If you already have full Work Study and DIrect Loans in your aid package from Middlebury, unless your scholarship push them out of the deal, you can’t take out loans or work as many hours during the school year to come up with extra money. Most all freshmen can borrow $5500 without parents signing. The only way you can come up with the $16K gap is from savings, working, borrowing, parental money, or enough scholarships money that it covers the gap. As others mentioned, the awards will likely reduce your financial aid, starting with the work study and loans. You can then get the loans on an unsubsidized basis, the same $5500 max, and you can find non work study jobs, most likely. But some of that outside money can cut into your financial aid grants too, once the loans and WS are covered.
Until you get your package from UIdaho, there is no telling if that is even affordable to you. At the moment it’s pricier than Middlebury. You can borrow that same $5500 to bring down the costs, and then there is working, but is this financially feasible? Until you get notification that you are actually going to get the scholarships, neither Middlebury nor UI are sure things for you financially.
Until you get the final award numbers, no telling if either school is an option. I suggest, if you want to go to college this year, you start looking for some 100% affordable options. As I started out saying, that may be local state schools.