<p>Hello, I am currently a senior in high school and got accepted into the McCombs School of Business at UT Austin several months ago. I applied for financial aid about last month and yesterday I got my awards posted. I got a Federal Pell Grant for $278 and a University Tuition Grant - Initial for $1100 for both semesters, the rest were loans and they all added up to $12,829 per semester. I was pretty disappointed in what I got but I just want to know if it sounds right. My EFC was 5245. I am living with my brother who is in high school and a single mother. Her AGI was $49,497 for this year. I'm just unsure if this is what I should've expected. Is it too late to apply for other scholarships and grants?</p>
<p>Start looking on FastWeb, the library,check with your guidance counselor as to what is out there. </p>
<p>UT does not guarantee, nor does it meet need, so having a low EFC doesn’t mean that it is going to use that number as what you have to pay. You got less than $1500. </p>
<p>My personal opinion is that taking over $25K a year in loans is way too much for UG education especially with a family that has a low EFC. You debt incurred in a year is what I usually think is ok for a college kid with a famlly making about $100K should be taking in 4 years. Your loan payment when you are out of school is going to be very harmful and probably not doable. </p>
<p>Yes, look for other scholarships and grants, but see if you can take a gap year or look for a less expensive school, locally where you can commute and think about how to make this work next year or the year after. Texas has some very reasonably priced state schools. </p>
<p>A family cousin’s son was accepted to Penn State main campus, his dream choice. But like your UT, this school is stingy in aid. Their family has a $15K EFC. and the college gave them a pittance. He is now mulling going to Pitt for $15K plus expenses in costs or commuting to a satellite Penn State for much less, taking no loans for 2 years and transferring to main campus and borrowing heavily but just for 2 years instead of 4 and stashing some money away in the two years before going there, now that they know how things work. Yeah, people told them that just because the young man had a 3.5 average and good SATs that Penn State was not going to deluge him with scholarships and that his stats were not even a cinch for the Honors College and even then, what that would mean in aid is not substantial, about $2500. But now they know. Plus the PA state system is expensive, especially for its top schools, Penn State and Pitt. And neither guarantee to meet need. nor do they as a rule even come close.</p>
<p>mt291993 -</p>
<p>You cannot afford this university. You need to find a place that you can afford and go there instead.</p>
<p>Were you accepted anywhere else? If so, what kind of aid packages did those places offer you?</p>