<p>My family's income is 95,000 ish and our ESP is around $16,000
I'm having some really serious family problems, so financial aid is really important to me. I've already been accepted and I know RIce is really good with financial aid but I was just curious if people could share how much they received and how much they think I might receive. Also On the financial aid pamphlet it says</p>
<p>"For families whose income is $80,000 or less, Rice will meet 100 percent of need eligibility without student loans. For families whose income is more than $80,000 and who demonstrate need eligibility we will not exceed $10,000 total over a student's four years at Rice"</p>
<p>Does this mean Rice will meet all my costs except for my EFC of $16,000? And loans will not exceed $10,000?
So since Rice's tuition is $45,000, I should be getting around a $30,000 financial aid package?</p>
<p>Please help!!!! I can't let my family problems get in the way of my education!! :(</p>
<p>Rice also gives merit aid. If you already have been accepted, you will receive your finanical aid package shortly. then you need to sit down with your family to find out if Rice is still a financially feasible option for your family.</p>
<p>ESP = what we all wish we had when trying to determine what FA will be awarded. EFC = Expected Family Contribution, an often misunderstood calculation which comes from filing a FAFSA. But Rice also requires the CSS Profile, so your FAFSA EFC is probably only used to determine eligibility for federal grants (in your case, none are likely unless you have an unusually large family) and to qualify you for Stafford loans. I would get an IM EFC using the college board calculator to use in your estimates. Notice that they do not say that they will meet need without student loans, so I would expect the $29K or so in aid to include at least some Stafford.</p>
<p>Search this forum for other posts about Rice - people do generally seem happy with their awards. From Rice’s website:</p>
<p>Rice meets 100 percent of a student’s financial need determined by documented financial aid eligibility. To receive need-based financial assistance, students must demonstrate eligibility by submitting three types of documentation:</p>
<pre><code>* Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
- College Scholarship Service (CSS) PROFILE
- Student’s and Parents’ 2006 IRS tax forms - submit through College Board’s IDOC service
</code></pre>
<p>Based on this documentation of family income, assets, and obligations, our Office of Student Financial Services will determine your Expected Family Contribution (EFC), the amount you and your family can be expected to pay for your education. If that figure is less than the cost to attend Rice, we will prepare a package of grants, loans, and/or work study to make up the difference. For freshmen, any merit scholarships awarded during the admission process will be included in this package.</p>
<p>Since Rice uses CSS, your EFC isn’t all that relevant to them at this point. Rice will use the info from CSS to determine what your family’s expected contribution will be. </p>
<p>What are your stats (GPA and ACT/SAT including SAT breakdown). Although need is supposed to based on need, better packages are sometimes given to students with better stats.</p>
<p>BTW…you say that you’re having family problems…does the mean that they won’t pay their family contribution? How much will they contribute? Have you asked?</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help guys,
I think my stats are pretty fair…
4.0 GPA, 5.61 weighted
ranked 5th out of 590
SAT 2010 superscored 2120
ACT 33</p>
<p>and yes family problems means they are not willing to pay anything for college… except at the time of CSS profile I said they could contribute 12k… </p>
<p>Should I call rice after the financial aid package is sent and tel them whats going on? would they change the financial aid package because of my circumstances or even attempt to?</p>
<p>I just feel to helpless right now…</p>
<p>Oh and one more question, for student loans do I need my parents signiture or can I get them by myself?</p>
<p>While you may put down what you feel you can afford to pay the school still determines what they believe your family can afford to pay based on their income and assets.</p>
<p>The only student loans you will be able to get on your own are stafford loans. For freshmen, the max amount is 5500.</p>
<p>I think if your parents are not supportive of this financial aid package and are refusing to pay, you should consider moving on. It is highly unlikely that you will be able to borrow the 64k you need to attend rice.</p>
<p>It is not a good idea to take out 16K in loans each year in addition to the $5500 likely already included in your package. And that is presuming that is all that is in the package. For additional loans you would need a co-signer and that doesn’t have to be your parents but it does need to be someone who is willing to sign on as responsible in the event you default and that is unlikely.</p>
<p>It certainly won’t hurt to ask Rice’s FA department about your circumstances but it is highly unlikely they will do anything simply because your parents are now unwilling to pay when they have the means to do so.</p>
<p>You may want to seriously start looking at other affordable options, hopefully you have some.</p>
<p>I’m sorry to hear that you’re having family problems that will likely negatively the affordability of Rice. </p>
<p>If Rice expects your family to contribute about $16k, and it will have some loans in your FA package, I don’t know what you can do to cover the amount. You can contact Rice about your problem, but you need a back-up plan if they can’t/won’t help you. Your stats are good, but they’re in the mid-range for Rice, so they may not be that inspired to help much. Are you from an unusual state or are you a URM?</p>
<p>What other schools have you been accepted to? Have you received any generous aid packages?</p>
<p>Is there any chance your family problems will improve shortly and your family will be able to help you? Did they say that they would contribute $12k per year at one time and now they refuse?</p>
<p>First, it looks like Rice is $48K, not $64K, including non-billables:</p>
<p>Tuition $33,120<br>
Fees 651<br>
Room/Bd 11,750<br>
Books 800<br>
Persl Exp 1,550<br>
Total $47,871 </p>
<p>Did you receive any scholarship notifications from them? Where did the $12K come from - just a number you felt was reasonable or was it based on something you discussed with Rice?</p>
<p>Without knowing what the family situation is, it may be possible for you to revise your FA or it may not. If there’s a serious illness, job loss, etc. you may be able to appeal for a special circumstance adjustment. It would be up to Rice whether or not they grant it and revise your award. Unfortunately, marital changes such as a separation/divorce would not likely warrant an adjustment at a Profile school unless there was some major extenuating circumstance like abuse with appropriate documentation. I’m not trying to imply that any of this is going on, but just trying to give you an idea of the avenues for appeal. At this point, you should keep your financial safety school(s) in play and wait for your award letter to arrive. Good luck!</p>
<p>I am from Maryland, but I dont know if thats a plus or not…</p>
<p>and yea they were going to contribute an average of 12k or actually whatever I needed but now theey refuse… The situation is really hard to explain, let me just say it is a cultural problem… And it is not going to improve… In fact my dad has not even given me a signed copy of his tax forms yet, so I’m still trying to get a hold of that so I can actually recieve a financial aid package… There’s just tooo much to explain</p>
<p>I have gotten a full ride to the University of Maryland College park but please dont tell me to go there… my education has literally been my life and I know I belong at Rice… I can’t bring myself to give up my dream of attending Rice because of my father… I have given up everything for him, but when it comes to my education, I have to find a way…</p>
<p>Right now I’m working on getting the tax forms from him and sending them in as quickly as possible… I know its late… After that depending on the financial aid package I plan to appeal and even try to contact the dead of inancial aid to tell him my situation… From what I have hearn Rice is very rich and ready to gove money to those who need it…I hope to be getting a good amount of scholoships and if still need to I plan to resort to loans… I will become a surgeon, so in the future I will hopefully be able to pay off these loans…</p>
<p>So there’s my future… feel free to tear into pieces and tell me what a dreamer I am…</p>
<p>It’s okay to have dreams, just remember that your real dream is to become a surgeon and you will very likely need to make compromises along the way to make that happen!</p>
<p>The biggest problem is going to be getting extra loans. If your parents don’t want you at Rice and won’t even give FA information, it will be nearly impossible for you to get a private loan (much less a Plus loan) to cover your EFC, whatever that turns out to be! My advice is to keep an open mind, consider the stress that having family and financial problems is going to create for you, and see what Rice says. Keep that full ride in play though! It is a good school and would undoubtedly be the financially smart and responsible way to go! Is there a reason you’re not willing to go to UMD?</p>
<p>Geesh, I just hate to see these things happening to kids with such dreams about their education…</p>
<p>crossing my fingers and toes for you indichick</p>
<p>I’m sorry you are having troubles with your father, but when I read, “I have gotten a full ride to the University of Maryland College park but please dont tell me to go there… my education has literally been my life and I know I belong at Rice… I can’t bring myself to give up my dream of attending Rice because of my father… I have given up everything for him, but when it comes to my education, I have to find a way…” it seems like melodramatic teen angst. University of Maryland, College Park is a very fine school, and you’re not dooming yourself to a failed education if you choose that option. </p>
<p>Also, remember that even if you get the copy of your dad’s tax return that you need for this year’s financial aid, financial aid is doled out one year at a time – you’ll need to provide copies of his tax return for the next three years too. </p>
<p>I hope Rice works out for you, but I also hope that you figure out that if it doesn’t your educational world is not coming to an end.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Right…</p>
<p>And…how will you be able to get your parents to co-sign your loans if they’re being uncooperative?</p>
<p>And…if you’re considering medical school, then you’ll need to save your borrowing power for med school Stafford loans “max out” for undergrad PLUS med school (combined) at $224k, and you’ll need more than $200k for med school alone. </p>
<p>UMaryland is a very fine school. It sounds like your dad changed his mind after you got your full ride to UMaryland. He probably sees no reason to pay for Rice, when UMaryland is much cheaper and certainly good enough for pre-med.</p>
<p>Do NOT turn down UMaryland. At a minimum, ask for an extension for acceptance and for scholarship acceptance. I know that you’re going to pursue trying to get more aid out of Rice, but since that is only a small chance, you need to keep UMaryland in reserve…otherwise you’ll end up with nothing.</p>