Financial aid problem

Paying for College
21

<p>

OP is a resident in Virginia…according to other posts.</p>

<p>So could you get merit aid at these schools to cover the difference between what your dad is currently offering you…here are my opinions and they are my opinions only.</p>

<p>NYU- awards merit aid only to top applicants, I don’t think you would get much of an award from them.</p>

<p>UCLA- Not likely as you are an OOS student for CA. Stats aren’t all that high.</p>

<p>U.T. Austin- Not likely as you are OOS for TX</p>

<p>Columbia- NO merit aid given by Columbia</p>

<p>Cornell= No merit aid given by Cornell</p>

<p>USC- I don’t believe your SAT or ACT scores will put you in the running for anything significant from USC.</p>

<p>UVA- This is your instate flagship…should be affordable IF you get accepted. Merit aid unlikely.</p>

<p>Virginia Tech- Again…an instate school…should be affordable. I don’t really know about merit aid there.</p>

<p>U.C. Berkeley- VERY competitive for admissions and merit aid. Not likely that you will receive merit from them as you are OOS and your stats are not all that high.</p>

<p>University of Florida- OOS student…probably won’t get sufficient aid to cover OOS costs.</p>

<p>Florida State- maybe…it’s less competitive than some of the other schools on your list but you would still be paying the OOS rate and aid will likely not meet that.</p>

<p>University of Miami- You might get some merit aid but the school costs about $50K per year. It is not likely you will get enough to close the gap between what your parents are willing to give you and the cost of attending.</p>

<p>Arizona State- Possible. I’ve heard they offer scholarships to top applicants.</p>

<p>Georgetown- Not likely at all that you are competitive for a merit scholarship at G’town…if they even give them.</p>

22

<p>By the way-I can establish residency in both Texas and Florida. Does that help my chances at all?</p>

23

<p>“By the way-I can establish residency in both Texas and Florida. Does that help my chances at all?”</p>

<p>Well, yes, it would mean that you are more likely to get aid at publics in one of those states instead of yours but you would probably want to apply to some lower-randed schools than you did. How do you think you can establish residency in those states? Most states require your parent to have residency there. </p>

<p>By the way, have you looked at lower ranked instate schools? Go search the webpages of VCU or James Madison or similar schools and see what you can find.</p>

24

<p>

</p>

<p>How do you plan to do this? You are a senior now, correct?</p>

<p>You can only be a resident of ONE state at a time…maybe two (and that would be if you had divorced parents and one of the states allowed the kids of divorced parents residing in that state to be residents for tuition purposes). </p>

<p>Right now you live in Virginia. That is your state of residency. If you plan to apply as an instate resident, your family needed to relocate to one of these other states BEFORE the start of your senior year. Your family would have to have one year established residency in Florida OR Texas for you to be considered an instate resident there. AND if you become a resident of Florida or Texas, you will absolutely LOSE your residency status in Virginia.</p>

<p>By the way…I DO think you would get merit aid from Old Dominion.</p>

25

<p>2college, your pm box is full. I tried to send you a PM.</p>

26

<p>My family owns properties in each of the states I mentioned. I spend, on average, 9 months in VA, 2 in Texas, and 1 in Florida in any given year. My family pays utilities on the Texas and VA properties year-round and I believe that Florida is only maintained during the late winter/spring months. How would that play out?</p>

27

<p>Owning property doesn’t usually get you instate residency. Instate residency usually refers to where your parents file taxes. However, I believe neither of those states has state income taxes and states do vary on requirements so go to the webpage of each school and look up what they require.</p>

<p>Oh, and I cleared out some space thumper. :)</p>

28

<p>Owning property doesn’t make one a resident - there must be an intent to establish a domicile. That’s usually evidenced by having a state driver’s license, filing income taxes in that state, registering to vote there, etc. It sounds like your parents are VA residents and, for tuition purposes, most states consider the residency of the parent to be that of the student as well.</p>

29

<p>

</p>

<p>The ONLY place that matters for residency purposes is the place where you actually LIVE. So for right now, you are a resident of Virginia ONLY. I don’t believe your residence in Florida is going to help you one speck. LOTS of people own second homes/vacation homes in Florida. That does not make them residents of Florida.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>It says you or your parents must LIVE in Texas for 12 consecutive months AND own property there. You own the property but clearly you haven’t lived there for 12 consecutive months. I don’t think you will get instate status there.</p>

30

<p>I think that the average admitted student GPA for JMU and Tech is close… Tech a little higher in the percentage breakdowns, and the Tech SAT/ ACT is a bit higher (particularly in math), but still relatively close. </p>

<p>JMU does not have much merit aid available. The largest merit scholarships at JMU often need to be applied for separately, and often also require the applicant to apply EA.</p>

<p>Depending on the application requirements Old Dominion, CNU, Radford, George Mason, VCU may have merit aid available for a student with the OPs stats.</p>

31

<p>And another thing…Virginia is LOADED with fabulous public universities…everything from UVA to William and Mary, VA Tech…those are the tippy top. BUT also James Madison, George Mason, Radford, VCU, Old Dominion. My bet is the OP could get merit aid and be able to easily afford to attend Radford or Old Dominion.</p>

<p>Or what about University of Mary Washington? I personally loved that school when we visited.</p>

<p>LOTS of choices in VA and most would be affordable even IF the OP “only” got $20K from her dad…and then added the stafford loan and a job to the mix.</p>

32

<p>There you go lovinmehard! So the choices are: </p>

<p>1- Start a new college list and aim for merit at Old Dominion, CNU, Radford, Mary Washington and VCU.</p>

<p>2- Work, take out loans, live at home and commute to the nearby college. (If you don’t have a nearby 4-year school, look at the cc.)</p>

<p>3- Reconcile with dad.</p>

<p>You have some big choices to make.</p>

33

<p>How would a college know if you actually lived there though? If all the utilities are paid and a “residential real property” is maintained. Isn’t that, for all intensive purposes, living there? If you think about it, the only reason in-state students pay a lower tuition is because they or their family pays state taxes. My family pays taxes in all three states so, in the eyes of those universities, shouldn’t I be considered in-state?</p>

34

<p>

</p>

<p>Your cars are registered on ONE state. You have drivers’ licenses in ONE state. You can only register to vote in ONE state. You have car/health insurance in one state. Your parents are presumably employed and file taxes as residents in ONLY ONE state. Ifthey work in more than one state, they would file their taxes in the OTHER states as non-residents. It’s all computerized. </p>

<p>Go ahead…and try to pretend you are a resident of a state where you really do not reside. It is VERY likely and easy for the school to determine your real residency. If you get selected for financial aid verification for example (if you need the Stafford loan and file a FAFSA), your parent’s tax returns, bank statements (yes some schools ask for those), w-2 forms, and the like will likely tell the truth to the school.</p>

<p>The best thing you can do is be honest. You are now grasping at straws and sounding like you want to game a system. Sorry, but I just cannot advise you to do that. If you did somehow manage to get instate tuition because you fraudulently reported your residency AND the school found out, you could be liable for back tuition AND could risk losing your enrollment at the school (no school is keen on having folks who provide fraudulant information on their roster).</p>

35

<p>My aim is not to defraud the system-I’m just brainstorming ways to save money.</p>

36

<p>Your best way to SAVE money is to look at the vast array of public universities in Virginia…there are a lot of choices and some where you would get merit aid. AND with a $20K contribution from your parents, a $5500 Stafford loan, AND a summer and school year part time job, you should be able to pay the instate tuition at these schools. That is how you can save money.</p>

<p>Out of state public universities are going to be costly and you are not likely to get the merit aid you need to cover the difference in costs. The private colleges on your list are not really going to work either for a variety of reasons (either no merit aid offered or very competitive for merit aid).</p>

<p>And I’m glad to hear you are not planning to try to game the system.</p>

37

<p>“My aim is not to defraud the system-I’m just brainstorming ways to save money.” </p>

<p>The way to save money is to attend an instate public and you do not seem to meet the residency requirements for the other two states. Feel free to call the admissions or registrar’s office of those other state schools and tell them your parents own property there but your family spends their time (or lives) in Virginia; would you qualify as an instate? They will tell you no. But, here’s the truth: you’re not going to get merit at UTx-Austin or UFl. As a matter of fact, I think Austin is a reach school for you. Why are state schools in Texas or Florida more interesting to you than Virginia? You have plenty of options.</p>

38

<p>If you want to save money and go out of state, look at private schools that will give you enough merit aid to meet your budget or public schools in states like NY that don’t have high OOS rates. Binghamton might be a good addition to your list…tuition + fees are just over $15K/year and your stats are within range. Afaik, they don’t offer freshmen scholarships but they do offer them in subsequent years.</p>

39

<p>OP:</p>

<p>the location of the high school from which you graduate will drive all residency questions. And, if your HS is in Virginia…</p>

<p>Thumper was too charitable about the California schools. Admissions is a question mark at both Cal and UCLA; merit money, what little exists, is out of the question. 'SC is BIG on test scores, and a 30 ain’t gonna cut it for free money.</p>

<p>Miami is all about numbers as well. A 31+ gets you some. btw: Miami doesn’t meet full need,</p>

40

<p>* My family pays taxes in all three states so, in the eyes of those universities, shouldn’t I be considered in-state? *</p>

<p>Your family does not pay income taxes in all 3 states…it pays income taxes in ONE state. The home that you live in is your parents’ primary residence. </p>

<p>“My aim is not to defraud the system-I’m just brainstorming ways to save money.” </p>

<p>Your aim is to have taxpayers in other states whose incomes are a WHOLE LOT LESS than your family’s income unfairly subsidize YOUR COLLEGE costs.</p>

<p>Do you see how selfish that is? </p>

<p>Why can’t you just “man up” and accept responsibility for driving irresponsibly, apologize to your dad, and act in a responsible manner, so he’ll pay for your college?</p>