Yeah when I first heard 75k I thought it too good to be true. I’ll reach out again and find the real amount but I don’t think 7.5k is a stretch for a Fortune 200 company. But what do I know i’m still foolish and young.
I’m still really unfamiliar with how college loans work. Where do you recommend I go to learn more? I have applied for FAFSA, CSS, IDOC, etc but a good majority will still come from student loans. In all likelihood, I will have a large debt coming out of college and I can only hope that I can have a good business career going forward.
Will your parents take out Parent Plus or cosign private loans for you to attend college? If not, you are limited to the federal Direct student loans ($5500 freshman, $6500 sophomore, $7500 each of junior and senior years). In other words, $27,000 total in loans. Have you received any merit scholarships or need-based grants from any schools yet? Some financial aid awards may not be posted until March or even April. Are Pitt and Penn State 2+2 your only acceptances so far?
You need to apply to PHEAA also ( a scholarship program for Pennsylvanians who attend PA colleges).
https://www.pheaa.org/funding-opportunities/state-grant-program/
You can borrow 5.5k for freshman year. That’s it. It’s usually packaged in your financial aid, under the name Stafford loans or federal loans. If you pass enough credits you will be allowed to borrow 6.5k for sophomore year, and 7.5k each for junior and senior years. Total, 27k,with interest, 31k - what a college graduate can reasonably pay back over 10 years.
What is your EFC according to FAFSA?
I will have to check my FAFSA and i’ll get back to you after. Yes Pitt and Penn State are my only two acceptances so far. I have applied for many scholarships but haven’t received anything back yet in terms of financial aid packages or scholarship money. What about private subsidized loans? Can I or my parents take those out as well?
You can’t. Your parents possibly can but I’d thy dont have money now they’re unlikely to have it in four years if they don’t have it now + you said they didn’t want to contribute.
External scholarships tend to be small and are often just for one year.
The best financial aid comes from the colleges - start rooting around your college and department at Pitt looking for scholarships.
As a financial safety, apply to WCU and their honors college.
Do apply to PHEAA.
Applying to WCU is a good idea. However, Honors College application is by invitation only.
https://www.wcupa.edu/viceProvost/honorsCollege/firstYearStudents.aspx
My parents have a relatively high gross income, but under mean household income net because of a large debt problem and my mother’s company has been operating at a net loss for the last couple of years. If that clears anything up.
If ‘relatively high gross income’ means 75+k (125? 200?) then you’re not eligible for much.
What’s your FAFSA EFC?
If your family owns a business operation, odds are that NPC aren’t totally accurate - but how much did most NPCs indicate?
If your parents’ EFC is not zero and they will contribute zero, you need merit aid.
With zero family help, anything above 11k is likely too much, which means you’d need a quick turnaround application “just in case”. You said your parents don’t value college (although nowadays it’s a signal all employers expect for non minimum job positions) which means they may well hope that your acceptances turn out too expensive and you can’t go.
You should apply to Youngstown State and/or UToledo and/or WCU ASAP (like, today, because March is around the corner and honors program+scholarships will soon be gone).
checked fafsa, EFC is 00152
With a FAFSA EFC of $152:
Pitt’s NPC at https://pitt.studentaidcalculator.com/Survey.aspx?p=Registration suggests a net price of $26,527.
PSU’s NPC at https://cce.ais.psu.edu/netprice-calculator/ suggests a net price of $23,726.
It looks like neither will be anywhere close to affordable.
If your EFC is $0152 then you’re eligible for Pell Grants ($6k) and PHEAA grants (if you attend PSU/Pitt/WCU) in addition to the Stafford (federal) loans.
It’s also good news because it means there isn’t a huge gap between what your parents want to contribute and what they’re expected to contribute.
Do apply to WCU as a financial safety, just in case (especially if CSS profile isn’t as kind to your financial circumstances). Do this today.
Apply to PHEAA as soon as you’re done with the WCU app.
Thank you all for the incredible help, i will make sure to apply as soon as possible.
Keep us updated- the CC community can help you decipher your financial aid offer, figure out best value, etc, etc.
Also keep us updated with your accceptances so we can all cheer 
For now PHEAA and WCU are urgent. (I think your best odds’ deadline is March 1 ie., WCU needs to be done today.) Look at the commonapp to see is wcu’s on it, it’d speed things up (do send recs and essays even if not mandatory as there matter for honors& scholarships.)
West Chester’s NPC is here: http://www.passhe.edu/answers/Calculator/WE/npcalc-216764.htm
I don’t believe Pitt not PSU meet full need. You may need to put a true state school in as a safety. I also wonder if you’d have better luck at a private school that is committed to meeting 100% of need. Penn State is not typically generous.
Pitt will match Pell Grants starring this fall.
Just visited Pitt and found out that they are only offering me $2,000 in financial aid compared to $16,000 from Penn State. I am very distraught as I really saw myself as a good fit at Pitt. Beyond the realm of reality now…
Don’t they match Pell grants now? Check with their financial aid office. :s