HELP?! Fordham or Pace... with a catch

Colleges and Universities A-Z Fordham University
1

<p>I would appreciate any help.
I recently got my Fordham Rose Hill acceptance letter & I was soo happy because it was definitely my first choice. The problem is the FA package is really poor.
I also got into Pace University NYC as well, with a MUCH better FA package, but Pace was a safety at best and I didnt think about going to Pace at all. (no offense to anyone who goes to Pace)
Here's is the FA packages for Fordham & Pace (& my EFC is 0, if that helps)
Fordham
NYS TAP 250
Fordham Grant in Aid 2100
Fordham Room Grant 8500
Federal Subsidized Stafford Loan 3500
Federal Unsubsidized Stafford Loan 2000
Total Awards 16600</p>

<p>Pace
NYS TAP 5000
Pell Grant 5500
Scholarships & Grants 27650
Work Study 4000
Student Loans 55000
Parent PLUS Loan 500
Total Awards 50200</p>

<p>Now looking at these packages, it obvious that Pace is the better pick due to the HUGE FA package, basically a free ride. The problem is, however, is that I don't want to go to Pace. Fordham is my dream school. But my mother can't afford the loans for fordham (hence the EFC is 0) Im currently appealing the Fordham package
I was wondering if there is a way that I can take the loans out, without my mother paying alot of loans, or any at all. I also want to know you opinion: would you give up your dream school for your safety school?
THANK YOU</p>

2

<p>Sorry but it doesn’t look good for Fordham. :frowning: </p>

<p>I highly doubt you can get private loans for the rest unless you have someone financially solid enough to co-sign. But even if you could, you are talking about starting your life $180,000+ in debt. For undergraduate. Do you really need to be told how insane that is? It will cripple you. </p>

<p>Do you have any other choices? Did you apply to any SUNYs or CUNYs or schools that don’t cost $58k a year? And surely there must have been SOMETHING you liked about Pace even if it was a safety and not exactly your dream school. If your only choices are Fordham and Pace, I’m afraid you’ll have to give up the dream for the safety if the FA appeal doesn’t come through. </p>

<p>Don’t worry though…these things have a way of working out for the best in the end even if you can’t see it now. You don’t know what opportunities may lie ahead for you at Pace. I know how disappointing it will seem at first but trust me you WILL get over it. I personally ended up at a college I didn’t really want to attend many years ago and it turned out to be great. Great education, great price, great socially…met my husband there. </p>

<p>Best of luck.</p>

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<p>How do you know if your EFC is 0? And why can’t she take out a loan for the remaining 35,000 a year?</p>

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<p>I highly disagree with sandkmom. You only get one shot at college, and if you got into your dream school you should go. The majority of people graduate college with debt, a lot of debt, and entering the job market with a degree from Fordham will give you much better opportunities in the long run. Money is tough, but you can even get merit awards after freshman year if you do really well. If you end up at Pace you will spend the next 4 years wondering what going to Fordham would have been like, no matter how great things are, it will haunt you. Go to banks, talk to reps, find out what your options are. There might be more options out there, and there are a lot of smaller independent scholarships you could go for. Even the $100 ones rack up if you get enough of them.
Do you live near Fordham? You could try to be a commuter, it’s half the price and they get a lot more financial aid.</p>

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<p>That doesn’t seem right at all. If your EFC really is 0 then appeal your Fordham package. They definitely made a mistake.</p>

<p>I highly doubt your real EFC is 0 though, otherwise you would have gotten a Pell grant and a higher TAP award.</p>

<p>Anyways, I’d say anything over 60K in total loans would be too much. Fordham is a good school (one of my top choices), but it isn’t THAT good.</p>

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<p>We are in the same exact position! My daughter’s heart is set on Fordham Business School, but the financial aid package is poor which would result in a ridiculous amount of loans, especially if she wants to go for an advanced degree. We are going to the Pace accepted students day so she can take another look and keep an open mind. </p>

<p>It is a tough decision since we feel that she fits better at Fordham, but finances have to come into the picture. She has been offered honors college at Pace which may look good when it is time to get a job. It is going to be an agonizing decision.</p>

<p>We too have appealed the financial aid award and are waiting for the final answer.</p>

<p>Good luck!!</p>

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<p>@nyc2013</p>

<p>It’s fine to disagree but I assume you have zero experience actually paying back student loans. </p>

<p>Entering the job market with a degree from Fordham will NOT guarantee a salary high enough to comfortably offset the monthly payments for that kind of debt. And OP hasn’t even stated what kind of degree she (?) is pursuing, whether she intends to go to grad school, what the job outlook and starting salary might be for her chosen field. Assuming she can even find a job to begin with. </p>

<p>It’s true, she could spend the next 4 years at Pace wondering what could have been. Or she could borrow the money, go to Fordham and spend the next 20 years living with her mother and wondering what it would be like to rent an apartment, go on vacation, buy a car. But the point is probably moot because unless she has a very rich uncle, it is very unlikely she will be able get the kind of financing she needs. </p>

<p>I also think it is highly unlikely that she would actually spend her time dreaming of Fordham and allow that to haunt her instead of moving on and settling in nicely at Pace. Yes, you only get one shot at college but let’s put that in perspective…college is 4 years out of what is hopefully a considerably longer life. </p>

<p>Maybe the FA appeal will come through and Fordham will be affordable and I truly hope that is the case. But as it stands now, it’s just a dream. And as with all dreams, sometimes they come true and sometimes you wake up.</p>

<p>It is naive to think that OP cannot be happy and do well at Pace just as it is naive to think that she will be more successful upon graduating just because she went to Fordham.</p>

<p>@kimburlee and alf56</p>

<p>Offering my prayers for your FA appeals to come through and that Fordham becomes affordable for you both! And my apologies, kimburlee, if you are not, in fact, a she but rather a he. Best of luck! I’m sure you will do great wherever you end up! :)</p>

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<p>Actually I do have student loans of my own, and I know a number of people who have been in situations where the choice was loans or go to a lesser school. It may not guarantee a job, but no college will guarantee a job. What Fordham will ensure is that the OP gets one of the top educations in the country at a fantastic school. You may not have regretted your own college choice, but now a days people are increasingly judged by the prestige of the college they attended, and going to Pace with a 78% acceptance rate and median SAT’s in the 400’s will NOT look the same on a job app as Fordham will.
College is more than just 4 years, it is the foundation for the rest of your life. It is the skills and abilities you will use for the rest of your life, and the connections that could potentially get you jobs in the future. Just by the connections the OP could get at Fordham do they have a good chance of paying off the loans. Yes the OP could be a lazy slacker and live with their mom for the next 20 years, but I have faith in the Fordham system and know the students it graduates are usually not of that type.
Pace and Fordham are in the same city, she will always know she could have been there for Fordham. She will hear about the Fordham BFA’s and Fordham theater productions, she will most likely meet students who go to Fordham (as I have met students from Pace). If they were across the country, yes she could move on. However, being that close to you dream, seeing it daily, is not something so easily pushed aside. Also, Pace is made up largely of commuters which I know is not a desirable environment. The OP has already said she does not want to go to Pace, and I don’t think it’s right for financial issues to put someone in a university they do not want to attend nor will succeed in. (I base this off that the majority of Pace students had a B or lower HS GPA, and it is difficult to receive a good education when those around you are not on the same level and can not meet your own academic abilities).</p>

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<p>^^First, nyc2013, let me say that I think that you are a good person and clearly interested in helping other people. Your opinions are highly valued. I, myself asked for and got great advice from you on another thread. It’s also probably helpful for the OP to get two polar opinions! :)</p>

<p>Clearly we are coming from two different places in life. Having student loans and knowing what it takes to actually pay them off are two different things. </p>

<p>We agree that Fordham will provide a top education at a fantastic school. My S will be attending this Fall. He was also accepted into my alma mater, Binghamton, another great school and a MUCH cheaper option. Additionally, he turned down NYU and Boston College, neither for financial reasons. Now according to your logic, that was a mistake because they are considered more prestigious and the foundations built, skills and abilities, connections and student body will therefore be better. We disagree on that.</p>

<p>I share your faith that Fordham graduates are not lazy slackers but we disagree that people who live at home must be lazy slackers to begin with. I know MANY people who are not and yet they are unable to support themselves, still living with parents and in their 30s. </p>

<p>That Pace and Fordham ARE both in the same city means that OP could take advantage of the many wonderful opportunities and cultural events the city has to offer regardless of which school she attends. That is a good thing. She’ll certainly have more money to spend on that if she’s not up to her eyeballs in debt. And she’ll certainly have more time if she doesn’t need to spend every waking moment working or searching for scholarship opportunities. </p>

<p>As for not having a desirable environment, Pace and Fordham BOTH have large commuter populations and in your prior post you advised the OP to consider commuting herself to save money. A fine idea by the way.</p>

<p>I also think you are underestimating OP’s ability to move on. Part of maturity is realizing that you can’t always get what you want. Follow your dreams, ABSOLUTELY, but not at all costs and without reevaluating when called for because dreams are not always steadfast and unwavering. They can change as you grow and are often replaced by new and sometimes even better dreams. Honestly, I can’t tell you how many times I REALLY wanted something only to discover when I got it that it just wasn’t as great as I thought it would be. Or that I received something that turned out to be SO great and I didn’t even know I wanted it in the first place. Yes, what OP wants may be right in front of her. But it will be up to her to decide if she wants to live in a place where the grass is always greener on the other side or if she will stay open to new possibilities and new dreams.</p>

<p>“The OP has already said she does not want to go to Pace, and I don’t think it’s right for financial issues to put someone in a university they do not want to attend nor will succeed in.” I think that OP WILL succeed at Pace. Maybe she even got into Pace honors and the program she’s interested in studying is strong at Pace.</p>

<p>The OP ALSO said that it is “obvious that Pace is the better pick due to the HUGE FA package, basically a free ride.” AND “my mother can’t afford the loans for fordham.” Fordham or Pace? Seems like she already knows the answer to her question.</p>

<p>Again, the FA appeal could go her way and totally change things. And then, ABSOLUTELY, pick Fordham. If not, well, she has the information she needs to make an informed decision and ultimately it’s up to her to decide what she can live with.</p>

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<p>Finances are a big part of the college decision making process. Unfortunately you are not the only one who may not be able to attend their dream school due to money considerations. First of all, I do hope that your appeal at Fordham gives you what you need to attend your dream school without creating a nightmare of debt. If not, you and your mother need to work together to see what make sense. If Pace is the best option all things considered, then go there. FYI, I had a similar issue and in the end I attended the cheaper school for 2 years and then transfered into and graduated from my dream school. I only write this so you know that if you continue to do well in school, you will have more options down the road. Wherever you end up, work hard, do your best and move forward in a positive direction. Remember, too many people don’t even have a chance to attend a four year college. Good luck.</p>

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<p>I think you have many good points, and that in part this is just a difference of opinion. I think college is largely about developing yourself into the best person you can be, and the environment in which you do this makes an enormous difference in the results.</p>

<p>With the point of abilities and skills learned and connections made, I believe there is a difference between comparing Fordham and Pace and Fordham and NYU. Although there are absolutely going to be smart people and successful graduates from every school, prestige does make a difference. Schools get reputations for a reason. I’m not implying that being 2 or 5 or 10 schools different on national ranking makes a difference, what I mean by my statements is that Pace is not a top school, not on the list of top schools. Going to a university that accepts nearly every student and going to one in the top 100 colleges in the country will provide different levels of education, and thus allow students to have a better chance at developing better skills and refining their abilities. </p>

<p>You are right that part of growing up is moving on, accepting that you cannot have everything you want, and looking for new dreams in what you have, but only when every method of solving the problem has been explored. In the first original post you said off the bat that it does not look good for Fordham. One of my points is that jumping to this conclusion shouldn’t be encouraged. When there are other options, when there are still ways to work out a problem, assuming it won’t work will get the OP nowhere. Before accepting attending a school the OP has said she does not want to attend, she explore every option, get creative and find ways to try to make it work. Simply accepting that she has to go to Pace because of her family status without trying to manage the situation would be indicative of someone who either did not care enough to try or does not take responsibility for themselves.</p>

<p>Also, I think it’s a safe assumption that the majority of students in this country graduate with college debt, and that the majority are also able to pay that debt off. The OP needs to decide if she is okay with living more modestly out of college to get the experience she wants.</p>

<p>I think you also, sandkmom, have helped a lot of people and have brought up some really good points here. It’s not just a debate this OP is facing, but many students across the country have to deal with. From different points in life people most likely attain different opinions on this issue. Hopefully in the end Fordham will give the OP more money in the appeal, but with 3/4 of a million dollars going to the new basketball coach, I am not confidant that financial aid is where the biggest priority lies right now. There are many options out there with Fordham and with other schools, and since there is still at least a month until deposits are due, the OP has plenty of time to explore these possibilities.</p>

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<p>I think we are basically saying the same thing (I didn’t look back at the posts, but I know I never wrote “it doesn’t look good for Fordham”). No doubt, the best answer would be for the OP to get the aid she needs to attend Fordham. If that does not happen and no other aid/scholarships can be secured, I think that the student and her family needs to sit down and take a serious look at the options and come up with the best solution for them. I would try to go to accepted student day at both schools. Unfortunately this is a problem faced by many people, particularly in today’s difficult economy. The answer will be different person by person, family by family. While I agree there is a big difference between Fordham and Pace, each individual/family must decide for themself if the cost (loans etc.) outweighs the benefits. There are too many factors for there to be one right answer. Good luck to the OP!</p>

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<p>I should have been clear, I was directing my post to sandkmom, sorry for the confusion.</p>

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<p>Kind of funny that we’re the only ones still talking about this! Even OP got bored!! :D</p>

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<p>I’m in the same situation! I like Fordham better, but Pace gave me a better scholarship…by a lot.</p>

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<p>Op, some discouraging news - I spoke to a Fordham financial aid counselor today and he said they will working the appeals next week, but wanted to be very candid with me. He said that he has rarely seen more than a 3k increase on any appeal. So it isn’t looking good for Fordham at this point.</p>

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<p>Keep pushing them! Make sure you tell them what your other schools are giving you! I know many people who have done this and the school has matched the aid! I have a secret thing for Fordham…so maybe I’m a little biased…but,</p>

<p>Do what you think will make you happy, and never ever let money get in the way of doing what you want!!! If you don’t you will spent the next four years wishing you had gone to the other school, it will ruin your experience.</p>

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<p>i’m in the exact same situation as youuuuuu and i don’t know what to do. i appealed through e-mail and never received a reply :(</p>