full-ride?!?

<p>hi i just got my packet in the mail, and i looked at the financial aid and i was really surprised to find that the total amount award was 51,982$. i'm a compelte nub to the whole college payment thing, so maybe you guys can help me out here a bit. i see that i have a scholarship paying 10,000$ each semester and grant and a couple loans. i only have about 15,000$ in loans tho for teh whole year. is that a full-ride? sorry for sounding stupid</p>

<p>That's a good ride but not a full ride. Congratulations!!!</p>

<p>Wow, that's some good aid.</p>

<p>Congrats!!!</p>

<p>The merit aid is found where it says scholarship. I have the same thing as you basically but in the last row it says PLUS loan or something and NYU basically wrote whatever amount you need to complete the full tuition which is 51,982. So I don't think that's a full ride at all. But 10K per semester? That's crazy! Congrats!</p>

<p>i have the same thing. make sure where it has the breakdown to see if there are any loans there. thats not a full ride. only the schoalrship part is what you get from them</p>

<p>Good job, lucky you! </p>

<p>I wish I could have gotten that much, for me they suggested I do a PLUS loan, not that I was expecting much money, if any.</p>

<p>LOL, I was caught by surprise by the $51,982 amount too! I was like oh cool I got a full ride! But then I looked again and saw that a few of the components were actually loans, so no, it's not a full ride.</p>

<p>yeah i realized i have 17,000$ in loans. but its still alot more tahn i expected form nyu.</p>

<p>Chazz, be VERY careful about that award.
$17K in loans per year = $68K owed at graduation. Plus interest that has been accruing for 4 years. If you pay it back over 15 years (until you are 37...), you will probably pay 600-$700 per month, with a total payback of $120 K or so including the interest. Some schools "fool" you by showing loans as part of your financial aid award. Loans of this magnitude can be disastrous.</p>

<p>$120,000?</p>

<p>That math isn't right, is it?</p>

<p>And by NYU standards, that's an OK package.</p>

<p>If you put $68K borrowed at 6.8% (current Stafford rate) into a loan payoff calculator, the monthly payment is $603 for 15 years. You pay back the borrowed $68K plus $40,650 in interest. This does not count the interest that accrues during the 4 years you are in college. So, my initial guess was pretty close. </p>

<p>BE VERY CAREFUL all of you, about taking out loans of this size. They are killer after you graduate.</p>

<p>But just because they fill in loans to hit the full cost of attendance doesn't mean you shouldn't pay any out of pocket per year. If I were lucky, NYU would hit me up with the loan amount right around my fafsa EFC. If it did, we would probably pay 50 to 75% of that from savings and leave a very small amount to develop into debt.</p>

<p>he's just giving a warning. Thanks for the tip boston appreciate it. It applies not only to NYU but all the schools I've applied to some extent</p>

<p>Yes, it is intended as a general warning. Some people are more or less savvy about what is stated on their award letter. Some schools gap you and then try to hide it by showing loans can make up the difference. The loans are AFTER the EFC, so if the parent and student can come up with the EFC, the loans are needed to fill the gap.</p>

<p>Personally I think this is a little dishonest on the part of NYU.</p>

<p>I would never pay $120,000 or spend my 1st 15 working years paying back a loan of that size. It just is not worth it.</p>

<p>I got about 26k in scholarships and grants - and the rest in loans. Luckily my dad can afford the rest 25k.</p>

<p>Whew! NYU is damn expensive and has bad FA.....</p>

<p>Given that the US has turned into a credit nation, it still boggles my mind how little is taught in HS about compound interest in general, and loans in particular. Every HS ought to teach a mandatory finances class, where they they explain loans, credit cards, compound interest, and what maxing out a credit card at 25% APR (if you are lucky) really means. </p>

<p>A payment of $600/month may not seem like much to current prospies, but please do the math. Assume that upon graduation you will make $30-50k. After taxes this works out to $25-35k per year, or 2-3k per month. Now start taking out non-discretionary expenses: $600 for loan payment, $500+ for rent (if you are lucky), $300+ for car payment, $100+ for insurance, $200+ for groceries, $100+ for utilities, $200+ for gas/commute. This adds up to $2k. If you are on the low end of the income range assumed above, you have just been left without ANY disposable income. Are you really prepared for that?</p>

<p>too lazy to read the whole thread.
is it possible to get a full-ride? yes.
my friend last year who is from the bronx got a full-ride for tuition only. she must commute to school though.</p>