Hello everyone,
I was accepted to Pitt in early October into the Swanson school of Engineering. It will most likely be where I attend, but as a first-generation college student, I truly have no idea how paying works.
My financial awards were as follows (I was awarded this for each of my first two semesters):
$1750 Subsidized Loan
$1000 Unsubsidized Loan
$865 Est. PA State Grant FT
$547 Pitt Success Grant
$1500 Federal Work Study
I think this means I did not/will not receive any scholarships, which is really unfortunate considering my stats (3.7UW/4.1W/1450SAT (770M/680RW))
Can someone help me make any sense of what any of this means?
My parents are not helping me pay for college at all and only have about $2000 in savings for me in a 529.
Will it even be possible for me to attend Pitt? I do not have any savings whatsoever and don’t really understand how paying for college works.
Do I have to pay for college as I am in college? Can I begin paying after I graduate once I have a job? If someone could help me out it would be really appreciated as I am extremely stressed that I just do not have any money to go to college.
Congratulations on your acceptance and your achievement in grades and SAT. Unfortunately Pitt does not usually award merit money for scores/stats unless they are in the top 1-2 percentile and is shifting to needs-based awards.
With that said, the only way to make up the difference in cost for Pitt is if your parents will co-sign a loan for you (and yes, repayment can be deferred until after graduation). Private lenders will generally not lend to students unless they can demonstrate at least $12k/year in income and have an established credit score.
Your other options are outside scholarships and working as much as you can to try to save.
Pitt will require payment each semester, so you would have to somehow come up with that money, whether with private loans, scholarships, or savings (or a combination of those).
Based on your other thread, it looks like you live in PA, so in-state cost of attendance for Pitt college of engineering is around $35K, or about $24K per year if you were able to commute there. It doesn’t look like either will be affordable for you. I don’t think Pitt is finished giving out merit awards…have you looked at this year’s Pitt threads to see what type of merit students with your stats are receiving? My sense is any merit would be relatively modest, say $5K/year.
Have you applied elsewhere, besides Pitt and UMinn?
Do you live near a community college, and would you be able to live at home while attending there?
You need to plan for four full years at university. I have heard of a few cases of students getting part way though university and having to drop out because they couldn’t borrow enough money to finish. This can leave a student with debt but with no degree.
From your description, it is not clear to me how you could pay for four years. You are not going to be able to borrow enough money by yourself. At a minimum you would need to have parents co-pay. You should find out whether they would qualify for enough loans to pay for your education.
Starting at community college and transferring after two years might be a more affordable approach.
@VibeToCollege Did you apply to any competitive private schools? The problem with state schools like Pitt is they give out little to no financial aid, and merit aid is generally limited to the very highest achievers. The sticker price is lower than most private schools, but generally doesn’t go down much from there. My experience has been that you are better off applying to private schools with large endowments if you are looking for more generous financial aid packages. First, search for schools that meet 100% of financial need. Most schools do not. Also, apply to mid-tier schools where your stats are in the top 25% of applicants or better. These schools want achievers like you, and are likely to offer merit aid in addition to financial aid. It pays to do some research. Go to other schools’ websites and do the Net Price Calculator to see what they might cost you compared to Pitt.
If you haven’t already, you should consider Lehigh and Bucknell. Both have excellent engineering programs, larger endowments that allow for generous financial aid, and your stats make you an attractive candidate. Not sure how the rest of your application stacks up- EC’s, leadership, essays, etc., but definitely worth a look. Lehigh also has a new program catering specifically to first-generation students called F1RST (First-Generation Initiative Represented By Students and Teachers). It might help to reach out to them for support and suggestions for applying.
I realize it is too late to apply to these schools for fall admission, but it might be worth applying for admission in spring, and taking courses at community college in fall. Even though you might have your heart set on Pitt, no college is worth graduating with $100K or more in debt as an undergraduate. And you might be pleasantly surprised where you wind up.
Best of luck to you. You probably have some very good options - and although they may not be what you originally wanted or thought you’d wind up with, they may turn out better than you think!
Pitt doesn’t meet need. It means they admit you because you have the academic qualificationsthey want but don’t care about the way you pay for it nor do they take responsibility if you can’t. The state of Pennsylvania is the worst when it comes to college affordability.
Pennsylvania’s CCs don’t lead to Pitt but to the PASSHE schools, which are just starting to get accredited for engineering.
An option might be Pitt Bradford or Pitt Johnson but not sure they offer your major- check.
Email Swanson and ask whether you can apply for merit scholarships as an admitted rising freshman. If the answer is no then you can’t attend Pitt.
With your stats you should get a nice scholarship from YSU across the state border (especially if you live in contiguous counties).
Look into university of New Mexico - it’s a state flagship, no snow, nice campus. I think you qualify for a full tuition scholarship and maybe more.
These are excellent stats - do NOT take any class at a CC after you graduate HS because that 1450 is worth a lot.
Have you been admitted anywhere else?
What’s your EFC?
Did you complete the Common app for any college?
There are deadlines tomorrow but very few so this is URGENT.
The aid you received leaves over $20,000 a year left to pay.
The fact that you weren’t awarded the full state grant seems to indicate that the FAFSA EFC is higher than the contribution your parents are willing to make ($0-2,000).
Do you live close to a Penn State or Pitt branch campus that offers engineering?
A few years ago there were other students that couldn’t afford to pay their EFC and they were able to get enough money from Youngstown State and Geneva College.
You could apply to UAH, WVU, not sure if it’s too late for WVU.
But even if you got full tuition somewhere, you could still not pay the remaining costs with just your student loan.
The most important thing you can do for yourself right now is to keep your hs grades up. By finishing your senior year with strong grades, you’ll maintain your excellent gpa.
You do have to pay for college as you go, other than the federal student loan which is $5,500/year for freshman.
Generally, a budget is your annual parent contribution + (college savings/4) + annual student contribution + federal need aid (like a pell grant) + student loan
Work study awards are earned throughout the school year and help with having pocket money.
Right now yours is 0+500+0+0+5,500 = $6,000 that’s a pretty tough number to get to even with your excellent stats.
You can work and save to increase your budget.
And you can try to bump your test scores. Your SAT is already in the 98th percentile - but have you tried the ACT? You might be able to manage a 36 on it. Some students tend to do better on one vs. the other.
*Because UAH offers rolling admissions, we do not have an admissions application deadline. Merit Tuition Scholarships, which are based on high school GPA and test scores, are automatically awarded at the time of admission. https://www.uah.edu/admissions/undergraduate/apply-for-admission/freshmen
Or take a gap year and apply to affordable schools in the fall. Use the school’s net price calculators before applying. Have affordable automatic merit aid schools like UAH on your list, then add some reach schools that have competitive full ride scholarships or excellent need based aid (Rice, Notre Dame, etc).
These are uncertain times for everyone.
We are in PA too.
Both my Pitt and PASSHE student are finishing their rest of the semester online.
If you don’t have an affordable college choice for this fall, I would recommend taking a gap year and working and reapplying to schools that might give you enough merit to attend, or local schools you might be able to commute to.
Pitt’s $4.3 billion endowment is almost twice as large as Lehigh’s ($1.4 b) and Bucknell’s ($0.9 b) combined. The average student debt is slightly lower at Pitt than Lehigh, although Bucknell is the lowest.
I would suggest sending a financial appeal letter to the Director of Financial Aid department (many examples online), apply for local scholarships (local banks, credit union, civic groups, fraternities/sororities, etc), contact Pitt engineering dept directly to see if there are departmental scholarships available, work summers and weekends during semester to pay for each upcoming semester bill (waiting tables at high end restaurants pay well; work at places that will pay tuition for their employees like UPS and Starbucks), military (ROTC on campus) - after college serve four years in military in exchange for college tuition. After first year of college, try to get a paid internship every summer and use this money for tuition. If can’t commute, apply to be a Resident Advisor in dorm after freshman year, which can cover some or all of room and board costs. Hopefully, a combination of one or more of these suggestions will help.