Hello everyone!
I am currently a transfer student looking to transfer to a UC for Fall 2015. I have tagged to UC Davis and am looking at that university as my first choice. The tuition is about 13,000 and room&board is 9,600 a year. My mom makes over $100,000 and the efc on my financial aid is 059383 and therefore she could pay for my school but refuses to given she got a loan when she went to UC Berkeley and my sister got a loan when she went to SF State. She wants me to get a loan, and originally told me that she would pay for my room and board but then changed her mind and told me to get an even larger loan. I feel overwhelmed with how much money I’m going to end up getting a loan for. I have savings and it looks like I will have to use it towards one year of room and board.
Does anyone have any starting advice regarding what to do regarding how to get money for tuition and books: (Scholarships, The Best Loans, Grants, Etc.) Keep in mind I have no idea where to begin so please don’t be hostile!
When your mother and her sister went to school, a high school graduate could support herself through work and small student loans, while having enough to pay the then-trivial tuition costs at UC or CSU.
Unfortunately, this is much more difficult now, and your mother may not realize that. She is essentially saying that, if you cannot find a good-enough paying job to support yourself and pay college costs, you need to wait until you are 24, married, or a military veteran to continue college, because you cannot get a loan for anywhere near the amount your need without a co-signer.
I think you might be overestimating how much money your mother has just lying around. $20K a year is a lot especially if you guys spend a lot on housing, food, and bills as a household.
However, your mother may be somewhat wishful too in thinking that you can borrow any amount of money that you need. If she wants you to get more than the federal Stafford loan of about $5000 for your first year, she will have to cosign with you (essentially borrow the money with you); I find that many if not most parents tend to back off the loan idea once they realize that their own credit history is at risk. In times past it was possible for undergraduate students with no/bad jobs and no assets to borrow crazy amounts of money apparently but it’s not the case now and your mother may be misinformed about this.
Since you’re a transfer student, you are likely already familiar with the FAFSA. You probably won’t be eligible for a lot of financial aid from the federal government due to your family’s high income but it might be worth it in case you do choose to borrow a federal Stafford loan. Your mother will have to decide if she wants to borrow more money than that though; some families choose to use the [Parent PLUS loans](http://www.direct.ed.gov/parent.html) or take out a loan from their own banks or by drawing on a home equity line of credit if they own a home. That’s her decision though and not something that you personally would worry about.
In addition, as a transfer student there are some scholarships [url=<a href=“http://financialaid.ucdavis.edu/scholarships/campus/index.html%5Davailable%5B/url”>http://financialaid.ucdavis.edu/scholarships/campus/index.html]available[/url] for UC Davis; if you’re coming in this fall it is probably too late for this but it’s something to keep in mind for the remaining years of your education.
If you file the FAFSA, I believe you can borrow up to $7,500 in unsubsidized loans as a Junior in college. Work-study (which you will probably not qualify for) generally estimates that you can earn between $1,500 and $2,500 during the year; and perhaps more during the summer. It is generally recommended to work on-campus (those jobs tend to be more sympathetic to the academic schedule), and not to work more than 6 - 10 hours per week the first year of working (at about $9/hr.).
If you have been living at home, your mom will save a ton when you move out; and if you are male and especially if you are athletic, your mom will see a substantial drop in her grocery budget- no joke. She could easily save $500 - $1000 in water, utilities, and groceries when you are at UCD.
So, you can borrow $7,500, earn $2,000 + maybe some in the summer, and save your mom $5,000 - $10,000. If your Mom will kick in $10,000, and you can dip into savings for $3,000, you are golden. Otherwise, the rest has to come from savings or summer employment.
@ucbalumnus I think it was the OP’s sister that got the loan…not the mom’s sister.
@jkaiulani Did your mom cosign your sister’s loans? Or did she commute to that CSU so only borrowed Stafford loans? Does your mom know that she’d have to cosign your UC loans?
It’s really not up to you to say whether your mom can afford to pay or not, regardless of her EFC. She may be funding her retirement or have assets that can’t be liquidated.
@ucbalumnus I know! Unfortunately I’ve tried to tell her that and she still doesn’t really understand, or want to.
@DmitriR thank you so much. I completely understand that she may not have 20k lying around, but I’m hoping that she could contribute slightly. Thank you for all of your advice. I have filed my FAFSA and hoping I could get a federal loan. She wants me to get a private loan through a bank and I’m not sure how to feel about that.
@happymomof1 thank you! I’m currently at my third year at CC given I am a math major, but will be transferring as a junior. Thank you for giving the exact amounts
@ItsJustSchool wow! Thank you so much! Unfortunately I will only live at home if I go to UC Berkeley (which I don’t think I will get into). I will be working until a couple weeks before I leave for school, so around September 2015! I’m starting to think I will get a federal loan, use my money to pay for rent and get a private loan possibly? My mom seems as though she does not want to pitch in anything.
@mom2collegekids I’m not sure if my mom cosigned to my sisters loans but I don’t think so given it is having no effect on her that my sister is struggling terribly to pay off her loan. I know it was a private loan from a bank, I believe Citi or Wells Fargo. My sister commuted to CSU but a year before she went to CSU Northridge where my mom paid for her rent but she got a loan for tuition. I haven’t really discussed her cosigning with me, is it for all federal loans? I’m pretty sure if she was required to cosign she would be willing. You’re completely right that its not up to me regarding what she can afford, I just feel as though she can somewhat help out a little but does not want to. The only nearby UC I could commute to is UC Berkeley and i’m really not sure I will get in. Thank you so much for all of your help!
@thumper1 Thank you…I understand that “its her money, and her decision what to do with it”, but I 300% know that she can contribute a little. Its not like I just want to go to college, but she would actually be torn if I did not go to college. So therefore, its not like i’m asking her to fund something only I want.
THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE! You’re advice and comments were greatly appreciated and very helpful. I’m fully aware that my mom has stuff to pay for too but she originally told me she would pay for my rent and then changed her mind. I am fine with getting a loan for my tuition but now the extra money I need to get a loan for is giving me anxiety. I am looking into a federal student loan for some of my tuition and the rent for one year will hopefully come out of my pocket. If that is not enough I will have to take out a private student loan. Thank you so much for all your guys’ help!
Perhaps you misunderstood me. Your mother will save something; perhaps as much as $500 - $1,000 per month in groceries, utilities, etc. once you have LEFT the house (e.g. to go to live in Davis). If you could point that out to her, she may be willing to flip back to her earlier position of paying for rent (maybe even room and board?). Otherwise, I do not know how you would be able to raise the $10,000/year funding gap.
Perhaps another option would be to take the following CS courses, then try to work until you are 24, if the idea of working in software is acceptable.
Laney CIS 61
Laney CIS 25 and 27 or Diablo Valley CS 210
Diablo Valley CS 260
Obviously, it will be harder to get a job than if you have a full bachelors degree in CS, but it looks like you won’t be able to get any bachelors degree until you are past age 24.
@thumper1, my DS played varsity water polo. When he left, the grocery bill alone dropped by over $600. I did not track it specifically, but it was certainly noticeable- and about $150/wk. Adding in a $20 here and there and the water bill pushed it up. He did not drive, so the automotive costs were unchanged (insurance, help with repairs), but I could imagine they could also be a factor, depending on the family dynamic. Also, many families go out to dinner, which would represent another disposable income savings.
When my DD went to boarding school, there was a much smaller blip. Were your kids male athletes?
OP gave a figure for UC Davis of $9,600 for room and board.
Neither were athletes, but I didn’t hear this poster say he or she was an athlete either.
Even so…the amount you spent on room and board far exceeded what you saved when your son left home.
The reality is that most family exoenses remain very similar. Mortgage, heat, taxes, car costs, insurance, etc…didn’t change at all because one kid left for college.
I can see how an athlete food consumption would be higher cost. One of my kids swam. But that was only one season.
But to the OP…you say your mom makes over $100,000… But your EFC is $59,000. There is something wrong with those numbers. Your mom’s income would need to be in the $200,000range to maybe $250,000 for an EFc of $59000. Either that or she has very high assets.
OP, YOU can’t borrow more than the $7,500/year (assuming you are a junior). Your mom will have to cosign on any larger loans than that. Are there any other 4 year colleges besides UCB within driving distance of your house that you could look at? If you only need to cover tuition, it is more reasonable to do it on your own. I agree with others that your mom is out of touch about how much college costs have gone up since “her day”, and also think that you should not burden yourself (or your mom as cosigner) with very large loan amounts. See what other options you have besides UCs.
I suggest that the OP could use this overlooked potential savings to see if the mother would be willing to revert even part of the way towards her earlier position of being willing to fund rent; in order to fill the funding void. My son’s Room and Board may (or may not) have been different than the OP’s stated need of $9,600 from his/her original post.
$220, just considering utilities and food, still represents a $2,000/year savings. If one is wiley, one could further suggest the mother could rent out the room for another $700/month.
OP is in a ($10,000/year) situation here. If the mother is reacting out of fear, looking at these pieces may be helpful. We only are hearing the OP’s side of the story, and there is undoubtedly more to this situation than we will ever hear. However, for this piece of it, to be zero-sum, the mother still has some money on the table.
@ucbalumnus that’s actually a really good idea! I took comsc 110 and comsc 165. I wasn’t very good and coding,etc but that is a good option to take into consideration.
@ItsJustSchool @thumper1
ItsJustSchool thank you for clarifying! That is a good point that I will bring up to my mom. I’m not an athlete but I can still see how money is saved, possibly a lot in my situation since it is just my mom & I. Thank you so much.
thumper1 during fafsa I just entered her tax info and that was the efc I got. I don’t really remember her exact income, but I know for sure it is over 100k.
Thank you both for your input on whether this would save my mom money!
@intparent could I get the federal loan of $7500 and then have my mom consign for a private loan? Unfortunately I only applied to UCs last semester but am considering reapplying next semester to state schools(sf state, east bay). I hope these would save me more money and require a smaller loan amount. Thank you!
Will your mother allow you to live at home without charge if you go to a school within commute range (UCB, SFSU, CSUEB, maybe SJSU)?
The CSUs’ yearly tuition is about $6,500-$7,400 per year, with estimated books and supplies at $1,500-$1,900. Combined, that would be $8,000-$9,300. But then you have to add transportation costs. So a federal direct loan plus some part time work earnings may be able to cover it, if your mother allows you to live at home without charge.
If she refuses to help you even to that extent, then a four year college may be unaffordable until you are 24 (or married or a military veteran), gaining financial aid independence from her.
@mom2collegekids just asked her and she got a private loan from Bank of America and my mom cosigned. What exactly does consigning mean? Sorry I don’t know a lot about this stuf. :-S
Unfortunately I’ve tried to tell her that and she still doesn’t really understand, or want to.
but I can still see how money is saved, possibly a lot in my situation since it is just my mom & I. Thank you so much.