Financial aid package not what I expected...

Paying for College
41

<p>"People have mentioned the OP getting a job but there has been no response to that. Is their a car available to get to a potential job?"</p>

<p>That's a huge part of the problem. No, there is no car available. Taking a bus to work is an option, but it's not really all that feasible with my coursework in addition to my extracurriculars and scholarship applications at the moment. </p>

<p>And thanks, JustAMomOf4, for seeing my dillemma with this seemingly generous package. The numbers add up a very daunting figure. I received my financial aid package from my SUNY, by the way, but it's somewhat confusing and annoying because it doesn't even list the CoA and how much need if any is not covered. I need to do some research on the site and a bit of number crunching to determine if the package covers everything.</p>

<p>EDIT: I just checked my finaid package from said school. I have $5100 a year in work study and loans from the SUNY.</p>

<p>Oh, and I do need to go to one year of graduate school for my major.</p>

42

<p>
[quote]
48250 total aid package ($36,850 in "free" money that does not have to be repaid, 3,900 from work study and summer earnings and 7500 in loans).

[/quote]
</p>

<p>sorry, it should read:</p>

<p>48250 total aid package ($36,850 in "free" money that does not have to be repaid, 2,500 from work study and summer earnings and 7500 in loans).</p>

<p>Julie,</p>

<p>Please understand that if you do not make the $1500 student contribution, that the school will not increase the amount of money that they are going to give you, so you may be left taking out increased loans. </p>

<p>Find out if your NMS and outside scholarships are one time offers or if you will receive them all 4 (5) years you are in school.</p>

<p>Also make sure you know the terms of keeping your merit $ before committing to Ithaca. If possible get the information in writing.</p>

<p>Find out what percentage of students lose their merit scholarships and the possible reasons that this may happen.</p>

<p>Find out what would happen if you had a problem in school (taking a weed out course, a course with a brutal curve, should your gpa slip because of illness or adjusting to school). </p>

<p>Is there a phase in to the required GPA?</p>

<p>If you did not meet the GPA requirement for some reason at the end of the fall semester, do you have until the end of the spring semester to do so before losing your money?</p>

<p>If you lose your merit scholarship because of a slip in grades, what will be your "plan B" as far as making up the difference?</p>

<p>If you lose your merit money because of a slip in grades, will you have the opportunity to get it back once you bring your grades back up?</p>

<p>The cost of attendance at 4-year SUNY colleges are $17, 630</p>

<p>Direct expenses: tuition, room board, fees are $14,370</p>

<p>I think your SUNY package will break out as follows </p>

<p>PELL 4100
TAP 5000
ACG 750
Loan 3500
TOTAL ** $13,350
SUNY:</a> Tuition and Fees</p>

<p>*Each school determines whether or not you will get SEOG based on their funds available.</p>

<p>IF you add in the 2500 (NSM + Outside Scholarship) you will be at $15,850 (meeting 100% of your need)</p>

<p>Work study 1500 (which will go toward your books and misc. expenses)</p>

43

<p>Does Ithaca offer the option of reducing/eliminating room and board if you serve as a resident advisor - typically sophomore year and up. Have not been able to convince my kids to take on this option but many of their friends have saving lots of money and you don't need a car</p>

44

<p>People often give the suggestion that students can become resident advisors (RAs) to help reduce college costs. YES, this is fine for those who are selected, but there are many many more students applying for these jobs than there are openings. Please do not count on getting one of these positions. DD works in the admissions office at her school...and has applied twice to be an RA. She has not been selected either time.</p>

<p>Now...using Sybbie's figures, this student's total cost for four years would be about $176, 924. The total aid package NOT including the loans is $147,000, leaving a balance of $29,524. If the student earned $3000 each summer that would reduce that $29k plus by $12,000 leaving about $17524 in loans. </p>

<p>I think this is a very modest amount of loans to take for a private university education. The reality is that college DOES cost money and the private schools that don't meet full need can cost more than publics. This OP received, in my opinion, a VERY generous financial aid package from a school that does NOT guarantee to meet full need. </p>

<p>Even schools that meet full need EXPECT students to make a financial contribution annually.</p>

45

<p>"The President's, Dean's, and ALANA Scholarships may be renewed annually for the duration of the student's undergraduate study as long as the student maintains full-time enrollment, a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00, and satisfactory progress toward a degree. A review of each student's academic performance is conducted by the financial aid office before approval for renewal."</p>

<p>That's Ithaca's policy toward retaining the President's scholarship. I'm pretty confident I can maintain a B average, because I've never gotten below an A in any class, and I never struggle to get said A. I think being a NMF guarantees that I get the President's scholarship as long as I maintain the minimum GPA and "make satisfactory progress" toward my degree.</p>

<p>Also, the NM scholarship of up to 2k a year is renewable. My $500 scholarship is renewable as well. </p>

<p>I am strongly considering applying as an RA, though I definitely know that's not a sure thing at all. My GC made a statement that my involvement in this particular EC I'm in would make me a really strong candidate for RA though (I hadn't asked about it, either, he just mentioned it.)</p>

<p>By the way, the person who mentioned spring break trips and skiing has read me wrong. I'm an overly practical person and I'm very frugal, so I'm not really comfortable investing my money into things like that. I realize my parsimony will probably make me a social hermit, but I'm more concerned about going to a school where I feel I can excell academically, and I'm definitely drawn to the smaller class sizes.</p>

<p>I must again stress that I'm not all too concerned with having a few rough years after college. I've grown up without a lot of things, so having a few lean years after college is not of particular concern to me, honestly, if I can pay off my loans faster. I have practically lived off Ramen for weeks at a time before, and can definitely do that again.</p>

46

<p>^^^^^^^^^^^^
That was me and it was not meant personally at all. Just making sure you have your priorities straight.
Good for you. You sound like a very bright and mature young lady - if you really want Ithaca then you can probably make it work.</p>

<p>One reason for my caution is I don't want to see you have to transfer after a year or two.</p>

<p>Just one more bit of advice that you probably have thought of - meet personally with someone in financial aid. Talk frankly about your situation. Those folks can give you some excellent guidance as you move through the process and into college.</p>

47

<p>Oh, that's a really good idea. Do you think that could happen during a college visit (I'm probably making one this April), or will I probably need to wait for that kind of personal attention until I'm a student?</p>

<p>And I've definitely thought about whether my aid will stay the same year to year, because I'm full aware that I can't really count on things like the scholarship to be a certainty year to year. </p>

<p>I figure it this way: worst case scenario, I have a couple years at my dream school, close to home so I can see the people I care about, and then I transfer to the farther away school once I've grown up a lot and have experience with being independent. Doesn't look like such a bad scenario to me.</p>

48

<p>I am quite sure the financial aid folks will be happy to meet with you when you visit in April. You might want to call ahead and make an appointment.</p>

49

<p>That's probably a good idea. I should probably look closely into the schedule of events for the day (there's a way better word for that but I cannot think of it right now), and see what time of day I should schedule said appointment.</p>

50

<p>Pardon the double post, but as I was reading through the FAQ on finaid, I discovered something that I'm I don't really fully grasp, and I am wondering if anyone can be of assistance.</p>

<p>FAQs</a> - Financial Aid at Ithaca - Ithaca College</p>

<p>I was aware that Ithaca had a 5-year program with summer work, but I was under the impression that it was a cadaver lab at a different institution. However, this particular section doesn't seem particularly specific or forthright with actual cost figures, so I'm very concerned as to how much aid I'll be able to receive. It says that I will no longer receive my Presidential Scholarship or my National Merit scholarship that year. Does anyone know if Pell can be used beyond undergrad level?</p>

51

<p>Pell is only for undergraduate study.</p>

<p>Student</a> Aid on the Web</p>

52

<p>Darnit. </p>

<p><em>sighs</em></p>

<p>I don't know what to do. Even if I go to the SUNY I'm screwed in graduate school.</p>

53

<p>It's premature to be worrying about grad school. If you do well as an undergrad you may find a grad program with some funding. I know you only intend to pursue a masters, and most graduate funding is for PhD students, but there are exceptions and with stellar grades, great recommendations and high GRE scores, you may be one. It really is worth it to suffer through an impersonal undergrad education to save big bucks and have more options later. Fond college memories are hard to recollect when a big chunk of your monthly paycheck for twenty years goes to student loans.</p>

54

<p>Actually, at least for the coming year, it's looking like the funds aren't really a huge problem. I got a corrected financial aid package and the lack of TAP was a mistake, and then after the NM scholarship and my independent scholarship I'm already done to less than 7k a year, and that doesn't even factor in the other outside scholarships I most likely still have coming.</p>

55

<p>Julie: You are an OT major right? Depending on where you look after your undergrad you may be able to find a position where if you work and do your graduate degree part time the company you work for will pay for your graduate education. This is the case where I work (which is in banking) but there are lots of companies out their who do tuition reimbursement even in the healthcare field.</p>

56

<p>Oh yeah, that's true. My guidance counselor mentioned that some places will pay for grad school if you commit to work for them for a few years.</p>

57

<p>It's well worth it, even with a committment. Most of the people I work with will put the tuition on a low interest credit card, then they get their reimbursment upon completion of the course. Then they also get some kind of tax credit at the end of the year which (according to them) is quite good. Food for thought...</p>

58

<p>"I'm already done to less than 7k a year, and that doesn't even factor in the other outside scholarships I most likely still have coming"</p>

<p>Julie, be careful. Some schools take your outside scholarships off your financial aid package. My S had to let the school he's attending know of any outside scholarships, they were then taken off of his financial aid package. Therefore no net gain! We had incorrectly assumed that outside scholarships would have been part of our EFC. We were very, very wrong.</p>

59

<p>Many schools do take outside scholarships off your aid package but most will reduce loans before grants so getting a scholarship instead of a loan is still a gain.</p>

60

<p>Actually, Ithaca was remarkably clear on their letter of their policy. First they take unmet need, then they take Perkins and Stafford, and only then do they start to take away grant money in lieu of scholarships. I just read that section again to assure that they're pretty crystal clear on that.</p>

<p>I think they may have a minimum EFC of $1500 but that's actually relatively doable.</p>