<p>“At no point am I trying to get someone else pay for my childs education.”</p>
<p>Huh. it <em>sounded</em> like you want FA.</p>
<p>The parish scholarship from Catholic U is $3,000 annually. The application is separate and is to be included with the application and has its own deadlines. They also have Alumni Grants (if you know anyone who is an alum to recommend your child), with a separate application. They also have Archdiocesan (only 5 annually) and University Scholarships that do not require a separate application. </p>
<p>The take away point is not to eliminate schools without investigation. My D also rec’d a merit scholarship from Fordham based one her admission application. Not a full ride, but it did bring it into contention!</p>
<p>
I think the parish scholarship is something like $3000/year.</p>
<p>cross posted with bhmomma :)</p>
<p>My local flagship costs $5000/year tuition</p>
<p>Ours is almost $9,000. Not counting books or other costs- many cities have reduced public transportation- ours isn’t great, but where my daughter is attending ( an instate school), bus service and routes have been greatly reduced, eliminating Sundays and after hours.
She wants to work while attending school ( did you know you don’t qualify for food stamps unless you work 20 hours a week?), but because she wasn’t awarded work study & she doesn’t have transportation ( besides her bike, in northwestern wa), she has not been able to find anything so far.
Cars( & their costs) are very expensive- but walking/bike isn’t always practical or safe.
I agree students can work summers- but many students are at the mercy of schedules, my daughter didn’t know from one week to the next what her schedule would be, she went from almost full time, to less than 20 hours a week and back- but she was far from earning $5,000 after taxes unfortunately, despite this being someplace that paid decently with a union.</p>
<p>*My D also rec’d a merit scholarship from Fordham based one her admission application. Not a full ride, but it did bring it into contention! *</p>
<p>Fordham seems to offer the best merit scholarships of the Jesuits. They give NMFs full tuition. I don’t know how much they give for other high stats kids.</p>
<p>Santa Clara gave my nephew a half tuition scholarship for a 33 ACT and a 4.5 GPA. However, since SCU is a bit pricey, the cost was still about $35k…which is about this family’s unaffordable EFC.</p>
<p>To reduce an EFC to an affordable level, the scholarship has to be soooo big that it covers “need” and then well cuts into the EFC. </p>
<p>So, for someone like the OP that has an unaffordable EFC that is around $47k per year, and who needs to get it down to something like $20k per year, then the scholarship needs to cover full tuition or near-full tuition so that the remaining costs…room, board, books, fees, transportation are affordable.</p>
<p>*Ours is almost $9,000. Not counting books or other costs- </p>
<p>I agree students can work summers- but many students are at the mercy of schedules, my daughter didn’t know from one week to the next what her schedule would be, she went from almost full time, to less than 20 hours a week and back- but she was far from earning $5,000 after taxes </p>
<p>*</p>
<p>Exactly! There’s no way that most students could rely on summer earnings to pay their local instate tuition.</p>
<p>In the 70s, my sister commuted to Cal State Fullerton…which was …get this…$56 a semester! LOL…she could easily earn that by working 2 weeks part-time in the summer! All her other summer earnings could go for other things…her car, gas, clothes, other school costs, etc.</p>
<p>Yes, tuition has outpaced inflation.</p>
<p>I never remember my parents complaining about the cost of Syracuse University, it was about 5k/year. It must have been manageable & I overlapped with one brother who was at Hamilton College for one year. Both of my parents worked. Their money went farther!</p>
<p>Newfaith, you said:</p>
<p>What makes me SAD (this is an emotional feeling that I HAVE) is that If my child does the same as another with concerns to grades, EC, and community service ect… that I will not be able to give my child all the same choices as a family that can qualify for FA.</p>
<p>I think if you are getting SAD because you believe myths about financial aid, and have not really sat down to do the math. Families that fritter away their money are really no more able to pay for college than you are. Even after getting whatever aid is available, they are still worse off than you are. Maybe not enough worse off to make you happy, but worse off. Emotions are often responses to our understanding of facts. Learn more about the facts, and you’ll find less to be sad about. Calmom’s posts are a great place to start.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>My kids worked as hard as any their whole lives when it came to grades, community service, EC’s, etc. – and pitching in around the home - from kindergarten on up … and guess what? Because their parents weren’t earning all that much, because their parents split up when they were young (not their fault by any means) – they didn’t have all the wonderful things that families with more money can provide… starting with the opportunity to attend private school. </p>
<p>I don’t think it much mattered. I’m glad actually that my kids learned early on to appreciate the value of money and not to place a high value on material goods or possessions, I’m glad that my daughter saw me going in every week to deposit $5 or $10 for the new bicycle that was on layaway for her one year, and I’m glad that by the time the kids were in high school they were building up experience in the work world. I think they are better off for it now – and my newly graduated daughter has said as much to me. She doesn’t think that some of her college friends are doing as well with the transition to adulthood and adult responsibilities that come with paying one’s own way and full time employment, and the perception is that their privileged backgrounds have led to unrealistic expectations. </p>
<p>But whining about how unfair it is that you can’t buy your kids everything that they “deserve” simply because others can afford it falls flat.</p>
<p>And if your EFC is more than $12-$15K, you aren’t “middle income”. You are “upper income”. Look at any chart to see what the income distribution is in the US – if you are in the top 10% or top 20% … that isn’t “middle”. Those of us who ARE in the middle really aren’t impressed when people who earn double or more than what we do --who live in bigger houses, nicer neighborhoods, drive newer model cars, stay in nicer hotels when they take vacations to nicer places – suddenly discover that life is “unfair” when it comes time to choose a college for their kids.</p>
<p>And try to understand this: if I earn $45K a year and I have to pay $15-$20K a year for my kid to attend a private college with a $55K annual COA for full payers – coming up with that money is HARD for me. I have to borrow, and the amount of money I have to pay on my loans on top of my mortgage, insurance and other costs doesn’t exactly leave me rolling in dough. I know it seems really EASY when a family earns 6 figures – so they can bemoan how “unfair” it is that I only have to pay 1/3 the cost… but in terms of relative hardship, I don’t think it is all that easy-- ESPECIALLY if the better off families were willing to take on debt. I mean – if you earn more money, even if you can’t come up with cash up front to pay full cost, you ought to be able to manage a significantly higher monthly loan payment than I can. And if you aren’t willing to borrow to finance your kid’s education… well, don’t go telling me how unfair the system is. My kids have graduated – and I’m still making payments to 3 different lenders, probably for the next 8 years. </p>
<p>One final note, on the Catholic university thing. We aren’t Catholic, but Fordham offered my daughter around $8000 in merit aid, in addition to need-based aid, 4 years go. My d. had a terrific GPA but test scores were not impression – I believe that Fordham may be very generous with students whose scores are strong enough to qualify as National Merit semi-finalists. (At least at one time Fordham offered full tuition for NMF’s… I don’t know if they still do).</p>
<p>Emotions are often responses to our understanding of facts. Learn more about the facts, and you’ll find less to be sad about.</p>
<p>So very true!!</p>
<p>Seriously, most lowish income people don’t get the FA they need to even begin to pay for college.</p>
<p>Do you know how many kids post the following…“I have a 0 EFC, does that mean that all my costs are going to be covered?” </p>
<p>999 times out of 1000 (or even worse), the answer is going to be “no.” Only few low income kids who have super stats and are lucky to be accepted by an Ivy/elite or maybe lives in the few states that gives good FA to low income kids at their best public schools (like the UCs) are going to get full aid. </p>
<p>The majority of low income or “true middle” income kids will only get paltry free aid and mostly loans and work study.</p>
<p>The myth that the OP is believing is that those who’ve been flaky with their money are all getting free rides. </p>
<p>The OP needs to realize that few low and middle income students get enough aid to cover their costs since most schools cannot meet need (or even come close to meeting need).</p>
<p>Most kids cannot get the aid they need, which is why so many kids commute to a local state school or community college.</p>
<p>If aid was that plentiful for low and middle income folks, the CCs and the regional state schools would be empty.</p>
<p>^^And yet, as of 2007, 43% of the undergraduates in the US were at Community Colleges.</p>
<p>I have bashed OP enough I think, so one perhaps useful tidbit of information: I think (but may have to be corrected by those more knowledgeable) that the EFC is per family, not per student.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the advice. I come to CC in order to learn about all the options when it comes to college. I look forward to learning more as we moved forward in this process. Right now the most important thing I remember daily is that everyone is healthy and happy at the moment. In the large picture of life I truly believe if my kids work hard everything will work out. While currently our income is great it has not always been this way. I can see some of the problems I may be having is not completely understanding how colleges make up the difference between EFC and the cost of college. The only experience I have is what some families tell me and they may not be giving out the whole picture, understandable. Thanks to the many parents here our family now has some other options to consider. I continue to wish all of you the best and look forward to following the sucess stories of the posters of this site.</p>
<p>OP, you are fortunate that you’re thinking about these issues while your D is a freshman. You can only imagine the shock some parents get when they discover junior – or spring of senior – year that their expected family contribution is going to more than they bargained for. You have time to tighten the belts, give your D time to make positive efforts re: grades, and to identify places that your D would like to attend and that your family can afford.</p>
<p>One of our long-time CC FA experts (Sybbie?) posted that the College Board’s philosophy is that the expected family contribution is expected to be funded over the past, present and future – 1/3 from savings, 1/3 from current income, and 1/3 from future earnings (i.e., loans). That makes sense to me, though it is often easier said than done. :)</p>
<p>that the EFC is per family, not per student.</p>
<p>I have two in college, and each has their own EFC (different amounts).</p>
<p>The formula divides my portion between each child, but each child has their own contribution - hence two EFCs.</p>
<p>*I think (but may have to be corrected by those more knowledgeable) that the EFC is per family, not per student. *</p>
<p>No.</p>
<p>Each student has his/her own EFC. When you have more than one child in college, you do FAFSA for each child. An EFC is generated for EACH child. </p>
<p>The EFCs may be for the same amount…such as $15k per child if your children have no assets/income) which would mean that you have to pay (at least) $30k for 2 kids.</p>
<p>However, if the kids have savings and income, then the EFCs will be different for each child since each EFC will take into account the parents finances and the child’s finances.</p>
<p>Newfaith,</p>
<p>As you’ve mentioned, there are some great in-state options in the state of Minnesota. One that I didn’t see mentioned is the University of Minnesota, Morris. It is more like a small liberal arts school than a big state flagship. If you are looking for a small school option, don’t overlook it.</p>
<p>I find it hilarious that all of you automatically assume that I come from money. By no means do I feel remotely wealthy. I live in a modest house, take maybe one or two big vacations a year, and by no stretch do I have any of the nicest, fanciest stuff. I drive a car that’s 11 years old, which I feel is just fine. Yes, my parents make handsome salaries. However, rather than living from paycheck to paycheck, running up huge debts and leading us into financial ruin, my parents are smart enough to save, and pay off everything from credit card bills to home loans as soon as possible. We never have a balance on our credit cards, since we manage to live within our means. And yet, those who are not fiscally responsible are the ones who get the benefits in this system.</p>
<p>I hardly doubt that any of those household income charts are accurate. There is absolutely no way that my family should be considered in the top 5%. If I take a look at people around me, most people seem to be doing far better off than we are. Or maybe it’s because those people are living a facade. I’ve got news for a lot of people in this world. Just because the banks will give you a loan for it, does not mean you can actually afford driving around in a Lexus, parked outside of your $500,000 McMansion. This is the same sort of reckless spending that got us into the recession, and it must be curbed.</p>
<p>BigKev…</p>
<p>I have no idea how much your parents are earning, but if their income is - say - $160k+ then your family’s income is in the top few percent in the country.</p>
<p>Your parents may be thrifty, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have a high income. They may be great savers…but again, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t high earners.</p>
<p>ake maybe one or two big vacations a year</p>
<p>I realize that if your peers do the same, you may not realize that most working people save up for a big vacation & it isn’t every year.</p>
<p>my parents are smart enough to save, and pay off everything from credit card bills to home loans as soon as possible. We never have a balance on our credit cards, since we manage to live within our means.</p>
<p>Thats great that you apparently have health insurance so your medical costs don’t have to go on your credit cards- but that doesn’t have a lot to do with brains but with opportunity & income.</p>