<p>It was $28000. I expected it to be high, but I planned for ~21-22,000... I don't know what I am going to do. My parents are very strict about their only paying $10,000. That means I need to come up with $18000! I planned on taking 4-5k in loans p/y and the other 5k i could come up with my self. But now I am looking at graduating with $60,000 debt. I was hoping to go on either to law school or get my PhD and become a professor, but I can't do that with 60K debt. I enjoy the social sciences and was thinking about a major in Poly Sci/History, but I couldn't get a good paying job, that I would enjoy, right out of college.</p>
<p>I spent months heavily researching the schools I came up with (all small LACs) and they all have good aid. But even if they meet my EFC with grants, I still will not be able to pay for it.</p>
<p>The Schools are:
Grinnell
Bowdoin
Macalester
Kenyon
Beloit
Knox
Cornell College
St. Olaf
Luther
<a href="all%20School%20cost%20between%2038-50k%20a%20year">B</a>
** Do you know if schools ever give more than EFC w/o any really special circumstances?</p>
<p>My dream school is Grinnell and I would love to go their, but now I am not sure if I can go anywhere....</p>
<p>I don't have amazing stats, and recieved merit aid at: Beloit (14k), Knox (11.5k),Cornell College (14k), Luther (14k), but i am borderline at all the others, so no chance for merit at those...</p>
<p>I'm truly sorry to learn that you underestimated your EFC by so much. That can happen when the real figures are entered into FAFSA instead of estimated figures being entered into one of the on-line calculators. No one really knows what their EFC will be until then.</p>
<p>You are, however, truly fortunate that your parents have been straight with you from the get-go about how much money they can pay. Lots and lots of kids don't find this out until April. You have time to consider your options and come up with a new plan.</p>
<p>First off, you need to contact Beloit, Knox, Cornell C, and Luther and find out where the merit money fits in the overall aid package. Is it just part of the aid that may or may not bring your cost down to your EFC, or is it in addition to other need-based aid and would cut into your EFC? Some of these places may give you a nice "merit" scholarship, but still gap you. That happened last year with my niece at Coe. She got about 12k as "merit" and a bit more as "need-based" but her EFC was not met - part of the reason why she's not at Coe now.</p>
<p>I take it from your college list that you are in the Midwest. You need to look at the public Us there. I've heard really good things about Truman State (MO). It's much smaller than U of IA or U of MN. If you are in Illinois, there are a number of decent smaller public Us (Western Illinois comes to mind). If you are in Iowa, Kirkwood Community College is one of highest rated Community Colleges in the nation. None of these places would give you the cozy small LAC experience that you have been looking for, but they would be much kinder on your budget.</p>
<p>You also do have the option of looking around for loans that would permit you to study at one of your "dream" schools. However, you need to be aware that it is not clear just yet what will happen with the student loan situation in the current economic situation. The loans may not be there when you need them. And, you are entirely correct to think that 60k or more in student loans is pushing the limit of comfort - especially if you are thinking of law school down the line!</p>
<p>Please trust that in the end you will come up with a good plan that will work for you, and you will find a college that you can be happy at and that you can afford.</p>
<p>The merit aid goes to bring down the EFC, i am pretty sure, which seems to make Merit Aid almost pointless if you are applying for need-based aid.</p>
<p>I would never take out 60k in loans w or w/o grad school. That is wayyy too much.</p>
<p>I would really like the LAC expierence. As a resident of Illinois, living next to UIUC, I know that school would never be a good option for me. I visited schools as big as 5000, and that was too big.</p>
<p>I do not want to consider CC, I need to get out of my house and I am tired of the high school atmosphere.</p>
<p>I love all the schools I applied to, so I am praying that at least one will come through. I did ridiculously thorough research and visited them all (except for Bowdoin, couldn't afford the trip :/).</p>
<p>I made a promise to myself I wouldn't take more than 20k out in loans, but if worst comes to worst, I would for sure cap it at 30k.</p>
<p>Again, your answers made me feel better.</p>
<p>I know Grinnell and Bowdoin both had large endowments b4 great depression #2, so I am hoping they are able to retain there very liberal FA policies. I know Grinnell slightly increased theirs due to the financial crises. Then again, I highly doubt I will gain admission at Bowdoin and Grinnell is pretty iffy too.</p>
<p>I'm afraid you are misunderstanding the merit aid situation. Merit aid does not reduce EFC, it reduces need based aid. When the give you merit aid they see it as reducing your need. So if you need to borrow part of the EFC, that will most probably be in addition to other student loans that would be part of your package. Hate to bring bad news, but it's probably important to get the numbers straight to pick your best possible choice.</p>
<p>i think you can pull it off! you should apply to as many scholarships as possible right now! especially the ones through ur school, and the community. Once you exhausted those, go for the ones on the internet. You should always narrow down your scholarship searches, for instance, music scholarships, law scholarships, minority, etc. There are tons of scholarships that are offered each year, yet there not enough people looking for those scholarships, so the money ends up going to the waste! </p>
<p>Dont just rely on financial aids! You still not too late to apply to some of those national scholarships. </p>
<p>Personally, I am already applying to at least 18 scholarships to pay the $22,000 tuition + boarding fee for the University of Michigan. I dont want to rely on my parents to succeed in life, so I am taking full responsibility on my college tuition. Certainly, I might not know you, but am positive you can do the same! </p>
<p>
[quote]
There are tons of scholarships that are offered each year, yet there not enough people looking for those scholarships, so the money ends up going to the waste!
[/quote]
</p>
<p>An urban myth. Most scholarships that do go unclaimed are bcos no one qualifies for them, i.e., need to be left-handed, daughter of the American revolution, with a last name that begins with Z, but yet have Eastern European genes, etc.</p>
<p>I know this isn't exactly what you want to hear, but maybe you should consider going to a state school. It'll probably be less than 20k a year. I know my "college selection process" was nothing more than "Which state school do you want to attend?". Attending an expensive LAC when you're short on cash seems a little counter-intuitive, no?</p>
<p>I realize you had non-financial reasons for wanting to attend these schools, but alas, most people don't get what they want in life.</p>
<p>I hate to burst your bubble, but if your FAFSA EFC is $28,000. The only thing the FAFSA does is determine your need for federal aid.</p>
<p>If your school requires the CSS profile or their own form to distribute institutional aid, then your EFC is likely to be more.</p>
<p>If your parents tell you that they are only paying $10,000 you are going to be hard pressed as an 18 year old to come up with ~@20k out of pocket.</p>
<p>Remember even if you receive outside scholarships, it is highly unlikely that your EFC will be reduced (your whole need based package would have to be eliminated before this could happen).</p>
<p>I think if you don't have one, you need to have a financial safety school on your list. As school that if accepted, you would be happy to attend and is a financially feasible school to your family.</p>
<p>With your determination and logical thinking, I think it's too bad your parents won't cough up the extra money to make one of those LACs a possibility for you. </p>
<p>It's not Too bad your parents won't pay more for you. I am a parent with the same EFC, and a child who has been told by well meaning teachers and counselors that private LAC's are the way to go...."If you really want it bad enough" BS! There are excellent alternatives, CC, State etc. Mine DD is well on her way to a fine State U education, On my budget. Which is much better than what my parents could do for me 25 years ago. A teacher with a State U education makes the same money as a teacher with an Ivy education!</p>
<p>I'm sorry, and I don't want to be rude. I read these boards often and many on here need to remember that there is a difference between wants and needs...and college is not an Entitlement. 10K a year from you parents is nothing to complain about.</p>
<p>I don't have personal knowledge, but have you considered Lake Forest College in Illinois? It is a small liberal arts college near Chicago, but it is known for having good financial aid and a number of merit scholarships. They have a deadline of February 15, you if you want to consider it, you had better get going.</p>
<p>From Pennzly -- "A teacher with a State U education makes the same money as a teacher with an Ivy education!" -- how true, and good grades and good LSAT/MCAT/GMAT etc will open up many grad schools. </p>
<p>I cant believe your GCs are saying if you want it you can go. I live in relatively affluent area, and our GCs say first step is talk to mom and dad, and understand limititation (money, geography etc) and they remind kids that mom and dad have to worry about grad school, other kids, their own retirement etc. My Ds GC made absolutely certain every student had applications in at state schools well before deadline. Anyone who didnt the GC called or emailed parents to advise them.</p>
<p>Kids need to remember that they and their parents are buying something (education) that can be bought from many vendors...What is the return on investment? My daughter has been offered attractive private LAC merit pkgs that make them more affordable...but unless the salary payoff "down the road" of the private is greater..why pay more? The "funny" thing I am finding is that many of the admissions counselors at the privates....are graduates of state schools...</p>
<p>A respected public LAC is University of Minnesota in Morris. They do not charge out of state students any more than instate. I just looked up the cost and it is in the neighborhood of $16,700 for tuition, room and board. They offer additional money based off of your class rank so you can whittle the costs down further. I think that this is a terrific value.</p>
<p>Some really nice kids from our town go there. Yes, Morris is small but it won't be much different than Grinnell.</p>
<p>Sybbie hit upon a very important thing. The EFC you have is your FAFSA EFC. All that guarantees you is the PELL if you are under a certain amount which you are not, and access to subsidized Staffords loans. Your college choices are going to each come up with an institutional EFC which will determine what they will give you. They may sweeten the pot with merit money. They may give you some flex. They may also increase your EFC as well. Until you get their determinations, you won't know, though you can check and see if there are any online calculators that will give you some idea for each school.</p>
<p>I just stalked you through previous posts. Looks like you will have a handful of AP credits when you graduate. If you use those and take a couple of CLEP tests, you may be able to shave a semester or two off of your education and therefore reduce your costs.</p>
<p>At U of MN Morris you need 3s for credit. At Luther and Beloit you need 4s.</p>