<p>I am an incoming freshman. I received an extremely generous financial aid package at my teeny tiny $55,000+/yr LAC, and even after maxed out Stafford loans (including the 4K loan from being rejected for Parent PLUS), two federal grants, a huge college grant, a huge merit scholarship, and work study, I'm left having to pay $1570. My family's EFC is 0, so we don't exactly have that lying around. I only have about $400 in savings. My mom says I have to go to community college for two years to save money and then transfer, which doesn't make any sense to me-- one, because the amount is so small, and two, because I doubt I'd get that great an aid package as a transfer and would probably have to pay even more money. I was thinking it's a more reasonable idea to defer for a semester, but I would really, really rather not do that.</p>
<p>My college has a payment option where I can pay my bill in three installments, so that translates to three $520 payments. My plan is to get a part-time job in addition to my work study. My work study is only 8 hours a week, so I would work about 12 hours with the other job. I figure I'd make about $1000 by the middle of November, which is when the last payment is due. This in addition to my savings and whatever I beg/borrow/win (I've entered a few little art contests, which I've had good luck with in the past) would pretty much cover everything.</p>
<p>Is this doable? It's not just my mom, everyone in my family is telling me I won't be able to go and I don't have any support at all. I think my plan is reasonable, but I'm not sure. Sorry if this is rambly. I love this school a lot and they tried so hard (they're tiny and have a tiny endowment) to provide a way for me to attend. </p>
<p>P.S. As of now, the spring semester is completely covered. It's a lot cheaper than the fall semester, and everything covers it. So I wouldn't even have to worry about anything next semester.</p>
<p>P.P.S. I have to be there on September 1st. So I'm kind of pressed for time... :/</p>
<p>Snooze – Question before responding to your post: What part of your package is loans that you will have to pay back? What is the dollar amount that you will be borrowing each year, and the total amount of loans you will graduate with given your FA package?</p>
<p>If your parents are contributing nothing to the cost and you’re 18, you don’t need their permission.</p>
<p>But is the school really worth the debt? Assuming the situation remains the same for the next four years (max Stafford plus Parent Plus kick), you’re going to graduate with about $48,000 in debt, including interest on the unsubsidized portion of your loan that will accrue while you’re in college.</p>
<p>Assuming a 7 percent interest rate and a 10-year repayment plan, you’re looking at about $560 per month for 10 years, starting six months after you graduate. That’s after-tax. Before tax, it means you’ll need to earn close to $10,000 per year just to service your debt, for 10 years.</p>
<p>I’m not saying you shouldn’t do it (even though I sure wouldn’t). But you need to be aware of the reality.</p>
<p>You have done a very good job of spelling out your situation. I strongly recommend that you contact your financial aid office immediately and tell them what you have posted here. You are really close to making it; however, sometimes there are restrictions on work hours, especially if you already have work study. The financial aid folks should be able to crunch the numbers and help you see best how to close this gap. Don’t count on them coughing up the difference, but sometimes it happens. You best shot at that happening is going into the conversation telling them of your current thinking - which puts the responsibility on you to earn that extra money. The school wants you to come - especially given the package they have already put together for you. You need to see if they can help you pull this off. Also, if the first person you talk to doesn’t seem to be responsive, don’t give up. You may need to go to the top (director of financial aid). I teach at a university and there tends to be one cranky person in every office - don’t let that person decide your fate. Good luck!</p>
<p>My guess would be the max Stafford - which is $5500 plus the additional $4000 = $9500. Take into account that the maximum Stafford loan amounts increase for junior and senior year - and it looks like you are predicting $45,000 in Stafford loans upon graduation - is that correct? Kind of high - what is your major going to be? Have you heard the general rule of thumb that you should not borrow more than your anticipated first year’s salary? What about grad school? If you are planning on grad school - I would hate to see you incur this much debt for undergrad.</p>
<p>You could ask to defer a year and see if the FA offer will remain in place. Then, you could go to a comm college and save up money so that the following years won’t be so difficult and you’d have less in loans.</p>
<p>I agree. It is important to talk to your finaid officer. It is possible that your school has special programs to replace the self-help with loans. You need to understand your expected contributions (summer earnings, etc.)</p>
<p>Based on what you posted, you may not have a problem since the COA includes expenses such as transportation and personal expenses. It is also possible that your problem might be larger if work-study is not guaranteed. </p>
<p>Fwiw, your parents must not realize that your COA includes room and board and a number of other expenses. It is a miscalculation to believe that attending a community college will result in savings. You will still need to be housed and fed! </p>
<p>All of this relates to the cash flow issues, and does not address the soundness of borrowing a large sum of money. That is another issue altogether.</p>
<p>3500 subsidized, 6000 unsubsidized, so 9500 total in loans for this year. I have not really considered future years, too stressed about the present – which is bad, I know. But I plan to work full-time during the summer from now on (I wanted to work this summer, but my parents needed someone to babysit my little brothers), which should offset some of the cost. Also, my school has said that “if your family’s situation remains the same, you can expect your grant aid to increase as we anticipate being able to increase grant assistance in renewal years.” That’s on my finaid letter.</p>
<p>I know I don’t need anyone’s permission, but if my mom is against me going to this school she really won’t help me at all-- she won’t even drive me up there. That’s how she is. So there will be other things to consider, like how to get my own transportation.</p>
<p>I plan to start working summers and my school has also said they will be increasing their grant assistance, so I don’t think it will be 48K but I know it will still be a significant ammount. Thank you for your input.</p>
<p>Your budget probably includes some optional items…take a look and decide what you can live without. I am surprised that your parents are not willing to help make up this gap…it will be cheaper for them to have you living away at college than if you were home.</p>
<p>Again, I don’t think it will be quite that high because of the new grant incentive and my plan to work summers, but I know it will still be a lot. Not sure about majors… I’m interested in biology, literature, classics, education, foreign language, and a few other things. I do plan on grad school, so you’re right that I should be wary of debt. :/</p>
<p>Agree that you have to speak with the finaid office.<br>
Also agree about how COA is calculated. Eg, my kids get $800 allocated for books and rarely spent half that, over two semesters. (They buy used or even rent textbooks.) Also, personal expenses are calculated in their COA- and that’s what their work study covers.</p>
<p>I like your determination- really hope this works out.
See if FA can guarantee your more work study hours to eliminate the outside job.</p>
<p>Snooze-- I would second the suggestion that you call up your financial aid office asap and talk about the situation. Explain that you plan to work full time all of the summers you’re in college, but that you had to care for your younger sibs so your parents could work this summer. With any luck, you will reach a flexible person who has seen this kind of thing before and won’t want to see $1570 stand between you and your ability to attend their college. I hope that your college will help you work out a solution you can live with and that will not result in you having to work too many hours your first semester.</p>
<p>You might also find out if resident assistants who help in the dorms receive a meaningful reduction in their housing costs, and if this could reduce the amount of loans you take out in future years. This wouldn’t work for your freshman year, but if you became an RA in future years, it might take a chunk out of that proposed 38K you’d graduate with if your grants didn’t improve.</p>
<p>As an 18 year old, you can make your own decisions. I can certainly understand not wanting to go against your parents’ wishes, but goodness, if you hadn’t been so committed to your family that you babysat for free rather than taking a paying job this summer, you might not be in this situation. I hope that you will have your parents’ support if you decide to go with the three-payment option, or if your FA office comes up with a different solution. But ultimately, the decision is yours, not theirs.</p>
<p>I didn’t notice any local assistance in your list. There are many charitable organizations in our town who provide very generous help to students, especially with high financial need. I would contact a local school board member, or groups like Rotary, Optimists, etc. to see if they might be able to find you a donation. I think with your motivation to go this year, you should try to make it work. If after a year you need to take time off to make money, you will have a more solid sense of what you want and what you need. If you are successful there, you can make the case for more merit aid as well.</p>
<p>I really don’t want to sound like Debby Downer, but I agree with your Mom. You need to see the big picture and not just your freshman year. Even if you manage to come up with the additional $1570, how in the world are you going to continue at this school for three more years. Next year, the costs will be more and even more the year after. You also have to figure in transportation costs, books, and personal expenses. If you attend this school for 4 years, you’re going to have a big debt on your shoulders the day you graduate.</p>
<p>Ugh, I feel for you. But are you sure your family is against this because of the shortfall? Isn’t it that they are saying what a lot of other parents are saying here, which is this: it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense to take on this kind of debt. I think you are thinking of the total amount (say $48k or $40k). You aren’t catching the real issue with loans, which is the compound interest! If you were working right away, like Annasdad said, you’d have to earn $10,000 EVERY YEAR FOR TEN YEARS just to pay it off. Add that up. It isn’t $48k. It isn’t just a car. </p>
<p>Now if you add in grad school to the mix, how are you going to earn $10k a year extra money (on top of what you need to live) AND go to graduate school? And if you aren’t paying that $10k every year after your undergrad ends, you are going to be incurring even MORE interest, as the clock ticks, ticks ticks and you are paying interest on interest…and the debt will be gigantic in just a few years! Now you might be looking at paying some crazy big amount…anyone on here want to run the numbers if accrued interest over 3 years of non-payment? PLUS you have no idea what kind of income you’ll be eventually earning, nor the everyday costs of basic independent adult expenses like maintaining a car, owning a house, a heating bill. </p>
<p>It just sounds very very risky. I don’t think anyone on here, nor your family, would want you taking this on into your future.</p>