<p>Hi Hollyanne- Have you also figured in the co-op possible-earning at RIT? That might alleviate the financial burden for your family.</p>
<p>*The school coming in with an 8000 gap is RIT. They started out with a 10000 gap and I appealed and they gave me a Pell and a SEOG, so now we are at 8000.
*</p>
<p>This bothers me. They act like they “gave” you something. They didn’t give you anything for your appeal. Your Fed aid was yours already; they must have forgot to give it to you at first (or did your FAFSA get changed)?</p>
<p>Anyway, RIT didn’t give you ANYTHING in that appeal…that is federal money, not RIT money. </p>
<p>What is the breakdown of their COA and FA package? Maybe we can find ways to cut costs there, too.</p>
<p>hollyanne, I am so sorry you found out the hard way what I think GC’s should be advising their students on starting in jr year. I have nieces and nephews in the same situation your S is in. Smart kids, good EC’s who assumed the merit money would come their way. And assumed they would not have to pay more than their EFC. I am very lucky to have found this group ahead of time. </p>
<p>I hope RIT comes back with more money. BTW - you are not a loser. The system stinks and folks go into this thinking their S/D is being wisely advised by their GC when in fact the GC rarely council conderning money and the kids don’t know any better.</p>
<p>Apple192’s point is well-taken - RIT requires substantial co-op, and these are generally well-paying jobs for engineering students. The student could earn $30-40k overall, maybe more.</p>
<p>This level of earnings will probably impact the Federal grants, but even after that, if the student is careful with the money, there will be enough to cover at least two years of that $8K gap, maybe more.</p>
<p>Another place to save a lot of money is R+B - get off campus as quickly as possible. RIT costs a little over $10K/year to live in a dorm and be on the meal plan, which is outrageous. This is most likely required for freshman, but after that you can probably cut that close to in half (RIT even has their own apartments that can be much cheaper than the dorms). It’ll require the student to shop/cook his own food, but there’s another $4-5K/year in savings over the last 3 years.</p>
<p>RIT seems very doable.</p>
<p>Thanks to all who have helped.</p>
<p>My son has mentioned several times that he thinks the co-op at RIT would really help. Since we do not have to pay tuition that year it would help in that way also.</p>
<p>My husband is really so stressed about this and feels like a bit of a failure for not having more savings. It is not as if we have been going off on trips or buying stuff–we have just had unusual and unexpected medical expenses and some years with low income. But he has asked me to stop posting here for a while so I will.</p>
<p>I do want to say that what you said about the Pell Grant really surprises me. (Trust me , I am not “shocked”–I have learned the hard way not to use that word!)I know very little about these grants/</p>
<p>RIT is the only school that offfered the Pell. Why would that be? They and UB are the only ones that offered Perkins Loans and I didnt understand that either.
On the lastest aid letter from RIT it has a Pell, a SEOG and a AEG? I dont know if these are really the right initials --my son has the letter in his binder and he is off with a firend tonight. But they are close. And you know, I never thought about it really not being money out of RITs pocket—I was just glad to get the extra aid.</p>
<p>UB offered a 5000 scholarship, loans-su, unsub and perkins, and a small amount (500?) TAP. No Pell, no work study , no other intials. that is ok–they are not in the running anyway. But then again , why did they not offer Pell?</p>
<p>My son is making one last attmpt at Rose , which I know is ridiculous. He is going to bring his FA sheet from RIT and see if there is any chance of getting Perkins , Pell or any of these other letters from them . Rose graduates seem to have a higher starting salary and a higher ten year salary --and trust me, no kid is more interested in getting ahead than a kids who grew up with no money–so he wants to check. I found a very low airfare, and they are picking him up at airport and housing him for the trip , so I shouldnt have other expenses. He will have to fight his battle alone, but perhaps that is for the best!</p>
<p>This is my last post about this—due to my husbands request–thanks agian toeveryone for the advice. We will be fine.</p>
<p>Ps–I didnt answer one of moms questions-</p>
<p>Our FAFSA was not “changed” per say. I wrote a letter explaining our daughter s medical issues and also why we had no college savings for our son–that my husband had been out of work a few years ago and it ate through our savings. Last years numbers did not change. I do work at a minimum wage position, and that especially stays pretty constant.</p>
<p>PSS-- I appreciate all of you who were so kind. I realize now the word “shocked” made it look like i expected a handout. I didnt really. But our circumstances are not our sons fault–he is a smart and good kid–just looking for a better life!</p>
<p>All your son’s schools should have Pell in their packages. Call all and ask why Pell has not been included. You’d get the same amount for EACH school.</p>
<p>Yes, the Pell is an amouint set by the federal gov’t based on your EFC. It will go with the student to any college. There is no circumstance where the school can decide not to award it to you if you are eligible according to the federal guidelines. The amount will not change from one college to another.</p>
<p>Hollyanne…</p>
<p>I realize that the whole money issue is a painful one for your husband. However, please tell him that you’re going to get info here that will save your family money. For instance, you didn’t know that you SHOULD have gotten $2400 Pell (at least) from EVERY school. That’s nearly $10,000 over the 4 years of your son’s college. (That would be the same if you had saved $10k towards his college. 
)</p>
<p>The reason I mentioned that RIT didn’t give you anything more in the appeal is so that you can go back to them from an informed position. you need to tell them that when you appealed and were only given Pell, they didn’t give you anything. That Pell should have already been in your package (which I would also want them to tell me why it wasn’t.) My point is that you should appeal to RIT for them to give you some of THEIR money. Pell is a right for those who qualify. Other federal grants may be more discretionary (I’m not sure), but Pell is a right.</p>
<p>People here can also advise you how to cut costs from your son’s COA. COA’s are often padded and overwhelming. The COAs can often be trimmed. And, we can tell you how. :)</p>
<p>Something is wrong with UB’s package - although it isn’t his top choice, if it’s his financial safety you should contact the FA dept there asap. UB gave us several revisions to the award letters my D got last year - first TAP was raised from a lower estimated amount (due to state budget factors, I think), then a state university grant was added, finally her $750 ACG was added after they verified her HS transcript. Btw, it sounds as if your son would also receive ACG money (requires Pell eligibility and NYS Regents w/Honors or Advanced Designations diploma). This is federal money too, so it’s the same eligibility and award at every school, though schools often don’t post it until they verify final transcripts. Next year is the last year for ACG though, so don’t count on the $1300 for his sophmore year (unless he has enough credits, at least 30, from AP/dual enrollment AND has a minimum 3.0 college gpa, ie from taking at least one dual enrollment class, then he could be eligible for the $1300 sophmore award in his first year.)</p>
<p>Also, your TAP award seems low for an EFC of $3K. Is it in line with what TAP estimate is on the HESC website? If not, I would double check your TAP application for errors. TAP awards range from (for 0 EFC) $5,000 to $500 (for families with NYS taxable income of $80K) for this year and I don’t think the drop off would be that extreme (90%) between 0-3K EFC! Last I heard, TAP was going down $75 across the board next year, but that wouldn’t account for the large difference.
[Award</a> Amounts and Income Limits](<a href=“http://www.hesc.com/content.nsf/SFC/3/Award_Amounts_and_Income_Limits]Award”>http://www.hesc.com/content.nsf/SFC/3/Award_Amounts_and_Income_Limits)</p>
<p>Re the difference in Perkins loans, schools have different amounts available in their loan pool and they are awarded by school policy, within certain federal limits. So schools with many low income kids might award them only to 0 EFC, or to returning students, or based on other factors. </p>
<p>Agree with M2CK, it’s very possible to trim expenses from COA. Although UB’s COA isn’t terribly high to begin with, we were able to trim around $1500 in R&B, books, transportation, and personal expenses (she still had a very large, comfortable double room, it just wasn’t the “large double” they bill extra for!) YMMV</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>I agree…something is wrong with the UB FA package. For some odd reason, the student wasn’t automatically given Pell at his schools and the TAP does seem low. He should also have gotten a merit scholarship from UB (I think).</p>
<p>so far what i have gotten out of all of that, mostly, is that i was dumb for thinking i’d get much money. note: osu IS an in-state school for me, and one of the cheaper ones. so, call me an idiot, but THOSE ARE MY SCHOOLS! ut or osu.</p>
<p>so… what i want to know is, even if it isn’t the smartest financial decision for my life down the road, is it even possible to take out that amount of money in loans? (roughly $80,000 for osu and $190,000 for ut) or will i run into major road blocks and be unable to access the money? and i’m sure i’ll sound naive for saying it, but i plan on being a doctor which will obviously give me a high income. and yes, i realize how much medical school will cost and how little money residents make. but what i’m trying to say is that i’m counting on having money to pay off that kind of debt. hopefully.</p>
<p>maybe i am being dumb. 
but nobody ever warned me of this, and it sucks to work hard in high school and go through all of the stress of applying to college and everything that goes along with that, just to be told to throw it all away, give up, go to a community college and live with my parents. noooooo way i worked way too hard to do that!!! on top of the stress of junior & senior years of hs, i dealt with my dad being unemployed for eight months, being evicted from my house and my family moving me across the country for my senior year. so sorry for having some hope for having some happy college years in a place i for once WANT to be in.</p>
<p>and whyyyy is college seeming so much more expensive for me than for anyone else i read about on here?!?!? for everyone else, the in-state actually IS a financial safety! for me, it’s adding up to be as much as other people are paying for private, fancy schools. my family is flat broke, yes i do work but my money goes to my family. i am quite stuck between a rock and a hard place.</p>
<p>and sorry for being whiny. i know i shouldn’t even post this. but i feel like a lot of the parents on here still don’t get how a lot of the actual students feel. and like someone else said, it’s the internet and people have strong opinions. so… ta da.</p>
<p>@wonderdoodle: I hear you and feel for you. Methinks you should not have to give up your goals just bcos of $$$. There is always a way out so do not be deterred by the challenges. I know many here are trying to help, but they could not quite understand things the way you do, cos they are not in your shoes. </p>
<p>IMHO, you are already doing what it takes to succeed in college… OSU appears to be the more reasonable option college for you, so I’d suggest you work towards making that happen this fall. Your parent’s situation should NOT stop your future progress… just go for it. $10K a year of college loan => $40K over 4 years is not that high to manage. Over the life of your career, you’d make several orders of magnitude more money, so don’t sweat the little stuff. Not to say that going into debt is a good thing, but there are debts worth taking on. And getting a good education is worth it…</p>
<p>Wonderdoodle…</p>
<p>If you want to go to med school then you need to minimize undergrad debt otherwise you won’t be able to borrow enough for med school. Don’t you understand that you’ll run out of borrowing power??? Banks don’t just lend students an infinite amount of money.</p>
<p>My son is pre-med and will graduate from undergrad debt-free because he’s know he’ll have to take out some loans for med school. Even with that careful plan, he’s still going to have big debt when he gets out of med school. </p>
<p>UT is out. </p>
<p>OSU and maybe another public state school are your choices. Can you still apply to a state school that you could commute to? Perhaps you could commute to a local state school for 2 years and then transfer to OSU for the last 2 years? That would minimize some debt.</p>
<p>What is your aid package currently for OSU? What is your EFC? It sounds like it might be lower next year? Is that true?</p>
<p>Will you still need to be contributing financially for your family while you’re in college?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I think he may have received a merit scholarship since she posted the gap as $10K. If not, that is odd that he didn’t although he may have applied after the 12/31 deadline for merit consideration. This is based on last year’s class, which had record high stats for UB:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Hollyanne,</p>
<p>Do you think your son may consider taking a gap year and doing something like americorp, or citi-year then applying to a larger range of schools with better need based FA possiblities or places where your son will get better merit aid.</p>
<p>wonderdoodle,</p>
<p>if you do not mind, what are your stats?</p>
<p>Hollyanne,</p>
<p>Now that I have had a nap and time to think, if money is going to be a big issue, I definitely would recommend a gap year and reapplying to a wider variety of schools. Schools that met 100% demonstrated need with large amounts of grant aid or schools with big merit aid and great need based FA.</p>
<p>Schools to consider:</p>
<p>Tulane - he could apply EA, his stats would give hime merit aid in addition to need based FA</p>
<p>Emory- he would probably be eligible for the emory advantage
[Emory</a> Advantage](<a href=“Emory Advantage | Emory University | Atlanta GA”>Emory Advantage | Emory University | Atlanta GA)
you should have him also toss an application at Oxford College at Emory (where he woudl definitely be admitted)</p>
<p>Dartmouth- even though they have added back in stafford loans , your income would still provide him with full tuition and his loans would most likely be minimal</p>
<p>Williams/Amherst
Vassar
Columbia
Cornell -even if he was interested in the land grant universities, as a NYS resident, they would be less expensive
check to see if he would still be eligible to apply for questbridge.</p>
<p>apply to some of the schools known for good merit aid</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/52133-schools-known-good-merit-aid.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/52133-schools-known-good-merit-aid.html</a></p>
<p>good luck to you and your family</p>
<p>wonderdoodle-</p>
<p>Don’t worry about being whiny. Worry about being realistic. </p>
<p>I am trying to tell you please don’t try to borrow $20K a year to go for undergrad for 4 years to your state school. Have you talked with your FA office at OSU? Please try to sit down or call a FA officer and make sure you are not missing something. Tell them that you desperately need more FA in the form of grants or scholarships and see what they say.</p>
<p>And if they say no, please think about biting the bullet and going to your local CC. Go for a year and see apply as a transfer and see if your financial situation improves. Maybe try a couple of different schools. Although state schools should have similar costs and aid, you never know. It is even possible to still apply and get accepted at some of your other state schools, even at this late date. Is there one closer where you could commute?</p>
<p>Again, you will have a nearly impossible time coming up with $20K in loans per year (don’t forget inflation) with no cosigners and no credit. Most CCs are about $1000 per semester or so. My S went one semester when he left his first school after the fall semester to our CC. Credits cost like $80 and they all transferred. I felt like we were stealing those credits. Anyway, even if you go for one or two years, you still have 2 years to get your residential undergrad experience.</p>
<p>If you do not have the money to pay for your first year, don’t just sign on and blindly hope it will all work out. It won’t. If you want to go to med school you must think you are fairly smart. Lay this all out and look at it. Detatch yourself. There is just no way you can possibly pull this off for 4 years. Go to CC, find one with an articulation agreement for transferring to your chosen 4 year, and do the best you can. If the goal is to graduate and go to med school, you aren’t going to get there if you can’t pay for the second semester.</p>