Unfortunately, Penn State doesn’t offer squat for financial aid.
@Trixy34 …do you know what their COA was for Clarkson?
Nope. Definitely less than Penn State.
And we’re in-state. I’m sure there was a merit component to it, but if I’m correct, your child’s stats are higher.
@trixy34 Is that Clarkson College in Nebraska or Clarkson University up in way upstate NY?
The cost of student health insurance is not usually part of the college published cost of attendance. It’s an additional cost you get added on if your home insurance doesn’t provide the coverage required by the college.
If you have a HMO type of insurance plan, it likely has coverage on your state only.
The best way to find out about OOS coverage is to ask YOUR current health insurance provider. They will tell you what coverage is available OOS.
Yes, you can cut corners on books costs…but engineering books and the online codes can be VERY expensive…and sometimes it’s not easy to cut corners.
Will your kid or won’t your your kid be Pell eligible?
And your budget seems to be a moving target. Is this because you really CAN now afford $15,000 a year…or is it because you just are upping the amount.
Let’s go back to some earlier suggestion…what about UMass Lowell or UMass Dartmouth? And what about that college your kid could commute to from your home? What about UA-H?
Why Florida?
Freshmen cannot be RA’s at colleges, and campus jobs for non work study students isn’t a guarantee. Certainly at a bigger school there may be more jobs, but also more applicants. Also, not all schools offer an auto admit to engineering as a freshman, and not all who start out in engineering stay with it.
Will your kid or won’t your your kid be Pell eligible? Yes according to the 4caster
And your budget seems to be a moving target. Is this because you really CAN now afford $15,000 a year…or is it because you just are upping the amount.
No it’s because after talking to neighbors and other parents of kids who do go to college I realized its not such a bad thing to take out loans that he can pay back in the future. I don’t think 40k in college debt is that crazy. People buy cars that cost that much these days and he will also hopefully do co ops and work summer jobs to pay the loans.
what about UMass Lowell …he is NOT interested in lowell at all but realizes he may have to make a sacrifice. Dartmouth isn’t a great program he’d rather go to Amherst.
And what about that college your kid could commute to from your home? that is an absolute very last resort we like to avoid if possible.
What about UA-H? He has zero interest in going to Alabama and the flights there are NOT easy or cheap either.
Why Florida? Cheap easy flights, relatives and friends that live there to help him if needed for storage, beautiful weather, why not if he can find a good school for the right price.
oh and also…I have gotten multiple private messages from many many nice people offering their advice. Lots of kids take out loans and parents co sign I wasn’t aware and am willing to do this for my son after getting other advice.
Well…my simple math says the costs at the colleges YOU are writing about will come in at $20,000 a year. Not $15,000 or less. BUT apply and see.
You say you are low income…will YOU qualify for loans for all four years? You would qualify for a Parent Plus Loan probably…but that is YOUR loan to pay back, not your kid’s.
If you are hoping to co-sign…you will have to be a qualified cosigner for all four years. Will that be possible? Or at some point will the lender say NO…because your income won’t support more loans?
When you have such a limited budget for what you can afford, sadly he is likely not going to have the luxury of not “sacrificing”. The goal is to find an affordable school. To hope for a huge scholarship at a very competitive school is like reaching for the golden ring on the merry-go-round.
Don’t forget I am deducting the price of books and “essentials”. He does have some money saved for those things and grandma will be helping. I am listing colleges suggested to me in private messages.
Well…my simple math says the costs at the colleges YOU are writing about will come in at $20,000 a year. Not $15,000 or less. BUT apply and see.
You say you are low income…will YOU qualify for loans for all four years? You would qualify for a Parent Plus Loan probably…but that is YOUR loan to pay back, not your kid’s.
If you are hoping to co-sign…you will have to be a qualified cosigner for all four years. Will that be possible? Or at some point will the lender say NO…because your income won’t support more loans?
Well just because it says Parent Plus loan doesn’t mean your kid can’t give the money to pay it back. I trust my kid and have faith he will go on to do something great with himself. My friends did the parent plus loans and deferred them so that their kid can contribute to the loans.
I am confused. The thread title says schools in the NE. Now its FL. BUT, if he wants affordable engineering, not looking at FIT in Melbourne (with access to the space center) is a mistake. There are some guaranteed scholarships if he has been in FIRST robotics, and for other HS programs for STEM kids.
Now that I understand our income better we are considered lower middle class. Thanks to the help from the wondeful ladies that private messaged me. 
Sorry if I made financial errors and didnt “stay on topic”. I am learning, this is all new to me and I appreciate those of you who took the time to message me and give me great advice. I am really understanding it all a lot more and less in panic mode. I just also learned about UTD and wow what bargain that would be if he got those merit awards. There is hope…
Oh, if he isn’t planning to take Calc BC, many engineering schools will not look kindly at that (assuming its offered at his school). Are you a minority by any chance? Or will he be a first generation college attendee in the family?
He is planning to take AP Calc next year…he is in pre ap calc this year. He is NOT a minority.
@jym626 …I didn’t realize how strict this forum is. I started the thread asking about schools in the Northeast but was quickly diverted because there really weren’t many options. Didn’t plan for it to become off topic or that it was against the rules to switch gears.
Mods may redirect when threads go all over the place and off topic. And as for Calc, you said he was planning AB. He should take BC. Otherwise its another weak link in an application when trying o compete for top $