<p>OP is planning to attend USF. SAT score 1890, ACT 30, Rank 38/320. Dad is an ER RN, mother works in Publix. Income ~70,000. </p>
<p>I agree that you should be mad at your dad, and not at people who are trying to help you here. </p>
<p>What is the shortfall you need to cover to attend USF? What do you plan to do to get that money? Do you think you will actually be able to matriculate there in another month?</p>
<p>Well, I do think the school owes him 50 bucks.</p>
<p>So it seems what you are looking for is this:</p>
<p>YOU are RIGHT! They shouldn’t have reduced your financial package. You DESERVE that money! You WORKED HARD! Hey school, give him back the money!!! School agrees, gives back money. Hooray! </p>
<p>Feel better now? NO? The reality is what you think should happen doesn’t really matter. Sorry, part of being an adult. Money doesn’t grow on trees, yes I know you know that. Schools have the right to do what they want with their money. You are arguing with strangers who are trying to help you. You can call the school and talk to them about your situation. If they agree to restore the money great, although I am unclear if you have the rest of the money you need. If the school does not agree to up your package then you need to come up with another plan. It is really that simple. </p>
<p>You posted the following statements on another thread
“I would not be proud to go to USF. To be honest, I’d lose a little hold of my dignity.”
and
“I come from a high school with higher standards than USF.”</p>
<p>When you post things like that people really begin to wonder if money is your only problem.</p>
<p>I believe since that was posted, the OP very sensibly chose to attend USF, and that is the school that has replaced part of the financial aid with an outside scholarship.</p>
<p>OP is confusing “need” with “need.” And, I think, inverting the math.</p>
<p>She needs an extra 2k, it seems, to foot her portion of the bill. She can clearly say, I “need” 2k. It is the remaining figure in the obligation she has, to meet expenses. </p>
<p>The colleges don’t have this semi-emotional use of “need.” They subtract what they feel the family can pay (however that was determined) from the COA, to determine “charges remaining after what the family can pay.” And most don’t fill that bucket for you. They may call it need and it is need, but it doesn’t come with any obligation, on their part, to meet it. Some even gap kids- after grants, work study and loans, there’s still an unmet dollar amount. Families scramble.</p>
<p>You, on the other hand, are obliged to pay the family portion- and whatever else the college doesn’t cover- or the bill isn’t paid.</p>
<p>OP, if you are starting from the Fafsa EFC, filled out long ago: once something adds $xxx to the student’s pocket, the entire original calculation can change. Your resources originally left you with a calculated a 6k contribution toward the bill. Now the extra scholarship is extra money on your side of the ledger. In effect, now you can pay $8250 (or whatever it is.) </p>
<p>You would like to take it off the remaining family part of the bill, we get that. Most colleges state, in their finaid pages, what their policy is, regarding addl funds that come your way. What you encountered is not unusual.</p>
<p>
There’s more going on here than meets the eye. What we have is a bitter and entitled-feeling young woman who expects the world to work the way she wants. </p>
<p>Dad won’t help with college expenses, then she is bitter that someone else won’t step up and pay for her. Sorry, you have options. You could postpone college while you work to be able to afford it. You could enlist in the military and get benefits for college that way. You just refuse them because it isn’t what how you want things to go. </p>
<p>To me the real attitude tip-off is the paragraph I’ve quoted. While she appears insulting and unwilling to listen to people on the forum, a few typed sentences can give the wrong impression. But the work situation settles it for me. The OP lacks the social skill to navigate day-to-day interactions with people, once again deciding that her view of how the world ought to work should be shared by everyone else and expressing bitterness that it is not. </p>
<p>And lets not forge this gem by the OP
</p>
<p>Bitter about work. Bitter about college finances. Utterly convinced that social norms (eg. a family helps pay for its children to go to college) can be dismissed if she decides to dismiss them. Argumentative. Insulting to others. I can see a rough haul in the years ahead…</p>
<p>@mikemac:</p>
<p>Your assumptions make me laugh. Bitter about work? You should have heard my managers rave about how great I am at my job and handling customers. I interact with people fine. The work issue is that they are overstaffed and the scheduling manager plays favorites. Ask ANYONE working there and they will confirm that this is the case.</p>
<p>Like I already said, I KNOW HOW THINGS WORK. That doesn’t mean I have to agree with them. In fact, thousands and thousands of people don’t agree, either.</p>
<p>Funny that you say I’m insulting to others when you are the one calling me bitter and making a slew of assumptions.</p>
<p>I see her as confused by the same math that does a lot of folks in. You’d think extra money is a windfall. But the colleges see it as additional resources on your side.</p>
<p>As for the above, many kids confuse how things run at home, in their high school or at their jobs for how a college manages its finances. In another context, I often say, it’s not about nice. It’s not about what you or others think or want. Or where you scramble. It’s about how the institution has determined they will operate.</p>
<p>USF doesn’t need to give you $6,000. </p>
<p>You don’t “need” those $6,000. </p>
<p>USF costs roughly $16,000 a year (tuition, room and board). If you are getting $14,000 in aid, you just need $2,000 for books and supplies. </p>
<p>And, please, don’t bring that attitude to USF. Get some BullPride.</p>
<p>tryandsucceed: </p>
<p>(If CC doesn’t work for you, how did you get 50 units? Most of those units, if from AP classes, would be considered electives at most universities. My newly graduated engineering daughter could tell you that. If you took any courses at a CC you would be considered a transfer student and your scholarships would be reduced even further.)</p>
<p>We’re in the 21st century; the cost of education has risen exponentially. I agree with other posters; your anger should be directed towards your father who has an archaic view of his responsibility.</p>
<p>In the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, at the age of 18, we were expected to be out, pay for our living expenses, and COULD work and pay for our education at public universities. The point is that we ALL did that back in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. </p>
<p>We had tiny apartments and roommates, ate mac n cheese and quesadillas, rode our bikes everywhere when our broken-down cars didn’t work, and we budgeted for grad school. I went to a university I couldn’t afford for 1 year, then went to my CC and then transferred to my state school. My fees were $4000 a year for my in-state school, and I got scholarships that helped off-set some of those costs. Back then, we were able to do that as public taxes and government policies provided for state educations.</p>
<p>Now, college is 10 times that amount. Now, you can’t pay for a university education on a part-time waitress job or working at McDonald’s. We parents, in the real world, know and recognize this and help our scholar athlete children with the EFC. Your father’s expectations would have worked back then, but they don’t work now, as you are finding out.</p>
<p>Additionally, your attempt to paint the posters on this forum as “unaware” is very distressing and arrogant. You are not the first student to get hit with reality of school costs and your anger is misplaced. </p>
<p>FWIW: The school “don’t owe you a thang!” and you shouldn’t expect them to fully fund you. Additionally if “Daddy ain’t payin jack!”, why should anyone else’s parents pay your EFC share? (On this forum, we have children with 2370 SAT scores-i.e.-my son. We don’t expect our children to get fully-funded and expect our children to contribute to their education. Your father doesn’t have the monopoly on expecting children to be responsible.) </p>
<p>(BTW: I know what it is to be BELOW the poverty line and live with a family of 8 mouths to feed-don’t presume to be holier than thou.)</p>
<p>@aunt bea:</p>
<p>I got the 50+ credits through AP, dual enrollment, and CLEP. They are NOT all considered electives; they count for the FKLs.</p>
<p><a href=“If%20CC%20doesn’t%20work%20for%20you,%20how%20did%20you%20get%2050%20units?%20Most%20of%20those%20units,%20if%20from%20AP%20classes,%20would%20be%20considered%20electives%20at%20most%20universities.%20My%20newly%20graduated%20engineering%20daughter%20could%20tell%20you%20that.%20If%20you%20took%20any%20courses%20at%20a%20CC%20you%20would%20be%20considered%20a%20transfer%20student%20and%20your%20scholarships%20would%20be%20reduced%20even%20further.”>quote</a>
[/quote]
Your daughter could be wrong in this case. It’s not unusual to see a high-achieving student walk in to USF with 30+ credits and more than half of them aren’t electives.</p>
<p>Like I already said, I KNOW HOW THINGS WORK. That doesn’t mean I have to agree with them. In fact, thousands and thousands of people don’t agree, either.</p>
<h2>Funny that you say I’m insulting to others when you are the one calling me bitter and making a slew of assumptions.</h2>
<p>How would things work in your perfect world then? I don’t know what other system could possibly be as effective as what’s already in place.</p>
<p>You can either move far left where college is less expensive (& devaluded)
Or you can move further right where there is less FA for people .</p>
<p>Neither scenario works well.</p>
<p>I assume, in OP’s perfect world, she wouldn’t be going to USF. :p</p>
<p>@aunt bea:</p>
<p>Let me be more specific. I have 30 out of the 36 required FKL credits done. 3 of the 6 remaining credits will be fulfilled by a core requirement that I would take in the spring. The last 3 of the 6 remaining credits will be taken care of by a class I would take this fall.</p>
<p>I need 18 elective credits to fulfill the 54-credit non-major requirement. And I have those elective credits already.</p>
<p>I literally have only 22 classes to take until I graduate with a Bachelor’s.</p>
<h2>I assume, in OP’s perfect world, she wouldn’t be going to USF.</h2>
<p>True. I suppose the system isn’t broken, because moving it in either direction would be bad for people whom worked hard for a college education.</p>
<p>If anything, the only problem is that her dad doesn’t feel like paying up. And as sad as it is, that’s how life is for some parents. I feel really bad for her, but her attitude isn’t helping.</p>
<p>tryandsucceed, I am very sorry that you are dealing with this. I can only imagine how frustrated and disappointed you must be. Good luck in figuring it out. You’ve gotten a lot of good information here, even if some of it is not what you want to hear. Is there any adult in your life who could talk to your dad and help him understand how much college financing has changed? Maybe the school guidance counselor?</p>
<p>While it might not be your college dream…there are MANY folks out there who do not attend college right out of high school for any number of reasons. There are also many folks who start college and then finish it well after the age of 29 (which is how old you would be if you waited until age 24 to start).</p>
<p>I can’t think of one career that can’t be started at age 29 instead of age 22. Not one.</p>
<p>I agree with zoosermom. Perhaps another trusted adult can help your dad understand how college funding is done, and how costs have changed over the years. </p>
<p>You had a $6000 cost to you (or your family) for college. You still have the same cost. I’m going to ignore that $50 difference because truly that could be made up in two nights of babysitting.</p>
<p>Your school did nothing improper. The awarding of aid (with the exception of federal entitlements like the Pell grant) are completely up to the colleges. Considering your college does NOT guarantee to meet full need for all, and typically “gap” their students…I would say you got a good financial aid package.</p>
<p>Ok, time for some deep breaths. You know how fin aid works, so you understand that the outside scholarship simply reduced your grant aid, and there’s little liklihood of getting it back. You know that your family’s expected contribution will not be ignored. You’re angry about it. That’s ok. But when you’re done being angry, you have to decide what you’re going to do about the situation.</p>
<p>You have rejected waiting to start college when you are older.<br>
You have rejected the cc route because you have too many credits already.
If you need to go to college this fall, you’re left with 1. Calling fin aid, which will not likely net you more money. 2. Asking your mom to cosign private loans for you in the amount of the family contribution. This isn’t a favorite option for any of us, but I know people who feel forced into this route.</p>
<p>I understand asking the question because you hope we know of some option that had escaped your attention, but in this case we don’t.</p>
<p>I think there’s a lot we don’t know here- how the package looks, line by line, if it already includes student loans, etc. And, whether the COA is already padded, as another poster said. I’m part of the large group whose kids never reach what the college projects for “personal, books and travel.” I think the allotment for books is 800 and they each usually hit about 400. Personal comes out of their campus work- those expenses are surprisingly modest. </p>
<p>If she has fall expenses covered, maybe fall semester work makes a dent in the remaining 2k. I also think it is critical to speak with FA, in the politest tones possible. Sometimes, even at a large state school, they can work on a small extra amount. </p>
<p>Aside from Dad’s stand, many families, no matter what the world thinks is their available contribution, just can’t do it. All the fuss and muss about legal age and fairness gets in the way of problem solving. Good luck.</p>
<p>Btw, fwiw, I’m not clear how a 14k need adds up to an 18k package.</p>