<p>The school I would like to attend's total cost of attendance is approximately $61k. I have received approximately $30k in need-based aid. I didn't receive any merit based aid. My EFC is approximately $20k however my parents realistically can only do about $15k. </p>
<p>Is it worth taking out about $10-15k in loans? I'm of course looking for outside scholarships and such but I would really like to know that I should be able to attend the school I want to. </p>
<p>Also, how do I even go about finding student loans?</p>
<p>You, the student, can take a Direct Loan of $5500 for your freshman year in your name only…assuming you have completed a FAFSA form. Any loans beyond that amount would need to be cosigned by your parents, or your parents would need to take out the loans. Are they willing to do this?</p>
<p>Did you apply to any more affordable colleges?</p>
<p>One option is to look at Us that you DO want to attend that are affordable to you and still accepting applications. </p>
<p>For this U that costs $60K+, how much of the financial aid package was GRANTS and SCHOLARSHIPS? How much was LOANS? Even if all $30K of your package was grants and scholarships, that still leaves you and your family with over $30K EVERY year that you will need to get to attend this U.</p>
<p>How much have your folks agreed to pay PER YEAR for your U? Did they agree to pay the $15K or is that that YOU estimate they would pay? How do you plan to get the extra money – $5500 Perkins loan and borrow the other $10K every year?</p>
<p>If you borrow those funds in an unsubsidized loan, you will earn more than $60K plus interest if you graduate in 4 years; if it takes longer or your folks can’t come up with $15K every year, you may owe even more, PLUS tuition and other expenses tend to rise each year.</p>
<p>Outside scholarships tend to be tough to get and are often only for freshman year and NOT renewable.</p>
[quote]
I should be able to attend the school I want to.[\quote] Ideally yes! However, the school that you want to attend may burden you with too much student debt.</p>
<p>Ok…you have $30,000 in need based grants. Add to that $5500 in Direct Loans. Add to that $15,000 from your parents. $50,500. Hopefully you are working…and can add $2000 to this amount. $52,500.</p>
<p>Is this the school you got accepted to EA? If so, go and talk to them. It is possible they can add work study to your award. There are also on campus jobs that are NOT work study.</p>
<p>Now…look at the billable costs…these are costs billed by the college to you…room, board, tuition, fees? If you have health insurance that meets their criteria, you can waive their insurance…saves another $1500 or so. </p>
<p>How much are the billable costs? How close does the $52500 bring you to meeting those costs?</p>
<p>The other costs are in YOUR control to some degree. Personal expenses, books, transportation are all things you can try to economize on.</p>
<p>I plan to major in business (double major or minor in psychology). Also, the 30k given to me is purely need-based grant (no loans). My parents said they’d like to do 15k however if I absolutely need it they could do 19k - but only as a last resort. That leaves me with at least 11k to make up. I’ve been aggressively applying for local scholarships and such but most are not renewable. Student loans are of course undesirable however going to this school really means a lot to me. I was accepted EA but when I talked to the financial aid office, it didn’t sound like I would get any more aid. Compared to fellow students I know who’ve been accepted, I’ve received the largest aid package by far. </p>
<p>I’d really like to attend this school because it has a reputable business program and is in an area where internships with large and well known companies are numerous. The other schools I’ve been accepted to all offer business but none are reputable nor allow for great internship opportunities.</p>
<p>Why am I getting the feeling that you want to attend Santa Clara, instead of a more affordable school, because you think if it is expensive, it is * better*.</p>
<p>Not so.
Its disappointing that you weren’t admitted into your top choice, but NYU rarely gives students enough aid for four years anyway.</p>
<p>Your parents can pay $15,000. That is not a small sum.
If that is what they can afford, its unlikely they will want to cosign for more loans.
You can take a $5,500 DiRect loan freshman year.
With a summer and school year job, you should be able to earn at least $3,000 or so.</p>
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<p>I don’t understand how you can say ^^^^^ with a straight face, given that last month, this was your situation. :rolleyes:
*
Stern and NYU in general was my dream.
I have no idea where to go now. I’m super bummed.
*</p>
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<p>Safe schools are schools you want to attend, where you can be admitted, which you can afford.
Since you didnt have any safety schools, Id advise you to take a gap year to do more research and find merit aid at a school you want to attend.</p>
<p>Having a meaningful gap year, could give you enough of a bump to where you could attend a school that meets 100% need.
( which NYU does not. Even if you were admitted to Stern, it is unlikely you would receive enough money to attend)
But you do have good grades & scores, and you should be able to find another school.
Taking a year off has many advantages, even Harvard suggests to admitted students to try a gap year, in order to make the most of your time & money when you arrive on campus.</p>
<p>As cool as it sounds, I really think my parents would rather take out loans than let me take a gap year… They’ve both pushed the notion that college is super super important.</p>
<p>I should probably mention that I have an older brother who graduated a few years ago. He didn’t receive as much aid but took out some student loans (~30k?) He told me it isn’t that bad but I know that I’d rather try to get scholarships and stuff. He landed a decent job and is working towards paying them off.</p>
<p>I believe his starting salary was about $45k? He got a job in accounting.</p>
<p>What is considered “not that bad” for student loans anyway? I know someone who’s taking out about 40k a year in student loans and is currently just a freshman.</p>
<p>$40K in loans taken by a freshman is crazy! That means he will likely graduate with at least 4x that amount, plus interest, IF s/he can continue to have anyone qualify and co-sign for such loans. The student can only qualify for these smaller Perkins loans without a co-signer.</p>
<p>A lot depends on how long the person borrowing will have to take to repay the loans. Accounting tends to have many employment opportunities; not all business majors are similarly sought after. Have read that as a rule of thumb, it is best for a student not to borrow more than they are eligible to as Perkins loans.</p>
<p>At any school, you make your own opportunities. I know some Santa Clara students who have done fine and others who haven’t, just as kids from no-name Us have done great and others not so great.</p>
<p>Also, be sure your parents will be able to afford to help you with your tuition and expenses EVERY year, not just cobbling together funds for the first year. You could start a part-time job NOW that hopefully you can continue through the summer that can help with whatever U you end up attending. Good luck!</p>
<p>There is no right and wrong answer here. Education is important and it is better if one gets college education, if possible. For student loans, take additional loans if you’re majoring in something with good job prospects and your university has a good name (meaning some prestigious schools whose graduates are readily employed). After graduation I think you’ll have 6 months before you need to make your first re-payment check. So if you’re employed by then, then it wouldn’t be a problem for you to take out a certain amount of money each month out of your salary.
On the other hand, if you’re majoring in something in which there aren’t too many jobs then I’ll think twice before getting additional loans.
For loans, check out the websites of various banks, Sally Mae and Fanny Mae, etc etc.</p>
<p>Every school doesn’t reduce the aid if you bring in outside scholarships, and often if they do it is the loans they are eliminating. Eliminating loans is a good thing. My daughter’s school specifically states that they do no penalize for bringing in outside scholarships or grants.</p>
<p>Although it is not official until we send in first semester grades, we have an outline of the scholarship package to work off. D did not apply ED. We know which state grants she received, the merit the school gives to all students with her scores/grades, the outside grants, and her athletic award. I don’t think anything is going to change.</p>
<p>What are your other options? If you can go to another good college without any loans, I’d definitely look into that option and give that college fair consideration. How big is the difference between your top choice and an affordable choice? My son went with his least expensive option because he didn’t want to be saddled with any loans, and he loves it there and never looked back. “Sometimes you make the right decision and sometimes you make the decision right.” (Dr. Phil- hate to quote him but that’s a good one.)</p>
<p>Once more with vigor! What are the BILLABLE costs to Santa Clara? That would be tuition, room, board and fees. What is THAT amount? Other costs (books, transportation, personal expenses) are able to be reduced by you. If you have family health insurance that is acceptable to SCU, you might be able to waive their health insurance cost as well (about $1500 a year).</p>
<p>ETA…current cost posted for SCU…$42,156 tuition, $12,546 for food/board. Total $54,702.</p>
<p>You have a $30,000 grant, $15,000 from parents, and $5500 Direct loan totaling $50,500.</p>
<p>You are less than $5000 short in terms of billable costs. Get a JOB. NOW! You should be able to add about $2000 to that amount. </p>
<p>That leaves you with $3000 plus books and personal expenses to come up with. </p>
<p>Also, your posts when rejected from NYU saying “I don’t even KNOW where to apply now” we’re a bit…well…not quite honest…since your EA application to SCU had already been submitted.</p>
<p>Lastly, I’m a huge fan of SCU as my daughter is a graduate of the school. BUT I think every student needs to have affordable schools they would like to attend on their application list. </p>
<p>Only your parents can actually tell you if SCU is an affordable option for you.</p>
<p>If your parents can eke out $19K, and you have $30K in grants, you need at least $11K more, as you know. You can borrow $5500 without much trouble. No parental cosigning needed. Beyond that, your parents will have to be on the hook too. You should also be looking to find a job and start saving up, and plan to work at the college during the school year too. It’s great to be applying for scholarships, and I hope you get some, but they tend to be one year only, and the big ones are true long shots.</p>
<p>Which brings us to the subject of future years. Costs tend to go up. SO if you can barely do the amounts listed for the first year, you may have this problem compounded in future ones. Also things happen. Bad things. Things that cost money. When you go to a school that has you and your parents backed against the wall financially, it can be a major problem when you need dental work, the car breaks down, parent loses a job, takes a pay cut, expenses crop up. And I assure you these things are almost certainly going to happen. That’s the way it works.</p>