<p>Madison College may need to be a consideration for freshman year. Definitely not her ideal, nor is commuting, but it is what it is. 2 of Ds friends will be going that route.</p>
<p>We live by UW-Parkside and have Gateway Technical College near us and many of my children’s friends study at one of those for 2 years and then transfer to UW-Madison or another university. Tuition is much less for the 2 years, and it saves them room/board etc. The only problems I have seen is that some of them don’t research enough what will actually transfer so they take “unnecessary” classes and, if they are not truly motivated, some drop out. Also some universities do offer transfer scholarships, but many do not (I don’t think UW-Madison does but I am not 100% sure.) Your family is the only one who knows what you can afford and how much you want to go into debt for a child’s education. I know there was no way we could pay what the FAFSA said we could for S1 and S2. If UW-Madison is too expensive, is it too late for her to look and apply to UW-Whitewater or another UW school which is a little more affordable? For S3, we will have him apply next year to UW-Madison if he wants, but most likely he will end up at UW-Platteville for engineering which has a more affordable $14,000 COA a year unless we find another school that offers scholarships to bring it down to about this.</p>
<p>Again, good luck to your daughter!</p>
<p>Treesofgreen, just looked at the UW-Whitewater website and applications were due on or before April 1st for the Fall 2013 semester so this isn’t an option for your daughter. Sorry I thought it might be if they were still accepting apps as its not too far from Madison and I know several kids who go there and like it. UW-Eau Claire (a school I really liked when I visited) closed their applications on February 1st. I am guessing that UW-Green Bay and UW-Platteville are also not taking apps for the Fall 2013 semester either. Glad you have Madison College as your back-up in case you and your D decide not to go to UW-Madison.</p>
<p>kjcphmom: Thanks so much for your suggestions and legwork! Congrats to your son for knowing what he wants to do-I’ve heard good things about Platteville’s engineering program :)</p>
<p>treesofgreen: Not sure he will go there, will explore all his opportunites including UW-Madison, but its nice to have a good “safety” school for admittance and for financial reasons. We will definitely encourage him to apply to his reach schools, including UW-Madison to see what happens.</p>
<p>You don’t have to pay the COA all at once. Your daughter has worked very hard and your EFC seems to show you are a family of some means. The dorm cost is paid in 4 installments of around $1800 each. The tuition is due mid-September and late-January. You don’t have any savings to come up with money for tuition and dorm by September 1st? What about a HELOC? There are irreplaceable opportunities and benefits to starting out freshman year on campus, in a dorm and not commuting to MATC from home. Also, IRA money can be withdrawn penalty free (though not tax-free) for college tuition. Can a grandparent help out?</p>
<p>Did your daughter fill out the Wisconsin Covenant confirmation form this spring (did she apply in 8th grade)?</p>
<p>Treesofgreen,</p>
<p>Applying to live in the campus-owned women’s housing cooperative would significantly reduce living expenses. The dorms are like 8000 a year not including any food, while the coop is only 5100 or so for the year (for a double) and that includes 10 meals a week. Here’s a link:</p>
<p>[Zoe</a> Bayliss | UW-Madison](<a href=“http://zoebayliss.housing.wisc.edu/]Zoe”>http://zoebayliss.housing.wisc.edu/)</p>
<p>@Madison85: Somehow we fell through the cracks for the WI Covenant in 8th grade. Daughter didn’t attend public school for 7th or 8th grade. Declining economy forced a job change and move between her 8th & 9th grade yrs. </p>
<p>@futurepmhnp: Thanks so much for the coop suggestion! We didn’t know anything about it. It looks very interesting-and fun. Rec’d your pm but couldn’t reply due to my low post count.</p>
<p>A typical double is $7000 for the room, food is pay as you go, for what you eat, at a subsidized rate. My freshman has spent probably about $1500 for the year on food, with another 4 weeks to go. </p>
<p>Books/supplies have run him $250-400 per semester, and he has a job for spending money, so our experience with cost of attendance is much lower than the OP’s projected COA. Depends on the subject matter, I am sure, and the individual kid’s choices. Ours doesn’t really have travel expenses, as we are driving distance and do pick up and drop off. Next year, his housing for 12 months will be about the same as this year in the dorm for 9 months and we expect he will stay in Madison next summer and work. I expect his other expenses to go up because he is likely to wind up eating out more – I don’t quite picture 5 guys cooking a lot . . . .</p>
<p>Midwestmomofboys: I was wondering how much books actually cost these days, and the food as well. Thank you for the real-life numbers- they definitely help. </p>
<p>Madison85: no help from grandparents. Spouse & I put ourselves through college with work & loans, both of us from larger families, saved our own down payment for house, etc. Partially helping out 1 set of grandparents. Seems like just the other day we were celebrating at having paid off our own loans :)</p>
<p>Dorm food: UW Housing says the average spent is $1,200; my kids spent from $600-$1000. They had to use their own money for dorm food, so this could be why it was less than the average.</p>
<p>OP: When does the second child start college? Also, for the 2014-2015 FAFSA, can you get your AGI down to $80,000? UW does not add back retirement plan contributions; and students whose parents have AGI of under $80,001 AND who have financial need get grant money through the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates. </p>
<p>[Madison</a> Initiative for Undergraduates](<a href=“http://madisoninitiative.wisc.edu/]Madison”>http://madisoninitiative.wisc.edu/) </p>
<p>[Frequently</a> Asked Questions « Madison Initiative for Undergraduates](<a href=“http://madisoninitiative.wisc.edu/frequently-asked-questions/#affordability]Frequently”>http://madisoninitiative.wisc.edu/frequently-asked-questions/#affordability)</p>
<p>[Net</a> Price / Award Calculator | Office of Student Financial Aid - University of WisconsinâMadison](<a href=“Office of Student Financial Aid – UW–Madison”>Office of Student Financial Aid – UW–Madison)
Using the UW-Madison financial aid award estimator, it looks like with an EFC of $12,000; the Madison Initiative Grant is $3,000 (at an EFC of $12,001, there is NO grant).</p>
<p>(Not sure what your comment means about not having applied for the Wisconsin Covenant program as your child was not in public school in 7th and 8th grade - the program was for everyone - public/private/home-schooled).</p>
<p>Rereading my info on books, I should say books $250-500 per semester, rather than $400. First semester was more expensive than second because we didn’t scout for uses books from multiple vendors. He hasn’t had mega expensive text book for a single course yet, but they must be out there. </p>
<p>Things we bought and he didn’t use: </p>
<p>room printer – he and his roommate used it in fall, then it ran out of ink, they kept buying the wrong refill, and then they adapted to printing in the computer lab in basement. $50 wasted – we were told not necessary, but in abundance of caution, we got anyway. </p>
<p>a fancy ipod dock/alarm clock/phone. Utter waste, he uses his phone as alarm, phone and computer for music. </p>
<p>Bike helmet. As parents, we were not dropping him at school without one. But it was never touched. You would have thought we were expecting him to wear snow pants or something.</p>
<p>A bigger, better made backpack. Those things are expensive, and he never used it.</p>
<p>Midwestmomofboys: Thanks again for your info. Your post re a bike helmet is very timely! We talked about this! I thought surely people in Madison would all be wearing helmets, being that it is very fitness friendly, and home of the Ironman. I tried to tell D that it might even be “uncool” to NOT wear a helmet!! LOL.<br>
I found an amazing deal on a practical pair of winter boots, which she crinkled her nose at. So, your snow pants comment gave me a chuckle.</p>
<p>Madison85: Thanks for your links. Re the WI Covenant, I didn’t express myself well - I just meant that unfortunately her school didn’t have the kids sign. Although, maybe the schools didn’t provide any info (whether public/private/other) and instead it was up to the parents. In any case, I wasn’t aware of the Covenant. It was a great idea!</p>
<p>^^^treesofgreen, the WI covenant is nice for lower income families. I am not sure what the figure is this year, but S1 last year would have gotten either $250 p/semester or $250 or $500 (can’t remember which) for the year based on our income (we are pretty middle class). Don’t get me wrong, this would help with buying books etc., but isn’t the windfall alot of people hoped for. I am impressed with food and book numbers being mentioned to you. Food for S1 and S2 at other universities run around $3,000 per year (although they can eat all they want so its peace of mind for me) and books run annually around $1000. My kids are in engineering so that could be why they are more expensive. If Madison is a little more expensive in tuition than some of the schools, they sure make up for it with board/books.</p>
<p>Don’t bother with winter boots!- especially if D doesn’t like them.</p>
<p>Yeah, Wis75, treesofgreen’s D will ‘crinkle her nose’ at the winter boots until she has to walk across campus to class in slush. Then they’ll be at the back of her closet, waiting for the next time ventured out. Got more than one call this last winter about wet socks…walking across Bascom Hill in February can be hazardous to one’s feets… :)</p>
<p>You know, treesofgreen, that in-state COA of (what we hope is) a little less than $24K/year is a pretty good comparative value for what you get. AND…not promising anything, but depending on the department your D goes into, there are small-but-always-helpful scholarships available to those who are involved and can show their worth. My D, who is graduating next month in the College of Ag & Life Sciences (CALS), has received three of them in successive years, ranging from $750 to $1250. Again, not huge, but I’ll take them for sure.</p>
<p>Son never wore boots in HS or college. Ran outdoors unless winter weather bitter cold as well. Let the student determine foot wear needs, perhaps as late as winter break. Different people choose different clothes et al.</p>
<p>Heavy winter boots not necessary 99% of time. Best when there are those deep pools of melting slush at curbs that are hard to avoid at times. Wore std sports shoes most days as had long walks.</p>
<p>Then again, my freshman son who is now basking in the sunshine on the Terrace (or at least was on Sat afternoon), says being in Madison right now makes those long winter walks worthwhile!</p>