Is this fair

Paying for College
1

<p>Hey guys!</p>

<p>Just got my financial aid package to my top school, Bethel University.</p>

<p>MN State Grant Accepted<br>
$3,702.00</p>

<p>Pell Grant Accepted<br>
$5,550.00</p>

<p>Direct Subsidized Loan Offered
$3,500.00</p>

<p>Direct Unsubsidized Loan Offered
$2,000.00</p>

<p>Other Loan Eligibility Offered
$5,430.00</p>

<p>Bethel Opportunity Grant Accepted<br>
$2,000.00</p>

<p>Bethel Campus Housing Grant Accepted<br>
$2,000.00</p>

<p>Bethel Grant Accepted<br>
$2,000.00</p>

<p>President's Scholarship Accepted<br>
$12,500.00</p>

<p>Federal Workstudy Eligibility Offered
$2,500.00</p>

<p>Total<br>
$41,182.00</p>

<p>So basically it appears as if they want me to cover roughly $10,000 on my own (I'm assuming that the work study will cover my "extra expenses" such as snacks, books, entertainment etc with a bit of wiggle room) as Tuition+room+board is ~$38k.</p>

<p>Obviously you guys aren't financial aid officers, and obviously I'm going to talk to one from this school, but I just wanted your opinion--can I expect to get much better than this? My Mom is a single parent, and I have no contact with my Father. My EFC was 0--we have no assets, live paycheck to paycheck in an Apartment with a 2009 income of $7000 and a $14000 (the mortgage crisis hit my Mom's employment hours hard). My GPA is sitting at 3.1/3.3 (with an upward trend), with an ACT of 3.3. I took mostly honors classes all throughout high school, was involved in FIRST robotics Freshman and Sophomore year, heavy involvement in my church from the end of my sophomore year culminating in 200+ completed/planned volunteer hours ranging from Mission Trip, to service projects, and working tri-annual retreats through Minnesota Metro Teens Encounter Christ and serving on their council as a youth representative. </p>

<p>Thoughts?</p>

2

<p>Fairness really has nothing to do with it. That is what they feel it is worth to them to have you attend.</p>

<p>From the Bethel website COA is 39,400.</p>

<p>You would receive 27,752 free money.</p>

<p>Leaving 11,646 for you to pay through loans, work or other.</p>

<p>Most here will tell you that’s too much in loans to take. That is your work study eligibility, not necessarily what you will actually make at a work study job. You will probably make less.</p>

<p>The COA includes 2,090 for transportation and personal expenses. You may not need all of that. Have you worked during high school? Will you get a summer job to help out a little?</p>

<p>It looks very tight. When you call them, ask about subsequent years, whether you can expect your FA to increase with any tuition or housing increases. If not things will just get tighter. </p>

<p>What is your intended major?</p>

3

<p>*Other Loan Eligibility Offered
$5,430.00
*</p>

<p>What is that loan? Is it a Parent Plus loan? Is it a student loan from the school? Obviously, your mom won’t be able to borrow 5400 each year for 4 years. </p>

<p>*From the Bethel website COA is 39,400.</p>

<p>You would receive 27,752 free money.</p>

<p>Leaving 11,646 for you to pay through loans, work or other.*</p>

<p>Tuition (12-18 credits per semester, plus 1-5 credits for interim) $29,320
Room (new student rate) $4,900
Meal Plan (approximate cost) $3,630
Student Activity Fee (if full time) $140
Total $37,990 </p>

<p>The above doesn’t include any personal expenses or travel costs…which is what work study is generally for.</p>

<p>You may have a hard time completely covering the $12k (at least, since costs rise each year) unless you can get a good paying job over the summer. A student loan will cover 5500, but after that, you’d have to earn the rest over the summer.</p>

4

<p>What are your other alternatives? Can you do this without taking $50K in loans over the 4 years? Generally, I don’t like to see kids take more than half of that, maybe $30K at most with some subsidized loans. Can you commute to a collegel and work part time and do better than this? </p>

<p>You see, with your parents in their financial situation, you cannot expect them to help you out in repaying these loans as some kids might. That’s an awful lot of money to owe when you first come out of school. A lot of the kids I know are not finding the time of employment that can even make the scheduled payments on that kind of borrowed amounts and the interest just keeps on rolling. My son who graduated a couple of years ago is living hand to mouth and my other son who is now in his late 20’s just got a job where he is gainfully employed. He’s been living at home for several years to pay off his car loan and get some money saved for a place of his own… It’s been rough going for both of my kids and a saving grace has been that they do not have any school loans. It’s still been tough for them to be self sufficient. </p>

<p>I hope you see what I am saying. I am telling my younger ones the same thing. My junior in college is beginning to see this as some graduates are really struggling with low wages, needing cars and other things to work, and then having those loans on top of all of that, and most of them have parental support of some sort.</p>

5

<p>Someone asked my intended major. Right now, I don’t know for sure, but I was thinking perhaps Media Communications with a minor in Information Management Systems and either Biblical Studies, leadership, or both. </p>

<p>The big question that I have is, do colleges generally negotiate, and am I in a position to do so? Many of the grants that they gave me weren’t for the full amount ([Bethel</a> Grants | Tuition & Financial Aid | Bethel University Minnesota](<a href=“http://cas.bethel.edu/financial-aid/types/grants/bethel]Bethel”>Grants | Bethel University) [State</a> Grants | Tuition & Financial Aid | Bethel University Minnesota](<a href=“http://cas.bethel.edu/financial-aid/types/grants/state]State”>Undergrad Tuition & Financial Aid | Bethel University)) and I didn’t receive the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) either.</p>

<p>Another thing I’m worried about is that my Mom filed for bankruptcy a few years ago, and I don’t think she’ll be eligible for any loans.</p>

<p>I did work throughout high school, but I used it to pay for a laptop this past fall, and spending money. I’ll work during the summer, but that won’t cover much.</p>

6

<p>You can discuss your case with the college, certainly, and so you should even as you investigate other options as well. But look at what % of need that Bethel meets for its students. You may find that you are in the same situation as many others there. But, of course, talk to them and see if the gap can be narrowed. Do look at the thread I started on this board. Bethel is not the only college guilty of this and it may cause a meltdown in the near future.</p>

7

<p>*Someone asked my intended major. Right now, I don’t know for sure, but I was thinking perhaps Media Communications with a minor in Information Management Systems and either Biblical Studies, leadership, or both. </p>

<p>*</p>

<p>You need to think about how much you’ll be earning when you graduate. Newish grads don’t earn much, which makes it very hard to make the payments on school loans.</p>

<p>Do you have any other more affordable choices? If so, then talk to Bethel and tell them that you really want to attend, and that it’s your number one choice, but that you and your mom cannot make up the shortfall and explain why. Tell Bethel that you do have more affordable choices, provide details, and see if they can do anything to be similarly affordable.</p>

8

<p>All you can do is see what they say. Every college is different. I will repeat though, don’t just focus on the first year. You don’t want to go for one year and then have to transfer for financial reasons. It may be better to commute somewhere less expensive, if possible, for two years and then transfer. That would give you a chance to save a little and hold down loans. You would need to find out what aid is offered to transfer students.</p>

9

<p>Well, I’m currently waiting on a financial aid package from Augsburg College (were I got a similar Academic scholarship), and an admissions decision from St. Olaf. St. Olaf also gives 100% need, so that could be a good bargaining chip. </p>

<p>Ahhh this is all so stressful!</p>

10

<p>Xigbar, it is stressful, and I’m sorry that it is that way. I think it is unconsciounable that schools offer out loans to low EFC kids when they have to know what kind of trouble owing that kind of money at age 22 is going to cause. How the heck is the average kid who has no family resources going to be able to repay that kind of money? When you first get out of school, if you find a decent job, sometimes you gotta come up with money to even take it. It costs my son a decent amount for him to work at his job, and he had to invest money into finding it. Had he been strapped with loans, it would not have been possible. He’s tight as it is. He has some friends who could not pursue certain opportunities because they could not afford to do so. And a number of them are actively in default for their loans. They figure there is no way they can ever pay it so, they have thrown up their hands. Can’t squeeze water from stones and that’s where they are.</p>

11

<p>Yeah, you put my thoughts into words! How am I supposed to be starting a life with $40k in loans? I can’t start saving for a car, a down payment on a house, kids, retirement, investments, anything! And it’s not like I was a horrible student or anything, a 3.15/3.3 and a 33 ACT with lots of Volunteering seems pretty good to me! But it seems as if they just gave me a scholarship for that, and lowered need based aid to compensate :/</p>