NYU financial aid appeal

Hi everyone ! I will be going to NYU this fall as a freshman , but I wanted to appeal my financial aid. They gave me no scholarships or grants and I was given a parent loan and student loan that has super high interest rates. I wanted to appeal my financial aid by going to the school directly this week and giving in all our documents that explains my family’s circumstances. My dad has been going through a long law suit for years that was very expensive. He had to spend over 1 grand. My mom is very sick and we can’t even afford health insurance. Will this be good enough to prove my case? I am really desperate… Can anyone help to make my case better? I know NYU has notorious financial aid , but I really need help right now in paying.

I doubt that $1000 in legal expenses will tip the scales.

What took you so long? With classes starting very soon, you should have made an appeal LONG before now. Or you should have chosen a more affordable college.

Are you saying that you are funding the almost $70,000 cost to attend NYU this year solely with loans? If that is the case, you need to think very seriously about the financial wellness of this decision.

With regard to your mom’s medical expenses, are you saying you have NO family health insurance? Is your mom on some kind of state aid? Her unreimbursed medical expenses will be what the school would consider for the 2014 tx year. What was that amount…because if you think $1000 is a lot…it’s not.

So…is your COA $70,000 plus PER YEAR?

Adding…you were accepted, presumably in April…and had your financial aid package then. If this financial aid package was NOT affordable, you had two options.

  1. Appeal immediately and see if NYU would up their aid.
  2. Choose a more affordable school.

How much can your family afford to pay for college/year and how much are you asking NYU to give you? If you can’t pay any/much, NYU isn’t affordable for your family.

I wouldn’t try to take out $70k/loans each year for college. Even if your parents are approved for a PLUS loan this year, there’s no guarantee they will be in the future and even half that amount is too much to borrow for an undergrad degree anyway. Your best option is probably to take a gap year and look for a more affordable school. Don’t take any college courses, though, or you may no longer qualify for freshmen grants.

How much more aid do you need? $3000 or $30,000? Or more?

At this point…days before classes start…I doubt you will see any increase in institutional aid from NYU.

Schools don’t have loans at ‘super high’ interest rates. ‘Super high’ are at loan sharks or check cashing services. Anything under 9% is a good interest rate for an unsecured consumer loan.

That is the reality of buying something on credit, and you are buying your education on credit. Think long and hard before you do that. Google the debt stories posted by NYU students - there is an entire FB page dedicated to them.

How much CAN your family pay per year?

I think you need to withdraw NOW, and reapply to affordable schools. Do not take any classes this year anywhere.

It is almost the beginning of the school year.
Most schools have distributed their financial aid, and I would imagine NYU did as well.
@Nanaqt how did you think people on this web site would find money for you to attend, now?

As everyone on this post has stated, you really cannot afford this school. If your family could not afford $1000 in lawyers fees, how did you think you would afford $70k?

Are you an international student? Did you have a high school guidance counselor?
Did your parents understand the paperwork from the financial aid office? The MPN?
Sorry, we’re just trying to understand how you got to this point so late in the season.

Do you understand that you will be in debt for a lifetime? A lot of these loans begin accruing interest immediately. That means that fees begin on your loan the minute you take them. If you leave school, for any reason, the money will be due either when you leave or 6 months later.

Please don’t do this to yourself and your family.

Background info on OP:

03-20-2015 at 8:51 am in What Are My Chances?
Hey guys I am a female senior who is waiting for her admission results so badly… I am so scared. I just want to know my chance… I applied to NYU CAS as an art history major. I am not doing science in CAS , because I am more of a creative person.
Sat scores : 2020 (super score) 1980 (highest sitting)
I accidently sent my horrible sat 2 scores which were not required…
Ethnicity: Asian
High school: large public. It is a very bad high school…
GPA : 3.73 UW
Rank: was 10/450 when I sent in my applications but I dropped to 16.
New Jersey

Recommendations: my us history teacher in sophomore yr (7/10)
My ac dec teacher who knew me for 3 years and he wrote about my passion about art and about me as a person. It was really nice 9/10
My guidance counselor knew me since 7th grade. I guess it was good. (8/10)

Extra curriculars. ( I feel like my ec’s are the only things that made me stand out…) I can’t write in depth because I’m writing on my iPad.

I wrote a book about bullying and earned 1000 dollars for impoverished families in a poor town for a turkey drive.
I got some graphic design award, and fine art awards. One was a international and state competition.

I did academic decathlon for 3years in school. I feel so much passion for this class. I got some art history awards.
Varsity tennis 4 years - first single and MVP. Also hon. Mention in big north conference.
Varsity golf 2 years.

Spanish honors society. Helped in taking care of kids for bilingual parents trying to learn English.
National honors society (300 hours plus)

I volunteered a lot and esp.thisnursing homer absolutely love going. I wrote one of my essays on volunteering.

For my essay I wrote about my love for NYU and art… Score (8-9/10) I wrote it in such a passionate way…

Yesterday I got rejected from Boston College and it scares me that I won’t get in NYU. I got accepted into Lehigh as one of the top students and Rutgers in New Brunswick.

I wish I have a chance at NYU … I really don’t care about Boston College but NYU is my favorite school … Especially because I am doing art history and I love the subject. Please don’t think I took the easy way out and didn’t apply to Stern or anything. I just love art and I wish I portrayed the into my essays… But isn’t art history easier to get into because a lot of people don’t apply to this major ?? I just want to feel hopeful.please me nice and chance me

Were you offered any scholarships/aid from Lehigh or Rutgers when they accepted you?

NYU is not going to give you a full ride, regardless of what paperwork you bring in. Take your dad’s canceled checks and your mothers copies of medical bills; however, I doubt it will make much of a difference. It’s just too late in the season and their financial aid office will be packed.

Also, consider @Madison’s question^^^^

I think that you are under the mistaken impression that NYU will suddenly give you lots of money because of your story. No, they won’t. You could be genuinely very poor, but NYU would still give you the crappy aid it’s given.


[QUOTE=""]
I applied to NYU CAS as an art history major.

[/QUOTE]

How much do you think you’ll be earning upon graduation?

Who will be making this payment on all this debt?

NYU did not offer you any grant, so they are just happy to have you as a full payer. Even if they threw you a few thousand as a bone, is that really going to make a difference? Unless your parents have the money in the bank to pay this steep tuition you need to go somewhere else. Sadly NYU is not worth that sort of lifelong crushing debt.

Rutgers has the art history major (http://arthistory.rutgers.edu/), and at a cost of ~$25,000 (tuition&fees, room&board), it makes much more sense for you than NYU.

@thumper1 @txstella @austinmshauri @madison85 @brownparent I have made a mistake. I was typing fast and didn’t notice that I said 1000 for lawyer fees. It is actually 100,000 my dad spent. I don’t know why in the morning I have thought that 1 grand was 100,000. And the reason I decided to do this now is because my family thought that the court case will end soon. But it is not ending. The person who carried the suit is postponing it again and again… And I am not dorming so it is 49,000 per year. I have few thousands from local scholarships I have gained so it covers a little at least. If it was 70,000 I would’ve not have chosen this school. I did get a scholarship from here in the beginning but they took it away when I told them I will be commuting. Commuting was way cheaper and my house is not that far from the school. Sorry for writing my info wrong.

From Lehigh and Rutgers I got nothing. They admitted me into their honors program and admitted me early as a RD but they gave me nothing. A lot of people that were admitted to Lehigh this year with honors were also in the same situation so I decided not to go. Also NYU is about the same cost as Lehigh because I wasn’t dorming and was closer to home.

@mom2collegekids I never said that I wanted a full ride or anything even close to that. As I said I am paying 49,000 and I already have a few thousands in scholarships. I am not stupid enough to think that any college will give me a full ride at this late point of time. I don’t care if its 500 dollars or 1000 or if they even give me work study. Anything can help.

I still don’t think that NYU is going to adjust their aid for you.

We need the answers to the questions so we can better help you.

How much do you need NYU to give you for it to be affordable?

How much will your parents pay each year

What will you do if NYU does not give you any more money?

@mom2coIIegekids To me , anything will be better. If its even a few thousand dollars I will be happy. My dad probably could start paying few years later but not now… If NYU won’t give me money I will just have to study harder and get merit aid next year.