If you are applying for some expensive schools that do meet 100% of the needs (not sure if there are such schools… NYU is probably not one of them, but anyway), does that mean you may get financial aid for the difference between EFC and CoA? For example, CoA for A school is 73K. EFC is 60K. You may get 13K if you are not qualified for 13K merit scholarships?
- Each school may define its own EFC for you.
- There is typically a student contribution of loans or work study or both.
So if the list price is $73k, your EFC defined by the school is $60k, the school meets need, and the school expects a $5k student contribution, your aid offer will be $8k of grants and $5k of loans or work study or both.
Thanks for your reply. I was leaning toward not to filing FAFSA after seeing the EFC because I have no interest in taking a loan. But it may help if you are applying for those schools that happens to come up with a lower EFC than what FAFSA says.
You should try each school’s net price calculator to see if there is any chance of financial aid.
NYU is notorious for being either #1 or #2 every year for students graduating w the most student loan debt.
Thx for your replies. NPC’s always says zero financial aid. It just amazes me people incur so much debts to go to undergrad. We will go absolute zero debt (and no compromise to our own retirement plan). If D get
Your D doesn’t have to go to a full pay school. Does she have good gpa and test scores? She could get merit scholarships that would reduce the cost. But she would have to apply to schools that offer them.
She has been already accepted by a few schools with merit (and we can afford the balance) and still waiting for other schools’ decisions (after upcoming auditions). I am at a point filling out the FAFSA (did CSS already and submitted although we knew we wouldn’t get anything and in fact we didn’t from the few schools she already got accepted). And still debating whether or not submitting FAFSA. The few schools I contacted confirmed that they wouldn’t require it for merit and we would be able to fill it if our financial situations change in her second year and beyond.
And just because some families are irresponsible with their borrowing doesn’t mean that all educational debt is a bad thing. I’ve got nieces, nephews, young cousins, all working in their chosen professions, living nice lives, paying their loans every month (a few completely paid off early due to lucrative jobs) and I gotta say- they are likely doing better than they would have been going to the local commuter college which is what they’d have done if it hadn’t been for the loans.
SOME educational debt is bad. Some is fantastic and liberating. A kid who can’t/won’t borrow so ends up with a certificate as an LPN instead of becoming a Physician’s Assistant (huge differential in salary potential) is a kid who might not be getting solid financial advice. Sometimes the cheapest option is the best one; sometimes the more expensive option is the best one. Lost in all the noise about the people who have borrowed irresponsibly is the “not very newsworthy” stories about ordinary people who borrowed for a university education and have catapulted beyond their family’s economic standing into much more secure and financially rewarding professions.
I agree with not sacrificing retirement to pay for college. But if a responsible amount of borrowing is the difference between a kid making the most of his/her education vs. getting stuck in a low paying career- I’d go for the loan. Not every cheap/local college is going to provide enough for each and every kid.
And work study- the best deal around at most colleges. Great work experience; often first pick of the “better” campus jobs, usually flexible hours during exams and crunch periods.