<p>My FAFSA EFC is $0.00, my parents combined income is $29,995.00. My Estimated cost of attendance is $21,721.00 but yet my aid package is as follows; Does that mean I need to come up with $4500 in work study and $8421 in loans? Can I appeal this decision? Does these figures sound correct? What is the procedure to appeal? Your suggestions will be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Financial Aid Award Fund Status Fall 2011/Sprint 2012</p>
<p>TPEG Undergrad Resident Grant Offered $2,250.00
Roadrunner Scholarship Accepted $1,000.00
Federal Pell Grant Accepted $5,550.00
Work Study Eligibility Offered $4,500.00
Parent PLUS loan eligibility Offered $2,921.00
Direct Fed. Sub. Stafford Loan Offered $3,500.00
Direct Fed.Unsub Stafford Loan Offered $2,000.00</p>
<p>It looks like they want your parents to borrow almost $3K to meet the cost of attendance (the parent plus loan), plus the work study amount. Some schools (Smith is one I know of) will let you leave that amount as a balance due and work for it through the year. Most schools, though, make you pay that upfront then get paid directly.</p>
<p>The direct loans you don’t have to come up with - the loans pay the school directly.</p>
<p>So you have to come up with $7500. A lot of money for someone in your income bracket :(</p>
<p>You received $8800 in grant money which is money that does NOT have to be repaid.</p>
<p>You received $5500 in Stafford loans which are loans in YOUR (the student’s) name.</p>
<p>You received $4500 in Work study but you would need to FIND a work study job. Typically work study money is used for ongoing expenses (books, personal expenses, etc).</p>
<p>The $2921 Plus loan is a loan your parents would need to take out if you needed that amount.</p>
<p>$21,721.00 …is this the COLLEGE cost of attendance? What I think you need to do is look at the billable costs…tuitions/room/board/fees. What is THIS amount? Do your grants and the Stafford loan (in your name) cover the costs of tuition/room/board/fees? The other costs like books and personal expenses are ones where you can reduce the costs…or use summer and work study earnings to cover the costs.</p>
<p>Ok so transportation, books, and personal expenses won’t be billed to you. That is just an estimate. So subtract that amount from what they list as the cost of attendance because they won’t be billing you for that.</p>
<p>OK…you have $18061 in billable costs…and you have $14300 in firm aid (the grants and the stafford loan). This means that you would need to have enough money to pay about $2000 out of pocket for each term…just in billable costs. That doesn’t include your money for books, transportation and personal expenses.</p>
<p>Can you do that? Do your have a job now or are you sure you can get one where you can earn this amount of money?</p>
<p>You may have to work over the summer to come up with the amount in Parent Plus loans if your parents can’t/won’t take out those loans…which may not be affordable for them each year. It’s unlikely that your parents are going to want to end up with $12k or more in debt by the time you graduate (that Plus amount will likely rise each year as costs increase). </p>
<p>The work study amount is high as well.</p>
<p>Tuition $5,782.00
Fees $3,008.00
Books and Supplies $1,000.00
Room $6,039.00
Board $3,232.00
Transportation $860.00
Personal Expenses $1,800.00</p>
<p>Total: $21,721.00 </p>
<p>You can cut down on book costs by finding less expensive sources…buy early so you can get best prices on used books.</p>
<p>Can you save on the meal plan? </p>
<p>what about transportation costs? How far away is this school? Will you be bringing a car? If your parents will be dropping you off at school, then they will likely be paying for that cost.</p>
<p>How much do you think you can earn/save over the summer?</p>
<p>Basically everyone who applies for financial aid is asked to take out the $5500 in loans. That money is your loan not your parents and has nothing to do with how much they make. Your parents are asked to come up with 2921 dollars, either through the loan or on their own. If they don’t qualify for a loan, you can apply for additional money to pay the difference but it would be unsubsidized.</p>
<p>I’am planning to work for the work study which will help me with $4500.00, but still on top of that I would need to borrow $5500.00 and my parents also borrow $2921.00… With my parents very low income, is there a way out of this loans???</p>
<p>The COA from scratch:
Tuition $5,782.00
Fees $3,008.00
Room $6,039.00
Board $3,232.00</p>
<p>$18,061 is what you will be billed.</p>
<p>Set aside the work study in your mind because it is basically that they are telling you what you can earn in the future. You can use that money for books and transportation, etc. as you need it.</p>
<p>The school is giving you (including $5,500 in loans YOU will have to pay back AFTER you graduate):</p>
<p>TPEG Undergrad Resident Grant Offered $2,250.00
Roadrunner Scholarship Accepted $1,000.00
Federal Pell Grant Accepted $5,550.00
Direct Fed. Sub. Stafford Loan Offered $3,500.00
Direct Fed.Unsub Stafford Loan Offered $2,000.00</p>
<p>$14,250 in aid</p>
<p>Leaving a balance due of $3,811. </p>
<p>If there is no way you and your parents can pay that money (and I would imagine that would be a tough amount for them to come up with), see if the financial aid office can help you. </p>
<p>Although, most or all of that YOU could earn this summer.</p>
<p>The $5500 in Stafford loans are YOUR loans…not your parents. You don’t have to repay them until 6 months after you leave college or graduate from college. </p>
<p>Your billable costs are $18.061 and your grants plus the Stafford loan do not equal that amount. You are about $4000 short…about $2000 per semester. Work study is fine, but you won’t HAVE that money until after you start a job at your college. Also, you might not earn $4500 in work study earnings…just keep that in mind.</p>
<p>What I think is that you need to determine if you can meet the $18061 in billable costs (tuition/room/board). To do that, you will need to earn a chunk of money this summer AND continue to work this during college too (so that you can make up the shortfall for the spring bill too). </p>
<p>Can your parents help you with personal expenses? How far do you live from the school. Will it really cost $860 for transportation for the year? Do you need to spend $1800 on personal expenses? Can you buy your books online (or can your parents perhaps help you with this expense)? These are the costs that are NOT going to be billed by the college. They are the places where perhaps you can economize.</p>
<p>$8500 per year of loans is too much. Consider community college options. Not only this, but can you even find the time to WS $4500 per year? You can potentially loan between $8500 - $13000 per year depending on how much WS you actually work and $13000 as the worst case scenario is too much. Consider cheaper options.</p>
<p>Unless work-study jobs are plentiful and pay very well at your school, that seems like a lot more than most kids are able to earn in a school year of work study.</p>
<p>Agreed about the w-s amount. DD had $4000 in work study. She was able to earn it each year but she also had the highest paying job on her campus AND she worked during the school breaks full time (40 hours).</p>
<p>When I look at a package, I look at it in terms of how much we have to pay in loans, work and savings. If the loan amounts are acceptable, the go off the cost. As for work study, well, you have to earn it, before you get it, so it’s not going to help you for what you have to pay first term. You somehow have to come up with about $4K in August, is the bottom line to enroll for the first semester. If you get a job and earn $2K first semester through work study, put it on your school account, you will then have to come up with another $2K by January to pay for your second semester. Maybe your college will give you a short term bridge loan for the workstudy amount and you pay it as you earn it.</p>
<p>$4000 in work study is a lot of working. My sons worked about 10-15 a week during the school year and earned about that, not on work study, and like Thumper’s D, they worked during breaks full time to come up with that much.</p>
<p>I think your missing the picture a little OP… Every student regardless of what their parent makes gets $5500 in loans because it’s their loan and will be responsible for it after graduation. So the shortfall is with the 3000 dollars they expect your parents to make. Like others have mentioned, work during the summer to make that up if your parents can’t take out a loan. Also, they put in extra money for personal expenses and transportation that equals about 3000 in the college cost of $21,000 +. The actual costs is closer to 18,000 which you will have between your loan and the grants. Don’t settle for a community college. If you are a good student and you are motivated you can do it! : )</p>