<p>So any school that says they will meet my need, I don’t have to take out loans?</p>
<p>I applied to Boston College as well, and I believe they will meet 100% of my family’s need.</p>
<p>As for the EFC, my parents will probably need to ask my grandparents or take out a loan… I am not sure. But we’ll find a way somehow.</p>
<p>Some meet full need schools include loans in the package to meet need. </p>
<p>Also remember that the school defines your need, and the amount that each individual school believes your family should be able to contribute will vary depending on the formula used and what expenses, savings, home equity, etc… the school takes into consideration.</p>
<p>Many (if not most) families end up paying more than their FAFSA EFC. </p>
<p>Sent from my DROID RAZR using CC</p>
<p>I see. As long as my parents don’t need to immediately take out a $10k loan, I’ll be fine with loans that I pay later.</p>
<p>coolpillow, <em>most</em> schools require students to take out loans and to work. Those loans are considered part of your financial aid so you can’t use that to meet what the school determines to be your parents’ contribution. Please try the net price calculators for each school to see what they will consider. If your parents are divorced, please be aware that many of the most generous schools will want you to include all income (including step-parents). If you are low income and do not have a ton of assets, self-employment or a divorced parent/ step parent with a lot of income, your best deal will likely come from the schools with the most generous need based aid.</p>
<p>Thumper wrote:</p>
<p>Can your family pay $5000 a year for you to attend college? If so, that plus the $5500 Direct Loan would get you very close to being able to pay for UMass.</p>
<p>OP,</p>
<p>Unfortunately, what Thumper said is not correct. Mass structures its tuition & fees in an unusual way. On the expense sheet for UMass Amherst:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.umass.edu/bursar/Full-Time%20Undergraduate%20Fees.pdf[/url]”>http://www.umass.edu/bursar/Full-Time%20Undergraduate%20Fees.pdf</a></p>
<p>The yearly tuition is $1714, while the yearly fees are $11,516. Room & board on the Cost of Attendance sheet was listed as $9937. So even if you get the “free tuition” scholarship for scoring well on the MCAS ($1714/year), you’d still need to come up with $21,453/yr to attend UMass Amherst. You’d be eligible for a $5500/yr student loan. After that, I’m not sure about other need-based aid at UMass Amherst, but they are listed as meeting only 82% need.</p>
<p>Also, if you look at the UMass tuition/fee sheet, there are some extra fees that need to be considered. UMass Amherst charges an extra $600/yr in fees if you are in the Honors college. If you study engineering, there are an extra $320/yr in fees. There is also a Freshman entering fee for $185, and a Freshman counseling fee for $300.</p>
<p>With your scores & grades, colleges with guaranteed scholarships or private colleges that meets 100% need might just be your best bet. Search for 100% need schools in other threads on this site. </p>
<p>Also, if you need a financial safety, you should probably include the UMass campus that you can commute to from your home.</p>
<p>Cool pillow…</p>
<p>Do you know how much your “need” is?</p>
<p>Schools often determine that parents can pay more than they can. BC is famous for that.</p>
<p>Have your family use the BC net price calculator.</p>
<p>mom6350… Thanks for that information… It seems like Umass could be as expensive as other public schools :/</p>
<p>That leaves me with Boston College.</p>
<p>I just did my ‘net price’ calculation, as mom2collegekids said, and it says
Pell Grant $5500/MA grant $1600 BC Grant/Gift $42150</p>
<p>Estimated Total Grant/Gift - $49300.
Estimated Net Price $9644</p>
<p>==Student Self help==
Loan $5000
Work $2400</p>
<p>==Remaining Cost==
$2244 (I assume this is what my parents will pay?)</p>
<p>This would leave me with about $20,000 student debt at the end of 2017? That doesn’t sound too bad.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>If you have a $5000 EFC, it is highly unlikely that you will receive a $5500 pell grant (it will be ~ 550). To get a $5000 pell grant, your EFC would have to be close to $500.</p>
<p><a href=“Financial Aid - Wayne State University”>Financial Aid - Wayne State University;
<p>(don’t worry about the link that the link if from another school. Since pell is a federal program, the amount you will be eligible to receive is pretty consistent across the country.</p>
<p>Sybbie is right.</p>
<p>You must have made a mistake. If your EFC is $5,000, then you won’t get much/any Pell Grant. </p>
<p>*Sorry- I re-did the calculation. My family’s…</p>
<p>Sorry- I re-did the calculation. My family’s Expected Family Contribution (not income) is $5000. So this means my family has to pay $5000 in any way they can, right? *</p>
<p>If your EFC is that high, you may not get the MA grant either…nor the Pell Grant.</p>
<p>A 5550 Pell grant is for those with ZERO EFC. Pell Grants stop at around 5,000 EFC.</p>