Hello all, I was admitted ED to the University of Miami and am facing some adversity with my financial situation.
I am a student of significant need and as many of you may know UM is quite pricy, however, I believe I will be a valuable asset there and that the education I will acquire will allow me to think globally and ameliorate our changing world.
For Room, Board, Tuition, and Fees UM costs- $58,632/year
So, I was awarded the following package…
UM Grant- $10,900
Extension UM Grant- $15,000
Pell Grant- $4,525
FSEOG- $3,500
Stafford Loan- $5,500
Work Study- $3,500
TOTAL AID- $42,925 (73.2% Met)
TOTAL AID W/O Work Study- $39,425 (67.2% Met)
TOTAL FREE MONEY- $33,925 (57.86% Met)
Remaining Cost- $15,707
Here lies the problem- The remaining cost is approximately 50% of the household income. I am weary to take out private loans since I don’t believe we’d be awarded them nor would we be able to pay them back…any advice?
weary means tired. do you mean you have other loans. Or do you meed wary, or leery, meaning concerned?
You have been ‘Gapped’. Miami did not meet your Need, they left you 15k short in cash. But your actual cost of attendance is
Loan: 5,500
W/S: 3,500
Unmet Need: 15k
Total Cost Per Year: 24k
The loan is not free money and you already have your student loan in your package. So yeah taking more loans is a scary proposition. For work study you have to get a job and earn it or you won’t be getting that and may have to come up with the extra if you need it for books and personal expenses. I think 100k for your 4 years is more than you can afford. Did you apply to any multiyear scholarships? Most are for small amounts unless you applied to Gates or Coca Cola or a few others.
another way to look at it (you didn’t break down the COA so I grabbed the first numbers I saw–you didn’t even include books and personal expenses. You will have to have some money in pocket, transportation to school is how much too?)
Direct COSTS - you pay this to the school up front
Tuition & Fees $44k
Room & Board $13k
TOTAL DIRECT COSTS 57k
UM Grant 29.5
loan 5.5
Pell 4.5
FSEOG 3.5
= 14k or 7k per semester
Books & Supplies $2,430 or 1.2 per semester
Personal Expenses $3.4 or 1.7 per semester
So you have to come up with 14k plus books, maybe you can shave 1k off that buying used or renting. And 1.5k per year in pocket cash for (extra drinks, food in dorm, pizza out, supplies, deodorant etc.). You need 8.7k for Fall and 8.7k for spring. Are you parents going to pitch any in? Say you work this summer and earn 3k. Say you get that W/S job and earn 1.5k that first semester. That is now 4.2k you need for the first semester and 7.2 for the second semester. Only you have to do it all over the next year etc.
One thing you can do is ask Miami. Tell them you will attend if they can ‘meet full need or closer than they are now’. Figure what amount your parents are willing to borrow/pay a year. Surely they will buy less food, earn less energy and pay less gas driving you around when you are at school Plus they can take a tax credit for a couple thousand I think. So if they will pay something then tell Miami what it is and ask them if there is anyway to come up with it so you can attend.
" however, I believe I will be a valuable asset there and that the education I will acquire will allow me to think globally and ameliorate our changing world."
I’m not sure what you intended to convey but these statements don’t really have much to do with the financial concerns. You are as much an asset to a school as any other student is. Obviously without students, schools would close their doors. Did you mean that the school would be an asset to you or that attending the school would increase your worth? The ability to “think globally and ameliorate our changing world” has nothing to do with your choice of school. College will help you to write more clearly and to avoid meaningless platitudes.
are you a Florida resident? If so, you would also get a FRAG grant of $3000, perhaps some Florida financial aid of $2000 or so, your BF money if you qualify. If not, you need to look for outside scholarships, work between now and when you start attending college and save all that money.
It is a very good package. There aren’t many schools that will give you more, but if you can’t come up with the $15k, then you can’t go. It is simple math.
Your net cost is actually ~$24k, which is more than 75% of your family’s income if the yearly gross is ~$30k. After the federal student loan is applied the difference is still ~$19k/year plus books. I don’t see how that’s affordable on your family income.
Did your parents run the Net Price Calculator before you applied ED? Why did you apply ED if you require need based aid to attend? I’m surprised that nobody told you that students who need financial aid should apply RD so they can compare offers. Your parents likely won’t qualify for loans that equal half their income. Even if they qualified for one year, they may not qualify for all 4 years and it’s a bad idea to borrow $100k for undergrad anyway.
Do you have financial safeties on your list? If so, decline the ED offer and focus on those. If not, start looking for a more affordable school, taking a gap year (if necessary) to take advantage of any merit aid you can get. The most I would borrow in your situation is the federal student loan (~$5500/year). Do you qualify for Pell? That might add another ~$5k to your budget. Start from there. Look for colleges that you could commute to for that amount, then add on any that will give you merit.
I think you have good reason to feel “wary” about asking your parents to take on loans. Your parents might be able to borrow money for year 1, however, they will also likely not be eligible for loans year 2. That means you will have to leave U of Miami unless you can find another source of funding. You would do so with substantial debt and no degree from U of Miami. Without more information I would recommend first discussing this with the financial aid office and see if they cannot meet what you feel is necessary and if they can’t then withdraw your admission for financial reasons and quickly apply to other schools, most likely in state. One of the challenges of applying ED is that you often miss application deadlines to schools that would have given you the necessary financial aid. Good luck.
U of Miami does not guarantee to meet full need for all a center students. This is something you should have researched BEFORE you applied ED. The school gave you a good amount of need based aid…for,that school. Unfortunately, it is not affordable for you even with that aid.
Loans in your family situation would not be advisable.
There are tons of other schools where you would also be a “valuable asset”…and which could be more affordable. Hope you have other applications pending. This ED offer is unaffordable.
The school is unaffordable unless they give more aid.
Why are you addressing this now when you’ve known for almost a month. Isn’t the deposit due soon?
No, you shouldn’t borrow any more than what’s already in your pkg
As an aside…why would a low income student apply ED to a school that doesn’t meet need???
Because they didn’t know, or they didn’t understand the NPC (or have divorced or separated parents or they own a business), because they hoped they’d be one of the preferentially packaged students who do get full need met, because they hoped they’d get a higher level merit scholarship…
I wouldn’t do it, my kid knew we needed to compare packages, but not everyone spends every day on CC for years like we do
Well, in a time where I had figured I’d turn to a forum for constructive help and advice I just received mean, sassy, and dry digs at my decision making. I chose to apply ED to UM because I am a legacy and it was the institution at which I thought I would be able to thrive the most. I do not appreciate the lack of support I have received and will no longer be asking for help on this forum.
And by the way, I have applied to safety schools in my state of MA but I have not heard back from any here. I got into Florida Atlantic University with an out of state waiver (to get in state tuition) and $27k scholarship…but I don’t think FAU is a good fit for me.
As of now, since I am not able to go to Miami I am planning on going to UMass Amherst (applied EA) where I’ll receive in-state tuition.
And no, nobody told me that need based students should not apply ED. I would expect that an institution would provide an amount aid to an extent that would not throw a family into incredible debt.
Given all of the hurdles we have to face (5 Kids, single mom, low income, high cost of living) I expected more from a university that has such a massive endowment.
University of Miami doesn’t have a “massive endowment.” Its endowment is really quite modest for a well-ranked private.
The issue about applying ED and having lots of need was that UM doesn’t “meet need”. And, schools that don’t meet need usually do a horrible job with low income students.
@psychbio12cc, Schools and guidance counselors should do a better job of informing families how aid works. Colleges routinely gap students. Being low income or living in a high cost of living area won’t necessarily garner a substantial amount of aid. If you’re the eldest, it’s fortunate you found this site. Encourage your mom to read up and learn as much as she can.
This thread is in no way a dig at you; it’s frustration with districts that aren’t helping kids understand how the system works. Most colleges don’t give full rides and competition for schools that give great aid is very tough. Limit your debt to (at most) the guaranteed student loan (~$5500/year). Good luck to you.
You must be very disappointed with UMiami, perhaps feeling betrayed. I’m sorry this happened. If you didn’t know about “meet need” schools, you expected they’d meet your need if they admitted you, and that “gap” mans you can’t go.
One thing you can do, TODAY, is email your regional representative to let them know you can’t afford the school, but would like to attend, if they can review your package, taking into account the fact your family has 5 people living on 30k.
Then, apply to other excellent colleges that meet need. For excellent, lower-income students, these few colleges can be the best deal financially speaking, and would be as good as UMiami. Many had their deadlines last week but fortunately there are quite a few which are still accepting applications. There are also some which may be more willing to offer preferential packaging that UMiami.
Considering your situation and the stats that can be expected from someone who got into UMiami, here’s a list of colleges that meet full need (even for low-income students) and whose deadlines aren’t past yet:
Skidmore
St Olaf
Berea
Colgate
Carleton
Franklin&Marshall
Grinnell
Lafayette
Kenyon
Other colleges where you should apply:
Muhlenberg
Dickinson
Beloit
Centre (apply to the special scholarships for lower income students)
Denison
I urge you not to give up on this forum. While the answers you get may be blunt, you will be hard pressed to find a more knowledgeable and helpful group. While some questions may seem invasive, the information asked for is usually needed to give the best advice. It might not be what you want to hear but it is usually solid.
Excuse me, I took the time to write out some costs and expenses scenario and no thanks from you, just insult. And I gave you a suggestion to contact the Miami admissions/aid office. I also did not say you shouldn’t have applied ED. ED is fine as long as you are willing and prepared to walk away and have other choices. They may have met your need, some schools that don’t meet full need will, while others won’t and will expect everyone to be gapped. U Miami only meets full need for 28 pct of students. Some schools that percentile is much higher. There is no reason for you to have assumed Miami would fully meet your need as you state, though as publicly available information says they don’t for 72% of their students.
