Hi,
I am a senior in high school and have decided to attend University of Texas Dallas. But they have not given me enough financial aid.
My family has four members. And only my dad works. His income is less than 20,000 a year.
UTD is 24,000 a year (including books and housing) and I only got 10,000 in financial aid.
I saw online that if someone has a family of four with income less than 30,000 a year, they are supposed to receive full financial aid with extra money.
I was wondering why I got so little financial aid and how I could ask my university for more…
My question would be where you saw this online? Was it the school’s website? Does the financial aid package you received include any loans or federal grants? You may qualify for the Pell Grant (I truly don’t know the requirements) so that would help. If the figures you are stating as far as help and income are correct I would contact the financial aide office.
Please find this online promise and post a link here so that it can be evaluated.
Did you see that on UT-Dallas’ website? If not, then it has nothing to do with UT-Dallas.
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have decided to attend University of Texas Dallas. But they have not given me enough financial aid.
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How can you decide to go to a school that you can’t afford???
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got only $10,000 in financial aid
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What was that aid? Is it federal grants? how much? Is it Texas grants? if so, how much? Is it loans?
can you copy paste your aid?
Did you see this for UTD? Or did you see this for Harvard or Yale?
This simply is not true for your school.
But you can call them and ask about your aid.
With your income…I would have guessed full Pell Grant eligibility of $5775. Plus $5500 in Direct Loans. Right there…you have over $11,000.
What was included in your financial aid award? Was the Pell Grant listed? direct Loan?
Did you complete and submit your FAFSA on time?
Best advice: contact the university. Briefly explain your family’s situation and ask that they review your financial aid offer. One question: did they gap you or just expect you to take out loans? If they expected you to take out loans, you are unlikely to get them to convert that into a grant.
Are you instate for Texas? If you got Pell and Texas grant and student loan, how much does that add up to?
http://financialaid.tamu.edu/Aggie-Assurance
Did you apply to Texas A&M? If you are a TX resident with family income of under $60k I think it covers tuition.
This is where I found it:
And this is what I got:
Federal Pell Grant: $5815
Grants from state: $6333
Grants from school: $200
This is where I found it:
@anon12341234 if you read the article, you will see hat this is NOT about every single college in the country. They give specific examples how low income students can attend college for modest costs…go to a community college and commute from home. In some places a Pell Grant will cover the tuition costs.
Your school does NOT make this guarantee.
Every college has a net price calculator. Did you run that before you applied? What did it say?
You may need to regroup. You will get that full Pell Grant at any school where you attend full time. Do you have more affordable options?
From the article:
For example, full-time students from the lowest family-income quartile (family incomes under $30,000) who were enrolled in public two-year or four-year colleges in their own state received enough grant aid, on average, to cover their tuition and fees during the 2011-12 school year, and have money left over to help cover books and living expenses, according the report. These students, on average, received more than $9,700 for a four-year public university in their state, leaving them with more than $2,200 for books and living expenses.
You have received more than $12,300 in grant aid. I think the biggest part of your problem is that the school you picked is too expensive.
UTD costs $24k. You got over $12k in free money. How much were you given in loans and work study?
How much can you earn and save over the summer?
@mom2collegekids I got 5000 in loans and 0 in work study…
@klingon97 So do I just explain my situation to them and ask if I could get some more aid?
Were you admitted to any other schools with sufficient financial aid or scholarships?
Well you don’t need to explain it too them because they see your FAFSA and it has your family size and income already. They know you are a needy student. Since UTD doesn’t meet 100% of need they may not give much beyond federal aid (and they didn’t) Maybe a few students who are the most desirable grades and test scores may get more… But you can tell them it is your first choice and you would like to attend if you can make up the gap in aid vs. Cost. Don’t you qualify for any Texas grant?
You will have to take your student loan. So aid plus loan you have 17,848 so are short 6,200 per year. You can ask before giving up. Are you working this summer? If you work every summer you are then only short 3,200 each year. Meanwhile plan where you may have to go because of cost. Did you apply to any ‘meets full need’ schools or to any less expensive schools that gave you enough to actually attend?
@anon12341234 You have nothing to lose by contacting the university. But be prepared to go with another option. Student loan debt is a huge problem in America. To the extent that you can avoid it, do so!
@BelknapPoint With room and board around $12,500 at most schools, UT Dallas is right on expenses per the article. The problem is the journalist either assumed a student would live at home or underestimated the impact of room and board to a family that makes less than $30k. It’s easy math but would have been better if the magnitude of room and board was clearly stated. Of course living at home is best way to afford four year state school on grants but you have to be fortunate enough to live close enough.
This is a perfect example of why you have to run the numbers for each school. The article does toss the word “average” around quite a bit - everyone’s mileage will vary. Certainly the costs are more doable for students in a state like NC as opposed to one where public universities are expensive, such as PA.
OP, I’m sorry you placed your hopes on a generic article about costs. Now it’s time to take a realistic look at what you can do. I hope you find an affordable option.