Mom needs help finding a cheaper college for DD! Is it too late?

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<p>Hi All
OK I am in that position that is every parents nightmare. We cannot afford the colleges that she has applied to. Our EFC is about 12,500. So we know we have to pay that plus any gap. The problem is the damn gap amounts are big.</p>

<p>I guess I am...no make that 'was' naive. I thought that the 12,500 was the amount that we would have to pay thru loans, cash, etc. I did not realize that colleges considered giving us more loans as aid. So we are in a bind....and I am looking for any help all of you wise people can give me.</p>

<p>DD is a senior, gpa: 3.8, ACT: 26. Top 20 percentile at her HS. NHS, lots of community service, lots of leadership, and varsity sports all 4 years. Great letters of recommendation.</p>

<p>We applied to Loras, Iowa State, Illinois State, and a couple of others that we have since eliminated.</p>

<p>We have not heard from Iowa State yet with our package, but Illinois State just came today and all that they are offering is $5500 in loans (sub and unsub). No merit money, no grants, nothing. I guess I am an innocent, but I really thought that we might get 'something'.</p>

<p>Loras gave us a pretty good package, but there are $5500 in loans in addition to our contribution of $13,500. So about $19000 a year that we have to pay for.</p>

<p>She wants to major in Athletic Training, which limits somewhat the colleges that she can apply to. Many are either Big 10 schools or LAC's.</p>

<p>Can anyone make some suggestions on schools where it's not too late to apply to, where we may potentially get a little more $$?</p>

<p>I know that we are no different than many who post here, but I am lost....Community College is really not an option as many programs start the beginning of soph year, but you apply the end of freshman year. VERY VERY difficult to transfer in and be accepted. Iowa State starts their program the freshman year....</p>

<p>Any advice on other colleges we should quickly look at???? We are considering Truman State as we heard that they were generous and very well regarded.
Thank you so much!
A panicked mom!</p>

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<p>Perhaps you can try and appeal the aid? =/</p>

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<p>You can google a list of colleges still accepting applications. I know that U of Arizona is, but I don’t think you’ll necessarily get more money.</p>

<p>Do you have a local state school accepting applications? She may have to put off this program. Surely there are gen ed credits that could be gained at CC.</p>

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<p>Are you OOS for Iowa and instate for Illinois? If so, it is likely that your out of pocket costs will be substantially more for Iowa than for your instate costs in Illinois. I guess my question…will you have to take loans for all that you pay for college costs, or are you able to pay any of the costs out of current earnings or savings? Are the loans in the financial aid package Stafford loans? Those are in your daughter’s name…not yours and we actually felt that our kids should have those loans…as their “skin in the game” of paying so to speak. </p>

<p>Look at your total costs and also factor in summer work and work during school for your daughter. Look at the school’s billable costs…the things that the school bills (room, board, tuition, fees)…and then look a the other costs (personal expenses, books, travel) and see where you can economize on the personal expenses. </p>

<p>If all else fails, your daughter could start at a community college and take all of her general education requirements. Make sure your cc has an articulation agreement with a four year school that has her major…meaning that the four year school will accept her AND her credits from the CC.</p>

<p>I’ll keep my fingers crossed that it all works out!!</p>

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<p>Are either Iowa or Illinois in-state? What about Truman–is it in state for you? (I’ve heard good things about it, too.)
I would think a state option would be the most affordable…but I don’t have any great ideas.</p>

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<p>Hi Buzymom3, </p>

<p>I’m guessing you are from the midwest but I’m not sure which state you are located in. A few schools I can think of would be UW-La Crosse in Wisconsin (very good reputation), Winona State in Minnesota and Northern Iowa. </p>

<p>Depending on where you live they may or may not be affordable to you since they are public universities. I do know that a friend’s son just applied and was admitted to UW-L this month. He was waitlisted at Univ of Minnesota so quickly applied to UW-L and heard back fast.</p>

<p>I wish I knew more about their scholarships and/or grants to give you more information but maybe you could call or check their websites.</p>

<p>Good Luck.</p>

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<p>If she had applied to a school like [Univ</a> of Pittsburgh](<a href=“http://www.oafa.pitt.edu/universityschlrs.aspx]Univ”>http://www.oafa.pitt.edu/universityschlrs.aspx), she may have been eligible for decent merit aid with her stats. </p>

<p>The school is rolling admissions. It may not hurt to call them directly and see if they would reconsider the January 15 application deadline for scholarships. Perhaps another option is to take a gap year and then apply to UP.</p>

<p>BTW, here’s a list of schools with rolling admissions.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.petersons.com/ugchannel/code/LateDeadlineSchools.asp[/url]”>http://www.petersons.com/ugchannel/code/LateDeadlineSchools.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Would not hurt to make a list of candidate schools in this list and just start calling the admissions office, explaining your situation to see what they can do.</p>

<p>Great schools on the list include:</p>

<p>Univ of Pittsburgh
Univ of Dayton
Wittenberg University
Butler University
Michigan State University</p>

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<p>I don’t think UPitt would give an ACT 26 good merit - and high merit would be needed to overcome the big OOS costs. There’s a another student who just posted with a higher ACT that got zilch from Pitt. </p>

<p>I think the OP is instate for IL…that means that any of those OOS publics most likely won’t work - affordability-wise. Schools like Mich State are going to be too expensive…UDayton requires higher stats for scholarship, so it would be wayyy too expensive.</p>

<p>The only school that I can think that might be generous with a merit scholarship at this point is Mississippi State. I would contact them and ask.</p>

<p>I would also call up Loras and ask if something else can be done to improve her package.</p>

<p>Good luck…I know you’re all stressed out over this.</p>

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<p>Since you are considering another MO institution, I will mention that Southeast MO State University (it is in Cape Girardeau) has an athletic training major.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.semo.edu/study/athletictraining/index.htm[/url]”>Programs | SEMO;

<p>The only reason I know this is because a student from that school who posts on CC is majoring in something along that line, and in fact I think that is his major. You might start a thread with SEMO State U–athletic training in the title and see if he responds. That student is from OOS, and might be able to give you an idea of what kind of money is available.</p>

<p>It is not as selective as Truman, so it may be easier to land some merit money. BTW, does Truman have an athletic training major? I am surprised if it does.</p>

<p>I am pretty sure that SE MO State has not closed its enrollments yet.</p>

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<p>Don’t panic. You are not going to whip out your checkbook and write a check for your EFC plus loans (Thank God). </p>

<p>Some of that money is money you are already spending. For instance, instead of writing a check to your local grocery store to buy the kid her brand of snacks, you’ll be writing a check to Dining Services. </p>

<p>Also, there are ways to trim thousands off those projected numbers. Our DS travels home twice a year – not five or six times. Also, he is covered under DH’s health insurance, so we don’t have to buy campus insurance (saving us about $1800 a year). Text books are usually budgeted at about $1500 or so and your kid may spend half that if she will buy used and/or share with another student. </p>

<p>Most schools have several meal plans. You may be quoted the “Husky” price when your kid is a “Petite Plan” eater. Check it out. You don’t want the kid to starve, but you may be able to come in under budget. </p>

<p>Check your car insurance. If the kid does not take a car to campus (smart idea!) then your insurance rates may drop by $100/month = $1,200 /year. You also would not be paying for car upkeep and gas. </p>

<p>Anyway, it may not be as horrible as it looks right this moment. It is awful – but you do NOT write a check for that amount on the page – ever.</p>

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<p>Definitely look at Grand Valley State in Michigan, though I think you may be too late for scholarships.
It has reasonable tuition, the program you want, and it is very popular with kids in suburban Chicago.</p>

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<p><a href=“%5Burl=http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1064485114-post8.html]#8[/url]”>quote</a> …UDayton requires higher stats for scholarship, so it would be wayyy too expensive…

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</p>

<p>[University</a> of Dayton Scholarships](<a href=“Find Scholarships for College Students: Scholarship Database | Appily”>Find Scholarships for College Students: Scholarship Database | Appily):</p>

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<p>These are not counting need based financial aid as well.</p>

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<p>One of the SUNYs has a focus on athletic training I think, might be Cortland. see if you can find CC posts by marny1. SUNY OOS is still a pretty good deal financially…</p>

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<p>You may want to check out Northern Michigan University. It is relatively inexpensive for OSS, has a program that matches your daughter’s interest, and it is a national Olympic athletic training site, so it has advanced athletic training opportunities. I believe they are still accepting applications.</p>

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<p>Have you contacted the schools to negotiate financial aid? Some schools may be willing to up the aid if you call (the admins do have a little wiggle room).
Also you may want to look into the transfer specifics - some state schools have partnership programs with CC’s. For example: Go to a CC - take specific courses - have a certian GPA and you can transfer into the program.</p>

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<p>So you can pay your efc of 12,500, but not more? I think people on CC have mentioned that Bemidji State in MN is cheap for out of state students. I’m not sure if they have her major, but might want to check it out.</p>

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<p>I don’t think Bemidji State offers Athletic Training. </p>

<p>However, South Dakota State does offer the major and it is affordable. The COA (including book estimate etc) for OOS students is $13,810.00.</p>

<p>I do not know anything about the program or if they are still accepting applications but you could certainly check it out.</p>

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<p>The athletic trainer that used to be at my gym graduated with an athletic training degree from South Dakota – she was great, and seemed very enthusiastic about the program she’d been in. She was really, really good at adapting exercises so as not to put strains on my wrists or fingers. I’m no expert, but I was really impressed.</p>

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<p>I would check on UCCS – University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. They offer a program in Sports Health & Wellness and a masters in Athletic Training. Located in the same city as the Olympic Training Center.</p>

<p>Tuition and Housing are very affordable – and her stats may get her a little merit money.</p>

<p>Worth checking out (plus Colorado is a great state to go to college in!)</p>

<p>[Beth-El</a> College Sports Health & Wellness Promotion](<a href=“http://www.uccs.edu/~bethel/sports_and_wellness.htm]Beth-El”>http://www.uccs.edu/~bethel/sports_and_wellness.htm)</p>

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<p>Take a look at University of Arkansas. They offer in state tuition for ACT scores in your D’s range.</p>

<p>Here’s a program that might work:</p>

<p>[Kinesiology</a> :: College of Education and Health Professions](<a href=“http://kins.uark.edu/]Kinesiology”>http://kins.uark.edu/)</p>

<p>They take applications on a space-available basis until August 1st. </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>