<p>I found out one good piece of information: the average debt at graduation from Brown is around 18k....but that figure DOES NOT INCLUDE the FAMILY CONTRIBUTION portion of the bill!! If your family can't pay the fam. contrib. then guess what it turns into? More loans!</p>
<p>How many other school's do this?</p>
<p>If a family borrows to meet EFC, it's not the college's issue. Brown has great aid.</p>
<p>the efc for me was 8,000 per year + 8,000 in federal loans per year. my parents together make 60,000 and have no assets. my dad lives in a trailer and my mom filed bankruptcy from medical bills recently. she also has 13k in school loans.</p>
<p>Yeahh, really "great" aid. But I guess it's not the school's problem I grew up in the projects and have been poor for my entire life. My parents make more now than they used to but still!</p>
<p>Did you appeal?</p>
<p>at schools that have a common data set, they are pretty straight forward in stating the average student debt at graduation with a disclaimer that this does not include parent loans.</p>
<p>The data sets can be hard to find, and the numbers from them are usually easier to find then the CDS itself IMO. Numbers are posted from them in magazines etc but the stipulations aren't widely advertised, again IMO.</p>
<p>I didn't appeal but I have spent hours on the phone harassing the finaid counselors as to what numbers they are using and why it's so high. I have moved money from family contrib to perkins loans but that's it. The bill is the same. I don't know what else to do. I'm still waiting to see if I get off the waitlist at Amherst because I think they have a better aid program.</p>
<p>btw I should add that my bill would be 4000 dollars higher per hear (or 40 grand total) had it not been for the fact that I turned 24 this year making me eligible for pell grants for independents.</p>
<p>I was incorrect on the last part of my last post. They subtract the pell grant from what they give me. How nice.</p>
<p>Why not appeal? Usually waitlisted applicants get the shaft with financial aid because schools try to fulfill the needs of the RD batch of accepted applicants first.</p>
<p>Usually waitlisted applicants get the shaft with financial aid because schools try to fulfill the needs of the RD batch of accepted applicants first.</p>
<p>yep</p>
<p>so you are an independent- I assume you have been working since high school?
I don't know what your income was- but if your EFC is $8,000- you should be able to contribute a good chunk of that through savings and working summers.
Independent students are eligible for more loans- perhaps you can reduce some of your costs by sharing off campus housing with lots of students?</p>
<p>Another way my D had to reduce loans, was she volunteered for a year through Americorps. Other students may also combine that with community college credit to make their time at the expensive school shorter.
If you can't figure out how to make it work, see if Brown will allow you to defer while you save the money/take community college transfer courses.
Perkins loans are great. They are very low interest and they also can be forgiven after graduation.</p>
<p>I didn't get waitlisted.. I'm a transfer. I will be a junior. I have no debt from my previous school. Also, I believe transfers cannot defer enrollment.</p>
<p>Yes, I've been working since highschool. I make enough money to pay my bills, and sometimes not even that. So no, I don't have savings. I am working 2 jobs right now though.</p>
<p>"I found out one good piece of information: the average debt at graduation from Brown is around 18k....but that figure DOES NOT INCLUDE the FAMILY CONTRIBUTION portion of the bill!! If your family can't pay the fam. contrib. then guess what it turns into? More loans"</p>
<p>At most schools, if your parents feel they can't pay the fam contribution, the school gives nothing more, and the student and family have to look elsewhere to get scholarships or loans or an education.</p>
<p>Because of the high costs of college, most families take out loans to help pay for their kids' educations. This is the same as when people buy any major purchases -- houses, cars. Most people aren't able to pay cash, but use loans.</p>
<p>Is there some reason why your parents aren't willing to take out loans? Would they do this if you promise to repay those loans?</p>
<p>"If you can't figure out how to make it work, see if Brown will allow you to defer while you save the money/take community college transfer courses."</p>
<p>I highly doubt that Brown would support this as rarely can community college students transfer to Ivies, and the student is a transfer student anyway, which means that he needs to take the rest of his credits at Brown.</p>
<p>I guess I missed he was already a transfer student
But as there won't be 4 years of bills from Brown or Amherst, I would keep that as a consideration.</p>
<p>I didn't realize that Ivies don't like community college courses, as I think Oberlin and U Chicago are roughly equivalent and they don't care- in fact I know two students personally with two years of CC credits who graduated from those schools ( well did Oberlin have their graduation yet?)</p>
<p>I don't think the EFC is that wild, our before tax income was roughly that of your parents my D first year and we live in Seattle, a much more expensive area. Our EFC was a little less than double yours as she was a dependent student
Im wondering what your other choices are, as you seem to have the ability to find a school that has good merit aid along with need based.
( I also agree that I doubt Amherst offers much aid to waitlisted students)</p>
<p>My point is that while it is possible (rarely, but still possible) for a person to transfer to an Ivy from a community college, I doubt that any Ivy would accept additional community college courses from a transfer student since typically the transfer students have to take their remaining courses at the Ivy.</p>
<p>right there are a minimum number of courses that you need to take at an institution to graduate from that institution- and that would apply to any school not just an IVY.
Antioch, probably requires the fewest, as they told me that you can actually have more than two years of courses from a CC to transfer ( and that is encouraged), but depending on the school and your major, it is likely to be much fewer.</p>
<p>I'm not considering taking any more classes at a CC anyway. My mother cannot afford to take out loans and has a child to care for. My father has money but is tighter than a frog's butt. In short, my parents are stupid. :) Why would it matter if my parents had the loans or I have the loans? I'm paying them either way. I can get loans on my own (I have good credit too!).</p>
<p>I have no other choices, Brown or maybe Amherst.</p>
<p>emerald: who are you agreeing with about Amherst? I didn't see any other comments about their finaid.</p>
<p>You must be really talented to be getting into Brown from a cc. The good thing is you only have to pay for 2 years. Bite the bullet, it's worth it!</p>
<p>Thank you...</p>
<p>Renix is referring back to my comment. I'm sorry I didn't make it clear. I think you assumed I thought you were waitlisted at Brown when you replied and said you made it in as a transfer. Instead, my waitlist comment was about Amherst in reply to this -
"I'm still waiting to see if I get off the waitlist at Amherst because I think they have a better aid program."</p>
<p>I didn't think schools looked at parental info is the student is considered independent (24 yrs old). But if Brown is using parental info, then renix, I think you should document your mom's medical bills (if higher than a normal family). My son will be attending Brown next yr, and Brown revised my son's initial FA pkg to reflect some extenuating circumstances, including our consistently higher than normal medical costs - this was backed up by years of tax returns showing high medical costs... Did you also receive work study? For low income freshman, this is replaced by a scholarship but I'm not sure if that applies to transfers. But work study $ will not count as income next yr for fin aid purposes and that would help you. Also, Brown's FA pays a good rate/hr (can't remember exactly but better than my DD's school).</p>