Financial Dilemma- Lehigh, Bucknell, Villanova

Like many other middle class students, I am finding myself in a financial predicament when it comes to making my college decision. With an EFC number over 70k I have not received a penny in need based aid anywhere. This is not at all an indication of what I can afford as I have younger siblings that will soon be undergrads and my parents will give 30k per year (the rest I have to take on). The most tuition I would be physically capable of taking on is 50k per year. Below are the schools that I have been accepted to and their approximate prices. What do you all think I should do based on the value for a MECHANICAL ENGINEER. I have listed them in the order that I’d prefer to attend…

Lehigh- 67k
Villanova-66k
Bucknell- 68k
UMD (honors college)- 25k
Dayton (honors)-35k
Catholic U (honors)- 26k
Scranton (honors)- 37k

Do any of you have any experience with calling to ask for extra aid from any of these schools? Thanks for your help!

“With an EFC number over 70k”

That sounds like upper class, not middle class. 70k EFC is huge. Just saying.

How did you find out about Bucknell? Decisions have not been released yet.
You may qualify for aid, once your sibling is in college. But you do have some nice options with the honors programs.

@wisteria100 Bucknell is the only school that I have not heard from but that is the price of I get the in.

Choice is easy. UMD. That’s the one you can afford.

I vote for UMD because where you go for undergrad engineering literally doesn’t matter as long as it’s ABET accredited. Also, if you happen to be talking about Maryland at College Park, that’s a GREAT engineering school. Ask your parents if you can save the 5k difference.

@CourtneyThurston yes I realize that 70 is high but that number is inflated by our property value and it is not like we are going to sell the house lol… the main issue is the fact that if the offers hold, I would be taking on 130-150k in debt for an undergraduate education!

^^Not if you choose UMD. That’s a fabulous option. Take it.

It doesn’t sound like a dilemma. You can afford UMD but not others. You personally cannot borrow $130-150K for college.

Bucknell, Lehigh and Villanova should all be automatically out. That’s far too expensive for an UNDERGRAD degree, especially an ENGINEERING one of all majors (one of the least prestige dependent majors!)

Luckily for you, you still have very strong program options, if prestige was important to you. UMD-College Park is fantastic. I think the founder of Dropbox (? some company) just donated a huge amount to the cs/EE dept because it’s such a strong program. I can’t imagine that other engineering majors are lagging too far behind there.

@CourtneyThurston @GnocchiB I know that UMD is a great engineering school and I have been a Terps fan my whole life but it just didn’t feel right to me like Lehigh Bucknell and Nova did. My parents feel the same way too-that’s why I called it a predicament

If you can’t pay to attend…the schools need to come off of your list. With an EFC of $70,000, your parent income is well over $200,000 a year. The fafsa doesn’t consider your primary residence in the calculation…only other real estate. Do your parents own additional real estate…not just your home?

UMD is affordable. The others will mean taking out BIG loans…that your parents either need to take out…or cosign. Will they do that…for four years?

ABET accreditation is what you need. All of your acceptances have that. Once you get through the general education courses at UMD, you will be taking most everything with a smaller cohort of engineering majors.

Catholic University would be fine too, and it looks like your cost to attend there is about the same as UMD. If you want a smaller school, consider that option.

How you feel based on only one or two visits isn’t worth crushing debt.

You can be happy at any school where you try to be happy. So pick the affordable one, and it’ll work out.

@thumper1 that’s just the thing my family is living on one income and that is actually substantially less than 200k! We don’t even own any other properties too!
Yes they would be willing to cosign but I am not the type of individual that would want to put a burden on my siblings when they have to choose where to go.

If your EFC is 70k either you did something wrong, your parents have huge cash or savings assets, or your income is actually a lot higher than you think (maybe they meant under 200k NET? But not gross.)

An EFC of $70,000 would mean either income in the $200,000 plus a year range…or large assets. Or a mistake on your financial aid forms.

It’s possible your parents have a less than $200,000 income…but when contributions tomretirement accounts get added back in as income…it’s more. And as noted…if that is NET income…the gross would be substantially higher.

Do your parents have their “retirement savings” in regular bank accounts and not qualified retirement plans?

Do YOU have any student assets?

If your income is “substantially less” than $200,000…check your numbers.

But really…it sounds like you got an affordable offer from UMD and Catholic. Is that correct? The others sound out of price range…especially the ones in the $60,000 or net cost range.

That being the case…you have a couple of affordable options. If you didn’t want to attend these schools if accepted…why did you apply?

@thumper1 @CourtneyThurston I personally have 0 assets and our family GROSS income is under 200k. Now they do have a pretty solid retirement account which may be why the EFC is so high.
Quick question in your honest opinion would any of my top 3 schools give me any wiggle room if I called and gave my case?
If not I will probably go ahead and put down the deposit at College Park

If their retirement monies are held in TSA or IRA or other qualified retirement accounts…the amount IN those accounts is NOT included as n asset on the fafsa form. The contributions your parents made TO those accounts in 2015 were added back in as income…but the balances in the qualified retirement accounts should not have been listed as an asset.

Your primary residence should NOT have been listed as an asset on the fafsa either.

Your FAFSA EFC would not include these.

However, if your parents have their retirement monies in regular savings counts or or investments, they would be counted as assets.

Can you look at your FAFSA and see??

@thumper1 alright so I checked the fafsa and talked to my parents neither our property value or retirement funds were included. The issue is that our 529 encompasses money saved for all of my siblings not just me. That is why the EFC is astronomical. Realistically less than half of the 529 is allotted to me (aka the 30k per year).

Your parent 529 accounts would be assessed at 5.6% of their value for FAFSA purposes.

That means there is a LOT in those accounts…a LOT.

$30,000 a year will cover your costs at UMD and Catholic University, right?

If you take the $5500 Direct Loan yourself, you would have Dayton covered as well.

You have three affordable choices.