<p>We got a zero efc because my income is so low, but I have assets. I am eligible to file 1040a in fafsa. I understand nyu can't mess with the 0 efc, but they can make whatever determination they want for aid. The government will qualify me for the complete pell grant. since it comes from the government, will nyu just deny it anyway even though it has no effect on you. They seem to be just awful for financial aid. a supervisor there even told me they feel it is their job to minimize aid for everyone...</p>
<p>* I understand nyu can’t mess with the 0 efc, but they can make whatever determination they want for aid. The government will qualify me for the complete pell grant. since it comes from the government, will nyu just deny it anyway even though it has no effect on you. *</p>
<p>???</p>
<p>What do you mean by saying “it has no effect on you”???</p>
<p>NYU cannot deny you the Pell Grant. However, a Pell Grant is only for $5500 for a student with a 0 EFC. Certainly, not enough money for a school that costs $55k per year to attend. </p>
<p>That said, since NYU is lousy with aid, expect not to get the aid that you need and continue to look elsewhere for your schools.</p>
<p>I can’t think of anytime I’ve seen an EFC 0 get a good FA package from NYU.</p>
<p>What are your stats?</p>
<p>NYU DOES offer good financial aid packages to some students…but these students typically have NEED as well as outstanding SAT/ACT scores and GPAs. There is actually a regular poster here who I hope will see this because their child DID get a VERY generous award from NYU that enabled them to attend the college without financial hardship. It does happen. BUT really I would venture to say this happens for top students that NYU really wants to attract.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>True…NYU does give good aid to some very top students.</p>
<p>If the mom that Thumper is talking about is the mom that I’m thinking of, they didn’t have an EFC O. But, maybe Thumper is talking about a different situation.</p>
<p>I’m not saying that it never happens, but I haven’t seen a FA package for a 0 EFC student at NYU that meets need. I think that would require a bigger grant/scholarships then what NYU likes to give…about $45k+. I’ve seen $30k in school scholarships/grants, but that would still gap a 0 EFC even after Pell, loans, & w/s. </p>
<p>Hopefully, someone with a 0 EFC who got full need met at NYU can post what they got and give their stats.</p>
<p>m2ck,I think we are thinking of the same mom, but you are right, she didn’t have an EFC of O. Her son did receive generous FA, but he took out all sub stafford loans and she paid her EFC of 15,000-17,000 approx. a yr. Still a lot more generous than most.</p>
<p>steve, NYU cannot deny your Pell grant or Stafford loans if you otherwise meet the criteria for them. The same is true for TAP, if you’re a NYS resident. Other than that, they can do whatever they want. But, IIRC, NYU is a FAFSA only school so how would they know about any other assets if you qualify for the simplified EFC formula and don’t choose to enter them? Do they require an institutional aid app as well? </p>
<p>In any case, I hope you have other schools on your list that you’d be willing to attend if NYU gives you a huge gap in FA, which seems to be likely for all except the top students. I’m fairly sure that their institutional “need-based” aid is actually based more on academics than it is on need.</p>
<p>Yes, MilkandSugar, I think you and I are thinking of the same mom/student.</p>
<p>With a $15-17k EFC (that the parent will be responsible for), then a good FA package from NYU is possible for a high stats NYU student. </p>
<p>That said, the NYU website does say that not all majors can get merit scholarships which certainly help those with high stats and big need (I dont’ know which majors these are.). I guess there are some depts or colleges at NYU that don’t have the money to give scholarships, while some depts/colleges do have some money to give high stats kids (I think the threshold is within top 5% of applicant pool get the merit).</p>
<p>The biggest problem I see is the 0 EFC kids often have families that do not have the means to fill any gaps (this goes for all schools). </p>
<p>.</p>
<p>NYU leverages their aid by a tiered system.</p>
<p>They give very generous awards, including merit aid, to the top 5% of their applicants.</p>
<p>Other need based aid may be in the form of a $10K or $15K grant, regardless of how much more need the student has. That is, a student with a $20K EFC and a student with 0 EFC would each be offered the same $10K grant – not based on EFC, but because NYU has consigned those students to the $10K level. If the students “appeal” their award, NYU might throw another $1k or $2K their way, but need really doesn’t play into it. </p>
<p>Of course some students get -0-. </p>
<p>NYU is worth applying to if you think that you may come out in that top 5% (for students with very strong credentials) – OR for families with relatively high EFC’s that might be addressed well with a $10K range grant. I can see a small segment coming out ahead if their CSS Profile would preclude need-based aid at other schools, and they’ve got a FAFSA EFC of $30K or so. (In that case with a $10K grant + loans they might find NYU as affordable as anywhere else).</p>
<p>Otherwise, for a -0- EFC family, it really is a waste of an application fee. You aren’t going to be able to afford to attend.</p>
<p>NYU is a FAFSA only school. AND NYU does NOT guarantee to meet full need for all accepted students…and they don’t meet that need. Typically students are faced with a gap between the cost of attendance and aid. </p>
<p>As Calmom said…it’s a school that you should be prepared to pay for if accepted. Anyone who needs significant financial aid applying to NYU should also be applying to other schools where either the costs or the financial aid prospects are more favorable.</p>
<p>What do you mean by saying “it has no effect on you”</p>
<p>I meant it has no effect on them…sorry. They get a Pell grand from the government and they can give it to me or give it back to the government. Why give it back?</p>
<p>I have a 0 EFC because my income is very low, but I have money saved for his college which I can use. If I can get a couple of grants and some help from his mother, I think I can swing it…but I really need the grants. He is an early decision candidate, so I am in a bind with the agreement and trying to figure out the financing. I called some people from the fafsa web site, and they told me they set the efc, but the college makes the final determination for the need. So if I qualify for the full Pell grant, NYU can simply return it to the government because they have a different way of determining need. But I seemed to get some conflicting answers from fafsa on that so I am just trying to verify whether I can plan on the Pell grant or not. Thanks a lot</p>
<p>PS. they require asset disclosure, so I had to give them the info. However, with my income and eligibility to file a 1040a, I qualify for the simplified formula.</p>
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<p>I’m not sure this is true. The Pell is an entitlement grant. This means that IF you qualify for it, you get it…period. The Pell is federally funded and the eligibility for it is determined solely by the FAFSA EFC…not by any university.</p>
<p>Honestly, if you have a zero EFC, walk away from NYU. Trying to piece this together will most probably mean your son and you will end up with big loans unless your assets are available to pay the $220K or so 4 years at NYU will cost minus the usually not impressive grant and the Pell. NYU also adds on much greater than average expenses as NYC is so expensive. </p>
<p>If he applied ED, have you gotten The FA package?</p>
<p>I got the package…these people are nasty. I told them I was eligible to file a 1040a, so fafsa said they could not go after my assets at all, thusly the 0 efc. They responded by saying tough luck, we’re putting it in assuming you can’t file the 1040a and I basically got no aid. So now I’m just filing the fafsa with the 1040a and waiting to see what happens. I can actually make this work with summer schools, having him commute to school and some other things.</p>
<p>You guys seem to think they have to forward me the grants if I qualify. Do you know where I can go to be completely sure?</p>
<p>I’m confused. Do you have a 0 EFC or not? What did your FAFSA say? A school can verify your FAFSA, and if they determine that you are not eligible for the 0 EFC they can adjust your FAFSA to reflect that.</p>
<p>For federal aid a 0 EFC will give you the maximum Pell of $5550 and a Stafford loan of $5500. The rest is completely up to the school. This will nowhere near cover the cost of NYU. As far as institutional aid is concerned they can give you ( or not give you) whatever they want. NYU is known for poor aid and lots of loans.</p>
<p>steve, NYU CAN ask you for asset disclosure. There are a number of schools that use the FAFSA but also have their own means of collecting asset information, either through their own forms or by questionnaire, or by requiring things like your tax returns, bank statements (yes, we had schools ask for those), and all w-2 and 1099 forms (those would indicate interest paid on any accounts you have). </p>
<p>This won’t change your FAFSA EFC but it WILL help NYU determine whether or not to give your kiddo THEIR institutional money. That is wellwithin their rights.</p>
<p>If NYU has said they will use this asset information to award institutional aid, you need to believe that they will. They are not being “nasty”…they are telling you their policy.</p>
<p>One reason for declining an ED offer of admission is insufficient financial aid. If you do not have the money to pay for NYU WITH the package they offered your kiddo with the ED acceptance, you might want to consider declining their offer of admittance and moving on. It’s mid January…time is a ticking away with regard to your kiddo applying to other schools (if he hasn’t already done so).</p>
<p>I have a zero efc. That does not mean I cannot give savings to my son if I have it. The government says I cannot support myself, so they will not require me to take money out of savings when I need it to live off of. However, they do not stop me from giving him money if i choose to do so.</p>
<p>NYU was being nasty. They took the exact same info as fafsa and removed anything that would enable me to get real financial aid, not high interest loans that I could never repay. While fafsa qualifies me for a pell grant, nyu did not based on the same info. they actually told me there objective is to minimize the financial aid any student gets, as though they thought that was their job…</p>
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<p>Steve, the “government” will award you a $5500 or so Pell grant and a $5500 Stafford loan…and that’s it. </p>
<p>The SCHOOL can expect you to take money from your savings to send your kiddo to their school. Many schools DO NOT provide all of the money for accepted students to attend their schools. They simply do not have sufficient institutional funds to do so.</p>
<p>As Swimcatsmom pointed out, you say you need INSTITUTIONAL AID (money FROM the college) to fund an NYU education. NYU is under NO OBLIGATION based on your EFC to provide you with a penny more than the Pell grant and the Stafford loan. The sum total of those is about $11,000. That will NOT pay for NYU for the year.</p>