If my mom files bankruptcy, will that affect my chances of getting loans?

Paying for College
21

<p>You have an A- average and a 30 ACT…look for merit money! Look at schools where you would be in the upper range of their accepted students. You might also find out if they participate in the TEACH grant program (it’s $4K a year, I believe). Find out if your CC has an articulation agreement with any of the 4-years for programs you’re interested in. Going OOS for school without scholarship funding is not possible for most lower income kids but NJ is a fairly diverse state anyway…not likely you’re going to experience the same people/conditions as you do in your own hometown! You can always take an offer that makes financial sense and do a study abroad for a summer/semester/year if you want to get away and really experience the world!</p>

22

<p>Basic rundown would be:
GPA: 3.5
ACT: 31
Class rank: I will know by this summer. Hoping for top 30%
Extracurriculars: Lots of community service (over 300 hours), part time job 25 hours a week, playing guitar, ect.</p>

<p>Your stats are good enough for merit from some schools. the issue will be that you need to CAREFULLY select those who will give you big merit for your stats.</p>

<p>Will you take the ACT again? If you can get it up to an ACT 32 that can make a difference. Also, take the SAT…some do better with that - especially if the Science Reasoning gave them problems.</p>

<p>my mom and I both AGREE on sending me out of state. My mom believes it’s best even with the current financial situation we’re in.</p>

<p>I know this is going to sound harsh…Your mom may want you to go OOS regardless of finances, but considering the situation that she’s now in, she’s probably not the best one to give advice about such things. You’d think she’d want you to avoid the problems that she’s having with debt. </p>

<p>thankfully, you have the stats to get good merit from some OOS schools. You just need to find THOSE and avoid those who won’t.</p>

23

<p>I took the ACT again today. and I won’t be re-taking the SAT. I score considerably lower on it than on the ACT.</p>

24

<p>can anyone give me examples of some awesome schools that give good merit? preferably outside of the northeast</p>

25

<p>I recently saw a list published with schools recommended for Pell-eligible kids…think it was on Washington Monthly…I’ll try to find it. So Carolina was #1 if I remember. You might look at UNC-Chapel Hill and UVA - at least they guarantee to meet full need (I think they’re the only publics that do so). Also, check out the Project on Student Debt site (under Initiatives) for a full list of schools that meet 100% of need with no/low loans and search CC for “full ride scholarship” listings.</p>

26

<p>I think S.Carolina might be good for its own instate kids…not for OOS ones. The same for the UCs…instate Pell kids get great aid, OOS kids get only the Pell money…and a huge gap.</p>

<p>UNC-CH and UVa help OOS students meet need, but both of those schools are hard for OOS kids to get accepted to.</p>

<p>What is your likely major?</p>

<p>When you say “awesome schools” - I’m not sure what you mean. Most of the top schools don’t give merit scholarships - and the ones that do only give them to kids with super top stats. </p>

<p>Some mid-tier schools do give automatic scholarships for stats like yours. </p>

<p>These mid-tiers can be your financial safety schools - you can combine your Pell money with your big scholarship to meet most of need. The rest can get covered with W/S and fed student loans. </p>

<p>What is your likely major?</p>

<p>AUTO SCHOLARSHIPS…$$$ CC Important links to Auto Scholarships… </p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/943233-guaranteed-merit-aid-info-everyone-looking.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/943233-guaranteed-merit-aid-info-everyone-looking.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

27

<p>History will be my major</p>

28

<p>^^^</p>

<p>Sorry, I forgot. History teacher or business. :)</p>

<p>Depending on what your major is (and what you list when you apply), you might also get a department scholarship in addition to a university scholarship.</p>

<p>Look at those links and see if anything interests you. Then let us know. :)</p>

29

<p>Thank you all :)</p>

30

<p>Problem is, those stats won’t come close for admission to UVA or UNC. Her best bet is to stay instate–Rutgers–which has everything she needs. And BTW, Rutgers is a better school IMO then East Carolina, South Carolina, and even Delaware. Save your money and then go out of state for grad school.</p>

31

<p>I agree that Rutgers is better than some of her choices…but it sounds like she wants to go out of state.</p>

32

<p>Actually, though, ECU will be only about $1000 more than Rutgers for me.</p>

<p>ECU OOS (tuition and everything) is about 24,000 and Rutgers instate with housing and meal plan is 23,000</p>

<p>I hate New Jersey and the budget cuts going on in this state are insane. Plus many of my parent’s financial troubles also stem from how much it costs to live here. It’s insane. I want to get OUT.</p>

33

<p>ECU OOS is pretty reasonable, but it’s a bit higher than thought…</p>

<p>Tuition and fees - two semesters $15,311
Housing, Meals, and Incidental Expenses - two semesters -$10,210
Books, Supplies, and Insurance - $1,753
Total… $27,274</p>

<p>However, if you don’t get a scholarship from them, it could be unaffordable. </p>

<p>On ECU’s website, it says you need a 3.5 unweighted GPA for scholarship consideration. Your GPA is short of that.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.ecu.edu/financial/fascholarships.cfm[/url]”>http://www.ecu.edu/financial/fascholarships.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>You need to figure out what your EFC will be using just your mom’s income. You said that both parents combined earned about 100k. But, how much does your mom earn? That’s what’s going to determine EFC. They won’t care how much she pays in taxes or how much she has in debt.</p>

<p>To come up with a decent list…you need to research each school’s FA and scholarship policies - don’t assume anything.</p>

34

<p>^ The OP’s gpa is currently at 3.5…I assume unweighted as it doesn’t say otherwise.</p>

35

<p>oopss…need my eyes checked. For some reason I thought it said GPA was lower. LOL</p>

<p>If it’s UW then fine for ECU. :)</p>

36

<p>My EFC with just my mom is just under $4,500, meaning I’m eligible for about 11k in aid according to fafsa4caster</p>

37

<p>If your EFC is $4,500 your need would be the COA minus EFC. So you may be eligible for more than that, but most schools as you know do not meet 100% of need.</p>

38

<p>Most of the South Carolina Publics will give you either merit or instate tuition if you maintain your 3.5. That is a HUGE savings. Look at CofCharleston and SC Columbua. Columbia will offer instate, Charleston may offer $16,000 per year towards tuition. Call the scvhools admissions offices or go on their sites on here and see if one of the deans is a member. There are many schools that are trying to attract students with higher GPA’s to bring up their stats. Do your research and don’t be discouraged by the naysayers on here!</p>

39

<p>Look closely at South Carolina publics’ and other schools’ scholarship pages. </p>

<p>Some are clear about what they give for some stats, while some are vague. Look to see if the scholarship is assured (awarded to all that meet the requirements) or is competitive (awarded to some that have high stats and/or in varying amounts). </p>

<p>When others mention particular schools/scholarships, ask them to post the links to the said scholarship so that you can see if the details are correct and to see if the scholarship still exists (scholarships change/disappear from year to year).</p>

<p>The problem is that with an EFC of 4500, you’ll only get about $1200 in “free money” from Pell. In order to cover an OOS public with an EFC of - say - $28k-35k per year - you’ll need to get some big scholarship money.</p>

<p>Do not be fooled by any beliefs of what your EFC qualifies you for. Most schools do not have the money to help you meet need - especially OOS publics. You’ll be offered loans and will likely have a gap.</p>

<p>Many people mistakenly think that having a determined need means that a school will cover that. That’s not true. </p>

<p>You can’t easily do a “do-over” of the application season. So, protect yourself and be sure to apply to a couple of schools that will give you ASSURED big merit for your stats.</p>

<p>AUTO SCHOLARSHIPS…$$$ CC Important links to Auto Scholarships… </p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;