Hello everyone, I am an undergrad student at Brown University. I am a rising sophomore and have fallen into an unfortunate predicament. Long story short, the person who was funding my education will no longer be able to, and I am on my own. I essentially have no idea as to what I should do from here on out and need some advice on what I should do. I know I’ll probably have to take out loans and I know it’s going to be a lot. Also, I am pre-med and hope to go to med school, which is going to be even more money, so by the time I actually get a job, I’m going to have a so so much debt.
Also, my freshman year was hard a hard transition. I came from literally the middle of nowhere, where I graduated valedictorian, had a pretty good SAT score, and led my school in many different things. Meeting all the Californians and Mass people at Brown who were soaring in very tough high schools and were doing great in college was a reality check. At Brown in my first year, I ended up with 3 Bs out of 8 classes and the rest were As and I’m already worried that I’m at a very bad spot for med school compared to all of these other students. I also feel like I don’t do much extracurricular wise, but I honestly have not met anyone with a tougher schedule than me (which was a mistake on my part) and I participate in research, which I’ve heard is not too common for freshman. I still feel down and like I’m behind and won’t get in to a good/top med school and just need advice.
Please help
Thank you
What you are feeling is the small fish in a big pond vs big fish in a small pond scenario. A lot of smart kids in high school struggle to adapt to an elite college environment where they aren’t the smartest kid anymore. Perhaps transferring to a cheaper option will not only be better financially, but it’ll boost your med school chances and self confidence. Most important thing about getting into med school is GPA and MCAT, not your undergraduate school’s prestige.
Here’s thing thing though, I definitely want to continue at Brown. I wasn’t sure coming in that it would be the right place for me, but the environment is perfect. I’m more worried about the paying part right now, and am not sure where to start in changing my financial aid package since my primary benefactor won’t be paying anymore and also how to go about getting loans.
@brownzoro have you filled out the FAFSA for 2017-18 (and internal aid forms Brown has)? If so what did Brown say you have to pay for next year. Do your parents/guardians intend to contribute anything? Will they borrow in their name to help you? Have you talked to financial aid at Brown about your change of circumstance?
More information, please, so that those with knowledge on this board can have a better understanding of your circumstance and what realistic options you might have.
My understanding is that Brown is full need for financial aid. I wouldn’t think that “benefactor” shows up in FAFSA or the CSS Profile in the first place. Are you unable to discuss this change of status with the financial aid office to see if there is any way to change your financial aid?
Are you full pay via your benefactor? You can only borrow your staffords (assuming your are a US citizen). The rest of your issues are irrelevant at this point. What exactly is your financial situation and what FA did you get, how much do you need to pay, what is your home state and what college would you be able to transfer to there?
If you have FA from Brown, your first stop needs to be the FA people there.
Your first step is to pay a visit to the financial aid office at Brown. Speak with the head of financial aid, not just the first person who answers the telephone.
You also need to speak with your dean, and your academic advisor. They may have other ways to help you resolve your situation.
Lastly, for med school it doesn’t matter where you have studied. What matters is your GPA, MCAT score, and required job shadowing/volunteer work. If you have to transfer to a cheaper place, you can still get into med school one day.
@ReturningFavor I get my FA package in the middle of June since I’m a returning student. My parents won’t be funding anything, and I haven’t talked to Brown’s FA office yet.
@WISdad23 I haven’t talked to them, yet. I am not too sure what to tell them over the phone, since I’m home now for summer break.
I think we need a lot more information to help with the financial part. I’m assuming you are a dependent student. Are there parents in the picture? Are they helping you at all with your college expenses? Did you fill out financial aid paperwork for last year? If so, what kind of package did you receive? If not, have you filled it out for this coming year? Are your parents low income, such that you’re likely to qualify for a generous amount of financial aid? Do you have any knowledge of their income and assets that you could share? You, on your own, can only borrow $6,500 in federal loans, which is a tiny drop in the bucket relative to Brown’s COA. I agree with others that a trip to the financial aid office is in order, but people here can give you more advice if you provide some more information.
More information is needed about “the person who was funding my education [and] will no longer be able to…” Is this presumed benefactor a parent? If not, then any future assistance you were expecting this person to provide to you should not have a negative effect on the need-based aid that Brown, a generous meets-full-need school, will provide.
You need a meeting (phone is fine) with Brown financial aid ASAP but you need to get your ducks in a row first- your FAFSA, your parents tax returns, your own tax returns if you worked, plus as much information as you have about this “benefactor”- was this a relative who you assumed would pay the same amount all four years or a non-custodial parent who had an informal agreement with your other parent which is not outlined in a divorce decree?
Brown is going to help you but you need to be prepared with actual data.
You are doing great academically- a few B’s is nothing to apologize for. Whether or not you should continue at Brown is a question that you and your parents need to answer after you figure out whether you can swing the financials, but I don’t think a few B’s Freshman year is anything to get upset about.
There’s a long way between summer after freshman year and med school. You could decide that you are more interested in public health, or more interested in biostatistics, or more interested in getting a PhD in one of the Life Sciences disciplines- or interested in majoring in materials science and developing new prosthetic limbs, not becoming an MD. So leaving because the school is no longer affordable- if it comes to that- then good decision. But leaving because you aren’t competitive for med school after one year of college-- I think it’s too early to determine that.
Brown is going to help you <<<<<<<
I think that is a bold statement. If OP had no previous FA package and never applied for FA before, the change to a full need student after freshman year cannot be a guaranteed. If this strategy worked loads of students would try it on.
^^^^ It’s not that bold. @blossom never promised a full ride, and Brown is not going to do nothing in the situation described. The poster will have to document how and why their financial situation changed before there is a determination of what additional aid will be provided.
So…you completed the financial aid forms including your parent information…and Brown gave you NO need based aid?
Or do you NOT even know this yet??
The 2017-2018 fafsa and Profile used the same income data as the 2016-2017 forms.
Did you get financial aid for THIS academic year…and if so…how much?
Were your parents funding your college costs last year? If so…what caused that to change.
There is not enough info here to say whether Brown will help you…or not. If you are a dependent student for financial aid purposes, and Brown has calculated that your family contribution is FULL pay, there would need to be a very compelling reason for,that to change.
OP must know her EFC because someone has been paying it.
There is a lot more than what op is saying. We cannot help if we do not know the whole story.
If op does not want to be forthcoming, I am going to request the thread be closed
Let’s cut to the chase… are you a US citizen or an international student. If you are US citizen/perm residents you would have had to have filled out the FAFSA for need based aid.
For a 3 party to step in and pay for school means that
Your parents did not apply for aid.
your parents made too much money to be eligible for need based aid
you were full pay and your parents refused to pay
On the other hand, if you are an international student, Brown is need aware which means your ability to pay is a factor in admissions.
Again this means, your family is low income and to reduce the risk of being rejected because of finances your benefactorhad to show that s/he coil fund your education and show proof.
Perhaps this is the situation. Now that you are here especially as an international student there is a strong possibility that you will not be receiving aid from Brown
If you are talking about loans, you need a qualified co-signer who is a US citizen Was theirs the original plan? If yes, it is not a good one. As an international student if you financially misrepresented your situation you could find your self out of Brown and visa revoked.
I never said that OP is going to get a financial aid package which matches dollar for dollar what the benefactor was paying.
But Brown is not going to let a student who is doing well academically who has run into a financial buzzsaw withdraw without at least a review of the facts, i.e. my comment that Brown will help. If the OP has been attending with zero loans because of the benefactor, a financial aid officer is going to outline what loans are available and how to apply for them. etc.
Will it work out? OP has not posted any facts here for us to make a determination. But as an active Brown alumna I can assure the OP that Brown does not want kids who have completed 25% of their education-- successfully- withdrawing before exploring the options that are out there.
If the kid and parents determine that they can’t bridge the gap between the available aid and their need- then cross that bridge. But not now before speaking with a financial aid officer who most definitely wants to be helpful here.
Your EFC (estimated family contribution) will be based on your parents income (and possibly their assets as well). If someone else paid that for you last year but can’t/won’t next year, I don’t see how that would change your EFC. Parents are first in line to pay for college and colleges won’t care if they have a high EFC but won’t pay.
If you’re a US citizen, you can take out a federal student loan, but only for~$6500/year. How much is the college expecting your family to
pay?
The student finished the freshman year at Brown. The 2016-2017 financial aid forms used the same income information…from the 2015 tax return…as the one for the 2017-2018 school year used.
Unless assets are significantly different…the family contribution and aid from Brown should be similar to 2016-2017.
What WAS that amount? Can the parents pay it?
What was your financial aid award for 2016-2017?
I agree with @sybbie719 that there is not sufficient info for anyone here to offer substantive advice to the OP.
But by completing the FAFSA, the OP WILL be able to take out a $6500 Direct Loan in the student name only.
And…the parents can take out a Parent Plus Loan for up to the cost of attendance…which is over $60,000 for the year, right?
Brown will likely consider other options IF the family financial situation has changed. But I’m going to stick my neck out…I don’t think Brown will pick up the full cost of attendance…unless the family contribution really comes to $0.
To the OP…is that possible?