Paying for UW as OOS Student

Hey everyone, I’m in quite the pickle.

UW is my top choice, and if admitted I would very much want to attend. The issue, though, is that $54,000 is quite a lot (tens of thousands above) compared to my EFC, but the net price calculator says that I can expect nothing in aid.

How should I go about trying to secure that gap and be able to pay for UW? I know the Purple and Gold Scholarship is a potential help (I have 3.8UW/4.2W, and 35ACT plus a strong overall app), but it won’t come close to making UW affordable.

Anyone have any suggestions for other steps I can take to lower the price of attendance?

I think you can get Federal FA and probably the Purple and Gold. They increased the Purple and Gold amount last year to attract more OOS student. It used to be $5,000 per year, not it can go to $12,000 or higher.

Previously, someone mentioned another strategy: you can come to Seattle area and enroll in a Community College and work part time. You can get in-state status easily that way. Then you transfer to UW as in-state student after a couple years. It’s a nice theory. Not sure if it works in real life.

What are you and your family able to pay for college each year? Have you applied to schools that you are certain you can afford? Besides any merit aid you get, you would be able to take out max $5,500 in federal loans, if you filed FAFSA. You could also work in the summer and part-time during the school year perhaps adding another $5K. Can you commute to UW?