<p>One school I applied to is giving me 22k a year in scholarships and I have to come up with the other 12k a year. My EFC is only 6k and my family can't pay for any of that to begin with. However, this school specifically states that if I receive an outside scholarship for tuition that they will deduct that from the scholarship they are giving me. My question is, how do I know if a scholarship is only for tuition, and if its not will they know that so I can use the money towards room & board?</p>
<p>Another question is what is the longest term one can get for student loans? Is there a cut-off term? Also if the amount is a lot (I am thinking of another, more expensive school) that I have to borrow in private student loans will I need a co-signer to get the money?</p>
<p>Check your school website. It will list the tuition costs usually per term (either semester or quarter)…or by the year. If your scholarships EXCEED that tuition number, they are going to be paying for something OTHER than tuition.</p>
<p>So…say your school TUITION (not…not room board or fees) is $20,000 a year and you get $18,000 scholarship from the school…you would still have $2000 of unmet TUITION money. Anything above the $2000 mark sounds like it would be deducted.</p>
<p>But you need to call the school. Schools can set their own rules regarding outside scholarships…so make sure you are correct about what will be reduced and WHY.</p>
<p>It will list the tuition costs usually per term (either semester or quarter)…or by the year. If your scholarships EXCEED that tuition number, they are going to be paying for something OTHER than tuition.</p>
<p>Exactly! </p>
<p>Fairy…did you apply to any other schools, because it sounds like this one may not be affordable. Did the school include a Stafford loan in your package? If so, is that part of the $12k? Or is that in addition to the $12k?</p>
<p>edited to add…I see that this school is NYU. What exactly did they put in your FA package. NYU is typically bad with FA.</p>
<p>That 12k is room and board, books, ect. I am receiving an unsubsidized and subsidized stafford loan for about 3k to help offset the costs as part of my financial aid package I received. So the scholarship they are giving does not exceed the cost of tuition, but with the financial aid package I am receiving my tuition is covered. I have 12k a year that I need to come up with if I chose to go there. 12k in addition to the stafford loans.</p>
<p>What I am asking is how do I know if I get an outside scholarship if they will only use it towards tuition or how do I find out if that scholarship is towards tuition and not room and board and what scholarships can be used for things such as room board.</p>
<p>Yes, I did apply to other schools, my local state uni but that is still about 9k a year that I have to pay, besides my scholarships because I do not qualify for financial aid with them.</p>
<p>Edit: This school isn’t NYU; its Arcadia University. I am hoping to get accepted to NYU but haven’t received anything. I am just trying to figure out what I will do if I don’t get accepted to NYU and get myself acquianted with the financial aid process so I can be prepared for whatever I will end up paying.</p>
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<p>Well…if you already HAVE your tuition covered with your scholarship, then ANY additional money would go for things beyond tuition. The financial aid the school gave you covers your tuition.</p>
<p>But you can call the school and ask them. Tell them you are trying to meet your costs by applying for outside scholarships to cover the $6000 that is NOT your EFC (to be honest, they will not reduce your EFC for any reason except if your finances have changed). See what they say.</p>
<p>Fairylight there was a lengthy thread about this a few weeks ago and I cannot remember the thread enough to link it, perhaps someone will remember. If I remember correctly you need to specifically ask each college how they will apply an outside scholarship. I would call to clarify this. Since your EFC was not met, perhaps they will let you ‘stack’ this on top of what they put together to decrease your gap from $12,000 to $6000 but you should make sure what they will do and perhaps ask them to document this in writing. I fear that even if they stack and you find $6000 in scholarships you will still need to come up with $6000…also many outside scholarships are for one year only so make sure you have a plan for future years.</p>
<p>From Arcadia’s website… <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/870921-financial-aid-help.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/870921-financial-aid-help.html</a></p>
<p>Note: All Arcadia merit scholarships apply toward tuition costs only. If another scholarship, award or funding from any outside entity/organization will cover all or part of a student’s tuition costs, the merit scholarship will be replaced or reduced.* </p>
<p>It looks like no scholarships (even outside ones) can be used towards room and board. If you receive an outside scholarship that when combined with your Arcadia scholarship exceeds tuition, then your Arcadia scholarship will be reduced.</p>
<p>Did you say that your FA package includes $3k in Stafford loans and a $12k gap?</p>
<p>*also many outside scholarships are for one year only so make sure you have a plan for future years. * </p>
<p>Very true.</p>
<p>Sadly, this school isn’t likely going to be affordable.</p>
<p>What is your local state uni? Can you commute to that or another state uni? </p>
<p>What is your likely major?</p>
<p>University of Nebraska: Lincoln, it would be a 2 hour commute, and I have no interest what-so-ever to go there. But I still have about a 9k gap there, even with a scholarship from them. Oh, almost forgot. I plan to major in English and go into publishing, public relations, advertising or something similar to that. I might also do a double major, but I haven’t decided that much yet.</p>
<p>Thank all you so much for all of your input mom2collegekids I read that too, but I wasn’t sure if that meant if the scholarship wasn’t for tuition if it would still reduce my scholarship from them.</p>
<p>Can anyone tell me if private student loans can be for a longer period than just 10 years? Is that the limit? Does it just depend on the lender?</p>