So, if i wanted to apply for financial aid and both of my parents had stable incomes, is it even worth applying? Both of my parents are teachers. We arent poor but my parents are still going to struggle paying for college. I dont know their exact income but like lets say they both made $50,000 a year more or less, what do you think? Do factors like out of state/instate, private/public make a difference?
I think it’s definitely worth it to at least apply for it. Talk with your parents about it, see how much they can afford and what their incomes are. I did not expect to get any financial aid at all, but I got a little bit at one school so far. It was barely anything, but it was still money. With both your parents being teachers, I’ll assume they don’t have the best salaries individually, though having two incomes makes a huge difference. It is often very hard to get financial aid, but I think it’s worth trying for. Instate/ out of state and public or private do make a difference depending on school.
The way you find out: NPC = Net price Calculator
Each college has an “estimator” of what you might or might not get.
Go to the website of the college you hope to attend. Look for the NPT. Usually, it is in the financial aid area.
Plug in your numbers and it will give you a rough estimate of what to expect.
Getting FA will depend on the school you attend. Fill out the NPC and you will get an estimate.
You are a HS junior. The net price calculators are currently set up for students who are enrolling fall 2017.
And the income and information you use for the NPCs and for financial,aid applications comes from the prior prior tax year. So…if you are starting in 2018-2019, you will use 2016 tax return info…which you don’t have yet.
Right now…concentrate on your studies…and get the best SAT score possible. You need to get admitted as well…and right now, you don’t even have a SAT or ACT score.
ETA…you are a NY resident. I would strongly suggest that you take OOS public universities OFF of your application list. It sounds like you need financial aid to attend…and those OOS schools you are listing on other threads won’t give you much for need based aid as an OOS student.
@melisnb Filling out the FAFSA automatically makes you eligible to take out the standard federal student loan, at least ($5500 for freshman year). Though your parents’ income probably isn’t low enough to qualify for a Pell Grant, it’s possible you might qualify for work study, as well. All of those things are federal government supported financial aid.
The other thing that filling out the FAFSA will tell you is your family’s EFC (estimated family contribution). That does NOT mean your EFC is the amount you should expect to pay at any college or university, it is generally the minimum amount colleges will expect you to pay per year based on your family’s income. It is up to each individual school to decide how much (if any) need or merit based aid to give to an individual student beyond the federal programs above. Most schools cannot afford to meet students’ full financial need, which is why federal EFC is generally the minimum you should expect to pay. Since you are a junior, it’s too early to fill out the FAFSA, but you can do the FAFSA4caster here to get an estimate (ask your parents to do this since you do not know their income): https://fafsa.ed.gov/FAFSA/app/f4cForm?execution=e1s1
If your parents fill out the FAFSA4caster and find that they cannot afford the EFC amount each year, you are in good company. Many if not most families at almost every income level find that their EFC is ridiculously high and unrealistic, especially if they live in a high cost area. If that is the case for you, don’t despair. Find out exactly how much your parents DO think they can afford per year. You are a junior, and you have time to come up with a list of colleges that you are likely to be able to afford, but you need that information from your parents in order to proceed. Depending on your GPA and test scores, there are schools that will give significant merit aid to those with good stats, and the nice folks here will have good suggestions based on your individual situation. When you have test scores, an estimated FAFSA EFC, and the amount your parents do think they can afford per year do post either here or in College Search and Selection to get suggestions for schools likely to be affordable.
Out of state public schools (with just a few exceptions) typically do not give any need based aid to out of state students because those families are not taxpayers in that state. Private schools cost a lot more, but do not classify applicants as in state or out of state. You might be more likely to get need-based aid at a private school, but except for the most generous private schools the price tag will usually still come in above the cost of an in state public school unless you qualify for significant merit aid. Those private schools usually want an additional financial aid form, the CSS Profile, which goes much deeper into the family finances, before deciding on how much need based aid to offer, if any.
Students who do not have the stats for big merit awards but who cannot afford their federal EFC usually 1) go to an in state public school (ideally one they can commute to) or 2) start at a community college and finish their degree at an in state public school. If you are in NY, then you have a lot of good in state public options at (relatively) reasonable prices.
Those Net Price Calculators on each school’s web site are very useful, as long as you put accurate information into it (your parents should fill it out if they are not willing to give you access to their tax returns). Some NPCs are more accurate than others, and NPCs can be off by a lot in some situations e.g. international students, self-employed parents/business owners, those with non-custodial parents. The longer, more detailed NPCs are usually the most accurate, and some will even estimate merit aid if it has a place to input GPA and test scores… If an NPC shows the school would not give you enough need based aid and you are unlikely to qualify for merit aid there, then cross it off your list.
Good luck!
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? Both of my parents are teachers. We arent poor but my parents are still going to struggle paying for college. I dont know their exact income but like lets say they both made $50,000 a year more or less,
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Pick out a few schools, like Penn State, a SUNY, UDel, Syracuse, Boston Univ, and Loyola Maryland and have YOUR PARENTS run the net price calculators found on each website since THEY know their incomes and savings.
I imagine that NY teachers, especially ones who’ve been teaching for a bit, earn well over $50k each. Probably closer to $75k-100k for each parent depending on years working and level of degrees/credits.
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Do factors like out of state/instate, private/public make a difference?
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Absolutely!!
Public OOS schools rarely give much/any need based aid. SOME give merit scholarships if your test scores are high for that school (well into upper quartile) and have a good GPA, too.
NY publics seem to mostly only give aid to modest income people. Your parents likely earn way too much to qualify. However, some SUNYs do give merit for high stats.
Privates can vary depending on how large their endowment is. Many have small endowments and can’t give a ton of aid. Some give a good bit of aid, but families still have to pay a good bit, too. Some have large endowments and are generous (like the Ivies and some others), but you need tippy top stats to hopefully get into those schools…and families still have to pay a bit, unless low income.
if you have any siblings that will ever be in college at the same time as you, your eligibility for aid will increase with more kids also being in college. Plug the numbers into the NPC if it’s a factor so you can see the effect on your aid.
also, along those lines,:some schools don’t allow you to apply for aid in subsequent years if you didn’t apply as a freshman (keeps people from trying to increase their chances of admission without FA if they really need it)… so if you have siblings that would go to school in later years, plan accordingly.
Totally NOT true, @mom2collegekids . Average salaries in NYC are perhaps higher…but in most of the rest of the state…they are not that high.
This student has very modest stats…which at this point doing even guarantee her admission to the SUNY schools. But her real SAT score will be what helps her in the long run.
@sybbie719 what are options for a lower scoring SAT student like this one, who likely has $100,000 in family income…or so.
Op states that she is from Buffalo.
BTF salary schedule
http://www.buffaloschools.org/files/124962/2016-2019%20BTF%20Salary%20Schedule.pdf
it will depend on how long each parent has been teaching and if they have completed a masters, credits above a masters, etc.
Op is most likely not EOP eligible at SUNY (which will look at income/assets of both parents).
She may have to commute from home at Erie, Niagara or whatever other community college. Improve her grades and then transfer to buff state or UB.
She can toss an application at Buff State, which may be a slight reach. Again, is it close enough that she can commute from home. If her parents’s don’t have the $$ then dorming will be expensive.
Other colleges in the area; Canisius and Damen will be unaffordable to her. Right now, UB will be a big reach for her.
Op can count on receiving very little money from TAP and will most likely not be PELL eligible making their family virtually full pay.
In my opinion…the OP needs to really needs to work on getting a MUCH better SAT score than the PSAT would seem to predict.
The community college route is one that really should be looked at. There is nothing wrong with doing well at a CC and then getting the four year degree at one of the SUNY schools.
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Average salaries in NYC are perhaps higher…but in most of the rest of the state…they are not that high.
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Ahh…thanks…so if having worked for 18+ years and maybe a masters+, the range could be $65k-75k.
The student really needs to have his parents run the NPC because likely they are earning more than $50k each. …since the student guestimated their salaries to be similar, doubtful that one is a recent hire.
@sybbie719 what is the cut-off for TAP? Seems like the income may already exceed.
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In my opinion…the OP needs to really needs to work on getting a MUCH better SAT score than the PSAT would seem to predict.
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Very true. Better SAT or ACT can improve chances for merit at more places.
Cutoff is 80k. however, once you get above a 0 EFC, the amount that you receive in tAP drops dramatically
op can use the award estimator
I think it is time to sit with your parents, they are teachers, so college isn’t some kind of stealth surprise, the fact that the discussion hasn’t come up, combined with your GPA/PSAT would indicate that 4 yr college may well not be in their plan. You need a real conversation because you are not going to get merit and you are not going to get money anywhere affordable OOS. You would be much happier in the long run having a realistic plan as per Thumpers post.
1300/1600 3.6
We have already visited and we plan on attending the accepted students day in Feb. (And yes, she loved it)
D works during the school year now and in the summer; I was hoping that money would go towards books, living expenses, etc
This is my first to go (you can probably tell) and I have learned a lot. I know she will have debt, but just don’t think it’s worth it to come out with $50,000 plus, not when she can attend UMASS Amherst.