<p>My daughter just got her aid letter from one state school (northern) she does not want to attend there and good thing...they only offered her 2 loans (sub & unsub $2000 each), no grants, no merit, nothing.</p>
<p>She really wants to attend ISU (Illiniois State) because of their Athletic Training program. Since she got 0 from Northern should I assume that we will not get anything from the other state school?</p>
<p>she is very upset that this could happen and I just don't understand. Our EFC is 12,000.</p>
<p>What should my next step be? Do I call Financial Aid at ISU even though the official letter has not come out yet?</p>
<p>Note: She was accepted at Iowa State, Iowa and Loras College. Also at few others. Loras cost of attending would be 13,000, but she is afraid that it is just too small for her.</p>
<p>We cannot in anyway afford $23000 yearly for ISU tuition. I really need some advice here.
Thanks</p>
<p>Which school is in-state for you? That is really the only one for which you have any shot at aid. OOS publics save their aid for in-state applicants.</p>
<p>We live in Illinois. Both schools Northern and Illinois State are in state for us.</p>
<p>Northern Offered us nothing other than two small loans. Illinois State has not sent out their letters yet for financial aid. But I am worried that since we got nothing from Northern it means that we will get nothing from Illinois State.</p>
<p>DD has 3.7 gpa 26 on ACT. Not the top of the heap but certainly better than then average.</p>
<p>Should I call Financial Aid at Illinois State and tell them I am worried and let them know that they are daughters first choice? Does this ever do any good?</p>
<p>Help. panicked mom here!</p>
<p>Most public schools do not meet need, therefore EFC can become irrelevant - especially if it’s too high for free fed or state aid.</p>
<p>Out of state publics are even worse. They save their little precious funds for their own students…unless the out of state student has high stats. </p>
<p>Your D’s stats are at the top of the “mid 50s” for Illinois state. That may suggest that she might bet better aid there…IF…the school has any money to give? Does it?</p>
<p>And, to answer your question…no…Zero from one state school does not mean 0 from another.</p>
<p>However, prepare your D for the likelihood that the out of state publics will not be affordable. Explain to her that schools charge non-resident tuition for a reason. It wouldn’t make sense for them to charge such fees and then cover them with aid. That would defeat the purpose. You’re not a tax-payer in that state therefore you have to pay more to go there.</p>
<p>With a $12,000 EFC, you would not be eligible for any federally funded need based aid at all (except a Stafford loan and possibly work study depending on the cost of the school). The state schools in Illinois do not meet guarantee to meet full need for accepted students. </p>
<p>Wait and see the results before you panic. She might get something from another school.</p>
<p>OK so we live in Illinois…she wants to go to an Illinois State School. Illinois State is her first choice.</p>
<p>Since Northern Illinois Univ sent us an aid letter w/ no aid except for a couple of very small unsub/sub loans. Do I dare hope that Illinois State will come thru with something?</p>
<p>What if I call Illinois State Finacial Aid and talk to them? If I tell them that they are her first choice? It’s the truth…will it help?</p>
<p>Whether your daughter will receive need based aid will depend on if the school offers any need based aid out of their own institutional funds. A lot of state universities do not have any institutional money to offer as need based aid and only offer federal (or State money if the state offers any). The State U my daughter attends does not offer any institutional need based aid, only federal or a small State grant. An EFC of 12,000 is too high for any federal grant aid. The maximum EFC for the main federal grant, the Pell, is 4617. In our state 12,000 would also be too high for the small state grant as well (it is $1000 and requires a 1700 or less EFC). </p>
<p>Whether a 26 ACT would qualify for any merit aid depends on each school. At the large State U my daughter attends a 26 ACT would be eligible for $1000-2,000. The large merit awards require ACT scores in the 32+ ACT range. The smaller regional State Us or community colleges that have lower averages for incoming students might offer a little more. You would need to check the scholarships offered by the schools.</p>
<p>Hopefully one of her other schools may offer something in the way of institutional aid, or her stats will be higher for them and make her eligible for some merit aid. Good luck.</p>
<p>Are those the only 2 instate schools she applied to? </p>
<p>Are all the other schools out of state publics?</p>
<p>Are there any instate publics that she could still apply to where she could commute to school?</p>
<p>It depends as some schools will offer more assistance than others.</p>
<p>Can I call Illinois State University and talk to financial Aid and ask for more? Does that ever work? What do you say?</p>
<p>it might help to break down college costs- breakdown tuition & fees separately from room and board- because those costs can be minimized & will lessen expenses you would normally incur.</p>
<p>Money from a school year job, can help to pay personal expenses and books, & money from a summer job can pay fees and toward other yearlong expenses.</p>
<p>A stafford loan of roughly $5,000 may not be subsidized, but also will go towards buy in for the student assuming the costs of their education.</p>
<p>College board estimates tuition and fees of $10,000, so she may be eligible for subsidized Stafford as well as work study. This would be great, as workstudy goes toward attendance costs, but isn’t counting when calculating financial need.
( Stafford loan limits for freshmen is $5,500)</p>
<p>It may be a little late, but applying for scholarships intended for attending students might help- also parent’s workplaces may also offer scholarships for children.
[Scholarships</a> - Financial Aid](<a href=“http://financialaid.illinoisstate.edu/scholarships/]Scholarships”>Scholarships | Financial Aid - Illinois State)
[FinAid</a> | Loans | Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org/loans/studentloan.phtml]FinAid”>http://www.finaid.org/loans/studentloan.phtml)</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>How much can a student earn (outside of work-study) and have it not cause an increase in EFC? Of course, if a school can’t meet EFC, then it probably doesn’t matter if the EFC rises or not. </p>
<p>I feel for Buzymom3, it can be very misleading to get an EFC and (mistakenly) think that that is all one will have to pay. The process sometimes gives a false impression that people pay a “sliding scale” according to their means. In reality, most schools don’t have deep pockets to help people pay, and they sometimes reserve their few dollars towards those with need and high scores…kind of a “You scratch our back (by bringing your high score) and we’ll scratch yours (by helping you out).”</p>
<p>After people have been stung by this, they can at least be more aware when child #2 applies to college.</p>
<p>*Can I call Illinois State University and talk to financial Aid and ask for more? *</p>
<p>You can try, but be prepared for a no. There are hundreds of others in the same situation.</p>
<p>If the sub loan is only for $2000, that means the Cost of Attendance - the Expected Family Contribution is only $2000. The school would not be able to offer you any need based aid in excess of this $2000, because the rules won’t allow awarding need based aid for more than the amount of need … which is COA-EFC. You would be requesting non need based merit aid. That in turn would reduce your sub loan.</p>
<p>Your child is eligible for a combined $5500 in sub+unsub loans. So if she was offered $2000 sub, she is eligible to borrow $3500 unsub. That is very common for families with mid-high EFC’s at lower cost schools.</p>
<p>kelsmom, COA for this year was $22.9K [Financing</a> Your Education - NIU - Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://www.niu.edu/admissions/finance.shtml]Financing”>http://www.niu.edu/admissions/finance.shtml) </p>
<p>Buzymom3, what they offered you combined with your EFC brings you within $2K of this year’s tuition+room+board. According to NIU’s website, tuition+room+board was $17,502 this year. Your EFC ($12K) + $4K in loans is $16K. You would still have to pay for books, transportation (probably not too bad if in-state) and personal expenses. She could get $1500 extra unsubsidized loan $ (which would mean she is taking out $5500/year in loans). She also probably needs to get a job, either starting now (pt only) or just a summer job to bridge that gap. She may also need to work through the schoolyear to pay her personal expenses.</p>
<p>Kelsmom, I think there’s some confusion (or maybe I’m mixed up…LOL). The family hasn’t yet seen the FA offer for ISU. They’ve only seen the FA from a different state school - Northern. That $2000 sub loan is for Northern. (Is that Northern Ill U??).</p>
<p>Buzymom3 is wondering if she should expect the same FA package from all the IL states schools. She is also wondering if she should contact ISU before their FA package arrives to help influence a better FA package. </p>
<p>According to Buzymom3, the COA for ISU is $23K…</p>
<p>…so $23k (COA) - $12k (EFC) = $11k need. So, the FA offer will likely include $5500 in sub and unsub Staffords, maybe some work-study, maybe a smallish scholarship, and then maybe a gap. </p>
<p>Perhaps Northern had a lower COA. Buzymom3, what is the COA for Northern, the school that you’ve rec’d the FA offer?
(edited to add…I see that 2Collegewego posted that NIU’s COA is $23k. So, the loans are less than they should be.)</p>
<p>Also…in your opening question, you ask: Does 0 from one state school mean 0 from another? In the world of financial aid, you didn’t get 0, you got $4k in loans. They consider loans as FA. Many state schools don’t have any institutional money to give in grants or scholarships. I don’t know if Northern is one of those. They may have a small amount that they offer to students with super stats.</p>
<p>Loras College cost of attending would be 13,000, but she is afraid that it is just too small for her.</p>
<p>The COA for Loras is about $35k. Did your D get a huge scholarship from Loras? Is that why it will only cost you $13k for her to go there? If so, she should reconsider going there. It may be small, but it has a 50/50 male/female ratio, which is not always typical for small LACs. </p>
<p>Tuition $24,910
Fees $415*
Technology Fee $950
Room $3,695</p>
<h2>Board (13 Plus) $3,611</h2>
<p>Total $33,581</p>
<p>Plus…Book Estimation: $1,300</p>
<p>Mom2collegekids you are an angel! What you are saying is making sense to me. To answer your question about Loras…yes she was give a large merit scholarship of $14000, along with grants and a small loan…</p>
<p>Loras was her her first choice, until we talked to the program director at Illinois State. Their program is superior at illinois state University. But given the cost difference we may have to rethink this. Hubby and I can probably afford to pay about $10,000 a year, so she would be walking out with some large debt. </p>
<p>Let me ask you a question: How much bearing does the undergrad school have on a student getting into a graduate program. If she goes to Loras, but wants to get into a Big 10 school for her Masters, is she going to have a problem? That is the other reason why we are considering Illinois State. They have a graduate degree program in her area.</p>
<p>Ughhh, we had college all paid for until 7 years ago when the tech bubble burst and we lost everything (long time unemployed, etc…same story for too many others)</p>
<p>Let me ask you a question: How much bearing does the undergrad school have on a student getting into a graduate program. If she goes to Loras, but wants to get into a Big 10 school for her Masters, is she going to have a problem?</p>
<p>If your D does well at Loras, I can’t see why it would be a problem getting into grad school at Ill St. Besides, it’s sometimes a good idea to get an undergrad degree at a different school…different profs, different theories, different approaches…</p>
<p>If your D wants to go into Athletic Training grad program, then minimal loans for undergrad is very important. She may need loans for grad school. And, any unsub loans for undergrad that are deferred thru grad school will grow a good bit during that time. :(</p>