<p>We are parents of a rising senior. This is our first time going through the college process with a child. Lately it is getting harder and harder to ignore the headlines about record # of college graduates moving back home with their parents, unable to find good jobs after graduating, part time jobs at Starbucks, the cost of college has gone up 900% in the last 25 years, etc. etc. You get the picture.
We looked at some colleges this summer. My son would like to go to a smaller school (ie not UF, UCF, FSU 50K+ student type schools). We plan to look at some other FL colleges this fall.
He is a good student. He's not the prototypical CC student with perfect or near-perfect SAT/ACT/4.0 GPA who will die if they don't get into Harvard or MIT.
He has a 4.5 weighted GPA. 3.75 UW GPA. He has taken 6 AP courses so far with 4 more scheduled for senior year. Ranked #48 out of 500-something in his class. He has leadership and extracurriculars....2 year team captain, service work, etc. He is on track to receive his Cambridge/AICE diploma, if you are familiar with that. He is hispanic. Our income is approximately $115-120K. Not rich, not poor.
He has a Florida Prepaid plan which will cover 4 years in a state school and 1 year of dorm. He will also qualify for the highest Florida Bright Futures award to help pay for tuition (I heard the top award has been reduced somewhat). Here is where my pessimism comes in. Some of the colleges he is looking at (and that we toured this summer) are so expensive and I am terrified that he will end up with a boatload of student loan debt and will fall into the typical millennial trap of too much debt to get on with life once he graduates. He doesn't know what he wants to major in. Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, or Math. He has not ruled out the idea of Pharmacy School or Med School, but he really doesn't know. Heck, he's 17 yrs old. We are not rich by any means but we aren't poor either. I'm worried as to whether some of the schools we've looked at will offer real scholarships, grants, etc. to make the school really affordable. Of course they all assure you that they can make it affordable when you go visit them, but until they show you the money, so to speak, that's all just talk. Some of the schools we've toured are, in FL: Stetson and Rollins. Outside FL: Mercer, Oglethorpe, Rhodes, Emory (now off the list), Georgia Southern (GA Southern is now off the list), Washington and Lee.
Having never been through this, do you think he has a chance at getting a decent amount of scholarships at these schools to make a private school a possibility)? I don't want him (or us) to be in debt 50K or more, for example, to go to a private school to get a degree that he could have gotten at a FL public college for free or next to nothing. Thoughts?
Oh and by the way he only took the ACT once so far...he did so-so. Got a 28. He's re-taking the ACT in Sept and taking the SAT in Oct and in Nov. What do you guys think?</p>
<p>New College would be a great option in Florida.</p>
<p>Staying in the Southeast, how about College of Charleston, Furman or a little bigger, Clemson?</p>
<p>Your total cost per year to live on campus at a public school in Florida (UF, UCF, FSU, USF, New College of Fl) would be ~$15K-$20K. Full sticker at a private LAC (Rhodes, Trinity/Hartford, W&L) would be about $50K-$60K. However, your Expected Family Contribution might not be much higher than the FL public rates. At Trinity, the mean need-based aid to a family in your income range is in the mid $30Ks, which would leave you with an EFC in the low to mid $20Ks (<a href=“http://www.trincoll.edu/AboutTrinity/offices/InstitutionalResearchPlanning/Documents/financialAid.pdf[/url]”>http://www.trincoll.edu/AboutTrinity/offices/InstitutionalResearchPlanning/Documents/financialAid.pdf</a>). Use an online Net Price Calculator to estimate your EFC based on your actual circumstances. </p>
<p>An athlete in the top 10% of his class, with decent test scores and a little diversity boost, should be able to get into a LAC that is fairly generous with n-b aid to families in your income range. If he’s attracted to that kind of school, in my opinion it would be worth stretching for a few thousand/year more. Don’t focus on all the things that could go wrong. Be an optimist. Focus on his opportunities and potential.</p>
<p>He sounds like a good candidate for an elite school but he will need a higher ACT. Ideally with the Elite schools, assuming accepted, going should be contingent on it not being that much more than a State school, How much more depends on you. My opinion- if you could swing it and it’s only $5-10K a year difference, then I probably do it.</p>
<p>Sosomenza, he doesn’t want to go to an “elite” college, other than possibly W&L. The other ones he’s interested in aren’t really elite, are they? Not sure what the criteria is you are using to categorize a school as being elite. He’s not trying to get into Duke, UVA, Brown, etc. New College doesn’t seen like “him.” He is social, (not in a crazy partier way), wants to join a fraternity, and the chance to play his sport either at Div III or at club level would be a plus.</p>
<p>Sorry my advice was for an elite school. As you know, the only way to know about scholarship/aide money is to apply. But again he will need a higher ACT,(32+) without it I suspect only partial aide at best. My opinion is not to pay any more for the schools that you’ve named. UF is a huge school, but it sounds like your son will fit in nicely. GL</p>
<p>I don’t know about the Florida publics, but don’t some have honors programs that he would qualify for? I don’t think there is any reason to be ‘terrified’, just decide how much debt is acceptable and just say ‘no’ after that. Make it clear to him that isn’t a sensible decision to be saddled with debt. Run the numbers to see what the monthly payment would be if necessary to make a point. It isn’t smart to go into debt when you have such good instate options. I’d say an extra $10k per year is too much. Not even sure about $5k. It is a luxury and you need to decide how much luxury you can pay for. Having debt for schools that aren’t substantially better doesn’t make a lot of sense, no matter how awesome it would be to go out of state When you get into advanced coursework and your major and your department, the schools will all become more intimate.</p>
<p>Sorry I can’t comment on his merit chances, except that the ACT isn’t going to impress. For SAT prep there is a SAT-preparation subforum in the SAT/ACT section here and there are a couple of pinned threads with some really useful tips. Look at the accepted student stats at each school and see if he is at the top. If so, then you stand a better chance, right?</p>
<p>OP, you might want to sit down and figure out what you can afford for a school and use that as a final screen after the acceptances come in. Manage the expectations now.</p>
<p>How much will you get back from the prepaid plan if you choose not to attend a state school?</p>
<p>I understand your fears. It’s a tough road out there. Biology, chemistry and biochemistry majors are not faring well financially, though medical professionals (MD, PA, RN, DPT,etc) are doing just fine. Engineers are doing fine too. Math majors - some do great, others flounder a bit. </p>
<p>My D who attends a top university tells me that her friends are increasingly apprehensive about becoming gainfully employed. She is majoring in a lucrative field so she’s less concerned about herself. </p>
<p>I would hesitate to have them go into extreme debt for undergrad unless they are going into a lucrative field like engineering, CS or a quantitative business degree like accounting or finance, or are positioning themselves to going to something like banking or consulting. </p>
<p>I’d be careful not to settle for a school that is too “low” for your student though. Smart students need to be with other smart motivated students and they learn a lot from each other. Go to a school dominated by a less studious crowd, and it won’t be as good. </p>
<p>His grades and class rank are fine, but he would benefit from taking ACT or SAT preparation seriously. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t hesitate to have students borrow up to the Stafford limit. I think you need to apply to a lot of schools and see your options. Someone in another thread suggested Oxford College of Emory University as a place where you might get some good aid and end up graduating from Emory.</p>
<p>Realistically with that income, you should focus your search on schools which give enough merit aid to bring the COA down to around $30k a year (if that’s a tolerable number for you). As a male with a high GPA and fairly high ACT score, he’s going to be a good candidate for merit aid at most good LACs which often have notoriously imbalanced gender ratios. </p>
<p>Oxford College of Emory will likely not give the OP great aid as he makes above $100k a year. The best bet is to look for slightly lower privates which are known for giving good to great merit aid. Someone interested in Washington & Lee might reasonably look at Depauw since both have good sciences, a more conservative student body, and enormous Greek scenes, but at Depauw merit is far more likely.</p>
<p>There are plenty of good schools in the Southeast with a more moderate student body, active Greek life, and strong merit aid. I agree with ClassicRockerDad that your son should try to improve his ACT score to qualify for the most generous packages.</p>
<p>Also sosomenza, UF is nothing like a LAC. My father is a Gators alum, and I went to a LAC for my first year. From what he’s said, the two schools could not be more different, especially as an underclassman.</p>
<p>Contact the financial aid offices of the Florida colleges that your son is interested in. Many will accept the Bright Futures and Florida Access, and some will caluclate a percentage of the prepaid program. The websites should list the merit awards, (if any), to students based upon their GPA and SAT/ACT scores. I know of at least 2 schools that would offer merit aid of about $18,000 per year based on your son’s stats. These awards may be higher if he increases his ACT score. It can be very confusing to navigate the financial process.</p>
<p>OK, so let’s say for example that the cost to attend Stetson University, for ex, is $50K per year including room and board.
Stetson already indicated that right off the bat, he would qualify for about 18K in scholarships, and possibly more once he actually applies.
Florida Prepaid would kick in whatever it costs to attend a state university, right? So that is about $6K per year. He also qualifies for the highest Florida Bright Futures award, which I believe right now is $103 per credit hour. So if he takes 30 credit hours in one year, 30 x $103 = $3090.
So, 50K - 18K - 6K - $3090 = $22,910 x 4 years = a bachelor’s degree would cost $91,640, less any additional scholarships they would come up with for him? Am I missing something? So he could go to a Florida public univ basically free or be in debt up to his eyeballs attending a school that is ranked lower than either UF or FSU? I am no expert on this by any means (as I’m sure you can tell), so please let me know if I am missing something.</p>
<p>I’m not an expert but you’ll want to examine those scholarships closely as to what is required to maintain them after the first year. </p>
<p>Also, “in debt up to his eyeballs” presumes that he COULD take out that much in loans by himself. He can’t. Loan amounts are limited…the numbers are out there but basically $6-8k per year. So, that $91K represents YOUR contribution plus any available loans to HIM and to YOU right? Are you as parents willing to take loans for it? Hard to do so and prepare for retirement.</p>
<p>No, if those numbers are correct WE are absolutely not, under any circumstances, prepared to borrow $91K so that our child can get a bachelor’s degree at a private college. Who in their right mind would borrow that kind of money for a bachelor’s degree? Anyone that would is just stupid, IMO. If money is no object, I can totally see writing a check for the full tuition amount and telling the child to enjoy himself at the school of his choice. But to BORROW huge amounts like this? In this economy, I don’t think there are that many people in a position to say that money is no object. If so, we’re not in that group. Which brings me back to my original concern of students (and parents) in debt up to their eyeballs, record #s of college grads moving back in with their parents and only finding part time jobs at starbucks, etc. If I am totally wrong in my calculations above please let me know because I am a complete rookie at this.</p>
<ol>
<li>Are you sure your Florida prepay only pays $24K? That’s not a lot to have saved for college. </li>
<li>Your S can borrow $27K through Stafford loans. That’s a totally reasonable amount for any degree</li>
<li>Having a middle income parents $100K+ pay $16K per year just doesn’t seem unreasonable to me. Part of that would be paid out of current income some of that is what you’re currently spending on feeding the kid. The rest might be modest loans payable over 25 years.</li>
</ol>
<p>The most important thing regardless of <em>what</em> your financial situation is, is to be upfront with son that there is “X” amount of money available through prepay or whatever. That he should focus on schools that fit that amount and that while he can apply to some private schools, absent a windfall it’s like asking a supermodel to the prom for FA purposes EVEN if they admit him.</p>
<p>IOW, I love those new Tesla cars but it doesn’t matter HOW much I love them bc I can’t afford one.</p>
<p>There will also be financial aid based upon need that may amount to additional savings per year. This is why it is so important to contact the financial aid offices directly.</p>
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<p>In-state tuition at UF is about $6300 per year so if the other state schools are in line with this amount then $24k should pretty much cover the tuition for a bachelor’s degree. Since UF is the flagship it’s likely that some other state schools will come with a lower price tag.</p>
<p>You know your financial situation best. Figure out how much you can/want to spend for your son’s 4 year college and talk to him. Make sure clear expectation is set, the sooner the better.</p>
<p>With degrees like biology, chemistry, math, etc, most would want to continue to professional school or graduate school. In state might be a better option if that is the case. Spend less for undergraduate so there is money to spend later.</p>
<p>For merit aid, to have a good chance, your son needs to be at the top of the applicant pool for the college. Look up the colleges’ gpa and test scores to check where your son’s stat falls.</p>
<p>For financial aid, your EFC would be roughly, 5% of your assets (minus your primary home, retirenment account and asset protection based on age), 25-35% of your annual income. But your EFC can be difficult to calculate if you have business, etc and some colleges might adjust your EFC based on Profile info. Many colleges don’t meet need so it is possible that you need to pay more than your EFC.</p>
<p>It is hard to know what merit aid or financial aid you will get from a college unless you apply. Just make sure your son has a balance college list, dream colleges and safety colleges for both acceptance and affordability.</p>