I was accepted to a private college and I they offered me $18,000 a year. The total cost of attending per year is $60,000. With some other state funded scholarships (they offer it to students going to a private in-state college), I can bring that $18,000 up to about $24,000 a year. I will have to somehow find $36,000 a year. Is it actually possible to get that much through third-party scholarships?
Thanks.
Possible? Yes. However, it is extremely unlikely.
At this point…very unlikely that you would find $30,000 or so in scholarships. And even more unlikely that they would,be renewable for subsequent years.
Is this an Early Decision acceptance?
ETA…I see you are also a FL resident with a FL prepaid plan…and Bright Futures. That is a great financial deal for you. Hoping you still have FL public universities on your list, and the acceptance is NOT an ED acceptance.
@thumper1 Yeah, the acceptance is not an ED. I was accepted to some florida universities, but I have a few concerns about going to florida public universities. I know that antisemitism is really big on campuses now and I am also familiar that UM (which was the private college) does not really have any at all.
That is the main reason as to why I want to go to UMiami.
I assume you are considering the FRAG ($3000), and BF ($3200) as your extra $6000. If you use you prepaid, that’s another $6000, maybe more if you have housing. Will you receive any need based aid? If so, you might get state need based aid too.
Honestly, you need another big scholaship, like $10k or $15k, to make it work. My daughter did, but she had a merit scholarship and an athletic scholarship to anchor all the little ones. If it were me, I’d go to a state school. You’ll still get BF, and if you use your prepaid, you’ll get it in cash.
Yes, that’s what I am considering the FRAG and BF.
I won’t get any need based aid. They only offered me a $3000 loan.
If you are a freshman, you can take a $5500 Direct Loan out in your name.
So that would bring it down to about $30,000-ish. I’m not sure if that would be low enough. And it is highly unlikely that I will be able to get that much per year?
I can’t think of any outside scholarship that would be $30,000 a year, renewable for all four years…that you can apply for now.
Oh…ok. I will keep that in mind. Thank you very much for your help.
Ask around…apply…but keep your other options open. You have some much more affordable options that are great!
This school isn’t affordable for you. You’ll need to pick another if you can’t afford the current price tag.
(Almost) all the big dollar scholarships are closed now, and even if they weren’t, you need to fit a relatively narrow set of criterion to qualify and actually win (which is why the same students often sweep all the huge scholarships; Gates, Horatio Alger, Coke, GE-Reagan, etc.)
How much will your parents pay? Zero?
If he has Florida pre-paid, his parents have already paid. I don’t think they should feel one bit of guilt for not offering more.
It appears the parents have Florida pre paid for 4 years of tuition, 4 years of housing. It makes no sense not to go to a Florida state school. There are many to pick from- big, small, honors, science, way up north or near Miami.
If he uses FPP for room and tuition, he’d only have to pay for meals. Bright futures will pay $3000 of that, and school scholarships (like at UCF) will probably cover the rest.
He asked a question - can he get $30k in outside scholarships? Not really.
Merit: $18k
BF $3.3k
FRAG: $3k
FFP (used at a private school) ~$7k, plus whatever you get for the housing allowance $4k?
Stafford loan $5.5k
That’s only $40.8k, still leaving almost $20k and graduating with $27k in loans compared to free with perhaps even money back. To me, it’s an easy decision.
I know a lot of kids who love U of South Florida and of course UF and FSU. All the schools are in urban areas or close to urban areas, and Florida has plenty of hospitals.
Yeah, I do have florida pre-paid. twoinanddone is correct about that. I received a $16000 ($4000/year) at USF and about $10,000 at both UCF and FSU. I don’t really want to live in a college town and I am not that into partying. The four state schools I applied to are those three and UF as my state schools. I want a campus that is fairly active too (including the weekends).
While it may seem that getting accepted to a college is the biggest hurdle and once accepted, figuring out how to pay for it is of secondary importance, that is simply not reality.
Consider it from another perspective. Say you are approved for a million dollar loan to buy a house BUT you only have the income and budget for a $300,000 house. Should you go ahead and buy a million dollar house and live in constant fear of foreclosure bc you can’t make the mortgage payment, have no $$ for food, car payment, etc, or should you buy a $300,000 house that is perfectly nice, good neighborhood, offers all you need in a house, and live comfortably and have the freedom to enjoy your life bc you have money to live on and do things with? Not only that, but 4 yrs from now you want to move. You find out that if you buy the million dollar house, 4 yrs from now you have limited options bc the debt from the house controls you. The $300,000 house is paid for, sold, and you can go anywhere you want.
And the kicker is…companies hiring are going to both neighborhoods and offering the same salaries.
It is a myth that paying for a specific college experience and specific college name should be the highest priority and the debt for that degree will surpass all obstacles. Attending dream schools belongs to those who can pay for the million dollar house bc they have a million dollar budget. FL has great universities. A degree from one of those schools debt-free will be a far more valuable degree than one where you are stressed each subsequent yr about how you are going to pay for it and be controlled by the debt.
Fwiw…that is where my kids dwell. I have kids who have been accepted to “dream” schools but end up attending their affordable option. They have great college experiences. (My oldest works right alongside people with “prestigious” school degrees.)
http://www.hillel.org/college-guide/search#keyword=florida&radius=10&select=hashillel,top60
Hillel list, top 60 college by jewish population
Pick the FL state school that you like best of these, take your FL prepaid, bright futures and merit and don’t look back!
I’d take the essentially free undergraduate education and save the loans for graduate school, which you might choose to pursue in a city you are more interested in living in?
Maybe you should start a thread about the various UF options and which might be the best fir for you?
Ok! Thanks everyone for all of your advice! I really appreciate it. I will definitely look at the state schools more closely. I am going to tour some soon. Are there any that you recommend from personal experience or things you have heard?