<p>In trying to project into the future, I've been thinking that if DD can become an RA, it would save us a lot of money on room and board, also if she moves off campus, especially because she eats a miniscule amount of food. But...how will that affect our fin aid. </p>
<p>For example- if right now school's COA is $57,000 and EFC is $27,000; we need $30,000 and this school meets need. So let's say for sophomore year. DD becomes RA and gets free room and board- deduct $13,400 from $43,600 then deduct $27,000 (EFC) = $16,600 need which in the end means that we don't get a discount, the college does because it's a meet-full need school and our EFC stands no matter what. So now it sounds to me like the bottom line is that it makes no sense to become an RA. Is my logic and calculation correct?</p>
<p>But how does living off campus affect, fin aid.? Now this is a scenario where it seems that it would make more sense and we could save because we will still have the costs but at the start of the year we have no way of knowing exactly what food will cost. Will they come back and audit us for food bills? There was a similar discussion on a thread about 529s--if the room and board costs are not pre-paid how do you cover yourself when using 529 to pay and the answer was keep receipts or a spreadsheet record.</p>
<p>You will have to check with the school as to how they calculate COA with students living off campus. My D school calculates on campus/off campus COA as the same, so it would make sense to me that the FA is based on those numbers, whereas their commuter COA is totally different. These were my concerns as well since my D wants to live off campus for her senior year.</p>
<p>I would not assume the RA job is as sweet as you think. Does this particular college truly provide room AND board for an RA? Many just give the RA a single and a little pocket money. Make sure you are looking at what a sophomore RA would get (not a senior or grad student RA). Also, check out how hard it is to get the job. RA is a task that needs an outgoing, confident, organized person and some places it is a tough honor to land (particularly for a sophomore). Fortunately you do have some time to sort out these bits. </p>
<p>Housing costs vary so much around the country. In some places it makes sense to rent close to campus – but other communities it means renting a long way from campus and then there are significant transportation issues. </p>
<p>Exactly what organization/agency would be doing an audit on food costs? That sounds odd. Good luck – it’s a lot of details to sort . . .</p>
<p>RE: auditing food costs. I’m thinking of this in terms of a discussion on CC about covering costs with a 529 and the issue of double-dipping when it come to tax time (can’t claim AOC if one pays with 529; AOC can be claimed against only certain costs (tuition); 529 can be used to pay all qualified costs (tuition, R&B, etc.). One needs to keep records of all expenditures in case one is audited by the IRS. So my thinking was…could a fin aid office also do an audit? As milkandsugar brought up–COA different for commuters; same for on/off campus at her/his D’s school.</p>
<p>After thinking about the RA issue, I don’t think it would make sense because I don’t think we’d save any money.</p>
<p>Daughter is an RA at her school. The compensation there is 1. a reduction of $900/term in her housing costs and 2. a stipend of $1000/term paid to her. Her school is on a trimester schedule so it works out to a $2700 annual savings for us and a $3000 job for her. I spoke to the FA office when she got the job and they said that RA status doesn’t count into their calculations at all. The job was highly competitive to get, and has turned out to be stressful and time consuming, but, as she had no work study, she really likes the paycheck and has decided to do it again next year, her senior year.</p>
<p>The compensation for RA seems to be all over the map, and I would guess how the FA office addresses it is the same. I think my daughter’s deal is a pretty good one - at my son’s school it appears there is a room reduction but no stipend (he’s not interested in the job anyway but we checked). It’s worth checking with the individual schools to see if there really is any cost benefit.</p>
<p>Wow, that is so interesting that you D’s FA office doesn’t count it. From what I’ve heard the duties of the job vary as well as the benefits. My H knows of someone whose D is an RA and has very limited duties. Another friend’s S get free room AND board but no stipend. Will definitely call the schools to find out specific policies. Thanks!</p>
<p>I know that the competition for these RA jobs is quite fierce, so there is no guarantee of getting one! Plus, it is a lot of work, very time consuming etc. Walk through any dorm and notice all the bulletin boards etc & cute name tags on the doors: RA’s do those!</p>
<p>While it might be tempting to apply for an RA job to help with costs…It’s my opinion that you should apply for this job because you want to DO it…it’s not a walk in the park. RAs have some significant responsibilities within their dorms, and on their floors. The “compensation” is a perk.</p>
<p>I agree 100% Thumper - my daughter wanted to do it and is the right “type” for the job - and still she finds it stressful and time consuming. She had a rocky start and thought about quitting, but toughed it out and decided the benefits outweighed the disadvantages. It’s actually a good life lesson about commitments and time management, but certainly not for everybody when the main objective of college is academic.</p>
<p>I’m not sure how a Financial Aid office ‘wouldn’t count the RA stipend’. Wouldn’t it show up as income when the student filed their taxes and thus show up on FAFSA? I guess if it is paid as a reduction in housing costs, maybe they don’t get a 1099 for it?</p>
<p>updatemom - if your school meets full financial need using some loans, then it
could still be a good idea to have the RA job, because you would have less of a
loan balance at the end.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the great input. Right now D is considering two meets-need schools and the point about less loans is a good one. We’ll have to wait and see how the first year goes and then see if it might be feasible. I’m going to call the fin aid offices to see how off campus housing affects the aid.</p>
<p>Lots of responsibility with the RA job - and perhaps time conflicts with other things that might be beneficial/preferable for the student’s major. I think it is an option that requires careful and fully informed consideration. The duties/perks vary significantly from campus to campus.</p>
<p>“I’m not sure how a Financial Aid office ‘wouldn’t count the RA stipend’. Wouldn’t it show up as income when the student filed their taxes and thus show up on FAFSA? I guess if it is paid as a reduction in housing costs, maybe they don’t get a 1099 for it?”</p>
<p>Jbourne - her income is her income, the $1000/per term stipend gets added to any other annual earnings and she pays her taxes and that number gets submitted with the FAFSA and CSS Profile like any other income she has. The part that didn’t count against our FA was the reduction in housing costs, which resulted in a lower bill to us, the same way that a single room or apartment housing would result in a higher bill. The college continued to use whatever standard COA number they use to give her an award, rather than reducing our aid by the $2700 housing discount she got for being an RA.</p>