NYU Financial Aid: please explain to me my financial aid package

Paying for College
1

<p>I just received my financial aid package from NYU, and I'm not sure how to interpret these figures, how much I have to take out in loans, or what I actually have to pay to school. To clarify, my family and I are only responsible for paying for the tuition for the school, correct? (I'll be commuting, so room & board expenses is excluded). </p>

<p>Financial Aid for the whole year: </p>

<p>CAS scholarship: $35,528
NY Tap: $5,000
HEOP stipend: $1,700
Total: $42,228</p>

<p>Financial Aid by each term: </p>

<p>Fall 2014:
CAS scholarship: $17,764
NY Tap: $2,500
HEOP stipend: $850
Total: $21,114</p>

<p>Spring 2015:
CAS scholarship: $17,764
NY Tap: $2,500
HEOP stipend: $850
Total: $21,114</p>

<p>Financial Aid Budget Breakdown: </p>

<p>Fall 2014:
Books & Supplies: $535.00
Fees: $1,472.00
Room & Board: $1,095.00
Loan Fees: $29.00
Miscellaneous: $1,000.00
Transportation: $504.00
Tuition: $21,873.00
Term Total: $26,508.00</p>

<p>Spring 2015:
Books & Supplies: $535.00
Fees: $1,472.00
Room & Board: $1,095.00
Loan Fees: $29.00
Miscellaneous: $1,000.00
Transportation: $504.00
Tuition: $21,873.00
Term Total: $26,508.00</p>

<p>Total Cost of Attendance: $53,016.00</p>

<p>What exactly does my family have to pay? How much in loans do I have to take out? Is this financial aid package good or bad? I'm assuming that my family only has to contribute towards the tuition of the actual school, and not towards the other estimated costs, such as books & supplies, fees, room & board, miscellaneous, etc. The estimated amount of money for each of those items, I would think, is not going directly to the school, but rather just personal expenses. I've never dealt with any of this before, so please excuse my lack of knowledge for financial aid. I would really appreciate someone to break this down for me and explain what these figures exactly mean, what my family has to pay, how much loans I have to take out, and any other relevant information. Thank you. </p>

2

<p>Add up the tuition and fees (not loan fees). That comes to $46,690. Your scholarships and grants total $42,228. Subtract the free money from the fixed costs, and you get $4,462 … this is the amount you will owe the school. Any other money you may need for the year … books, supplies, transportation to/from school … you will need to budget. So if you can’t pay the $4,462 + other expenses from savings, you may need to borrow. You will be eligible to borrow $5,500 for the year. </p>

3

<p>Your total cost is $53,016. Your grant aid is $42,228. You have about $11,000 difference to pay somehow (loans, savings, etc). And there are some items where you might be able to conserve costs…books, transportation, and misc.</p>

<p>The room and board cost that is on this award is for commuters. If you were living ON campus, it would be over $10,000 a year.</p>

4

<p>You are very fortunate. NYU is usually not this generous. The room and board fees seem to indicate that you would have some type of meal plan? And the loan fee indicates that you you would be taking the federal direct loans.</p>

<p>Fees would be due along with tuition - those are lab fees, activities fees, and the like that every student has to pay. Books and supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous expenses are paid by you as they are incurred.</p>

<p>As to what you will be billed, that depends on your student loans. I don’t see them factored into your financial aid package. Those loans would be paid directly to the school, and are 2,250 per semester. That would leave you with about 3,335 -2225. or about 1100 per semester to pay to the school. </p>

5

<p>What your family and you have to pay is the Tuition, ($21,873), Fees ($1472) if you are not living at the school. I each semester to the bursar’s office (Total $23,345) less your $21,114 in grants, or $2231 a tern, Your actual book and supplies costs will be determined by what you need for your specific courses and where you get the items, used, on line, rental, borrow, new. You strike whatever deal you can for your books and school supplies. Maybe it will cost you more that the $535, maybe less. Transportation, again will be determined by where you live. You can just take NYC MTA to get there, you make out. You need to buy a Metro North or other train pass each month, drive to the station , pay for parking and then take the MTA to NYU, you might well exceed the $504. Room & Board is what it costs to keep you at home that term. Bring your lunch, eat breakfast at home, eat dinner at home, you can bring that down. Also your parents will be continuing to absorb that cost as they are now. Miscellaneous, again, depends on what you spend. Loan fees if you apply for the Direct loans of $2750 a term. If you don’t take out the loans, you don’t incur the fees. But your family has to come up with that $2231 each term to pay the NYU bursar, in addition to paying for your living expenses at home, transportation, books, supplies, miscellaneous expenses and if you don’t have it, the Direct Loans are an option for you. Or perhaps a job on your part, or in some cases just absorbing the cost as part of every day expenses </p>

6

<p>Looks like there is PELL missing from your package, especially considering that you got full tap. Once the Pell is factored in, you should have enough to cover the cost. As other have stated, you can still borrow the 5500 direct loan (3500 subsidized) to cover some of your misc. expenses and start up cost. HEOP does not cover room and board. You may have to get a part-time job for the ends Try to get a summer job where you can work around your 6 week summer obligation. Overall you received a very good package. HEOP is one of the few instances where NYU meets need).</p>