<p>$43k at an average of 8% is well over $500/month for 10 years. That’s an awful lot. (I wouldn’t do it, in this economy, but that’s me.) But there are virtually no scholarships for graduate degrees in OT. So the potential total is huge. I wish I had some good advice - I don’t; it’s a very difficult position to be in.</p>
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<p>Substantially more, because interest will begin accruing on the unsubsidized portion of that package as soon as the money is paid out.</p>
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<p>I have stated that I am only doing the PLUS loan this year. Additionally, in my calculation I assumed maxed out Stafford loans every year. 9500 + 6500 + 7500 + 7500 = 31K (sub and unsub combined). With interest that is 41K. </p>
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In my financial aid letter, my school explicitly stated that they will be able to increase grant aid in the coming years. So while it’s still possible that my grant aid will decrease, it doesn’t seem likely that it will.</p>
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52050 - 54,370 = -2320
But I really don’t think I should have subtracted work study ($2100) because 1) even though it’s not earned yet, there’s a payment plan that would coordinate with the flow of my income and 2) current students I’ve spoken to said they do not have a hard time finding work study.
It would be 31K. I thought the interest was fixed at 6.8%. And I thought that figure was for both loans, but just looked on the website ([Student</a> Aid on the Web](<a href=“http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/studentloans.jsp#05]Student”>http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/studentloans.jsp#05)) and it says sub loans are 3.4%. Does the interest rate change even within 10 years?</p>
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… that’s simply not true.</p>
<p>Going to call FA now.</p>
<p>While the school will get more expensive every year, hopefully the grants will increase as well.</p>
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For 2nd and later years, you can get much cheaper meal and housing options by moving off campus - every school’s dorms and dining halls are way overpriced compared to what you can pay in the real world. At pretty much every school I’ve priced out you can live off campus for half or less of what the dorm/dining hall costs.</p>
<p>When you factor in earnings from a job during the year and a decent summer job, keeping a tight lid on expenses, getting books as cheaply as possible, etc, I wouldn’t be surprised if the OP can cut the loans in half or more for years 2-4, and maybe make a dent in year 1.</p>
<p>I just don’t see how other solutions like CC or the local state school are going to be much if any cheaper. A 0 EFC doesn’t guarantee you anything at my state’s schools. And living at home will require a car, where’s that money going to come from?</p>
<p>The OP is going to have to make some sacrifices - less fun on campus, working harder, no spring breaks, etc. But this is doable without a crippling amount of debt.</p>
<p>This looks to me a like a pretty good financial aid package, and better than the OP would be likely to get as a transfer student after two years at at CC. With the FA package, the LAC is probably cheaper than it would be to attend an in-state public flagship.</p>
<p>Given that the personal, books, supplies expenses are included in the COA, if the OP is frugal and works some additional hours, it may be able to work. After freshman year, living off campus would likely be cheaper, hopefully shrinking the gap.</p>
<p>Good luck with whatever you decide. If you do decide to not go to the LAC this year, you may be better off not attending CC this year and working full-time, and applying to more schools and trying to get an even better package next year, since freshman FA is generally better than transfer FA.</p>
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<p>FEOG grants are Federal Funds. The government determines how much each school is going to receive. The school cannot guarantee whether you are going to keep their funding amount year over year. This year your school has maxed you out on loans (your finanical aid package does not necessarily get “better” in subsequent years). </p>
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If you are not using the $4000 un unsubsidized monies, next year, how are you going to make up the $4000 in futture years?</p>
<p>It’s not the $1500 shortfall that has your mother concerned, though she may say it is. The fact of the matter is that you are very tightly squeezed financially in this whole thing and if anything goes wrong, you’ll have a huge problem. With a zero EFC, your family is not going to be able to help you. And, believe me, things go wrong all of the time. I think that with Community college, you will have some buffer for things that may go wrong. </p>
<p>If you are 18, you can go it alone, but do so with your eyes wide open. Your mother is letting you know that she is not in on this and cannot help you out financially.</p>
<p>Snoozealarm, you might want to do a bit more research into OT programs - not to stress you out about grad school before undergrad, but the one’s my D looked at all had required fieldwork components. That means you are working full-time during those semesters, but you’re not getting paid for it and you often have to take the fieldwork sites on a lottery basis (so you may not be in the same city for each rotation). Also, if your school doesn’t issue grades, what will show up on your transcript for a GPA? Again, my D didn’t look at that many programs as she decided to stay where she was, but her school and the others she did look into had very specific GPA requirements for acceptance into the OT program…and OT admissions seem to be competitive at most schools.</p>
<p>Did you apply to other schools? Did you compare the bottom line out of pocket costs among the colleges where you were accepted? Would your loan debt had been less at any of those colleges? Why are you so focused on this one school?</p>
<p>Let’s hope that the financial aid people will be able to pony up a one time extra $1K or $1,500, just to tide you over for this year.</p>
<p>Why don’t we think about following Salander’s lead and suggesting great ways to shave expenses and still have fun in college and manage academics? As grad students, (incl living in a dorm,) DH and I took advantage of free concerts or movie nights at school, went out with friends for coffee rather than expensive dinners. Sharing a pizza with roommates is cheap- you just don’t do it multiple times/week. Friends go off to the library together. You skip the late night runs for a hamburger. You don’t need another shirt. You aren’t “second class.” You are making choices.</p>
<p>Right now, we are totally squeezed with 2 in college, paying on Plus loans, plus aggressively paying down other debt. We’re back to much of the same. Yes, you don’t know when the sky will fall. But, you live your life. You do the best you can to have a little extra for those rainy days, of course. But, you take on an attitude that small things can bring great pleasure. We don’t take the kids on fancy vacations, but we do plenty of family-bonding things.</p>
<p>My kids are in a similar position to OP. Their summer jobs help them kick in their “student contribution” (we include in this target their books and some expenses like the cost of their laptops.) They start at school with about $100 cash (neither ever seems to have more than that left over) and budget until the first ws check comes in. Both work hard on academics, have plenty of friends and social time. And, both will max out on Staffords.</p>
<p>We don’t send an allowance. Once in a while, we send $10 in a letter. We are a drive away, so a few times/year, we visit each, have a cheap meal together (they each have a local fav spot- neither needs four-star or steak places) and we make a very cheap, limited spending WalMart run. We pay when they take public transp home on breaks. Each works during breaks (local job they held before that occasionally needs fill-ins.)</p>
<p>Yeah, they hate our austerity plan. Yeah, they have some rich friends with daddy’s credit card- but plenty of other friends in the same pickle. They are having a great time.</p>
<p>Now the bad news:
OP- you should NOT figure the loan repayments over 300-some months. Look at it with 120. You will have allowances for temporarily lowering the payment amount or asking to skip a month or two (not sure exactly- we have had to do the latter on the Plus, once.) Look at that info. A solid plan isn’t just a front-end view (what payments seem reasonable.) It’s also the back end (how long can I carry this, how much interest does that add.)</p>
<p>You may be able to somehow scrape by your first year, but I can’t imagine this being a financially feasible situation beyond this year. I would love to know what the bottom line costs were at the OP’s other college choices.</p>
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What difference does it make? Schools start in a week or two, those other schools are no longer an option.</p>
<p>I’m puzzled as to why you need $1570 now. Some of those annual costs aren’t going to be incurred until next semester - like books, for example, which probably make up half the amount needed. Has tuition, room and board been paid? Do you have the money to travel to campus? </p>
<p>While the concerns over occupational therapy grad programs are worth mentioning, I’m not sure that should dictate what the OP does now. So many students change their minds – there’s a good chance that by sophomore year a new major and career plan is chosen.</p>
<p>Good luck – you are in a tough spot. Let us know what happens.</p>
<p>I think a financial package in which the student contributes less than 25% of the COA is doable. I did not have 0 EFC and my “parents” did not give me anything when I went to college. My loan was higher than 25% of the COA. I worked about 8-12 hours during school and half-time or full-time during breaks or summers. I paid off the loan within 5 years after graduation.</p>
<p>The OP has gotten a very good FA package from this school. She is unlikely to be able to attend CC for the same amount, leaving aside the potential issue of educational quality and the nature of the experience. Although I am not in favor of kids racking up big debt, I think it is clear that she MAY be able to graduate from this school with comparatively manageable debt, given the possibilities for cutting spending and the explicit statement by the school re increased funding in future years. When it comes time for graduate work, she may be interested in a subject that has programs that are funded. She may decide not to go at all. Or she may decided to work for a year or two and do some serious saving before going. (I know a girl who is a recent LAC grad who has a job as a live-in nanny. making $40K per year PLUS free room and board. She’s saving for graduate school, and able to do so at a much more significant rate than an 18-yr-old high school grad with a close-to-minimum wage job!)</p>
<p>I don’t see why people keep saying she should go to CC, especially when she is so very unlikely to get anywhere near as good an FA package from ANY school if applying as a transfer student. How is she supposed to pay for CC? How is she supposed to get to and from CC, and to and from a job–which will probably be off campus, be low paid, and which she will not only have to find for herself but which is likely to be very difficult to fit around a class/study schedule. Not to mention her duties as unpaid babysitter and the strains of continuing to live at home. If that were her only educational alternative, sure. But it isn’t. She has a much better one, IMHO. Yes, she will need to keep a close eye on her expenses, and be prepared to seek alternatives if the school is unable or unwilling to help her with sufficient FA down the road.</p>
<p>I started out very worried for the OP, and was one saying please don’t take on that debt, and please think about beyond the first year right through to grad school plans. But now, having read this whole thread and all the great comments, and also the OPs thoughts, I feel quite differently. </p>
<p>OP, please don’t get depressed and discouraged! The school year is about to start so now is not the time to be rethinking this. And there are some great creative ways others have mentioned that will probably cover the gap of $1570. And maybe this IS the best path for you, financially speaking.</p>
<p>But mostly, given the here and now, the OP can and should at least have one wonderful year at dream school. S/he has time (and will get so much experience- about what its like to work, how much his/her expenses really are etc.) to revisit the bigger picture with much more information. And as the OP rightly notes, transferring is always a possibility, but at least s/he will have had at least one great year at dream school and has time to make the bigger decision. For now, s/he should focus on dream school and the year ahead, and deal with the more pressing pragmatic task of finding the shortfall.</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>Exactly. </p>
<p>Posters who point out the dangers of borrowing too much DO have a point. A point that is spreading like wildfires on the airwaves! However, I also think that many have a romantic view of what might happen at a CC on the financial front. Even if one is able to play the generous COA game to “bank” extra money, isn’t it a good bet that this (mostly borrowed) money will be swallowed by family demands? There is a reason why graduation from CC remain low; it is not easy for anyone to stay in school and fight the daily problems, especially one of low resources and income. </p>
<p>There are obvious risks for someone to start a career with a large debt. But the risks have to be compared with starting a career without much of an education. As someone (Andy or Derek) said, if you think education is expensive, try the lack of it. Well, he said try ignorance, but this might be misconstrued as offensive.</p>
<p>I’ve seen a lot of kids pass up great opportunities because of this pervasive warning of the “boogey man”. It is really old, IMO.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, they are wasting away their lives as waitpeople and hotel clerks, instead of getting an education.</p>
<p>RE: Working in school
8-10 hours a week on a work study is fine
If you pursue working a ‘real’ job for 20 hours you are diminishing the benefits of attending this type of school. You need to be able to spend time interacting and networking with students & faculty, you need time to create relationships.</p>
<p>Many years ago I worked 20 hours a week in school, I did ‘fine’ commuting from home to a commuter school. But I did not maximize my potential, I did not pursue relationships with faculty, I was too busy working and doing homework to pursue the intellectual and social growth I might have enjoyed. You have to give yourself time to develop. Yes, you can physically work 20 hours, but knowing my kid’s schedules when living away at university, it would have completely changed the experience. You are going to this school for the amazing experience, give yourself time to enjoy it…though you can work two or three jobs in the summer! But many people pursue a summer internship after junior year meaning no work at all.</p>