Financial Aid

I’ve spoken to many former students at my school who report getting lousy financial aid from American University. They say they were both “gapped” and asked to take large loans. Their parents were also requested to take out significant PLUS loans. Has this been your experience? I’m told that AU is up there with NYU when it comes to poor financial aid.

I didn’t get any need based financial aid! Not even a little just like 5k in loans

DD (now a sophomore) has a scholarship so we haven’t had to deal with anything other than the usual $5k that it seems anyone can get, not matter what their income (@senior1098 - I forget the details but this one loan is available to every student ). A common thread I’ve heard on FB sites and others from AU parents is that the school is horrible with financial aid, and some parents report their kids got great packages the first year and then they had to fight to keep the money in future years. So @sadavaya, this is definitely true and if you are very dependent upon financial aid to go there, I’d try to get in writing the expectations for all 4 years from the FA office, as well as remember you may have to really advocate and fight each year but people have reported good outcomes at the end. But DD and her friends couldn’t be happier at the school!

Hey thank you for the info! I actually have a question! I got accepted into AU last week with a dean’s scholarship and I couldn’t be happier! AU has been my dream school for as long as I can remember! My dad is willing to fund 20k and I’ve received 15k in scholarship! But that leaves a gap of 25k more! I’m planning on taking a student loan of 10k in total! The rest 15 my parents said I have to find myself! But we’re pretty sure I’m going to enroll it’s just a matter of closing the gap by receiving a little more money from AU! Since I didn’t get ANY aid I’m planning on writing them an email and telling them my situation to try and get a small grant out of them! I would be happy even if they gave me 5k or less! At this point anything to avoid taking more loans! Is this a good idea? To email them and try and get at least a little grant? Because I am moving all the way from India and I would be less pressurized if I didn’t have to take such a big student loan:( I’m REALLY desperate to go to AU:( and btw I am a US citizen so I can get aid!

@myjanda

@Senior1098 - I would definitely contact financial aid and give it a shot. They might be able to come up with more- let them know your situation and see how/if they can help.
Just two points of caution- as already mentioned, get in writing that any scholarship or extra money is for ALL four years. Plus AU requires a relatively high GPA be maintained to keep some scholarships- 3.2 - so make sure you understand all the requirements up front and believe you can honor them.
I don’t want to discourage you but want you to be realistic- AU is a fine school but expensive and DC is expensive, and my daughter already knows students who had to transfer out because of the cost. So I just encourage you to be realistic- it won’t be fun if you are always stressed about money.
Best of luck- hope it works out for you, and if you have any other questions let me know and if I can answer I will.

Thank you so much! Yes I did email them but they told me all about interest free payment plans and stuff-_- yes the scholarship is renewable for all 4 years on maintaining a GPA of 3.2. And I know it is really expensive:( but it has been my dream school and I am willing to take out a couple of loans and work hard! I am extremely grateful that my parents are in a situation where if anything ever goes wrong they could help me out a little and they do have my back! I may have to live the frugal life but that is not a problem I’ve been brought up in that way! Anyway I really appreciate the advice and I guess I just have to focus and work really hard to make things work!

@myjanda

@Senior1098, are you saying you plan to take out $10,000 in loans per year? And how do you plan to get this amount? Federal loans for freshman are limited to $5500 annually. Are you parents borrowing the rest? Are you borrowing the rest with a qualified co-signer? And what about the remaining $15,000 you need each year (actually more, as costs inevitably increase each year)? A “little more money” from AU won’t solve that problem. By all means ask AU for aid, but realistically, you need a plan B, as it seems quite unlikely you can afford AU.

Yes I plan to take a plus loan that my parents will co sign:) I have already sorted that out with them we may even take a little more! And my father is looking to help me out with some more of my finances as well as other members of my family! I am aware of how these loans and stuff work and I do have a realistic plan B! And the only reason I asked this question was to see if it made sense to ask AU for a small need based grant! Thank you for your valuable advice and suggestions:) @MommaJ

Okay, but your language suggests you really aren’t 100% aware of how Parent Plus loans work: YOU don’t take out Parent Plus loans and have your parents co-sign–they are wholly in their name, not yours, and they are their legal obligation to repay, not yours. Your parents need to know this, if they don’t already. Of course you and your parents may have whatever understanding you like about handling loan payments, but that doesn’t mean these are your loans.

They do know that any loans that are taken after that initial 5500$ are their responsibility to pay back. And any other kind of loan. The limit for a student to take in the Freshman year is 5500$ and increases each subsequent year. Thank you:)

A cautionary tale: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/-100k-in-debt–1-semester-left-and-no-cosigner-in-sight-190859531.html#

It sounds like you can get more help from your family than this young woman, but you should be very careful about placing too much emphasis on a “dream school” that you may struggle to pay for. The internet abounds with similar stories. You sound like a very enthusiastic young person, but don’t be blinded by that enthusiasm . . .

Okay thank you:) I only plan on going if I’m able to get external merit scholarships:)

does anyone know how much AU gives out in merit aid scholarships?