<p>I was accepted to Concordia University of Irvine, They are willing to pay for most of my schooling, if I did my calculation correctly. The estimated amount of attendance was around 41,000 but I had subtracted boarding and personal expenses, thus leaving me with around 33,000. They are giving me 27,000 in financial aid. I only need 6,000 more. My parents does not want me to go because they don't want to pay for my schooling. They want me to go to a community college instead, I am not comfortable with that idea. I said that if I were to work during the summer I would be able to earn enough to pay for the other 6,000. Please, if it is possible can someone tell me what they did to get through college if they did not have their parents financial support. I feel beaten down by parent because they do not understand how much going to a four year college means to me. Another question, do colleges want the tuition money up front?</p>
<p>Does the $27,000 in financial aid include loans? Could you get your parents to pay what they would toward community college, and you make up the rest? Or maybe they could split it with you – they pay $3,000, and you pay $3,000. Most colleges bill you two times – I think our first bill arrives in July, and the second in December. They are billing you for the upcoming semester. </p>
<p>Also… I assume you subtracted boarding and personal expenses because you live near campus. Have you figured out your commuting costs? Also, don’t forget books. Finally, did the college understand you would not be living on campus when they awarded the financial aid? You may want to call and confirm the award if you don’t live on campus before accepting.</p>
<p>I wonder if your parents understand that a community college only awards a two year degree, and to have a bachelor’s degree (most useful in future jobs and earnings), you still will have to move on to a four year college. If you can live at home and the cost isn’t much different, I don’t understand why they would be set on community college. </p>
<p>One thing you could do is ask your parents (or the most flexible of the two…) to go with you on a campus tour of Concordia if they haven’t been there yet. Sometimes parents get more comfortable once they can really see the place.</p>
<p>Did you apply anywhere else? What about to any of the California State universities? If you’re a low income California resident, the cost to attend a CSU should be significantly more affordable than attending a private school like Concordia.</p>
<p>And, for what it’s worth, there’s nothing wrong with starting at a community college and then transferring to a state university in two years. That’s a far better option than taking out loans to attend Concordia. if that’s what will be required.</p>
<p>And I’m not trying to take your parents’ side, here. I’m on your side . . . and your best option is any school you can attend without having to take out loans!</p>
<p>Can you post the breakdown of your aid package? </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>...................On Campus Off Campus At Home
Tuition and fees $29,630 $29,630 $29,630
Room and board..... $9,050 $11,260 $4,520
Books and supplies $1,700 $1,700 $1,700
personal expenses $2,270 $2,840 $3,100
Transportation $900 $1,320 $1,180
Estimated Total $43,550 $46,750 $40,130
</p>
<p>I agree with Dodgermom fully. I also want to add as a warning: does your college assume you are living on campus? Because many student will look at a financial aid package from a college that assumes you are living on campus and gives you a award on that basis. If you simply subtract out the room and board costs, you may not get what’s left. Your aid might decrease, sometimes by a lot when you commute. My friend’s daughter got hit that way. The school gives different award levels for those living in their own dorms and in their meal plan, then for those who are commuting or living off campus. Because the dorm costs are their own, they can be more generous with those who are living on site. If you just subtract out those costs and commute or get your own place and provide your own food, you don’t get a dollar to dollar benefit as your entire award package may have to be recalculated on that basis. About $7K disappeared,“poof” when my friend’s daughter notified the school that she was commuting since she found a job near home, and the savings made it doable. NOT. Doesn’t work that way with some schools. </p>
<p>Also, bear in mind that it’s not what a school GIVES you that counts. It’s the bottom line of what you have to pay. And loans, work study are not GIVES. You still have to pay, just over time, so do take out of your school financial aid package any loans and work study awards to get a true cost of this option for you.</p>
<p>My brother’s S is in the same situation. He choose to live off campus this year and did not know that would impact his FA. He though he may save some money by living off campus but ended up paying more.</p>
<p>On the award package it said that I was living with my parents…</p>
<p>Cost of Attendance
Books and Supplies $1,700.00
Board $4,600.00
Fees $650.00
Loan Fees $190.00
Personal Expenses $3,130.00
Transportation $1,130.00
Tuition $29,990.00
Total: $41,390.00</p>
<p>What my award money…</p>
<p>Financial Aid Award by Term for the Financial Aid Year 2014-2015</p>
<p>Provost Academic Scholarship<br>
Fall $3,000.00
Spring $3,000.00
Total -$6,000.00</p>
<p>Early FAFSA Filer<br>
Fall $500.00
Spring $500.00
Total- $1,000.00</p>
<p>First Generation Grant<br>
Fall $500.00
Spring $500.00
Total -$1,000.00</p>
<p>Federal Pell Grant<br>
Fall $2,865.00
Spring $2,865.00
Total- $5,730.00</p>
<p>Cal Grant A
Estimated
Fall $4,028.00
Estimated<br>
Spring $4,028.00
Total- $8,056.00</p>
<p>Direct Stafford Sub Loan<br>
Fall $1,750.00
Spring $1,750.00
Total- $3,500.00</p>
<p>Direct Stafford Unsub Loan
Fall $1,000.00
Spring $1,000.00
Total- $2,000.00</p>
<p>Totals<br>
Fall $13,643.00
Spring $13,643.00
Total- $27,286.00</p>
<p>Concordia University Irvine does not seem to have the nursing major that you applied for at CSU Fullerton.</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus, I had decided to change my major to Health administration/mangagment. I was not accepted into CSUF.</p>
<p>Look at the numbers again. Of a total cost of over $41,000 (and that’s without living in a dorm!), Concordia is only giving you $8,000. The rest of the funding they’ve listed for you is funding that would be available to you at any California school: Cal Grant, federal Pell grant, and federal student loans. So Concordia is not, as you said in your initial post, “willing to pay for most of your schooling.” To the contrary, they’re giving you less than 20% of your total cost of attendance. (And what guarantee is there that they’d even offer you the same grants next year? Or the year after?)</p>
<p>And even with your federal student loans, you still come up at least $6,000 short! (And I say “at least” because I don’t believe you’ll be able to get by with no money at all for food and personal expenses, even if you’re living at home.)</p>
<p>If you didn’t have the grades to get into CSUF this year, then what I’d suggest is that you attend community college for two years (with your state and federal grants, it’ll probably be free or close to it), get your grades up, and then apply to CSUF, or whatever other state college you prefer, for your junior and senior years. You’ll get an affordable education.</p>
<p>The package you were offered by Concordia is, in my opinion, a lousy deal. You can do better.</p>
<p>OK, so you will get a bill for 29,990+650+190=30,830-27,286=3544/2=1772 which you will have to pay the school each semester. Plus you have to buy books.may be another 800 per semester, but depends, and you might be able to buy used. so that is what you will have to pay right at the beginning of the semester, about $2,500. Ongoing you will have transportation costs and food unless you pack lunch and snacks. You can make a spreadsheet and compare that to community college costs.</p>
<p>However it looks like you will have 20 to 27k of loans upon graduation. Not great but not the worst. If you go the CC route it will be cheaper overall, but it may take more than 2 years to transfer.</p>
<p>BrownParent - It would be $27k in federal student loans over four years (the loans increase each year), but you’re not taking into account the shortfall of at least $6k per year! Where is that supposed to come from??? Like I said, it’s a lousy deal.</p>
<p>Community college will likely cost you about $3,000 per year in tuition and books. The cost of living at home is not free, but many parents are willing to subsidize their college students living at home by not charging them rent, food, utilities, car or public transportation costs, etc… Of course how much that costs and whether your parents will be subsidizing it is not known to others on the forum.</p>
<p>CSU Long Beach has a health care administration major. You can prepare for it at Irvine Valley College by taking the courses listed here and completing the IGETC pattern:
<a href=“Welcome to ASSIST”>Welcome to ASSIST;
<a href=“Welcome to ASSIST”>Welcome to ASSIST;
For Orange Coast College, the needed courses are listed here:
<a href=“Welcome to ASSIST”>Welcome to ASSIST;
<a href=“Welcome to ASSIST”>Welcome to ASSIST;
Attending a nearby CSU will cost about $8,000 to $9,000 per year in tuition and books plus the living and commuting expenses.</p>
<p>This is a decision that is up to you. You have the loans that you will owe when you leave which are the Direct Student loans, which are are what many students take out. But you also have the $6K gap you have to pay. On top of that, things happen, and you will likely need this or that. You say your parents are not willing to pay for any of this. If you really think you can handle the $6K each year, go for it. That’s the personal current cost for you to go to that school.</p>
<p>Also, OP will likely owe more than $27K because all of those loans are not subsidized and will be accruing interest.</p>
<p>IMO, if doable, $6K a year out of current pocket plus the Direct Staffords is a decent package if that is a school a student want. It would be MUCH less to go to a community college or to commute to a state school. Ucbalumnus has laid out some school that would be a better deal. However, if this is the school of OP’s choice, IF s/he can come up with that gap, go to it. Do make sure that all of those grants are going to be renewed for future years. </p>
<p>I want to add, that the school is giving you $8K, as others have pointed out. The other money you would have gotten where ever you might have gone in state. The college is not giving you that money, the state and federal government are.</p>