I know this thread isn’t going to help my situation, but I need an outlet to lament my pitiful financial aid. USC has been my dream school for as long as I can remember, and I was ecstatic to be admitted to my first choice major. Seeing as my family earns under $60k, I thought we’d qualify for significant financial aid this year. I was shocked to see the $72k price tag when I logged into my FAST portal, and immediately appealed the decision. This all brings me to this morning, when I found that the cost had only been slightly reduced.
I was lucky enough to be admitted to some other great private schools, but unfortunately none of them are affordable, even with generous merit scholarships. This leaves my state school as the only reasonable option, which is 15 minutes away from my house and I’ve never enjoyed visiting the campus.
I’m crushed because I was so excited to leave town for college. I wanted to live in a bustling city and get away from all my hometown drama, and I’ve done everything in my power to make that dream happen. I even worked full time at a grocery store for the past two summers and part time during the school year, saving nearly every penny to pay for college.
I know I’m fortunate to be in a position where I have access to higher education, but it still stings to have a dream locked behind a paywall.
I’m currently on the waitlist at Harvard and Vanderbilt, so I’m desperately hoping that one of those works out.
Anyways, I just wanted a place to vent. I need to hear that someone else understands, and that I’m not the only one dealing with this.
Ok, first of all put deposit today for school that you can afford.
Why do you think that financial aid for Harvard or Vanderbilt will be better?
All scholarships are gone long time ago.
If your EFC is $72K (I am not sure how it can be with income under $60k. Something does not add up), it is unfortunately will be the same everywhere.
I sympathies to you, but did you not know about your family finances?
You sound like very smart person since you are on great waitlists.
My DC did not apply to schools that we could not afford. I also specifically warned not to fall in love until all scholarships will show up.
If you are so upset, consider taking GAP year and reapply to lesser private schools that may give you merit. It is going to be more difficult admission next year.
Will schools like Case Western make you happy? It is not Harvard, but it is not local school either. By the way what is local school?
What are good merits at private?
@momsearcheng I was not fully aware of my parents’ assets when I applied. Our EFC is 0 on the FAFSA and we are low income, but my parents are shareholders in bars and restaurants that used to be pretty successful. Unfortunately they haven’t been profitable for quite some time now, even before COVID-19, but my parents’ non-liquid assets and shares are still significant enough to eliminate my eligibility for most need-based financial aid.
The reason I applied to these expensive private schools is because I genuinely thought that I would receive more aid. USC announced that they would be giving full tuition to students earning less than $80k with typical assets this year, and I thought I would qualify. I also figured that since I had an EFC of 0, I would be given at least enough aid to make some private schools semi-affordable, but I was not aware of the extent to which my parents’ assets would hurt me. The merits I got at other privates were in the 25k range, which is good, but not enough when you’re looking at schools that cost more than your family’s annual income.
I’m not optimistic about financial aid at Vanderbilt, but at least Harvard has a huge endowment and might understand my complex financial situation a little better.
My state school is UCSB by the way, which is not a bad school at all, but I really dread the idea of staying where I am for another four years. I’d probably be better off doing two free years at community college and then transferring to another UC anyways.
Did you run USC’s net price calculator before you applied? If so, what was that estimate?
Did you have USC walk you through how they calculated that your family could pay $72K? I agree that seems high if your family earns $65K/year.
USC and the other private schools you mention use the CSS Profile to calculate your need-based financial aid. Does your family have significant home equity? Other assets (cash, real estate, savings, etc.)?
Have you run Harvard and Vandy’s NPCs? If not do that today, and let us know the results.
@Mwfan1921 I explained my financial situation more clearly in a previous comment. I did have USC walk me through how they came to this decision, and they basically said they expected my family to liquidate all assets (bars and restaurants), which are now untouchable due to COVID-19. We do not own a house, and cannot even afford our current rent after my dad lost his job. I mentioned all this in my appeal by the way.
I have not run Harvard or Vandy’s NPCs, and I’m honestly scared to. I have been able to lower my cost slightly at other schools with some negotiation, so that is what I plan to do for Harvard if I get in.
We never ran USC’s NPC, which was a mistake, but I was counting on that new aid policy and possible merit scholarships to come through at the time.
Harvard and Vandy will likely expect your parents to liquidate some assets as well. Sticking your head in the sand and not running the NPCs doesn’t make a lot of sense. If you knew they were unlikely to be affordable if you get off the waitlist, perhaps you would be able to move on.
I’m sorry you are going thru, I’m certain it is very stressful. Obviously UCSB is a very good school but I understand wanting to move away for a new experience. However, UCSB does seem preferable to CC plus transfer.
I have a close friend who supported his family and prepared for retirement by investing in rentals. His income alone would have netted his kids substantial financial aid, but that’s not the way Harvard looked at it. They gave his son zero financial aid.
Your family situation looks similar. I wouldn’t count on either Vanderbilt or Harvard giving you more than USC has offered. Also, Harvard waitlist is truly a lottery ticket even these days.
Your big challenge now, where your focus should be, is getting hyped and giving your all to the affordable school you have decided to attend. Where are you committing to attend this fall, and what sort of package did they give you?
@Mwfan1921@cptofthehouse At this point I’m only going to worry about affording Harvard and Vandy if I get in. It’s only going to add more stress right now. I should mention that my CC guarantees 2 years free and a transfer to a UC. Hopefully I’d be able to transfer to UCLA or someplace else and avoid paying for 2 years at UCSB.
I recognize that it’s a good option and I’m sorry if this sounds bitter, but I can’t say I’m not disappointed to have worked so hard these past 4 years only to end up with all the C or D average students I knew in high school.
I know I’ll try my best wherever I end up, and I have a deposit deadline extension to give me time to decide between UCSB and community college. Still, I am finding it very hard to get excited about these next 4 years.
Ummm. Big spread between Harvard and a CC. Didn’t get any Calgrants? Don’t they just require FAFSA? No 4 year CA schools like the Cal states and UCs? I see you mention UCSB. What aid did you get from them?
@cptofthehouse I know they’re two different worlds, but it’s just how my financial situation worked out. I applied to a range of schools, believe me. I did get Calgrants, but they only really helped for UCSB. UCSB would cost around $9k a year, which is very affordable. Like I said though, I could do 2 free years at CC and transfer to either UCSB almost guaranteed or another UC. I have friends at UCSB who strongly recommend going this route. Some of them even have full rides, but just don’t like the school.
Hey, I really recommend going to a cc that has the UCLA TAP program. If you apply for a non-impacted major like history, math, or philosophy then you will have above a 40 percent chance of being admitted. For my community college, students in the TAP program have an above 60 percent chance of being admitted and this is including really impacted majors like economics and the life sciences.
Here are some helpful links: http://www.admission.ucla.edu/Prospect/Adm_tr/ADM_CCO/tap.htm https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/infocenter/transfers-major
$72K is what USC determined the family can pay per the CSS Profile. So, although not the FAFSA EFC, it is fair to characterize that $72K as USC’s EFC. As this student found out, FAFSA EFC is irrelevant at a profile school.
I think UCSB is a great school. If you want to spend two years commuting to a community college so you can possibly finish up at UCLA, that’s up to you. Did you get accepted to UCLA this admissions season? I don’t understand your situation.
Can your family afford for you to live on campus at UCSB? If not, I honestly think your best idea is to go the CC/UC route. Paying the extra money is regarded by many as part of the “college experience” and if you aren’t able to be part of that, I don’t see a benefit of attending UCSB over a CC. Fwiw, I attended CC in SoCal and transferred to a CSU. My social life revolved around work. I had plenty of fun during my college years.
You can also try again next year. You must have decent stats or you wouldn’t have been accepted to USC. There could be colleges that will offer you good merit aid and make college more affordable for you. Or you may qualify for some automatic full tuition colleges. Consider a gap year if you really want to aim for a different experience. But it’s best to rethink your expectations and prioritize what’s important.
If the OP does go to community college for two years, would that make UCLA (if OP does get accepted as a transfer student there) affordable?
What state schools have accepted this student and what CalGrants, federal money and other aid has the OP received to bring down those costs to what level? What is the family willing and able to pay?
With a zero FAFSA EFC, wouldn’t this student get substantial financial aid for a state school? Why would OP have to commute to UCSB with a zero EFC? I do not understand
Do make sure to deposit today & stay on those waitlists. I hope one works out for you (this is a crazy year so odd things clild happen - I got a scholarship off a waitlist acceptance for the school I’m not committed to).
UCSB is a pretty well regarded school so should it be affordable, I would go there. It will provide more academic challenges and extracurricular opportunities than a CC can offer. You’ll be well equipped to transfer elsewhere. UC state schools tend to have some good transfer odds bc colleges understand people go to them first because of finances. CC also get a leg up in transfer, BUT you’re going to need to find new activities if you attend CC. The club and community won’t be the same as. 4 year college. And not to knock CC, but it is likely you’ll have better professors to get recs from at UCSB.
Best of luck. I too turned down a couple dream schools bc of $ and some uncertainty with going far away this year. It will work out, trust me. Just think about what you truly want and set your mind to it. If USC is where you want to graduate from, transfer by all means.
For now, evaluate your offers in hand & pick the option that’s affordable & offers the best opportunities should you end up liking it and staying there. I picked the school that i knew if I don’t end up transfering out of for a “higher ranked school”, I would be happy staying at.
And trust me, I used to be a big critic of staying close to home. Even a few weeks ago, I was pretty set on going to a school 6 hours away.
Ultimately I picked a school close to home because it is safer atm. If the outbreak starts up again, it’ll be easy for my parents to bring me home. If I ever am sick or injured, they’ll be able to get here in only two hours. If I’m homesick at the start of the year, I can get back on weekends.
And I never marked myself as a homesick person. But that safety net is comforting.
You have a right to be disappointed @Cjhastings322 . The college admission/financial aid process can be brutal, and is compounded by the stresses of this pandemic. All HS seniors have the right to feel underwhelmed this year. But, I am here to tell you a couple of things: All of the dedicated hard work you have put in will pay off in spades! You will find, in time, that your willingness to work hard and ability to balance the demands of school and a job will be very compelling to employers. Also, so many kids end up at their local university… most of them end up loving it! It really isn’t about where you go to undergrad - it’s what you do when you get there. Good luck!