<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I did my FAFSA and my CSS Profile and my EFC came up to be 23393. My parents nor I could afford that. Since my EFC is over the tuition and room and board of many public universities, should I apply to another private university? At private universities I have need but at public universities I do not think I do.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>Just because you have need doens’t mean the school will fill it though…many privates just offer more loans or leave gaps:( They certainly aren’t going to award any need-based aid to cover your EFC anyway. I would research schools that would be likely to be generous with merit aid, including your instate publics. If these are still unaffordable, you might consider starting at a CC or public school that you can commute to in order to save the room and board fees.</p>
<p>Thank you because I am getting worried. I do not have no where near 20,000 to pay every year. I already got accepted to Drexel with $13,000 merit scholarship but their tuition is around $30,000. I also I received a $1600 outside scholarship and I am applying for more.</p>
<p>Vloria, how much have your parents told you that they can afford to pay for college? I see you’re in NYC, the CUNYs should be affordable to almost everyone.</p>
<p>Vloria –</p>
<p>How much CAN your family afford for your college? How much can you realistically earn working over the summer? </p>
<p>As a bottom line, you should make sure that at least one of your schools is affordable with what your parents can contribute, what you can earn over the summer, and the freshman eligibility for student loans ($5,500, I think). Depending on your parent contribution, that might mean living at home and attending a public university. </p>
<p>If Drexel has a tuition of $30K, a $13K scholarship leaves a big gap – and the $1600 scholarship (and other scholarships you get) may cause Drexel (and other schools) to DECREASE your grant from Drexel – be sure to ask them about that. </p>
<p>Do you have some other schools as options?</p>
<p>I do not see how applying to a more expensive private university would be an advantage - you would still pay your EFC. Yes, you would likely receive more in aid, but that would only be because of the higher cost - you and your family would still pay the EFC. The PUBLICS you mention would be the better option because the total cost is less than your EFC.</p>
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<p>You will have to pay your family contribution no matter where you go to college…unless you receive a generous merit scholarship.</p>
<p>Any chance that you would be eligible for any merit money from your public state universities?</p>
<p>My parents will contribute little to nothing because they are deep in debt at the moment and they did not want to pay for my college in the first place. I cannot really depend on them to give me enough money to support my education. On the CSS Profile they said they could give me $1500 a year and that wouldn’t drastically impact what I’ll have to owe.</p>
<p>Over the summer this past year I made minimum wage part-time for six weeks since it was my very first paid job. This upcoming year, I am hoping to work full-time over the summer and make a little more. I do not know exact figures now.</p>
<p>I applied to 17 schools so I could have a wide amount of options. As for public schools, I applied to CUNY, SUNY Binghamton, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Stony Brook, and University of Pittsburgh.</p>
<p>If my EFC is that high would I have to pay everything at these public schools?</p>
<p>My guidance counselor said I would be eligible for a $500 New York State scholarship since I am second in the class. I am hoping to get scholarships based on my GPA (97.01/100) and class rank (2). The main place that I am at a disadvantage is my SAT scores because I am a horrible standardized test taker.</p>
<p>You will pay at least your EFC at both publics and privates - unless you receive significant merit aid. If the publics cost less than your EFC, that is a GOOD thing, because then you do not have to pay your full EFC.</p>
<p>At a private costing more than your EFC, you will pay at least your EFC plus possibly a student contribution from summer earnings, work/study wages, and Stafford loans of up to $5,500.</p>
<p>You will not qualfiy for need-based aid at the CUNY/SUNY schools and, looking at your other thread, it seems merit aid at the SUNYs is unlikely due to your test scores. But SUNY/CUNY tuition and fees could easily be covered by your parent’s $1500 and a Stafford loan, which you will be offered as long as your file FAFSA. The problem is going to be coming up with the extra $10K or so in room and board. You would be better off commuting to a CUNY for the first few years and saving up some money if you wish to transfer. Stafford loan limits do increase with your class standing and it’s possible that, if your grades are high for the first year or two, you could be awarded a merit scholarship as a tranfer.</p>
<p>Wow alamemom, I see the full picture now. That is too much money I do not have. The public schools seem like the way to go.</p>
<p>The only schools where you would be paying less than your EFC are</p>
<p>1) Schools that give you merit money</p>
<p>2) Really elite schools with a lot of money to give, like HYP type schools</p>
<p>other than that, most privates will give you loans/grants up to your EFC but not higher. I don’t know if HYP types are realistic for you, but it sounds like public schools are the way to go.</p>
<p>sk8rmom, Would (hopefully) receiving outside scholarship help me or hurt me? I applied to 3+ scholarships that give out a lot of money. Would talking to the school help at all?</p>
<p>Do anyone have any recommendations of other SUNY’s I could apply to besides the ones listed? I wanted to do a chemical engineering or biomedical engineering major.</p>
<p>Vloria, merit scholarships will only help you…if you can get more outside scholarships, do it! UB is the only SUNY that offers both Chem E and BME majors. Stony Brook offers BME. Binghamton offers neither. That does not mean that you have to do all four years at UB or SBU though…both of them accept transfers from CUNY and the CCs and most of the first two years of school are pre-reqs and gen-ed classes anyway. Many of the SUNY CCs have articulation agreements with the universities.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for helping me again. I’ll keep looking for more outside scholarships!</p>
<p>Vloria - Congratulations on being second in your class! Wow! I am sorry that your parents feel unable to help you with your college career. You are obviously a great student, motivated, have a great career in mind, and are a sound investment where spending money for you on college is concerned. Just remember that there is always a way to make things work out - it might take more time or effort, or not be immediately obvious, but a solution is there!</p>
<p>Thank you teachandmom! I am trying my absolute hardest to get a scholarship. This whole process is very stressful because if the financial aid office looks at my parents income they will think they could afford it when they really could not at all. It’s annoying because it’s hard to get need because of that and it’s hard to get merit because of my SAT scores.</p>
<p>Is there a public school that you can commute to?</p>
<p>When parents can’t contribute much for college, then if they will let you live at home, it’s like they’re contributing several thousand dollars (since you won’t have to pay for board).</p>