<<<gpa: 92.974="" 100="" (w)="" aps:="" 4="" (i’m="" taking="" 3="" this="" year="" --=""> Lit, Gov, and Stats)
Rank: School doesn’t rank but there are 74 in my grade (usually like 5 or so students go to PSU UP each year)
SAT: 1360 (new SAT)
My high school is an all-girls, Catholic private school in NJ>>></gpa:>
Did you apply to any affordable schools? How much will your parents pay each year?
Penn State will also be expensive…you’d likely have to pay full price.
Did you apply to Rowan? They might give you merit.
@mom2collegekids read post 9 where OP wrote:
To the OP…you didn’t get need based aid to cover HOUSING because your need was already fulfilled, and you had no remaining NEED. Colleges DO NOT award need based aid to cover the family contribution. The family is expected to pay that.
I still say…if you now say you will be commuting, you will likely lose that need based award…because your family contribution exceeds the cost of tuition.
https://www.fordham.edu/info/20969/costs_and_financing_options/2739/costs_of_attendance_coa
Cost of attendance for commuter is about $57,000. So if your EFC is $60k you would not get need based aid.
Ahhh thanks. @thumper1 and sorry @sybbie719
Her OP’s words sounded like merit…but i guess she got a grant, not a scholarship.
<<i received="" about="" $15k="" in="" scholarships="">><i received="" about="" $15k="" in="" scholarships="">
Frankly, i’m surprised she got that much in grants.
Yes, if she commutes, her COA may change to a much lower number and she may lose her grant.
Edit…as @mommdc notes…your COA becomes 57k if you commute, so Fordham would take away that need based grant. So you’re back to paying 60k…57k plus commuting costs.
Are you required to live on campus your first year? At many schools now commuting is not allowed the first year because they want you to “bond” with your classmates (and conveniently pay the housing costs too).
I’d look at Rowan - they are less expensive at full price (30K COA) and would likely give you merit aid to bring down the overall cost. You are late to the party, but you can still try. I’d rather do that then be yet another one of the families drowning in student/parent loan debt in 4 years (IF you are able to graduate in 4 years).
The words “grant” and “scholarship” are used interchangeability to describe both merit and need-based financial aid. It doesn’t matter what it’s called; what matters is the reason the funds are awarded.