need help translating bates finaid letter

Paying for College
1

<p>ok so if someone could please help me with my letter i would greatly appreciate it. i will post everything it says</p>

<p>bates comprehensive fee- 49,350
books and supplies- 800
travel and personal allowance</p>

<hr>

<p>total cost- 51,700
eligibility (cost-resources)- 49,900</p>

<p>bates scholarship- 48,200
work-study- 1,700</p>

<hr>

<p>total financial aid award- 49,900</p>

<p>parent contribution- 0
student contribution- 1,800</p>

<hr>

<p>total resources- 1800</p>

<p>ok so does this mean that i would only have to pay $100 out of pocket? do you have to give 800 + 1,550 for books/travel and personal allowance since it is all based upon what you need?</p>

<p>help needed!</p>

2

<p>janetlover -</p>

<p>In most cases, work-study is not automatically credited to your account. You would have to get an on-campus job and you would get paid on a regular basis. So you would have to pay the difference between your total cost and your financial aid award minus the work-study.</p>

<p>So...</p>

<p>51,700 - 48,200 = 3,500 you would have to pay out of pocket, with 1,700 of that you would get back from work-study. Plus, costs for books and personal expenses that are not included in the COA at your school.</p>

3

<p>Your $1800 student contribution would be monies from summer earnings, that you would use to help pay for misc. items (books when you get on campus and some of those start up cost). this in addition to the $1700 in work study would be used to cover books, travel expenses, and other sundry items. These expenses can be trimmed by purchasing used books, borrowing books from the library or friends.</p>

<p>Congratualtions on your admission to Bates and to receiving a wonderful FA package.</p>

4

<p>Congratulations on a wonderful acceptance and finaid package to Bates. I agree...summer earnings should cover you expenses. Terrific offer!!</p>

5

<p>ok thanks! i think that i understand now. so i do not have to pay any of the comprehensive fee (because of the scholarship and work-study) yet i will have to pay for books and other random expenses i would encounter. </p>

<p>ok so if i have a work-study job could i possibly earn more than is listed on my finaid reward? like it says i would get 1700 from work-study yet what if i earn 2000? would i be able to pocket the extra money or do i have to stop working when i reach my limit?</p>

6

<p>i was only confused because i will not be able to work this summer. i am going to mexico to take some spanish classes...</p>

<p>should i explain this to the finaid office?</p>

7

<p>For work study jobs you can only earn up to your WS limit. However sometimes it may be possible to continue the job as a non work study job if your employer approves it. However most departments stick to WS employees because the federal govt pays a large part of the salary - 60-70% - which they will not for non WS jobs.</p>

<p>It is a pretty amazing package. I think they will expect you to find a way to come up with the student contribution.</p>

8

<p>thanks swimcatsmom</p>

9

<p>Holy cow. That's awesome. Congratulations, Janetlover.</p>

10

<p>Wow! Congrations, janetlover! You -- and your family -- must be thrilled.</p>

11

<p>my mother has her head set on Vanderbilt (i am hoping i get rejected or a really sucky fa package so i dont have to go) so when i called her today really excited she goes "oh im sure vandy will come tomorrow"</p>

<p><em>sigh</em></p>

12

<p>Janetlover</p>

<p>The "student contribution" is taken from savings or a summer job. If you don't work this summer, then you will have to find another way to come up with the money.</p>

<p>$1,700 work study + $1,800 savings/summer earnings with no loans is a fantastic financial aid package!</p>

13

<p>Hmmmm...</p>

<p>The way I read this is you need to come up with $1,150. (the fee - the scholarship) to enroll plus books and incidentals. They <em>estimate</em> that your books and incidentals will be the rest of that will be $800 + travel and personal expenses but the truth is it can be more or less. </p>

<p>If you cannot work this summer and you cannot come up with the $1,150, you might be able to take out a loan. That's a wonderful package.</p>

14

<p>Actually, I would assume that she only needs to come up with the first semester's money to enroll - then she would need the other half for spring. I looked on the Bates web site and they do offer a 10-month payment plan - <a href="http://www.bates.edu/x154362.xml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.bates.edu/x154362.xml&lt;/a> - , so she could sign up for that and pay $115/month. (Probably slightly more -- the payment plan does not charge interest, but these things usually have some sort of enrollment fee tacked on).</p>

15

<p>Ah, you're right calmom, she probably just needs to settle the first semester bill. </p>

<p>I was trying to weed out the 'estimated expenses' from the actual billed amount.</p>

16

<p>Congrats! That's a great deal!</p>

<p>2collegewego is right, you would have to pay $1150 your first academic year, meaning you would probably want to have enough to pay for the first semester's tuition--$575--when you move to campus in the fall. </p>

<p>You can easily get a job on campus that would allow you to make the remaining $575 for the second semester's payment. Anything you earn in excess of that can obviously be pocketed. You can check the student employment website for an idea of what types of jobs you can get (there are even more positions available at the beginning of semesters): Bates</a> College | On Campus Student Positions Available</p>

<p>I hope you will be able to come here!</p>

17

<p>thanks for all the info kj. i am seriously considering going to bates!</p>