<p>I'm an incoming student to NYU London next year on the Liberal Studies program. I wasn't so thrilled in being "rejected" from CAS. I have more than a month or so before I'm off to London and all of the billings are due Aug. 8th. I am from a single, unemployed father home and I trusted him to handle the loans. However, after looking through it more carefully and our current financial situation, I'm beginning to grow more skeptical about my financial aid package. </p>
<p>So here's the breakdown. I received $40,500 in scholarships. The rest of the $20,000 comes from Stafford, Perkins, Unsub loan, and PLUS loans. I thought we could cover the $20,000 by ourselves and not have to take the loans but my dad says he's going to try to take the loans and repay them after I graduate. I'm starting to think 80k in 5 years might be undoable since he also has to fund for my living expenses since he disapproves of me getting a job. He's been unemployed for over a year now and he's going into real estate (buying, constructing, selling those houses with his own investments). </p>
<p>So I guess my question is, if you were a parent, would you take the risk?</p>
<p>Well, it’s your college education and if you’re willing to take some responsibility for paying for it, then it’s time you tell him that! At least a portion of those loans you describe are going to be in YOUR name, not his . . . and it’s going to be your responsibility to pay them off. Yes, he’ll be on the hook for the plus loans, but the rest are yours.</p>
<p>You need to sit down and have a talk with him about how all of this is going to get paid for. It doesn’t seem impossible . . . but It does appear that he’s not being entirely realistic about his own prospects.</p>
<p>And, one thing you need to consider is that he’ll need to reapply for PLUS loans every year you’re in school. Just because he qualified this year doesn’t mean he’ll qualify in future years . . . especially if he remains out of work. So, that’s something else to consider. You don’t want to rack up a huge debt for NYU, and then not be able to graduate because you can’t get the loans you need for junior or senior year.</p>
<p>dodgersmom: thanks so much for your advice! i did sit down and talk to him. he said that even though he’s unemployed, we’re still financially well off. apparently he’s invested in a lot of real estate and is going to sell those houses in the next 5 years? i know that the loans/scholarships vary each year… i looked up those requirements and it said that as long as our financial income doesn’t change (assets apparently aren’t weighted as heavily as income), it generally stays the same which provides some comfort. but i just dont want him to rack up too much debt; hes very stubborn so he thinks i dont know what im talking about. i know colleges tend to push the burden of payment to families more each year so i’m really worried. im starting to think if attending nyu is best for my future but i’m also scared that attending anything else might also ruin it. it felt like before after i secured my place there, everything would all be set for the next 4 years! now i dont know what to think anymore with all these financial blunders ahead.</p>
<p>Try making a deal with him - you’ll let him assume the burden of the PLUS loans if he’ll let you get a job to help pay for your living expenses. If he has significant assets to fall back on, maybe it’ll be fine . . . in the end, you’re going to have to trust him on that. But insist on shouldering some of the burden yourself . . . sooner or later he’ll realize that you have a stake in this also.</p>
<p>I think you are remarkably mature for your age. You are right to be skeptical. I also think your instincts are telling you “don’t go.” You didn’t get into the part of NYU you wanted. You will not be spending freshman year in NYC. You may not have the same options you would have if you had been accepted into the program you wanted. And you will not be happy to graduate with so much debt, whether it’s on your shoulders or your dad’s.</p>
<p>What are your other options? What could you do with the money you wouldn’t be spending on NYU?</p>
<p>dodgersmom: alright, thanks so much! i guess it’s really all about trusting my dad. </p>
<p>sally305: well the thing is i’m more than happy to go to london because i’ve always loved english culture and history, not to mention literature; my major. i’m going through a course called the liberal studies program. i heard its quite easy so it will be a breezy 2 years for my 4.0. i’ll still be ending up in my program but just with a 2 year foundation course beforehand. i think it’ll be a great experience as an international student to broaden perspectives etc. but i’ll still end up in ny! overall, i think i gave the wrong impression of what i thought about nyu. i was just sort of upset because i felt like i wasn’t good enough to get in right away. </p>
<p>the thing is, nyu is offering me a lot of money for their standards. i feel like i’ll be passing on this opportunity too fast if i dont go. on the other hand, i’m worried financially that my place wont be secured. do you think these loans are too much of a burden?</p>
<p>Is your dad trying to find work? One thing to consider is how your package may change for the next year if your dad ends up with a job. You may have received such a large intial package because of his unemployment. Is the $40,500 a merit award that won’t change or a grant based on his income that would change if he gets a job? What type of income does your dad generally earn when he is working and is it likely he will earn that again while you are in school? Look at the financial calculators for future years with that info and see what a difference it makes. $20,000 a year is one thing to have in loans. Being expected to pay $60,000 per year is quite another if his income increases. Also, I am not sure how the income that would be generated by selling the real estate would be factored into the formula.</p>
<p>A “breezy” 4.0? Yeah, no. There is no such thing as a “breezy” 4.0 in college. No offense, but grading standards are entirely different from high school.</p>
<p>Also, as a literature major, what is your career plan after college? $80,000 is a lot of debt and your monthly payments will represent a burden that could force you to move in a different direction than intended. You’ll have to find a job to start paying that off almost immediately, whether that job is your preferred choice or not.</p>
<p>momtotwins: my dad makes a heft sum on a regular basis but he’s been out of work for over a year and i don’t think he intends on getting a job since hes into real estate now. he sounds pretty confident that my financial package won’t change as long as i keep my grades up… im not really sure of his plans but i think the only choice i have is to trust him. </p>
<p>polarscribe: what i meant by that was i’m confident in my abilities because of the work portrayed in the syllabus. no offense, but i don’t think it’s a crime to be confident in ones academic achievements and no doubt i understand it’s not high school. and as a literature major and being fluent in three other languages, i plan to move aboard and become a teacher as an expat teacher to help pay off the debt and prep for law school. i think you are greatly underestimating what an english degree could actually bring.</p>
<p>This is something you and your Dad have to discuss. You are getting Perkins and Stafford loans, some of which will be subsidized and will come to less in interest rates to what your Dad will be paying for PLUS. I have doing a quick math here, and it looks to me that your cost would be about $60K a year for the program, about the same cost as doing it in NYC, and $40K is covered by grants, leaving $20K total unpaid. Stafford and Perkins and some loose money should cover half of that unpaid amount, leaving about $10K for your Dad to have to borrow. Or are the living expenses(room/board/transportation) ON TOP of that $60K cost? What is the total estimated cost for a year of this program?</p>
<p>As to “greatly underestimating” what an English degree could actually bring…well, for most people the opposite has been true. As the child of an expat English teacher, and whose best friends is the same, and both of these are top of the line upper 1-5% in getting plum positions with good pay and benefits in their work, I can assure you that it is not a field where one can count on even getting a job, much less a living wage, and as for repaying hefty loans, well, it’s going to be a stretch. Fields like nursing, accounting, engineering, tech, math are a whole other story. And a “breezy 4.0” is a bit cocky sounding to me from someone who was not accepted at CAS. I know kids who had “breezy 4.0s” who are at CAS that are fighting the gales right now. Polarscribe is not the one doing any underestimating.</p>
<p>As someone upstream has already noted, this is true only if your scholarships are merit-based . . . but not true at all if they’re need-based.</p>
<p>If these are need-based grants, your grades won’t make a difference. If your father’s income spikes, your financial aid will drop. Your dad needs to be aware that the financial decisions he makes over the next three years could have a significant impact on the aid you receive.</p>
<p>And the other side of the coin is if it is merit money, you have to know what the GPA requirement is to keep the award. If it is a 3.5 and you get a 3.49, bye, bye money (which you will most likely not get back from NYU).</p>
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<p>I don’t think that this is going to happen.The University of London is most likely going to have a different grading system from NYU and it will probably be harder to get A’s from them. Having an A average in high school does not automatically translate to an 4.0 in college.</p>
<p>In addition to the base cost of attendance, they do not have a meal plan and food is really expensive. </p>
<p>You must factor in pocket money in a country where the US $ is about 1/2 of a euro. Do you plan on traveling to other countries while you are in Europe, take in the local sites, eat a restaurant meal, shop? This is going to cost money. NYU thinks that you will need ~ $6000 per semester to cover misc. expenses. Personally, I think this amount is a little conservative because I think I paid more than 6k out of pocket 4 years ago when D did a study abroad in Scotland.</p>
<p>If it is going to be a hardship just to cover the $20k for tuition, fees and room, where are you going to get the other 10K to cover the day to day living expenses while you are there for a year? Do you plan on coming back to the US for winter or spring break? If yes, factor in some more money for airline tickets during this peak season.</p>
<p>While your father may think that he appears rich on paper and he should be flush in ~ 5 years, there is no certainty in that the real estate market is going to net him a lot of $$. The reality is without a job, he is cash poor if he has to borrow the money to make the basics happen.</p>
<p>In my opinion, this is not a financially feasible option for your family.</p>
<p>" im not really sure of his plans but i think the only choice i have is to trust him. "</p>
<p>I think it is well and good to want to trust your dad but oftentimes people, including myself, don’t fully grasp the entire finanical aid picture until you are well into the experience. I had a similar experience with my D. We had a period of low income and got a great need based financial aid package from one of her more expensive choices. We knew there would be an increase in income the following year - which you may have if your dad sells a house that generates income or gets a job- and we went and talked to the financial aid officer at the school she was considering. They were able to plug into their formula the anticipated numbers and the aid for the following year was expected to be reduced by over $30,000, making that school almost full pay. If your dad is used to making a “heft sum” on a regular basis, how likely is it that he will remain unemployed for the next 4 years when you are at school. You may want to go with your dad to the financial aid office and sit down and ask specific questions about how things could change for the years in the future.</p>
<p>I’m having trouble understanding how a student whose father has considerable real estate assets, says he is “financially well off”, is managing to support himself and his kid without the need for any employment, and has plans to start a real estate development business could ever have qualified for so much aid, including Perkins loans intended for the needy. Something is not adding up here. I’d be concerned that not all the father’s assets were properly reported on OP’s financial aid submissions, and that the facts may come out at a later date and result in a reduction in aid.</p>
<p>Not with a Perkins loan. Read the criteria for it. If OP is a NYer, if Dad’s income was below $80K last year, she would be eligible for TAP. Also the Staffords and maybe even the PELL, though that would mean very low income. Throw in a few other scholarships and you have her package. But that is an awfully large gap for someone who is Perkins eligible to be expected to fill with parent loans.</p>
<p>We have a student here who states she has $40K in outright grant and a total cost of $60K. As I stated before, she and Dad can pretty much split the remaining gap, with her paying it with whatever summer earnings, savings, relative gifts she gets, and the Perkins and Stafford loans. Dad borrows, if he can–and that might be in an issue depending on his credit since PLUS does require an income and a credit check, the remaining $10K. </p>
<p>That might be a tenable situation but I get the distinct feeling that the abroad program involves a lot more cost than that. Student still needs to come up with her $10K and Dad needs to borrow $20K? If that’s the case, Dad might be putting himself into some deep water here, along with daughter. He could owe $80K, probably more, the way costs increase each year and the way interest works and the meter starts ticking when that loan is disbursed at no bargain rate.</p>
<p>Throw in OP’s loans which will be hitting the $40K mark and remember, Dad’s in it up to his eyebrows, in no position to help here with payments. And she is an ENGLISH major hoping to find expat teaching work. </p>
<p>The question I am asking is whether that kind of money investment is worth it for someone who can meet the same goal for a lot less. SUNY is much less expensive and one can take time abroad for much less. The expat English teachers I know, and I grew up in that crowd and still know a lot of people doing this, have degrees from all over. I will also add that every one of them lives very modestly. And that is without loans of the size the OP is thinking of taking.</p>
<p>If the dad has that many assets but no income, the EFC could be 0. That would give the Pell (5550) and subsidized Stafford loans as well as Perkins.</p>
<p>TAP and PELL could account for $10K of that. Maybe OP also went through HEOP–Sybbie would better know what kind of funds a low income NYer can get. Though that is a nice amount of grant money from NYU, if indeed, it is from there, it’s what you have to pay that ultimately counts, not what you get. My son did better from SUNY with no grant than a private school with a very nice ($30K) award.</p>