I’m still shaking my head in disbelief that taking out a $14,000 loan per year for 4 years, can be regarded as nearly free…
No, the choice for low income students is not NYU or going to their state university. There are MANY highly regarded PRIVATE universities that would have granted u more generous FA pkgs than NYU. I think it foolish of u to fixate on one school.
I wish you all the best.
Please allow me to clarify! I have a Perkins Loan, which was not yet included in my bill. The $14,000 remaining was essentially for housing, but with reduced housing, at $7,942 per year, and the 6,400 from the Perkins Loan and Stafford Loans combined, the balance comes to about $1,542, or about $2,000.
Originally, had the Perkins Loan been included in my bill, I would have owed closer to $11,600 for the year, not $14,000. This would have made my semester balance closer to $5,800 than the original $7,000. I hope this offers some clarification.
And please understand, I do not now, nor did I then, think I’m going to this school for free at all. What I meant by that statement in my original post, was that this was the way those around me made it sound to me. I am very aware that this is not free.
She’s taking $9500 in Stafford, $5000 in Perkins, but is still more than $5000 short (and living in ‘economy’ housing in NYC) Food plan? She originally thought she’d take $5500 Stafford and $5000 Perkins and then her mother would take a $14000 Plus. Since there was no additional grants or scholarships given, I don’t follow the math. She’s going to borrow $14500, getting $5000 knocked off her room, and magically the costs are covered.
She said that the parents of CC are judging her. We have no dog in this fight. I wouldn’t let my child take out this much money in loans and I wouldn’t take the Plus loans. The high school GC isn’t going to repay the loans so of course he thinks it’s fine, worry about it later. The NYU counselor’s job is to get students into the school. He’s also not going to pay back anything.
Does someone have the link to a loan payment calculator so the OP can see what her “new” supposedly “reasonable” monthly loan payments will be and for how long, if she moves forward with matriculation at NYU this fall?
OP, you are making a decision that is going to have lifelong consequences for you. If attending Tisch is really the right thing for you to do, it will still be the right thing after you take a gap year to work and think things through.
I think you need to take a step back and research other options. What if there was another amazing school – for the sake of argument, let’s say Yale, just to pick an Ivy with a strong drama program – that would accept you with no loan obligations at all. Would that change your mind about attending NYU and racking up $60,000 in loans??
After being thrown to many departments, I was able to speak to a very kind advisor who was able to get me the Stafford Loan of $4,000, as a result of my mother being denied the Parent Plus Loan. He was also able to arrange for me to be placed in efficiency housing, which drastically reduces the amount of my outstanding balance from nearing $5,000 (following the addition of the Stafford Loan), to a much more manageable $2,000. I am looking into external sources to help cover this cost.
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So, you’ll now owe $2k per semester?
Also…what’s the status of your food plan? Were you put in an efficiency so that you wouldn’t need a food plan? If so, then great, but food isn’t free. You’re still going to have to come up with at least $200 a month for food.
And what about text books? That’s another $800 per year.
And what about a healthplan? Is NYU requiring you to buy one in addition to these costs?
If you weren’t so low income, coming up with $4k per year, plus textbook money, plus grocery money, and maybe insurance money wouldn’t be so difficult. But it’s mid-July…where will all this money come from?
Also…does this efficiency apt include utilities? Or are those add’l. The big drop in rate makes me suspicious that there are some add’l costs like internet and electric bill.
OP, please keep in mind that the Perkins loan program is being discontinued after the 2015-2016 school year. As a new freshman for the 15-16 school year, you will be unable to access that $5,000 for your sophomore year.
^^^
Oh wow! Is that true? Well, even if it weren’t being discontinued, no one can count on Perkins anyway. But if it will be discontinued after this year, that changes a lot for many.
However, see NASFAA | House Sees Movement to Save Perkins
OP needs to aware that the $5000 Perkins Loans may be disappear in 2016-2017 (OP’s second year)
Your plan to attend NYU is still terrible. The most likely outcome is that you will end up withdrawing for financial reasons, possibly as soon as your first or second semester. If by some miracle you do not, then you will graduate with at least $70,000 in debt for a degree that is unlikely to lead to a significant starting salary.
NYU STUDENTS: DEBT AND DEBTOR
http://www.villagevoice.com/news/nyu-students-debt-and-debtor-6433471
My rule of thumb for reasonable MAXIMUM cumulative amount of loans for an undergrad degree is ~50% of your expected starting salary.
@123jove, I was a low income student in the Dark Ages (after the invention of the electric light but before the age of computers). May I offer you some advice based on my experiences?
Low income students can be so used to asking themselves, “Do I have enough?” that they forget to ask 2 crucial questions: “What’s my total cost?” and “Is it a good buy?” You need to know the answers to all 3.
Do you have enough for costs to be covered? It sounds like the answer is no. You don’t have it and I don’t believe you can borrow the amounts you need.
What’s your total cost? You seem to have a $9500/year Stafford Loan, a $5k Perkins Loan which will disappear after freshman year, and $5k of uncovered costs (which will be at least $10k uncovered for years 2-4). Being denied a PLUS loan isn’t “dodging a bullet” if you take the loans elsewhere. They’re still loans. So if you were able to borrow the way you want, it sounds like this creative writing program will ultimately cost you $80,000 plus interest.
Is $80k for a creative writing program a good buy? I don’t think so. The chances of making enough to repay those loans are, in my opinion, so small as to be nonexistent. Even if you could scrape together enough to pay for the first year, if everything doesn’t line up for the 2nd year you run the risk of not being able to transfer. You will have lost all opportunity to get meaningful grants at other colleges (they go to freshmen) and if you owe NYU, they won’t release your transcripts. It’s business, and you need to treat it like business (think with your head and don’t get emotionally invested).
It would be a mistake to have your budget spread so thinly that you can’t handle any unexpected expenses. Since you have stats good enough to get accepted to NYU, it seems like you should be able to qualify for merit somewhere. If you post your stats and home state, the parents here can help you find something more affordable.
Take a gap year and reapply to a new school list. This is unworkable.
I agree with the others. You may squeak through the first year racking up too much debt but there isn’t even a plan for years 2-4. Costs go up every year. Racking up debt for 1 year and then having to transfer leaves you with the debt and nothing to show for it. Plus transfer aid at other schools is likely to be less than if you were a freshman. No one will care that you attended NYU for one year…
@123love 48K in debt, I only did a quick internet estimate but you are looking at graduating with payments more that 500 dollars a month… for 10 years. They say you need an income of more that 60K annually to repay that amount… starting within 6 months of graduating. That’s a really tough way to start down an already tough career path especially when your family can’t provide a safety net for you.
You are clearly a bright kid. I don’t think you were foolish. I think you are inexperienced and that isn’t your fault. I just really hope you rethink your options. There ARE other schools where you could get a strong education and that wouldn’t leave you with such a big strike against you upon graduation. The blessing about the arts is that talent can trump pedigree. You don’t need NYU to be successful. What about a school like USC? They at least meet full financial need.
I don’t think I have anything more to contribute but I really do wish you the best.
The two things that scare me is 1) no plan for years 2-4 and 2) no emergency fund.
When money is this tight, how do you handle a unplanned expense? I know that is a reality for many but when in school the ramifications can be worse. What happens if you are charged a miscellaneous fee such as a lab fee or damage fee or a co-pay for medicine charged to your student account. What If you can’t pay? You will not be able to register for class or return for the next semester. Worse, if you owe $1 that you can’t pay, then they will not release your transcript. Transferring to another school will be close to impossible. What if you get sick and need medicine? What if the lower cost housing is not available in later years. At most schools, Seniors and Junior pick housing before Sophomores. So the lower cost housing you have could disappear. Some schools will decrease aid in later years since they assume he student will earn more over the summer as they have better skills.
It is one thing to take that leap of faith that things will work out but reality needs to be considered.
Emerson College in Boston has a wonderful fine arts program. I think they are fairly generous but not sure if they meet full need. It’s worth a look, though.
OP, please don’t kick the can down the road and take on huge sums of debt. I guarantee you will regret it once you graduate and the payments are due. NYU is really not worth it.