<p>*and what would my SAT score need to be for merit at NYU? because i am retaking them soon.
*</p>
<p>Not all the colleges at NYU have merit scholarships to award. Only some do. I’m not sure if Tisch has merit or much merit to give. If I were to go by what some students have posted, your SAT would have to be at around a 2250+ to get merit. Frankly, if you currently have a 1900, it’s doubtful that you could increase it enough this fall to qualify for merit. </p>
<p>As for borrowing…As a student YOU shouldn’t borrow much since YOU will not be earning a lot once you graduate. How much do you think you’ll be earning as a newish grad?</p>
<p>It’s up to your parents how much THEY want to borrow if THEY will be paying back the costs. Co-signing loans isn’t a good idea if YOU are expected to pay the loans back because YOU will already have about $30k in Federal loans that you’ll be paying back.</p>
<p>*My parents are willing to pay as much as they can, *</p>
<p>Try to get a firm idea of how much they can pay each year.</p>
<p>There is no money faerie. There are no secret or special or little-known ways to afford college that you may have missed and just haven’t stumbled upon to yet.</p>
<p>You want to buy a Ferrari. But you can’t afford it. The loan programs you qualify for are extremely limited ($5500 first year, etc). The loan programs your parents can qualify for are also limited AND even if somehow they could manage to qualify for 20K+ in loans from ParentPLUS and private sources (home equity, etc) for EACH YEAR (just because parents qualify the first year doesn’t mean they will subsequent years), they should NOT take out that level of loans for your education because it will likely cripple their own finances.</p>
<p>What would I do if I was 18 years old and wanted to buy a Ferrari when all I could afford was a Honda? (And even the Honda put me in significant debt?) I’d be looking at used Hondas. And I hope your parents also realize that a Ferrari college education is out of their financial reach and guide you toward affordable colleges within your family’s financial reach.</p>
You most likely will be rejected from NYU. Even if you were accepted, you can’t afford it. Period. As stated in the previous post, “there is no money faerie.”</p>
<p>*My parents actually make probably closer to 150k. I don’t know if that makes much of a difference.
*</p>
<p>Since you are an only child, then it’s very likely that your EFC will be quite high…maybe as high as $50k…which would mean that all you’d qualify for is a $5500 loan and you’d have a small gap for the rest. It is highly doubtful that you’d get ANY free money from NYU at all. </p>
<p>You need to sit down with your parents and talk about HOW they would pay a $60k per year bill every year. </p>
<p>I can tell you this, if your parents can’t pay for much of that bill without taking out loans, then likely this school isn’t affordable. Look at it this way…if your parents can’t pay $35k+ per year (without loans), then that would mean they (and/or you) would end up with too much debt. And, if a single child family with that income can’t afford to pay much cash for college, then they very likely can’t make big loan payments either. Right?</p>
<p>The only ones who can formulate a plan to pay for NYU…if you go there…are your parents. At the end of the day, they will be first in line to pay for your college costs, except for that $5500 Stafford loan. All other loans, and any other payments will likely need to come somehow from your family. </p>
<p>In my opinion, the MOST important discussion students and parents should have PRIOR to selecting colleges is the financial one. Parents need to make it very clear what the family financial plan is for paying for college. In some cases, families ARE able to pay the full freight for a school like NYU…without taking out additional loans. Only YOUR family would be able to tell you if this is the case.</p>
<p>Like I said earlier…I would seriously advice against falling in love with any school especially if finances will be a serious consideration when it comes time to matriculate. You need to cast a broad net that includes schools you love that are affordable. Yes, apply to NYU…and any other school for that matter. Just be aware that if your family says they can only pay a certain amount…and NYU doesn’t come through with the money to make up the difference, you won’t be able to go. And please…don’t guilt your family into taking out massive loans beyond their desires or means because NYU is your dream school. (I’m not saying you would do this…but please don’t even consider it).</p>