<p>I'm posting this in the forum for the specific university too just I figured I'd get more opinions here . </p>
<p>I got in ED to my first choice . On the website it said the estimated overall costs ( tuition , room and board, transport, personal stuff , books) is about 60000. In aid, I got about 50000. If you take out the loans, I got 43000 that's I DON'T have to pay back . So basically I have to come up with 17000 because I refuse to take out loans of any kind . So is this good or bad ?</p>
<p>I guess that would depend on if you have $17,000 a year to put towards college or not. If you have the money then its good, if you don’t then its bad.</p>
<p>As long as you or your parents have the 17k to pay, then you have no problems.
If your parents don’t have their 9500 EFC, then you just may have a big problem.</p>
<p>If you can gt some outside scholarships, then you can probably reduce some of those loans.</p>
<p>So basically I have to come up with 17000 because I refuse to take out loans of any kind . So is this good or bad ?</p>
<p>???</p>
<p>what is your question? Is WHAT good or bad? If you don’t want to take out the loans, then you and your family have to pay $17k per year. How would we know whether that’s good or bad for your family. You haven’t told us anything. </p>
<p>However, since you got so much aid, we can deduce that your family doesn’t have a high income…so how would you all come up with $17k per year. A young person isn’t likely going to be able to net that much each year to put towards school costs.</p>
<p>You could economize a bit an reduce those out of pocket costs to maybe $15k.</p>
<p>But, if you and your family can’t come up with $15-17k per year, then you have to take the loans…or decline GWU. </p>
<p>*I got 43000 that’s I DON’T have to pay back . *</p>
<p>Is any of that work-study? If so, how much? if you didn’t get work-study, that seems odd.</p>
<p>Your financial aid award is only good if you can afford to pay whatever the school did NOT give you in aid each year. If you can’t, it doesn’t matter how much the award is…it’s not good for you.</p>
<p>So…if your family can PAY the $17K per year, then fine. Otherwise you might want to consider taking the Stafford loan (I’m assuming the $5500 Stafford is the loan in your package, is that correct?), because it will ease the payments your family has to come up with. If your aid is as much as you say, your family might not have the expendable income to pay $17K for you to go to college…but they might have $12K…(taking $5500 away for the Stafford loan in your name). Even that is $1000 per month…do your parents HAVE that money?</p>
<p>I agree with M2CK, if there is any work study in your package you need to back that out. Does your package specifically state that you have 43k in grant aid (GWU grant/scholarship, Pell etc.? </p>
<p>Based on GWU’s website, tuition is $44103. Your grant is not enough to cover tuition. You need 1103 just to make tuition. In addition, you need the $45 in student association fees and $10,325 for room and board. As long as you have this covered you can work around everything else.</p>
<p>if you do not currently have a job, my advice is to get one. work as many hours as possible and save the $$. you will need start up money for school (sheets, dorm stuff, books, a ticket to get to school)</p>
<p>Everyone would like to have a free college education, but it isn’t going to happen. Accept the Stafford loans and find a combination of a job and private scholarships to make up the difference.</p>
<p>I have a different take on this. It is possible that you will not actually have to come up with $17,000. Many higher priced schools bump up their Cost of Attendance. Add up just tuition, fees, and room & board. How much is it? What is the true cost for you to attend? Can your family pay this amount? If not, you will either need to take out some loans or go to a school that will cost you less. </p>
<p>I did not hear any whining in OP’s post, just a question. The truth is, as others have stated, it is only as good as your ability to pay.</p>
<p>To the OP…I fully agree with Kelsmom. You need to look at the “billable costs”…what the school will be billing you. This would include tuition/room/board/fees/possibly health insurance if you can’t waive the school’s coverage. Anything else, personal expenses, books, travel, etc are things that YOU have more control over. As noted by others upstream, your grant doesn’t even cover the cost of tuition at GWU…and it doesn’t touch room/board. Those are costs that will be billed to you by the bursar at the college…and your aid applied to those costs. Anything the aid doesn’t cover YOU will have to somehow pay. </p>
<p>The other costs are ones that you do have some control over. </p>
<p>BUT first, make sure you can cover the billable costs. It seems to me that even including the Stafford loan you will still be about $5-$6k a year short with regard to the billable costs.</p>
<p>Well my question was is the AID good or bad . The 17k is not that much of a problem actually. I just wanted to know if the aid was good or bad or GW because a lot of people said GW gives bad aid . I have two jobs . And 2200 is work study actually I forgot to add that . And 10000 of the aid was a scholarship too .</p>
<p>the COA @ GWU is $58,948 (58,823 if you only count direct cost) your aid, package is 43,00 leaving almost 16K on the table (11,823 applied to the direct cost).</p>
<p>Unless you tell us, we do not know what this means to you. If you have a 10-12k EFC, then it is an excellent package that meets all of your need.</p>
<p>However, if you have a 0 EFC, it is not a great package, because it will be a struggle for your family to come up with the 11 k needed to met the direct cost of attending this school.</p>
<p>In my opinion, a good package is one that meets 100% of your demonstrated need (with need based aid and not merit money) and the EFC can be paid by the parents without a major sacrifices (or taking on exorbitant debt).</p>
<p>You state that you received a 10k merit scholarship. What is the “fine print” connected to your merit money. </p>
<p>Is it automatically renewable for the next 4 years?</p>
<p>Is it attached to staying with a specific major?</p>
<p>Is it renewable for the same amount of money each year?</p>
<p>Is scholarship adjusted to take into consideration tuition increases (about 5% per year)</p>
<p>Is there a gpa requirement needed to keep getting the money?</p>
<p>When does the gpa requirement start (by the end of fall term or the end of spring term)?</p>
<p>Is there a phase in to the gpa requirement?</p>
<p>What happens if you do not meet gpa requirement, does money leave immediately or is there a grace period?</p>
<p>If you lose scholarship and bring your grades back up is money reinstated?</p>
<p>What percentage of students lose their scholarship?</p>
<p>Ask the financial aid office what percent of students lose their merit money in the first year.</p>
<p>And the most important question… worse case scenario if you were to lose the scholarship would you still be able to swing the cost of attending?</p>
<p>Agreed with Sybbie…the package is ONLY good if you can pay the balance of what the school did NOT give you in aid. Otherwise, no matter HOW much money is involved, it’s not good.</p>
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<p>My bad, I meant to say that the direct costs is $54,823</p>
<p>GW has fixed tuition. so there are no tuition increases once you enroll.
the scholarship is fixed unless i get below a 2.0 gpa which wont happen because I want to go to med school and i need at least a 3.6. its not attached to a major. and its automatically renewable.</p>
<p>basically, the 17k is affordable . but some people get aid and they’re like OMG this is great! or OMG this is terrible . my parents didnt go to college in the US and im the first child so i just wanted people’s opinions on whether its good or not.</p>
<p>Yes, it’s good aid based on your EFC.</p>
<p>You’re choosing not to do the loans, so that means you’ll have to make up for those with cash. </p>
<p>Can I ask how much you (the student) will be contributing and how much your parents will be contributing? </p>
<p>You mention having 2 jobs, but I doubt you’ll be able to work THAT much while in college…especially since you’ll have W-S during the year.</p>
<p>And, as a pre-med, you’ll need to keep grades VERY high. My son is pre-med, and he has to spend a LOT of time studying. When he was doing his pre-med pre-reqs, he worked minimally.</p>
<p>I’m not going to go 2 jobs in college . The two jobs im doing now are to save FOR college . I’m basically saving everything and whatever comes up is what I’m going to contribute . Also, mom2college, how was your sons experience? Does he have time to volunteer, study, work and also enjoy college ?</p>
<p>I’m not going to go 2 jobs in college . The two jobs im doing now are to save FOR college . I’m basically saving everything and whatever comes up is what I’m going to contribute .</p>
<p>I realize that. My concern is that you’re going to come up with the shortfall the first year with all of your savings, but you won’t have those funds for years 2, 3, and 4.</p>
<p>How much will your PARENTS be contributing each year? If they’ll be contributing $11k or more, then if you need to later, you can take out student loans for the shortfalls.</p>
<p>Also, mom2college, how was your sons experience? Does he have time to volunteer, study, work and also enjoy college ?</p>
<p>My son has to manage his time very wisely. He does go to home football games, but he’s studying or doing homework much of the other times. He does work a part-time job, but his job is one where he’s allowed to study when he’s not busy. He has a job as a campus tutor, so if he doesn’t have an appt scheduled, he’s allowed to do homework then…and get paid. :)</p>
<p>So far, it has worked. He has a 4.0 and will be applying to med schools this summer. He takes the MCAT in April (fingers crossed! 
)</p>