I'm just not seeing how this can work...

Paying for College
1

<p>I'm a graduating Senior in Florida, and I plan on attending a state school in the fall. </p>

<p>The COA of said school is $20,090. </p>

<p>I have been "awarded" financial aid that covers that amount, but more than half of that is in loans. I was offered ~3k a semester in unsubsidized loans (loans in my name, interest starts immediately), and about ~5k a semester in Direct PLUS loans (Loans my parents would have to take out). </p>

<p>I'm asking for advice because that wasn't my original aid package. My first one had some grants and need base scholarships in it, with loans that were not as large. </p>

<p>When my father and I estimated for the FAFSA back in January, we used his earnings from the previous year (2010), which were 66k. My EFC was about 7k.</p>

<p>Well, my father was laid off from his job last summer, but was able to immediately find a new job with about the same salary, and closer to home. </p>

<p>He was given severance from the job that laid him off, but it was used to pay off my Florida pre-paid, pay off bills that he was behind on (previous job was a huge pay decrease for my father, and about 2 and 1/2 hours away, so much $$$ was spent in gas), and to make some repairs to our home that were long overdue.</p>

<p>With the old salary, severance, and new salary added together, his income for 2011 was 94k , and my EFC shot up to 17k x.x</p>

<p>My father plans to speak with the financial aid office at the school this week, but I'm not sure what all to expect. </p>

<p>He will NOT again make anywhere near what his taxes say he made last year, and he also does not believe he will be approved for the Direct PLUS loans that I was offered. </p>

<p>I'm applying for any scholarships that I find, but I'm starting to feel as though the odds are against me. I already have Bright Futures, and an academic scholarship from the school, but that's all the assistance I'm given other than my Florida Prepaid (which is tuition only). </p>

<p>And it's also required I live on campus my first year, AND get a meal plan.</p>

<p>Thoughts? Advice? Anything?</p>

<p>The last thing I want to do is contribute to my parents financial issues, worse than I already have this year :/</p>

2

<p>Since your dad’s higher income was a one time thing, perhaps the best thing to do is contact your school and ask if you can defer enrollment for a year…then when you file FAFSA next year with 2012 earnings, the amount will be lower.</p>

<p>However, with BF and your pre-paid, how much does that cover?</p>

<p>If you took out the 5500 loans (yours) and worked over the summer, could cover the shortfall?</p>

<p>You say that the COA is $20,090…what is the breakdown?</p>

<p>Is this a Floridal public like FSU or what?</p>

3

<p>I currently have a job but hours are limited to only give me about 2-3 shifts a week. I’m looking for a second one/replacement job, but no takers right now. </p>

<p>It is a Florida Public University.</p>

<p>This is the breakdown of the COA:</p>

<p>Cost of Attendance:</p>

<p>Books and Supplies<br>
$1,000.00</p>

<p>Personal Expenses<br>
$2,500.00</p>

<p>Room and Board<br>
$9,190.00</p>

<p>Tuition and Fees<br>
$5,800.00</p>

<p>Transportation<br>
$1,600.00</p>

<p>Total:<br>
$20,090.00</p>

<p>I’m aware that transportation and personal expenses can vary, so I know the numbers aren’t set in stone. </p>

<p>BF is estimated to pay about 1.5k a semester, and Pre-paid ~1.7k a semester (both vary depending on how many credit hours I take, which I plan to take 15).</p>

4

<p>Shouldn’t the pre-paid cover all of tuition? If not, why not?</p>

<p>As for room and board…I know that a number of Florida publics do not require a meal plan…does yours? If not, you might be able to save money there.</p>

<p>Personal expenses and travel will vary…they’re estimating more than $4k right there!..that travel estimate is very high. How far do you live from this school? Will you be taking a car to college?</p>

<p>As for your current job, once it’s summer, will your shift options still be limited? if not, work as much as you can in the summer…and also look for a job by your college for during the next school year.</p>

<p>It sounds like you’re only going to have this problem one year…once your dad’s income returns to normal, you may get those grants back…ask about that.</p>

5

<p>My parents signed up for the tuition only plan… meaning it will cover all of the tuition, but will not cover the local fees attached to the cost per credit hour. </p>

<p>Estimates from the school reported that 15 credit hours released ~1.6k for tuition only plans.</p>

<p>The school I’m planning to attend requires first year, incoming freshman to live on campus (unless they live in the three surrounding counties, which I do not), and all first year, on-campus students to sign up for a meal plan. In fact, I have to sign the meal plan contract before I can receive a housing assignment.</p>

<p>My shift options will be limited at work not because of me, but because my current job is at the community college bookstore, which is only open Monday-Thursday from 8-6:30 (soon to be 8-5 in the summer). </p>

<p>I know I need to find a different job, but a lot of places around here want COMPLETELY open availability, which I won’t have until summer. And I don’t think they’ll want to hire me for only 3 months.</p>

<p>And yes, he is going to ask about that when he calls the financial aid office. I read somewhere else on CC that it is difficult to get more aid later on when the parent’s income goes down, so we want to know what we need to do to work this all out.</p>

6

<p>There are places that do want to hire kids who can only work in the summer, look into those places.</p>

7

<p>Definitely look at the school to see if they have on campus jobs available. Both my kids found jobs on campus and they are MUCH more accommodating to working around your schedule and usually within walking distance to the dorms.</p>

8

<p>

Why is that? We have a much higher income than your father and we have Parent loans larger than this.</p>

9

<p>^^^</p>

<p>maybe they have credit problems? Maybe he thinks or knows he won’t qualify. Or maybe he just doesn’t know how much easier it is to qualify for Plus loans. Or maybe he really doesn’t think it’s “fair” that he’s being expected to take out these loans, so he’s just saying that he won’t be approved. It’s really not odd that a dad would say that he doesn’t think he’ll be approved.</p>

10

<p>I will say - don’t underestimate…my mom has such bad credit that she can’t even get a checking account at a major bank in my area. The bank required a credit score of at least 400 to get an account, so that tells you how low her credit score was.</p>

<p>Thus, I encouraged her to apply for a Parent PLUS loan so that my sister could get independent levels of the Stafford loans so she could pay for school (clearly, my mom cannot be trusted to handle the loans for my sister’s schooling…). We were positive she would be declined because my mom has not been approved for a new loan or credit card in decades.</p>

<p>Much to all of our surprise, she was APPROVED.</p>

<p>So tell your dad to go ahead and apply; he may be surprised at what he gets.</p>

11

<p>Thanks for the advice guys. </p>

<p>As far as a job goes, I’m anticipating a transfer to the bookstore at the college I’m attending (they’re run by the same company).</p>

<p>It’s not that my dad thinks it’s “unfair” that he’s being asked to take out these loans, he honestly didn’t expect the school to offer me any aid after we updated the FAFSA. My dad has been unsure of his credit for years: we had to get a new (used) car last September so I could commute to school, and he didn’t think he would get approved then either. </p>

<p>It makes me feel better knowing that it isn’t too difficult to get approved for a student loan, I’m a first generation college student… so my parents are a little baffled by the whole experience!</p>

12

<p>Some advice:</p>

<p>Books and Supplies: Buy USED! Try Half.com, Ebay, etc. If at all possible, DON’T buy from the college bookstore. We’ve bought some new things much cheaper on Amazon than at the campus bookstore. Sometimes the Barnes and Noble online bookstore is cheaper than a Barnes and Noble Campus bookstore, too.</p>

<p>Personal Expenses: This is stuff like toiletries, clothing, bedsheets, alarm clocks, lamps, etc. You really CAN reduce your costs by buying stuff “on sale”. You can probably get by on less than the $2500 quote. Will you be getting gifts graduation gifts from family and friends? This is the place to spend the green stuff that they put into those graduation cards!</p>

<p>Room and Board: Their figure is probably based on the most generous meal plan. Most (but not all) colleges have varying meal-plans. Two of my kids were lucky enough to live in housing with kitchenettes, so they could prepare at least some of their own “cheaper” food, and get by on the less expensive meal options. This is definitely something to think about.</p>

<p>Transportation: I don’t know where colleges get these figures. How far do you live from campus? How often will you travel home? Greyhound Bus service is cheaper than gas if you have very far to travel. One of my kids got home for spring break on a $40 bus ticket - for a 250 mile trip! I think you can find ways to lower the colleges estimate in the travel category.</p>

<p>To summarize, I’m guessing that you can probably cut 2-3 thousand dollars minimum off from the college’s estimated cost. You really need to get onto the college website and dig through the actual costs of the meal-plans, per credit tuition, etc. Register for classes early, so that you have time to shop online for books.</p>