Financial stresses and problems...is it worth it?

Colleges and Universities A-Z The University of Texas at Austin
1

<p>My EFC is 6800; I received 3000 in grants/scholarship and 3000 in subsidized loans. I wasn't offered work study. I rejected the unsubsidized loans.</p>

<p>My dad initially agreed to pay up to $20k, but upon telling him it'll cost him about $17k (including everything), he backed out and said he couldn't pay. He told me to get a job - I said I wanted to focus doing well in engineering and get a lot of EC (my lack of EC, b/c of my dad's restrictiveness, was why I got no scholarships from UT anyways, though my dad insists it was my lack of intelligence; I have a 3.95 UW GPA, top 1%, all AP classes, 2300 superscore)... The whole situation has left me fairly depressed, since I know he CAN afford it. And don't tell me it's not his job to pay; I'm Pakistani and he has been overbearing about my culture my whole life, yet he refuses to help his young daughter get an education? I'm just upset I have to include his income on my FAFSA.</p>

<p>I'll work during the summer and winter, and my mom will borrow money from relatives which she'll pay off $500/mo. But now I'm afraid I'm making a mistake and the financial burden on my mom and me won't be worth it. I'm considering applying to another UT or A&M to see if I can get a lot of merit aid, but I don't want to pass up UT Austin. I'm confused and have no idea what to do.</p>

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<p>You will probably get substantial merit-based aid from other UT schools, probably from A&M too. If you are considering graduate school it may be a better option to go that route, but otherwise (or even so) the task of working your way through school is not entirely impossible - especially for engineers. Since their base salaries are often so high, they are often able to pay off loans more quickly than others.
If 17k is your estimate for the entirety of your undergraduate education, I would probably go ahead and do UT austin but go into it with significant financial foresight. Get your feet on the ground, settle into classes, coursework, and the environment, then start looking for work either with the university or around the city. The experience at UT is incomparable to satellite schools.</p>

<p>your stats show that you are very smart and deserve a top-notch education and college experience. don’t let your dad tell you otherwise.
just curious, did you apply anywhere else oos?</p>

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<p>Really? Thank you! Yes, I’m basically down to costs vs experiences/opportunities. I plan on going to grad school, but because I’ll be going for a management-related masters, I’ll have to work for 5-7 years in engineering first. Sadly, 17k is only the price of the first year (I included transportation and food, etc). I am hoping I will get scholarships later, especially jr/sr year, but I don’t want to count on it as I expected scholarships this year. It didn’t turn out so well!</p>

<p>I applied to Rice, Boston College, Tufts, and Emory. Waitlisted to all 4! (Though I was expecting an acceptance to BC?!) I applied to them because they meet full need. Who knows, I may hear from one in May.</p>

<p>Thank you for your input. :)</p>

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<p>Congrats on earning such great stats, mistaked! You’re obviously bright and a hard worker–women who pursue engineering and excel have a promising path ahead! </p>

<p>First, I’d call UT just to talk with a live person and review your profile to see if there is anything you’ve missed asking for or they’ve missed offering to you. Please know, however, that unfortunately, the flagship UT-Austin campus offers very little in merit, choosing to focus on financial aid. And even when it comes to FA, it seem at times that the awards aren’t as generous as they could be. Supply and demand! Families do have to pull together all of their resources and be creative in making it work. It sounds like you have done that to the best of your ability. I am so sorry your father is not being supportive emotionally or following through on earlier funding promises. It is sometimes difficult for parents to understand the college money process as well as you have come to know it, especially if they’ve never been through it before in this country or went through it a long time ago (things have changed a lot since many of us parents went to UT!). Do you think there is any hope he would participate in a conference call with UT? Perhaps after you’ve done your best to review the situation with UT and feel comfortable they are giving you all they can, you could get your dad in on the call with them so he can hear it first hand. </p>

<p>As for other campuses, definitely start talking to them. In particular, I think UT-Dallas may still be looking for top kids and offering great pkgs. Definitely consider making a call to find out. They are doing a lot of exciting things in engineering. Every call you make to any school, be sure they realize not only your key stats but also that you are female headed for engineering! Seriously, there are some programs and fundings geared just toward supporting women in sciences. </p>

<p>** Also, if you’d consider OOS, please call U of Alabama tomorrow! They seek top GPA/SAT kids and offer really good money, sometimes full rides. It seems like I read another CC thread where someone said they were still taking applications. (Note that if you still don’t have this resolved in a few weeks, on or about May 1, a list of schools that are still taking apps will be published on this site: [NACAC</a> Homepage](<a href=“http://www.nacacnet.org/Pages/default.aspx]NACAC”>http://www.nacacnet.org/Pages/default.aspx))</p>

<p>Hmmm. Are you in a Texas HS or applying as an international student from Pakistan? If you’re international, the whole money issue can be a little more daunting, as you probably realize. I suggest you go to the Final Aid forum and perhaps also to the Pakistani forum if you haven’t already been there. Search the FA forum first for archived discussions of schools known for good money for international students.
[Financial</a> Aid & Scholarships - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/]Financial”>Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums)
[Pakistan</a> - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pakistan/]Pakistan”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pakistan/) </p>

<p>If you are in a Texas HS, please go talk with your guidance counselor to see if he/she will help you identify other possibilities for funding UT-Austin and other school choices that might offer better funding. Also, maybe your counselor could talk with your dad. He really needs to hear from a third party expert in the college field (1) how well you’ve done, i.e., how proud he should be, and (2) how much college costs, how merit and FA work and why he just needs to get over it and pay for you to go to UT, one of the top engineering schools in the US!</p>

<p>You are a considerate daughter to be thinking of the financial stress on your mom. I hope you can get make UT work! Good luck to you.</p>

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<p>mistaked</p>

<p>Could you please clarify again how much money you are going to get from what source?</p>

<p>Right now you mentioned

  1. You got $3,000 in grants/scholarship from UT (you rejected the loans so this source is out)
  2. mom will “borrow money from relatives which she’ll pay off $500/mo”… What exactly does it mean? Is your mom going to borrow from the relatives enough money to pay for 4 years or she is going to borrow $500 per month, $6,000 a year?
  3. “My EFC is 6800”… Is you dad paying this?
  4. “it’ll cost him about $17k”. UT COA is about $25,000.
    25k - 17k = 8K
    8K - 3K (grants&scholarships) = 5K
    Where is $5,000?
    Could you please provide more detailed calculations because it all looks really confusing?</p>

<p>If you mom can borrow and pay off 6000 a year with your 3000 it’ll make 9000 and you’ll need 16000. You cannot make this kind of money working through college and you will not be allowed to borrow this much by yourself.</p>

<p>With your stats you could get free ride in many places here in Texas.
I don’t know what can be done that late but I believe UH is still accepting applications
[University</a> of Houston : Dates & Deadlines](<a href=“http://www.uh.edu/admissions/apply/apply-freshman/deadlines/index.php]University”>Freshman - University of Houston)
and you qualify for Tier I scholarship there (practically full ride + extras) and honors program
[Benefits</a> of Being a UH Tier One Scholar](<a href=“http://www.uh.edu/tieronescholars/benefits/index.php]Benefits”>Benefits of Being a UH Tier One Scholar - University of Houston)
I don’t know about their deadlines though.
UH has wonderful industry connections for engineers because of location and honor students can get internships their freshman year and 5-6 job offers before they graduate.</p>

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<p>I second UH as well. The Honors College is excellent and Houston is the place to be for an engineer. They will give you lots of money because they need high stats students. Personally Im leaving UH for UT, not because its a bad school, but because I really need a change of environment because ive lived here for so damn long.</p>

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<p>Thanks so much, Artemis. :slight_smile: It’s not that my dad can’t afford it; he just feels like he’s being cheated because I have friends going to college who hardly have to pay anything. Most of them have very low COA. I was considering both UT Dallas and UofA! I will look into them and see what my options are. I go to a Texas HS! I’ve lived here for 12 years. Thank you very much again :)</p>

<p>Ya ya; 1. I rejected only the unsubsidized loans. I accepted a 3500 subsidized loan (I typo’d and wrote 3000 in te first post) so I have $6500 in resources.
2. I have some well-off relatives. My mom will borrow 17000 (or less, if possible) and pay it off $500 at a time directly to them.
3. Possibly, but he will make me feel clearly indebted to him, and I’d prefer to be indebted to only my relatives OR my dad. To him, it’s not so much about having the money as it is that I’m “wasting” it on dorm and such.
4. I calculated my COA to 22000-23000. I am experienced at living within my means/stingily, so it shouldn’t be an issue.</p>

<p>Thanks! The Tier 1 program sounds really viable; sadly it seems the deadline was wayyy back in Dec. I’ll look into applying to UH regular. The only reason I didn’t was because my dad had initially agreed to pay up to $20k and I felt no need to apply elsewhere in TX since I really loved UT.</p>

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<p>Mistaked, with an EFC close to yours, I am worried that we will have the same dilemma when we do hear from UT. My daughter was offered full rides to UT Dallas, University of Arizona (second choice), Iowa State and University of New Mexico. Some of those have May 1 application deadlines, so you may have time to apply if any of those sound interesting to you.</p>

<p>Honestly, I think the choice would be a no-brainer for us to follow the money if it were not for the fact that she was admitted into the Business Honors Program. Walking away from that program is tough. In your shoes, I would really consider another college with the thought of eventually transferring or going to UT for your masters.</p>

<p>Sorry about the thing with your dad. I understand that frustration, too. D’s father is not wanting to pay anything toward UT now that he knows there are full scholarships on the table. Being punished for success is not fun, but neither is going into debt.</p>

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<p>mistaked
You need to call ASAP at least Texas Tech, UT Dallas, and UH and talk to both admission officers and somebody from engineering department. You need to ask what options are available, including financial options, if you

  1. enroll Fall 2012
  2. enroll Spring 2013 (it is possible in many places)
  3. enroll Fall 2013</p>

<p>UH is actively hunting female engineers for their honor program, they even have special summer program, they go as far as special engineering receptions to middle school girls who attend their summer robotics camp. And they give TONS of money to women-engineers. UH also has a big Pakistanian community if it matters. You can ask what they can do for you, and they will be happy to do everything possible to help you because you are the exact type of person they are trying so hard to attract. </p>

<p>I don’t know much about other 2 universities but several girls from our school who don’t want to go to UH because they want to go away from home got the best money from Texas Tech. These girls were not eligible for any need-based aid, their parents make too much and they own rental properties etc so the girls were after merit.</p>

<p>Also, contact A&M about next year if the best option for you would be to wait til 2013.</p>

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<p>Thanks UTMom! That is good to hear. I also dont know if it’s the best idea to walk away from UT’s Engineering program. Especially as a girl, I have heard there will be great benefit and opportunities provided by UT to women in their later years. I do not plan on going to graduate school right away, so my undergrad college will be important as well.</p>

<p>I think I will look into UH or UT Dallas. Again, I know UT has a great engineering program as well. They have support programs for women. I even attended a women’s engineering meeting. They specifically told us we shouldn’t expect money our freshmen year, but that there is a lot of money for women in our jr/sr year especially. I don’t want to miss out for one expensive year! Nonetheless I will give UH especially a strong look - thank you!</p>

<p>Waiting till 2013 for college is not an option because I want to enter the job market as early as possible. Delaying a salary by one year to save $15,000 doesn’t sound like the best idea, especially since I CAN get the money if needed.</p>

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<p>Mistaked-Sorry to hear about your family situation. I have known some families with similar backgrounds. The parents in these families insist their children to live at home while attending college to save money.</p>

<p>Something to consider for UT. If you stay in a dorm room with community bath, your COA should be much less. I think it will be around 19-20K. The COA of 25K is based on Duren single. Down the road you may want to think about applying for a RA job which will cover your room and board if you choose a shared room. </p>

<p>I agree with the poster above re: UTD. The school has a vision of becoming MIT of the Southwest. Hope you still can apply. Good luck to you!</p>