<p>Okay so I visited TCU today, and fell in love with the campus however tuition each year is around $40,000 and my parents can't afford to help me even one bit the next couple of years. They filed bankruptcy a couple years back and even though their average income is over $100,000 a year I guess they can't help me until they get out of bankruptcy payments in like 19 months. Will this bankruptcy help me or hurt me in terms of the amount of financial aid I will get?
I have a 3.4, a 1790 SAT, am in Boy Scouts, but other than that nothing else. I'm on the varsity tennis team but I'm not that good so that won't help me. I'm just wondering exactly how much financial aid I can recieve because its gonna have to be pretty darn close to $40,000 a year. I always hear my counselors saying "Oh, money will not be an issue" but it seems like in this case it is. </p>
<p>I'd just really appreciate a couple of answers to set my priorities staraight. Thanks guys.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, your counselors are wrong. Money is a huge issue for all except those who can pay if full.</p>
<p>Bankruptcy and debt in general is not considered in awarding aid. Even at schools that meet full need, and TCU is not one, they would expect a considerable contribution from parents making $100K.</p>
<p>Since you don’t have the stats for big merit aid, your best bet will probably be a state school or community college to start.</p>
<p>Money is definitely going to be a big issue. I don’t know why counselors tell students that it is not.There are schools that promise to meet full need but they are generally the most competitive and hard to get into schools. And the full need they meet is based on their calculation of what your need is based on family income and assets. Most other schools do no promise to meet full need. And again the need they consider takes into account family income and assets. With an income of $100k your EFC will be quite high so your family will be expected to contribute quite a lot. Bankruptcy and debt are not taken into account by FAFSA and will probably neither help nor hurt you as far as financial aid is concerned.</p>
<p>You stats aren’t probably going to put you in the running for much merit aid. You need to make sure you include schools that will be financially viable for you.</p>
<p>Run the FAFSA and CSS Profile calculators at [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) and [College</a> Calculators - savings calculators - college costs, loans](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>How Much Will College Cost – BigFuture | College Board) to get an idea of what your EFC is likely to be. Many colleges/universities don’t come up with financial aid packages that meet full need (the difference between the cost of attendance or COA and the EFC). Even if they do meet full need, the aid package may be mostly loans.</p>
<p>How will you afford UT Arlington if you are admitted? Will you commute from home or live on campus? Look at the items that UT Arlington includes in the COA estimates it publishes. Do they include everything that you would include?</p>
<p>I’d live on campus, I don’t know how I would afford it, thats kind of why I posted this question. I’m not sure about all of this financial aid stuff. I hate the fact that a mistake that my parents made is keeping me out of the colleges I’ like to go to.</p>
<p>Remember financial aid is based on your need and your need is calculated based on income and assets - not on what you think your need is. With a parent income of $100k your EFC (expected family contribution) will be around the 20,000+ mark (assuming no other assets). With an EFC of 20,000 you will not be eligible for federal grants. Your eligibility for federal aid will probably be limited to Stafford loans. The maximum Stafford loans for a freshman are $5500. Though if your parents apply for a PLUS loan and are turned down (which is likely with a bankruptcy I would imagine) you would be eligible for an additional $4000 in Stafford loans. The loans would just about take care of your tuition at Arlington, but not much else. </p>
<p>If your parents are not going to be able to contribute at all then you may need to consider a school you can pay for with Stafford loans, such as a CC. Then maybe in a couple of years the financial picture may have improved enough for you to go to a different school. </p>
<p>I would suggest you apply to the places you are interested in to see how the finances work out, but make sure you include a financial safety (one you can afford with limited aid) so that once all the numbers are in front of you you have viable options.</p>
<p>Well I talked to some TCU counselors today and they made it seem like I’d definately be getting more than $5500 a year. I mean I’m not an expert but I dont know.</p>
<p>The unfortunate fact is that many, many kids can not attend their top choice colleges because of the family financial situation.</p>
<p>I would expect at UT Arlington, which costs about $15K per year, you would not get any aid based on your parent’s income. You would probably be looking at unsubsidized student loans and Parent Plus loans. Not sure if those in bankruptcy qualify for plus loans.</p>
<p>You might consider starting at a CC or delaying a year to work. It might be doable at Arlington with summer and school year work plus student loans.</p>
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Well I talked to some TCU counselors today and they made it seem like I’d definately be getting more than $5500 a year. I mean I’m not an expert but I dont know.
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<p>Sounds like it may be an unsubsidized loan, but even if it’s merit aid, where will the other $35K come from?</p>
<p>I was talking about federal aid when I mentioned the Stafford loans, not any institutional aid you might get from TCU (I don’t know their aid policies). But as a for instance - if your EFC is 22,000 and TCUs COA is 40,000 then your ‘need’ would be 18,000. If they are very generous and meet the full need of $18,000 that leaves you with $22,000 a year to pay. Where will you find the other $22,000? These are just made up numbers to give you an idea.</p>
<p>As I said in my previous post - apply for the schools that interest you, including TCU. But also apply to schools that are financial safeties, meaning you know you can pay for them. That way when you have th financial aid packages in front of you you can make a decision. If TCU gives you a fantastic award that makes it affordable then great, go there. But if the package does not make it affordable make sure you have left yourself with some options that are affordable.</p>
<p>Who would be the best person to talk to about financial aid. Like 1 on 1. I really don’t want to talk to one of my high school counselors because they have sort of disappointed me to the point where I avoid them as much as possible. Should I just go and have a meeting with a college admissions counselor?</p>
<p>The best people to talk to about college expenses are your PARENTS. Their income and asset information will be used to compute your financial need by every college. You need to talk to THEM about your future plans and what, if anything, they are able to do to help you. Have this chat VERY soon. And listen carefully to what your parents say.</p>
<p>I would say with an income of $100,000 a year, the EFC will be closer to $25,000 a year…maybe even $30,000 a year. Typically, EFC is about 1/4- 1/3 of your family’s gross income.</p>
<p>I know…it seems very high. BUT an income of $100,000 is not a low income by most standards.</p>
<p>Veterans of this board, like Thumper1, Swimcatsmom, and hmom5, have been around for a pretty long time, and their advice is almost always spot on. They know more about financial aid than most high school counselors, and more than nearly all parents.</p>
<p>A particular college can give you information that’s specific to that college. But for general financial aid advice, you can’t beat the info from long-time posters here.</p>
<p>Paying for College without Going Broke, by Princeton Review, is one of the best books on the subject. About $14 on Amazon, and worth every penny.</p>
<p>If you improve your stats you could get merit aid at colleges where you would be in the top 25% of the applicants and that offer generous merit aid.</p>
<p>I know that this isn’t the ideal situation but could I get my way through college with loans? I mean if this is the case I wouldn’t go to TCU, but if I went to a place like UTA I’d get a $4,000 scholarship for grades. That lowers overall cost to like around $15,000(I want to live in dorms). Could I cover all of this with loans?
My brother goes to a private school is Abilene Texas where tuition is around $16,500. I just talked to him today, and he said most of all the money he pays is from loans.
I mean I’m just kind of confused, because the way that youll make it sound is that I’ll only get to get loans up to a certain amount, yet he gets about $15,000 a year. If someone could please explain or PM me so I can understand about all of this financial stuff. Thanks</p>
<p>The main federal student loan is the Stafford loan. The maximum Stafford loan for a freshman is $5500. Thus is available to all students whether they have financial need or not. There is another federal loan called the Perkins loan. But it is need based and quite difficult to get. It is what they called a campus based program and some schools do not have it at all.</p>
<p>Other than federal student loans there are parent loans. The PLUS is the federal parent loan. If the parents are turned down for the PLUS then a student is eligible for an additional $4000 in Stafford loans.</p>
<p>After that there are private loans. A student without a job and with little/no credit history will not be able to get a private loan without a cosigner. A cosigner must have a good credit rating as the lender is basing their willingness to lend the money on whether the cosigner is good at paying his/her debts. Being a cosigner is quite risky as the cosigner is responsible for the debt if the student does not pay it and the lender can go after the cosigner’s assets/home etc to pay the loan off. Generally a cosigner would be a parent as not many people would be willing to take on the risk of being a cosigner for anyone other than immediate family. I personally would not cosign for a loan. Much too risky.</p>
<p>So basically the only student loan you are guaranteed is the Stafford of $5500. The Perkins is unlikely as your EFC will probably be quite high. The PLUS is a loan your parents take out. Private loans require a cosigner - probably a parent with a good credit rating.</p>