<p>Hey guys....i was just wondering what the financial aid was like for someone who comes from another state. I want to go to college in Boston, but I live in Maine, so would I have to wait a year for financial aid?</p>
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<p>Uh…no! If you are hoping to attend a public university in the Boston area, the ONLY WAY to get instate tuition is for your FAMILY to move to Massachusetts and reside there for a full year PRIOR to your enrollment in college. If your family remains in Maine, YOUR residency will also remain MAINE. For undergrads, the state in which their PARENTS reside is almost always the state of residence for the student.</p>
<p>If you are planning to attend a private college in Boston, it won’t matter what your residency is. Tuition/fees are the same for instate/out of state at private schools.</p>
<p>Also, there is a difference between financial aid and in-state tuition. You may or may not qualify for financial aid depending on your family’s financial circumstances. However, even for students who don’t qualify for need-based aid at all, in-state tuition rates at public universities are lower than the tuition rates charged to students from out-of-state.</p>
<p>Establishing residency status in state for the purposes of getting in-state tuition rates can be very difficult in most states. Some are easier (I hear), such as Texas, but there are not many of those.</p>
<p>As Thumper says, private colleges are another matter. State residency is irrelevant. Financial aid (as in need-based aid) will depend on your family’s circumstances and the policies of the individual school. Merit-based aid (scholarships) are based on some special skill or talent (sports, music, high academic stats, etc.) and may or may not have some need-based component to them. It depends on the school or organization that is awarding them.</p>
<p>Where are you applying to go to college in Boston?</p>
<p>Financial aid is awarded based on your financial need. You don’t have to live in a particular PLACE for any length of time to apply for and receive financial aid. Are you hoping to become independent for financial aid purposes? If so, this is HIGHLY unlikely to happen. While you are an undergrad, you will be considered a dependent of your parents for financial aid purposes UNLESS you are married, are supporting a dependent child, are orphan or ward of the state, are over 24 years of age, are a veteran. It doesn’t matter how long you live somewhere else, or even IF you are fully supporting yourself. Those questions are the ones that determine financial aid independent status.</p>
<p>Now…for instate tuition…as stated above, your FAMILY would need to relocate to Massachusetts for you to be considered in state for tuition purposes.</p>
<p>Perhaps the OP can clarify the question(s) being asked.</p>
<p>Well, I do qualify for need-based aid, so does that mean I will get it regardless of where I live or plan to go to college?</p>
<p>If you qualify for federal aid such as the Pell you should get it wherever you go. **But **you will not necessarily get more money because you are going to a more expensive school (such as an OOS public school). Federal aid is very limited. For instance the maximum Pell (for 0 EFC) is $5550 and the maximum Stafford loan for a freshman is $5500.</p>
<p>For instance if you have an EFC of 0 then you are eligible for $5550 in Pell grants. If you go to the community college down the road that costs $6000 you will get $5550 pell. If you go to an OOS public U that costs $30,000 for OOS students you will get the same $5550 pell.</p>
<p>Most schools do not promise to meet full need. So qualifying for need based aid does not mean your full need will be met (unless you are going to one of the few schools that do promise to meet full need). Most public schools do not promise to meet full need for even their instate students, let alone their OOS students.</p>
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<p>Swimcatsmom summed it up well. </p>
<p>I’m still confused as to what you want to know. Do you plan to apply to public universities in the Boston area? If so, your costs will be significantly more than the costs residents of Massachusetts pay. You are not a resident of Massachusetts. While you may qualify for federally funded aid, you need to understand that there is a finite dollar limit on these monies and it doesn’t matter where you live…the amount doesn’t change. The Pell grant and Stafford loan limits are not predicated on your state of residence or the cost of your school. The reality is that these monies will go A LOT further in covering your instate costs at a public university in Maine.</p>
<p>In addition to OOS publics which cost significantly more than instate ones, private schools also cost significantly more than your instate publics. Again…your federally funded aid will be the same regardless of where you live.</p>
<p>Now…if you happen to apply to a school that meets full need (e.g. Harvard and Boston College both do…both in the Boston area), you could in theory get the aid you need to attend. HOWEVER, you say you qualify for need based aid. That might be true, but it is the SCHOOLS that decide your family contribution. It is largely based on your parents’ incomes, and assets. And for these very generous schools, the first hurdle is getting accepted. Some of these schools accept less than 10% of applicants (translation…they do NOT accept 90% or so of applicants). Their generous need based financial aid does you no good unless you are first accepted.</p>
<p>The amount of need based aid you receive is very college specific. The SCHOOLS award your aid. Your eligibility for federally funded Pell and Stafford loans doesn’t change based on where you live or go to school. BUT the costs of the SCHOOLS will. If you are not a state resident…your costs will be much higher. In other words, your costs of attending a public university in Massachusetts will exceed your costs of instate costs in Maine. </p>
<p>Where are you planning to apply to college?</p>
<p>*Well, I do qualify for need-based aid, so does that mean I will get it regardless of where I live or plan to go to college? *</p>
<p>NO.</p>
<p>What is your likely EFC?</p>
<p>How much will your parents contribute each year?</p>
<p>What schools are you considering?</p>
<p>What are your stats?</p>
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[quoteWell, I do qualify for need-based aid, so does that mean I will get it regardless of where I live or plan to go ]
to college? </p>
<p>NO.
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<p>Actually Mom2, if this student qualifies for FEDERALLY funded aid (Pell, Stafford loans), the student will receive those forms of aid regardless of where they live or plan to go to college.</p>
<p>The student is NOT guaranteed to receive the same need based aid from ANY college to which they apply (except for the federally funded portions)…because different colleges provided different LEVELS of financial aid to their students. Not every student receives aid that meets their full need…in fact, most do not. As Swimcatsmom pointed out…the federally funded aid will not fund a four year residential college, but WILL come close to fully funding an instate community college for a student who lives at home.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>True…If qualified, she would get the small amount of federal aid.</p>
<p>I was more responding to the position that just because a person might have a low EFC and “qualifies for aid”, it does not mean that she will get whatever she needs no matter where she goes. In most cases, she would be gapped big time.</p>
<p>And again I ask the OP…WHERE are you applying to college near or in Boston? With more specific information, folks here can give you much more accurate information. NO ONE here can tell you exactly what your financial aid will be…schools determine that…but some schools have more generous aid policies than others and someone here might have financial aid experience(s) with the schools to which you plan to apply.</p>
<p>Also…gotta ask…what’s wrong with the instate public universities in Maine?</p>
<p>nothing really…i just want to go out of state for college, and since my families moving to Boston, might as well…</p>
<p>When is your family moving to Boston?</p>
<p>You won’t have residency until after you live there a year. So, if you’re a senior now, you won’t have residency next fall. You’ll have to pay OOS rates for state schools.</p>
<p>What schools are you applying to?</p>
<p>What are your stats?</p>