<p>This is his call. He does not want to do summer school, so he will try to find work & do summer school part time. If that fails he will have to do summer school full time, but he would prefer this to his alternative.</p>
<p>Mom2, the cost of summer school per credit hour is sometimes different (less) for summer courses than during the regular school year. This was true at both of the schools my kids attended. It’s also true at a private U around here where I have taken summer courses. Many schools offer these courses and want to fill their seats. Their costs can be less. </p>
<p>I don’t know if this is true for NYU, but it IS true at other places (and I’m talking about private universities).</p>
<p>Are they allowed to take that many credits in the summer, Steve?</p>
<p>Summer classes at nyu with commuter status are substantially cheaper then regular tuition. You can check the numbers.</p>
<p>I am not forcing a relative to pay. People here keep saying they will back out. They won’t. So anyway, I just say if they pay a portion over the years, they will have already paid and can no longer be viewed as potentially backing out.</p>
<p>*Summer classes at nyu with commuter status are substantially cheaper then regular tuition. You can check the numbers.</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>Interesting to know… 
I would have guessed them to be either the same price or more. Interesting that they are lower. Perhaps an incentive to keep classes full?</p>
<p>So…what is so unique about your son’s psych undergrad that other schools don’t have? Can he go to a SUNY for the first 2 years?</p>
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<p>Tuition at NYU is the same whether you live on or off campus. There is no “cheaper tuition” because you commute. If you commute, you are simply not paying the cost to live on campus (in this case it is “cheaper” to be a commuter).</p>
<p>However, each School at NYU charges a different tuition. For example the tuition at Tisch is more expensive than tuition at Stern. Tuition at Stern is more expensive than tuition at CAS, Steinhardt or Gallatin.</p>
<p>My son will be looking at some more crossover areas in psychology… forensics, meditation/psych, etc. They really don’t have access to any of this at other schools and he can access some of it from other places in NYC. I think half of his education will come from outside the school.</p>
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<p>Then WHY is it so important for him to attend NYU?</p>
<p>[NYU</a> Summer 2011](<a href=“Summer”>Summer)</p>
<p>I don’t know if this is right, but it looks like tuition for summer school is around $4704 per credit hour (point). So summer tuition for one course is around $18,000…wait, really? Plus the university fee and course-specific fees. </p>
<p>Are these the same numbers you were looking at, Steve?</p>
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<p>If someone else pays some of your son’s college costs, you are REQUIRED to list this on the FAFSA under “money paid on your behalf by others”. If this is a substantial amount it could very wlll have a significant affect on any need based aid offers.</p>
<p>Again…remember, NYU does not guarantee to meet full need. What you “get” in financial aid this year does not guarantee you will get a similar amount next year, or the year after, or the year after. You apply for need based aid annually.</p>
<p>financiallylost, no it’s $1176 per credit hour plus fees. The example they’re showing is for a 4 credit hour class. Still waaayyy higher than SUNY or CUNY, in fact one summer class at NYU would cover a YEAR of SUNY tuition. Btw, SUNY Oswego has a very good psych department as does UB, where there are plenty of research opportunities. If he was accepted to Albany, he’d likely be admitted to those two as well.</p>
<p>haha thanks sk8rmom, i knew something was wrong with my calculation! Sorry all about that.</p>
<p>I actually tracked down what goes between fafsa and the school. It looks like the school formally establishes eligibility according to their own rules. So he could be eligible for a pell grant according to fafsa and the school could claim he is ineligible according to their standards. You can just look at their ability to adjust forms with professional judgement at <a href=“http://ifap.ed.gov/sfahandbooks/attachments/0203Vo3MasterFile.pdf[/url]”>http://ifap.ed.gov/sfahandbooks/attachments/0203Vo3MasterFile.pdf</a> on pagbe 3-7 (pg 10 of the pdf file). I spoke with fafsa on how they determine eligibility for a 1040a, and they just say ask the irs. I asked the irs and their response…“say what?” The only genuine way to prove eligibility is to file the 1040a, which I can do, but it will cost me $2,000 in increased taxes. I am eligible in the sense that the irs won’t complain if I file this way, but do I really want to file a 1040a at a cost of 2k and then rely on nyu to let me actually receive the grant…</p>
<p>Professional judgment is used when a special situation exists that is not addressed by FAFSA. For instance if someone has unusually high medical bills, has lost income or benefits (for instance if someone was getting child support and will not get it in the current year) etc etc. A student can request a special circumstances adjustment if they think there is a situation that is not reflected in FAFSA. Schools do not just randomly do professional judgements to take aid away from people. They do them at the request of the student in order to increase aid if there is some special situation. But a school can only consider a professional judgment only if the student actually qualifies one based on federal rules. </p>
<p>The simple fact is that if you choose to do a 1040 to gain a tax benefit then you are making yourself ineligible for auto 0 or simplified needs. That is your choice. Those are the FAFSA rules. The school FA officers are not out to get you, they are not in the business of trying to take away aid people are eligible for. Why would they? It is to their benefit for you to be eligible for federal aid. But they do have to follow the rules as set by the govt. </p>
<p>We have not itemized on our tax returns for the last few years as it would have meant we had to file a 1040. It was to our benefit FA wise to file a 1040A even though it cost us a little more in taxes. That was the choice we made. Your choice is up to you.</p>
<p>If NYU is not trying to harass me, why would they refuse to show me the financial aid package I am eligible for if I file a 1040a? I need to make a (early) decision based upon accurate info and they told me they would withhold the package from me until May? I need to decide by Friday. If they are such great people, what was their motivation for that?</p>
<p>As for their ability to withhold a pell grant, every single officer (supervisors included) states clearly that the university has discretion to determine eligibility such that it overrides fafsa. If you are eligible under fafsa, they can cut you out. Period. </p>
<p>Why would they? They want rich kids who they think will make larger donations. I worked in an international non-profit some time ago that built a university in Taiwan on donations. I can tell you that the reputation of their financial aid department will squash their ability to receive donations from those who want to help the disadvantaged. It is a large market they completely eliminated for themselves. Basically, their strategy is short sighted and not very effective…</p>
<p>PJ is also used by some colleges to adjust the FAFSA in a way that reduces eligibility. Basically it can go either way.</p>
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NYU does not guarantee to meet need, so they don’t have to give you any money no matter what form they use. As I pointed out above, they use a tiered system for aid and they do NOT adjust awards upward as need increase – they just slot the student wherever they feel he or she belongs. </p>
<p>So it really is irrelevant as far as NYU is concerned what your EFC is --and apparently they are adjusting the FAFSA numbers because, in their opinion, you aren’t eligible to file the 1040a.</p>
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<p>And this is absolutely what they MUST do…no choices. They are required to make sure that the info is accurate when it comes to the disbursal of federally funded aid. It is well within NYU’s right to make changes to YOUR FAFSA if they find an error. Schools do this all the time.</p>
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<p>It is not done arbitrarily. Every school has the obligation to correct any FAFSA errors they are aware of and they must verify a significant number of FAFSAs every year. Lots of people make mistakes, sometimes intentionally, and schools cannot award federal aid until these issues are resolved. NYU is basically telling you that, based upon the information you have provided to date, that they do not believe your child will be pell eligible. If he is, and they don’t find issues with your tax or FAFSA filings, they will correct the estimated awards and include the federal grants. But until your taxes and FAFSA is finalized, they’re not going to do so and, in any case, it would not mean anything if they did it now and then adjusted his EFC later in order to correct errors. Every FA award letter I’ve ever seen has had language about the awards being subject to change. If you are so very sure you will be Pell eligible, just go ahead pencil it in yourself.</p>
<p>There is no mistake. I can file 1040a. The IRS said so, but NYU can still adjust it down afterwards using PJ or any other means they wish. In their eligibility criteria, they may not even accept a 1040a filing as allowing to use the simplified formula. If they decide they don’t want poor people to go there, they can simply indicate their criteria is that no one gets pell grants. Meanwhile, when I file 1040a, I lose 2k. I will file that way on a preliminary basis and see if they will adjust their package to reflect it before I file my taxes. But they already indicated they would not let me know until May, so I risk the 2k in hopes they let me get the pell grant. I could be out both. Is this what they SHOULD do?</p>