The first year is free for UF. I think we can just get by with the four years as my father has a steady income
1 Like
Without knowing what (if any) financial aid and net price Pomona is offering, it is difficult to have any clarity on whether it is realistic to attend.
Remember that admission but too expensive = rejection.
2 Likes
Ok I found out that my net cost for Pomona would be $43k/year. However, Pomona has not factored in my father’s overseas transactions ($60k) for my grandfather’s funeral fees, our 301k house mortgage, and the cryptocurrency loss. My initial price for Bowdoin college was $47k. I managed to decrease that to $21k/year with documents of my father’s overseas transactions
So $38k over the next three years at UF ($13k per year) is affordable, but what is the limit of affordability? Looks like $43k per year is not, but what does Pomona need to come down to for it to be affordable?
Basically, you need to find out if Pomona will revise its FA offer and then compare it to what is actually affordable for you and your father.
2 Likes
Bowdoin is among the most generous schools with respect to considering these types of situations/expenses, and adjusting FA for them.
I encourage you to ask Pomona for professional judgment, but IME many schools won’t adjust FA for re-directing potential college funds elsewhere. I assume Pomona is not affordable at $43K, as you didn’t choose Bowdoin at $21K per year?
1 Like
21k/year was affordable for me. Now it is not as my parents do not have the available funds for it and my mother also owes money from gambling (just found this out from my father)
about 30k debt lol…
Sounds like UF is going to be your best and most affordable option.
9 Likes
My sister also has to go to college in 4 yrs so I definitely do not want her to accumulate debt as well
It looks like Pomona would have to come down to about $13k per year or lower to be chosen over UF. Is that correct?
yes, I think so.
Colleges likely won’t take gambling losses into consideration. It’s like spending money on anything else. That was a choice your parents made…she spent her earnings.
Given what you have posted here, I would strongly suggest you take the FL college offer, and understand that sometimes family compromises need to happen when finances are impacted.
10 Likes
From our experience (two rounds of Pomona FA) - they are generous to families with below-average income and assets. To middle-middle class and above, not so much. However, the second year package was more generous by quite a lot (~$15k), without a significant change in assets/income. YMMV though.
1 Like
Do you think it would make a difference if I mention to the financial aid office at UF or Pomona that my dad got scammed instead of just saying that he lost money to crypto
Isn’t your first year COA at UF already zero? You can ask UF and/or Pomona to reconsider your FA package but the reality is many people are experiencing investment losses right now.
In your OP you said you are enrolled at UF, which is great that you have that option. You can achieve all of your goals from there.
3 Likes
Be HONEST. Your dad did not get scammed. That would be lying. Please understand that getting any federally funded need based aid by stating falsehoods is considered fraud. Look that up…it’s a crime.
You are very fortunate to have your UF acceptance. And at an affordable price.
17 Likes
Sorry I wasn’t being clear in the op, but I am not lying. My father told me that he got scammed but I wasn’t also really being clear with the financial aid office about the fact that he got scammed. And don’t get me wrong, I am very grateful to have UF as an option. I am just trying to leverage as much aid as possible because this is a very dire situation for us and I don’t know how unpredictable it could get
I’m sorry for your situation. Your parents both seem to have made some very poor financial decisions with regards to how they used their incomes. You are expecting Pomona to come up with more aid because of these poor financial decisions your parents made.
And now you are sort of changing your story here too.
Your father told you he got scammed? It’s very possible he actually didn’t get scammed…that he made the crypto decisions himself. Actually even with a scammer, your dad made the decision to do this.
Please make financial decisions that are good ones. You have an affordable college option now. UF.
Sure…be honest with Pomona, but getting the cost down to $13,000 or less is going to be a challenge.
2 Likes
I really don’t know how crypto works or what crypto is until this situation happened. Even now, I don’t have the vague sense of how all this happened. However, from what my father said and from what some internet people told me, I was under the impression that he fell into a scam. But you’re right, I should really give up Pomona and not look back
And I really should get all the details from my father before doing anything. Thank you for the help
1 Like