Help finding cheaper colleges...HELP HELP!

Paying for College
1

<p>I am planning a transfer for fall 2010 so I have been looking a head...I went ahead and did the aid estimator on my state uni's website plus asking a private college for an aid estimate. </p>

<p>I have nothing in savings, I am not getting help paying for college from anyone and I am doing it all myself so I need help finding some cheaper places to go to college. I have already taken out student loans and I have no problem taking out more but these numbers I think are too much. </p>

<p>I noticed the stafford loan amounts are different. I did the aid calculator with entering as a junior for my state college but the private college might have calculated as me entering as a sophomore. A few thousand dollars though doesn't really change the general picture which is I need serious help.</p>

<p>My in-state University's financial aid looks like:</p>

<p>COA: $20,000
EFC: $7,500 (I would have to meet this with private loans.)</p>

<p>Federal Work-Study: $2,400.00
Perkins Loan: $1,400.00
Subsidized Stafford Loan: $5,500.00
Unsubsidized Stafford Loan: $2,000.00
TOTAL $11,300.00
Unmet Need (other funding sources) $1,190.00</p>

<p>Total in private loans I would need: $8,690 (I don't have a co-signer so I don't think anyone would lend me this much.)
Total in federal loans I would have: $8,900
TOTAL IN LOANS: $17,590 A YEAR!</p>

<p>I looked into a private college that meets 100% of need..I sent them my parents W2s and filled out their institutional form because they offer an estimate before applying.</p>

<p>COA: $40,248 which does not include books/travel/school supplies/etc
EFC: $9,500 (I would have to meet this with private loans)</p>

<p>College Grant.............................................. $ 21,000
Stae Tuition Grant (estimated).................. $ 2,900
Stafford Loan........................................................... $ 6,500
Work Study............................................................. $ 2,000
Total 200-2010 Award....................................... $32,400</p>

<p>Total in federal loans: $6,500
Total in private loans: $9,500
TOTAL IN LOANS: $16,000 A YEAR! + $2,000 to cover work study until I make it up. Tuition +room is due right away and I don't think they would let me pay them the $2,000 for the total over the course of the year.</p>

<p>So basically I know I can't take out that much money in loans. I have been reading this forum religiously. I have planned ahead and researched a lot but I need your help now. I know I can get a job and pay for things but with this economy I would rather not rely on a job to pay for things like books/tuition. I will already be working for about $2,000 a school year for part of my financial aid so IDK how that works with a regular job. </p>

<p>So basically, I could really use some help. I am applying to some colleges with merit aid but not as good need based aid. I will apply to some schools still that say they meet full need (based on what they decide my need is), but is there anything else I can do to find an affordable college? I want to make sure when I need to transfer that I am not stuck in a situation like this.</p>

2

<p>I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but there are very few colleges that offer financial aid , and even fewer that offer merit aid to incoming transfer students. Merit $$ is reserved to entice desirable freshman to matriculate. Most FA is reserved for incoming freshman, and continuing students.</p>

3

<p>I didn’t read your whole post, but I did see the 7.5k EFC</p>

<p>With a low EFC like that, I’d recommend applying to a school that meets 100% of your demonstrated financial need exclusively through grants (and sometimes work-study, but no loans). Now, more often than not the need number the university will come up with will differ from the FAFSA EFC since they often use additional information like College Board’s CSS Profile, but it’d be a good place to start since, as was already pointed out, most colleges offer little to none merit aid for transfers.</p>

<p>I don’t know what your grades are like but the universities that have this program are probably mainly in the top 50 in the nation (I think there’s around 30 or so with this program), so it may be tough getting into these schools but it can be done. I was accepted into Vanderbilt as a transfer this fall (I only applied because I heard about their new financial aid program that was starting this year)…</p>

<p>What you want is “need-blind” as well - Brown University, for example, is NOT need-blind when admitting transfers so with a low EFC, you would probably not get in compared to other equally qualified applicants.</p>

<p>I see that you applied to one of those schools - I’d apply to more than one since you may not get into that one. Here’s a list to get you started:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.cslf.com/investinyourfuture/payingforcollege/collegesthatmeetneed.htm[/url]”>http://www.cslf.com/investinyourfuture/payingforcollege/collegesthatmeetneed.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p>A couple ideas: Can you live off campus for less at the state uni? That will cut your costs. Does your state have less expensive colleges than the one you checked out? My state has a flagship that is $20k, as well as several fine schools that cost quite a bit less - and some of these even offer transfer aid. Have you looked into some other colleges that might offer good transfer aid? Try doing some searches on this website, since it all depends on your personal situation as to what will work for you (grades, major, etc).</p>

5

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<p>Actually, many colleges do have a payment plan option. You enroll for a small fee (generally under $100) and make monthly payments for 10 months. No interest is charged typically. So you can do this and make payments from your summer, and work study income.</p>

<p>You might also try one of the colleges on this list that is affordable, and guarantees to meet need with no/low loans:
[Project</a> on Student Debt: What’s the Bottom Line?](<a href=“http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org/ncoa_chart.php]Project”>http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org/ncoa_chart.php)</p>

<p>You don’t mention your stats/major, but there are some schools with decent merit aid for transfers. Perhaps you could search the Transfer Student forum here on CC for more ideas.</p>

6

<p>It’s tougher getting FA as a transfer in some situations, but I don’t think it’s as bad as what Menlo described. We’ve seen some pretty good FA awards for transfer students. You just need to make sure your picking a good selection of schools. Just as with applying as a freshman, you can’t count on good offers if you’re applying to just one or two schools.</p>

7

<p>Besides money, good grades will give you the most opportunities for the future. The schools that have the most money for financial aid, generally are the more competitive schools. Alternatively, some honors programs give merit scholarships for transfers. If you are a transfer student you should know that schools that meet full need may still require student loans. Schools that meet full need, may not admit needy students in the first place, because they are not need blind. A school that is need blind, and/ or meets full need for incoming freshmen, may not be that way for transfers. </p>

<p>Another option you have is to find a cheaper school. Depending on your circumstances, a community college may be an option. (Perhaps, you would attend a community college this fall instead of a state school.) Maybe there are other public schools in your state that are cheaper. There may also be cheaper out of state public/ or private schools. This site here: [Rankings</a> for 100 Best Values in Public Colleges](<a href=“http://content.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges/pubcollege.php?sortby=OUTRANK04&orderby=flip&states]Rankings”>http://content.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges/pubcollege.php?sortby=OUTRANK04&orderby=flip&states)=ALL&myschool=none&outputby=table can show at a glance the cost of out of state tuition. This article: [Top</a> 10 priciest colleges … and the cheapest](<a href=“http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/college/cfguide/top-ten1.asp]Top”>http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/college/cfguide/top-ten1.asp) is a few years old but may be useful to see which are the less expensive private schools. The college board lists 272 colleges that cost <$10k, so that’s another place to seach. (Ohio University: Southern Campus at Ironton, for example, has out of state tuition for $5,715 and will automatically see if you are eligible for any scholarships.) </p>

<p>It may be cheaper to live off campus, especially since you wouldn’t have to pay traveling expenses to stay somewhere else when the dorms are closed during the winter. Keep in mind the different costs of living in different locations. </p>

<p>You could wait until you are 24/ get married/ join the military/ etc. to get independent status. Less drastically, you could join ROTC. </p>

<p>Some schools offer classes during the summer. Most schools increase tuition for the fall semester/ trimester/ quarter so taking classes over the summer is cheaper and may allow you to graduate sooner. </p>

<p>You will also need to budget for transferring. The cost of visiting, sending transcripts, sending standardized test scores, adds up. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

8

<p>Could you live at home? If not, could you try to find a job that gives you free housing-- say, as a nanny? Another option might be to check into the jobs at your state university and see if they offer a tuition discount. If so, maybe you could get a job instead of work-study. </p>

<p>I agree with you that those loan amounts are too high.</p>