<p>Okay, so here are the factors:
I live with a single mom.
My brother just graduated college (if that matters)
My mom makes about 30 k per year
My dad makes about 90-100 k per year.</p>
<p>Im not asking for a certain university, but on average, how much financial aid o you think I'd receive if I applied through FAFSA.</p>
<p>There are a lot of FAFSA EFC calculators on the internet. Try googling "EFC Calculator" or go to FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans. It's pretty quick to do. How much $ you make as well as your assets and your mom's assets are also important.</p>
<p>For schools that take FAFSA only (most publics), they won't consider Dad's considerable income, just Mom's income and assets (and of course, your income and assets). And with income of 30K, you're likely to have an EFC near 0 (whether through simplified needs test or not). Which means that you'll be eligible for significant Federal, State, and College financial aid.</p>
<p>The amount really depends on the college, and your EFC. You can use the online resources to find out what % of need a particular college provides (higher is better) on average. Remember that aid packages will include grants (the best kind since it's 'free money'), loans, and work study. Look for colleges which have higher grant to loan %.</p>
<p>If you set your sites on a school that requires Profile application, you'll likely end up with a much higher EFC due to Dad's income, and a higher out of pocket cost for college.</p>
<p>wait im confusd. does this all depends on my moms salary, since my parents are divorced and i live with my mom?</p>
<p>For FAFSA schools, yes. They ignore Dad's salary (but do consider child support or alimony paid to your Mom as income).</p>
<p>Profile schools do ask for both parent's income, and generally consider both.</p>
<p>oh thts fine we dont get much child support anyway. 1400 per month. sorry to be annoying, but how can i find a list of FAFSA schools?</p>
<p>"Search this Forum"</p>
<p>h thts fine we dont get much child support anyway. 1400 per month.</p>
<p>I actually think that is a lot- if your moms income is $30,000 that is over half her yearly salary.</p>
<p>However keep in mind that schools that only require FAFSA, may not have money for grants, but just dispense subsidized and unsubsidized loans.
finaid.org has calculators so you can get a better idea what the expenses may be</p>
<p>The first thing you should do is follow Muffy's advice and plug in your numbers into the EFC (estimated family contribution) calculator. </p>
<p>The link she provided allows you to run it through as both federal and institutional methodology. Run the federal using only your mother's numbers, and institutional using both parents. There will probably be a difference of about $30,000 EFC. Under the federal methodology you will probably be eligible for a PELL grant from the federal government, and the calculator will give you an idea of what you may get. </p>
<p>If cost is a consideration, you may have to stick with a state school, because the privates use the CSS (close to the institutional numbers) However, you need to keep in mind what Emerald Kity said. Many state schools do not meet 100% of need. So even if you end up with a near 0 EFC, they may only meet 50-60% of your need and you would have to find a way to meet the rest. And if you chose an out of state school that could add up to a lot. </p>
<p>So, that's where the recommendation to do research into what state schools meet a higher percentage of need. One that immediately comes to mind is UVA (probably the best - are your stats good enough?). I checked out "best value schools" (meeting the highest percentage of need) under USNEWS ( I subscribe to the expanded version), and they also list NC state- raleigh, University of Pittsburgh, University of Texas - AUstin and University of California- Berkley. I think Kipplinger (SP?) also lists best value schools. </p>
<p>But also remember, that loans and work study are also part of "financial aid" (as someone also mentioned) so you need to figure out which schools give a higher ratio of grants to self-help. </p>
<p>That being said, what are your stats like?? Don't forget that some privates give full or near full rides to students with stats that fall way above their average. THis may provide you with other options. </p>
<p>Good Luck- I wish my son was as interested as you are.</p>
<p>Wow, first of all thanks for all the advice. But the problem is a state school is going to be my last resort, I really don't want to go to a state school, with the exception of UVA for their business program. Here are my stats:</p>
<p>I haven't taken SAT's yet since I'm only a freshman, however I"m not worried about them at all. I'm a good test taker, ace the FCAT's (Florida Test) every year. I expect to have good recs considering I have already developed good relationships with my counselor and teachers, and I"m only a freshman. Essay will be average</p>
<p>First semester GPA - UW 3.9 think W - 4.71
Class Rank as of First Semester 17/688</p>
<p>6 out of 7 Honors Classes. ( Phys Ed ) Required</p>
<p>Community Service
For Math Club, I go to the middle school and tutor students
Have a few random community service activities here n there
At age 15, I plan on applying to volunteer at the hospital.</p>
<p>EC's
Debate Club - Have won several state level awards already 6 h per week
Mu Alpha Theta - Haven't attended the first tournament yet..ts coming up</p>
<p>Awards and Honors
Um..8th grade I won the Presidential Scholars Award For Bst Student
8th Grade Won Best Math Award
9thh grade have won over 15 debate awards yet, on a varsity level</p>
<p>Jobs
Work 13 hours per week average at a supermarket</p>
<p>Sports
ive been playing soccer since age 4. due to extreme family problems i couldnt do any sports winter season.
i plan on playing varsity tennis and flag footballl though.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>Essay will be average>></p> </blockquote>
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<p>Since you are "only" a freshman, I would suggest that you figure out a way to make your essay stellar. Otherwise you will not fare well at some of the higher powered schools you seem to want to be considering. Most of these schools take the essay as seriously as the SAT score. Simply put...a LOT of top SAT takers apply to top schools. Not all of them are terrific writers. If your essay is only average, even a perfect SAT score will not outweigh that at a top school. </p>
<p>Re: financial aid...many, if not most, of these top schools also use the Profile. Any school that uses the Profile (and UVA is a public that does) will require that your dad submit HIS income and asset information as well. </p>
<p>Now...re: finaid. Your original post makes it sound like financial aid is a serious consideration for you and your family. Is that true? If so, I can't imagine how you could do better than the Bright Scholars program for instate students in Florida. If your stats continue as you are predicting for yourself, you would pay very little for an instate college education in Fl. If money is a consideration, this might be worth considering...then save any "family money" for a great grad school.</p>
<p>It's good that you are thinking about finances. If you use an EFC calculator, keep in mind the figures you get will be based on this year...not for the future.</p>
<p>Your best aid may come from a college with a very expensive price tag that also has a large endowment and thus can meet full need. These are not state universities. If you keep up your grades and get excellent SAT scores, you will be competitive for these or for funds from schools with good merit aid.</p>
<p>Since you have a long way to go before applying to college, you will have the time to plan this out and to see about how much aid your family might receive from different schools.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Your best aid may come from a college with a very expensive price tag that also has a large endowment and thus can meet full need.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>However, these schools are going to require information concerning the income and assets of *both of his parents * and step-parents if either has remarried.</p>
<p>While mom may only make 30k, OP says that dad makes between 90-100k (did not even mention assets or if there are any stepmoms). This could really put OP between a rock and a hard place if non-custodial parent decides that he does not want to pay or is only willing to pay so much. Right now, with the exception of Harvard's new FA initiative, s/he could have some problems coming up with the $$.</p>
<p>That's really great. I don't have any steparents. And my dad said that if I wanna go to a top college that is gonna b 40k Im gonna have to get loans. So pretty much my dad isn't willing to pay, and my mom can't. Um another factor is that when I"m a freshman in college, my brother will be a senior in high school, so he will have to get money to go to college also.</p>
<p>What schools only look at the parent's income that has custody?</p>
<p>Since you're a good test taker and a freshman, I'd recommend studying really hard for the PSAT. A lot of really good colleges(USC, etc) offer excellent scholarships to National Merit Scholarship finalists and semifinalists. USC also offers great need based aid.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>when I"m a freshman in college, my brother will be a senior in high school, so he will have to get money to go to college also.>></p> </blockquote>
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<p>When BOTH of you are in college, this will be considered in the finaid calculations. Until then, it won't matter at all. The colleges do not "project" into the future. Simply put...there is no guarantee your brother will GO to college until he is there!</p>
<p>I'm going to ask my question again. With your stats, why are you so adverse to taking advantage of Florida's Bright Scholars program? It is one of the best college subsidies in the country. </p>
<p>Now...regarding schools that consider only your mom's income...schools that use the FAFSA ONLY will not consider any income or assets from your non-custodial parent. Most of these schools, however, do not meet full financial need (meaning that they "gap" when awarding financial aid). From what I can figure out, most of the schools meeting full need are schools that require the Profile as well as the FAFSA. These schools are using a LOT of their own funds (via endowment monies) and therefore use the Institutional methodology that Sybbie described above. </p>
<p>A question I will pose here...does anyone have a list of colleges that meet full need that require the FAFSA only?</p>
<p>Agreed with above poster...if you do very well on the PSAT, you may find some scholarships coming your way vian NMS program. This varies from school to school. Some of the best awards come from state universities, however, who are luring top performers to their schools.</p>
<p>Please explain why "state schools" are such a dreadful choice for you. There are thousands upon thousands of successful adults who went to their state flagship university, or another instate public, and they are doing fine.</p>
<p>I'm so opposed to going to a state school. Although I'd probably get full bright futures, I just don't want to. I moved to Florida in 6th grade and I moved from an amazing public school in NY. Everybody there went to top ivy's and stuff (my bro went to NU) Now, in Florida 70% of my school goes to UCF and FSU. Not saying they are bad, I can just do so much better, and feel that I can get a better education elsewhere.</p>
<p>Wouldn't be more hurtful than to have your sights set on a school that you know is financially out of reach especially since your dad has already stated that 40k schools are off the table (eliminating the Ivies & the elite LACs, which only give need based FA)?</p>
<p>Those Ivies and elite LAC's also will require your dad's income and assets....as will UVA.</p>
<p>If this OP can keep on track until she/he is a senior, they have a terrific chance at acceptance to some great schools. The financial aid issue could impact final choices. There are TONS of wonderful schools out there that attract top students, and many are not elite LACs or the Ivies.</p>
<p>Threads by Curmudgeon and GetoutofBuffalo might be worth reading. Getoutof is attending UNC-Chapel Hill on a full scholarship as an out of state student. UNC Chapel Hill is a very very fine public institution. This student also applied to other places where full scholarships and stipends were a reality (U of South Carolina McNair Scholarship program was one other that attracts top students and awards great finaid to out of state students with top stats). These are MERIT awards. This OP needs to take the advice of many here...build a list from the bottom UP, not the top down. In other words, choose safety school(s) first, both academic and financial. Then go up from there. AND most important....keep an open mind. This OP is probably 14 years old or so (ninth grader). Many things can change between now and when college applications are due in a few years. I do applaud the OP for looking into some options now, but I would also urge that an open mind be kept re: college possibilities. There are a LOT of hidden jewel colleges out there that are not in the top 100 where you can get a GREAT education. And I still say...if finances are an issue...consider Florida's flagship university.</p>
<p>Not to hijack this thread, but I think someone should start a thread based on Thumper's question "a list of schools that meet full need and only use the FASFA" Wow that would be a goldmine for a lot of people.</p>