Parent Plus Loan denied, was relying on it for remainder of my tuition--

Paying for College
21

If you got into NYU Tisch, you can get great aid packages from other colleges. A gap year is your best bet, and all of us here can help you develop a better plan for next year.

Understand, as a student who has not entered college, you are a prized commodity. Your possibilities are boundless. But once you start college, that is gone and your options are extremely limited.

The #1 reason students fail to graduate is financial trouble. It’s very important not to enter college with a bad financial plan. It’s a path to disaster.

I disagree. On average, NYU meets 73% of need. It sounds like this student’s package was around that level, and that is the problem.

22

@BobWallace our opinion on what constitutes good financial aid is just different. This family lives on less than 20K a year and they are being asked to take out 20K of loans for just freshmen year. I can imagine a counselor who didn’t have a clear understanding of a families income (and most really don’t) thinking this was a good package. Maybe it’s just the circles we are in but we know at least 10 kids who got into Tisch and not one attended because it was the worst financial package of all their options. The difficult part is that the OP applied ED and so didn’t get a chance to see what other schools would have given her. I’m sure she could have been served better elsewhere. She was really let down by those advising her.

23

OP- you are a talented kid. There are colleges out there that want you and will help you bridge the gap between the very minimal amount of support your mom can provide and what you need to attend. NYU is not one of them.

You will likely end up with loans. But not at the level of the NYU kind of crippling loans.

Let’s start over. Post your stats, where you live, which colleges are within commuting distance and the folks here can help you figure out Plan B.

24

I agree that schools should not put the Parent Plus loan on the FA package. My D got one like that last year with ~$25k Parent Plus loan on it. It is just a joke. It is not guaranteed and it is your future money plus interest even if qualified. It is like taking an equity loan to pay for college for some family. It should NOT be counted as part of the financial aid but a mean of family contribution.

25

<<<
I, still wary, then asked that he call NYU to confirm what he said was true. Together we called, and they confirmed what he had told me, I was overjoyed. NYU, one of the most expensive universities in the nation, my dream school, and I was going for nearly ‘free’?


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There had to be a huge communication problem.

It sounds like a teacher helped her call NYU to confirm that pkg, yet somehow no one (not even NYU) asked/stated whether the Plus loan was assured?

I can understand a 17 year old naive “live for today” and thinking that $100k in loans is “later,” so going now is “free,” but the adults should have known better. Even an immigrant home-owning mother should know that $100k in loans is A) not affordable, B) not “free”. The others should have known that someone going into her chosen field (risky), has no business borrowing anywhere close to that much money.

BTW…I doubt that the GC didn’t know that she had a very-low-income student in her office. Not only did the OP attend a low-performing school (which likely has many, many, many low income kids), but she was likely on free lunch, another indication that the family’s income was low.

There shouldn’t be a GC out there that doesn’t know what Plus Loans are, that they require applying/qualification, etc.

The OP should print out copies of this thread and give to each of the idiots who misled her in a horrible way.

The OP really needs to manage this next year correctly, otherwise she’ll be in a worse situation. No one wants to see posts next year from this same girl who is now lamenting that she started at NYU, had to leave, and that she “listened to people” who told her to go that route.

Her mom needs to read this thread, so that she can understand that her daughter’s only hope for the best aid is to apply to more colleges with a “clean slate” (NO college credits). The daughter needs to preserve her valuable “incoming freshman” status.

26

It’s unfortunate that she didn’t look into whether she would have been eligible for Gates Millennium or Questbridge National College Match.

27

OP is from Delaware. Here is an excerpt from the University of Delaware’s website on areas of concentration for English majors:

*All English majors at Delaware choose to concentrate in literary studies, professional writing, ethnic and
cultural studies, film studies, creative writing, or drama. For those who wish to teach high school English,
the English education program offers the credits and teaching experience students need to become certified.

28

At University of Delaware (instate) with EFC 0, 2000 SAT and 3.75 GPA; a student would receive about $20,000 in need and merit aid, $1,500 in workstudy and $5500 in student loans which would completely cover the $26,510 COA.

http://www.udel.edu/npc/

29

^But University of Delaware is not as famous as NYU Tisch.

My kids’ high school counselors do not help/counsel on financial aid, as they claim that they’re not financial planners. The high school would only offer a “financial aid night” by a financial aid officer from local colleges once a year, explaining FAFSA and student loans.

30

If this student is a Tisch accepted student, her acceptance was likely based on far more than her stats. She either had to audition if performing arts, or submit a portfolio for other programs. Tisch is highly competitive, and looks at talent in the area for acceptances.

I think the OP needs to contact Tisch. See what they say.

In my opinion, the biggest mistake made here was applying ED to a college that does not guarantee to meet full need, then accepting the offer of admission with those loans included…regardless of what kinds of loans.

While disappointing, this student would be well served to take a gap year, and apply to multiple colleges regular decision…thus giving the opportunity to compare bottomline costs.

31

OP, I’m in Delaware, UD is a fantastic school, I’ve had 4 family members graduate from there. You could also look into the SEED program as a cheaper option.

As others have said, take a gap year, and apply for aid. It’s your best option now.

Just out of curiosity, where did you go to HS where you got such bad info?

32

I echo what all the other posters have said regarding OPs situation. Not much more to say. Sad really. OP had lots of uninformed and misguided advice about NYU, which as most people should know is notorious for poor FA packages.
My Ds high school classmate is going to NYU Tisch and I ran into her mom the other day and she told me they are putting their house on the market in order to help pay for this school. It’s not something I would do, that’s for sure.

Here’s an article from 2013 from CBS Money Watch but relevant still I think
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/look-who-doesnt-deserve-financial-aid-at-nyu/

33

Before applying to any school ED (or any school), one should really check out their NPC and discuss with his/her family to see if it is financially realistic at all. One should also notice all loans (assume they are approved) are your own money from future earning. It is not a gift. So even need met, but if mostly by loan, it may be still not affordable.

34

All under the bridge now. Go see the NYU FA office and see what, if anything, they are willing to do. If the parentplus loan was denied, does that give the OP a bigger loan she can take herself, presuming NYU can come up with the rest from somewhere?

NYU has a vicious cycle…grads dont give bc the school was so stingy and greedy. No gifts, causes them to be greedy and stingy…I give them 000000000$, every year:)

35

It is actually ridiculous for the FA office to put a $14k Parent Plus Loan in the package of student from a $20k income family. They should know it is very unlikely to be approved.

36

Similar story: http://www.propublica.org/article/how-the-govt-is-saddling-parents-with-college-loans-they-cant-afford

37

<<<
My kids’ high school counselors do not help/counsel on financial aid, as they claim that they’re not financial planners. The high school would only offer a “financial aid night” by a financial aid officer from local colleges once a year, explaining FAFSA and student loans.


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Right, but when the STUDENT brings in her FA pkg for the GC to look at, a GC should now what a Plus Loan is, and how it’s awarded (only after qualifying).

@billcsho Sadly, low income people can easily qualify for a Plus. Income is not a consideration. If the mom didn’t have adverse credit, she would have been accepted.

That said, the GC should be smart enough to know that some/many low income people do have credit issues…and many parents won’t agree to Plus no matter what their income/credit scores are.

Honestly, if a GC spent a few hours on this forum, she would quickly learn the “ins and outs”. The fact that so few seek out this basic info is appalling. I spend a LOT of time researching the hospitality business because that’s what I do. Most of us would be ashamed to have a career and know so freakin’ little about it.

38

Putting the Parent plus loan in the financial aid package is common. It was on my daughter’s initial estimate, off the NPC, and it listed all the merit, state grant (but not BF because that has so many variables),Stafford loans for the student, then the Parent Plus. In big bold letters at the bottoms - “Out of Pocket costs=$0!” Yeah, right.

It is confusing, especially to families new to the FA game who don’t know all the types of loans, whether they are guaranteed, what grants are available. However, it is no different than the way some banks present loans for cars. The last time I financed a car (it was actually a refinance) the woman (who was an idiot) kept saying, “If you do this, it will be 172, or if you do that 184.” I had no idea what she was talking about. I asked if that was a credit score. No, she said, your payment. To her, and most of her customers, all that was important was the payment, not the interest rate, total amount paid, interest per month. Bottom line was monthly OOP. That is how loan officers are instructed to
sell the product, the loan.

If they don’t put the Plus loan on the financial aid documents, many families will just figure there is no way to pay and go to the next school. I think that’s a better way, but these school marketing people are still trying to sell their schools, to get people in the door with zero OOP. If OP’s mother hadn’t been denied the loan, it would have worked for NYU.

39

Altho NYU is a CSS school, I don’t know if they require NCP info.

For FAFSA only schools, it can make “some” sense to include a Plus Loan even if the EFC is 0. The NCP pay be willing/able to take out that loan.

That said, the Plus Loan should be listed well-below the other listed FA awards, with an explanation that IF the parent wants to take this loan out, they need to go to XXX website and apply, and IF qualified, then the loan will get processed.

40

Can OP get a higher sub loan bc her parent was denied?