<p>My daughter, who has worked hard her entire school career, got accepted by her dream school. Good News. Then we got our financial package, horrible news. We are all devastated because we do not have a clue as to how to find funding without taking our outrageous student loans. Worse news, it was early descision so we are commited to go or break the contract. And let me ask, what happens if you do break the contract? Do not get me wrong, she really wants to go and we are using the ol' cattle prod to get her applying to scholarships but it seems like it just can't happen.</p>
<p>Why apply ED when money was an issue in the first place?</p>
<p>Why did she apply ED if you could not afford it? Where you confused about what ED meant? Did you not know your EFC? If so, start with that. </p>
<p>The odds of her getting enough outside scholarships is slim to none. Most scholarship money comes from the college or university itself. Have your daughter call the school and ask if they can do any better. If the school cannot, then it’s time to break the ED contract (can you even do that?), start with a clean slate and a much more realistic plan.</p>
<p>As I said above, find out your EFC. Figure out exactly what your family can afford and tell your daughter. Help her (because it’s late in the game) figure out which schools to apply to now. </p>
<p>The idea that there is only one “dream school” is perpetuated by colleges that want you to mortgage your future and your daughters. If you’ve gone along with the “dream school” idea up until now, stop. This is not the end of the world. There are other colleges for her. Yes, she’s sad and she has a right to be but it’s time to help her grow up by being a good example of calmness and maturity.</p>
<p>Stupidity and because it was known as a “Best Buy” school and was known for giving out large amounts of merit scholarships and has a huge endowment… and did I mention stupidity. So I guess it is suck it up buttercup?</p>
<p>Oh you have got me wrong, she DID apply to other schools, not ED, as a back up plan and right now she is MORE than willing to go some where else.</p>
<p>labelness, insufficient aid is a valid reason for being released from an ED agreement. This can be a difficult time to get a hold of people in offices since many have left for the holidays, but as soon as you are able make contact with the FA office at the school. I would strongly suggest you do this yourself and not have your daughter do it. I understand the benefit of students handling their own logistics where it makes sense, but for FA aid it does not make sense. You will be in a much better position to have a conversation with the FA office as you will understand how your income, assets, etc. stand and how the college uses that information in awarding aid. Let them know that without enough aid your daughter can not attend, but that you and she very much want to make it work.</p>
<p>They’ll probably review your FA application and get back to you quickly on whether or not any adjustment is possible.</p>
<p>If the news is not good, then ask how they would like you to handle getting a release from the ED agreement.</p>
<p>In the meantime, make sure your daughter gets any other other applications completely ready and all but sent off (if she hasn’t already) to her other schools, including one you can be confident of her getting accepted to and that you can afford. And go ahead and send them now anything else required – letters of rec, test scores, transcripts, etc.</p>
<p>Then you’re on the right track and I’m very glad to hear that your daughter has other schools she is interested in. Too often here we read about kids who have a “dream school” and nothing else. 'rentof2 has great advice. </p>
<p>I wish your daughter the best of luck.</p>
<p>Thank-you for your suggestion and let me pick your brain one more time. I have a question about the EFC. Our EFC is about %35 of our gross income and when we looked into it we read that the EFC is not how much you are expected to pay but that it is used to calculate the amount of aid you are entititled to. Any words of wisdom in that regard?</p>
<p>No I could never let her get out of school with student loan payments more than my mortage payments.</p>
<p>EFC: Expected Family Contribution. 35% of your gross income sounds low, frankly.</p>
<p>Your choice will be limited to schools that cost less (in the last analysis.) If merit aid is given and cost is less, that counts. State school also counts.</p>
<p>Other privates that cost as much probably won’t admit her once an EC contract has been broken. But if this school is #1 that is probably not a factor at all.</p>
<p>Think carefully.</p>
<p>When you calculate what you can pay, take into consideration that you may save a lot of money with your child at school. When you go out you won’t have to pay for her. If she has lessons or EC activities, you won’t have that expense. If there is a car, you don’t have to send it and you can save on insurance or even sell the car.</p>
<p>We are just finished putting two through college. I will write my last tuition check in a week or so.</p>
<p>It’s been very difficult, but we did it.</p>
<p>Both went to his/her first choice college, and I can say that it definitely was worth all the scrimping and saving it required. </p>
<p>Of course, if it had been outright impossible they would have found another school and found a way to be happy with it.</p>
<p>labelness, EFC is Expected Family Contribution, or the amount you’re expected to fork over, either through current income, savings, or loans. In most cases, this is the minimum amount that a student can expect to have to pay. The school takes its Cost of Attendance, subtracts the EFC, and the difference is Demonstrated Need, or the amount of aid they’d need to come up with for your D to attend. That’s the theory.</p>
<p>In practice, the school is not obligated to come up with that aid amount. And even if they do, not all aid packages are created equal. A package that’s heavier on grants and scholarships, for example, is better than a package that’s heavy with loans and work study.</p>
<p>There is a way to possibly pay less than the EFC; merit aid. Look at your state flagship and it’s other campuses, see if they offer merit for a certain gpa or test scores. </p>
<p>Is your daughter a Semi-Finalist for National Merit? Do you think she’ll be a Finalist? There is quite a bit of merit money tied up in that.</p>
<p>I see that your husband is retired. Would it be possible for him to work part-time? Most families have to get creative to make it work.</p>
<p>If you want start a thread with your daughter’s stats, her interests and your financial limits, other parents may be able to help you find suitable colleges.</p>
<p>Why would you allow your kid to apply ED if you needed FA? You just lost all of your free options.</p>
<p>Yeah, EFC is really a FAFSA term and it mostly determines what, if any, federal aid you are eligible for. Some states have funding, too, for students with high need, and they’ll often use the FAFSA EFC figure too, as well as some organizations offering private need-based aid. What is isn’t, is the amount, necessarily, that you’ll actually have to come up with.</p>
<p>If you have to get released from the ED agreement due to insufficient aid, you won’t have any negative repercussions from that as long as you do it according the school’s protocol and by whatever the deadline is.</p>
<p>I think 35% of gross income sounds pretty typical. (Obviously it’s variable because 35% of a solid income is more do-able, in theory, than 35% of 20,000/yr.) But the confusing part is that colleges may use the FAFSA EFC to determine your “need”, but they are not obligated to meet that need… so in many cases families will have an EFC they’d have to strain to pay, and on top of that there is still a gap between that and any available aid (including loans!) that they still have to find a way to fill.</p>
<p>She was actually a “commended” scholar although not a finalist</p>
<p>BTW, labelness, you’re not alone. I’ll never forget the moment when I first laid eyes on our EFC – one of the biggest shocks of my life. I bet many other parents here would say the same. College is crazy expensive.</p>
<p>I think the problem is the school she got into is FILLED with extremely talented, intelligent kids who are getting the merit money.</p>
<p>Thank-you for making me feel like I am not alone, so what do you do? We were counting on school scholarships because she is a great kid and now that I know more ( wish I had talked on here a couple of months ago) I understand why our aid package was so small.
How in debt do people let themselves get?</p>
<p>I think debt tolerance varies a lot depending on predictability of income, familiarity with finance in general, and past experiences.</p>
<p>We are deeply debt-adverse, but that’s because we barely make enough to pay basic expenses and there’s no way to make any additional payments on anything.</p>
<p>For families with more secure levels of income, debt can really be seen as just another financing option.</p>
<p>I think you’re ok. You are allowed to break an ED contract for exactly this reason. But – you really need to figure out what you CAN financially contribute, and then look at threads like “Schools Known for Good Merit Aid” thread as well as your state’s flagship public university, and any consortium schools (like the ones available to students living in the Western states) that give a discount to adjacent state residents. If you haven’t already done the FAFSA Forecaster, you ought to. Many (perhaps most) families are surprised by the EFC. There are usually less expensive choices, but you have to make some reasonably quick decisions so that she can apply to more of these lower cost schools that can still provide a great education. If you post something about her stats and her interests and general geographic preferences, some of the board members may have some good suggestions for honors colleges and other programs.</p>