<p>Hi, I'm new to the site. Actually I'm not that new I've been lurking for awhile, but decided to join today.</p>
<p>High school graduate of 2008
My situation- transferring from community college to university
I'll be short a few credits of being a sophomore I have a 2.7gpa as of now..my grades from winter haven't posted yet.
+I already owe 2000 from my stay at community college</p>
<p>Financial Aid for University:
COA:16,699
Award:
Federal Pell- 2400
Sub Loan--- 3500
Federal Work Study- 4000
Unsub Loan- 2000
Total:11,900
Those #'s include fall+winter</p>
<p>After subtracting my Award from the COA= 4,799 difference
Which even with that low of a number I don't think my family(just my mom and I) will be able to pay</p>
<p>So I was considering a private loan and I'm also applying for some scholarships as well.</p>
<p>I still need some clarification on how Work Study,well works...
Is it expected that I will use my checks to pay my tuition? Or should I factor out my work study in my award package? If so, that means I'll have to take out an even greater private loan..it's all not very clear. So any help is appreciated!</p>
<p>money you earn from work study is paid directly to you. You can use it for food, tuition, whatever you want. but it’s paid as you earn it, so you can’t assume you will have it to use up front for any money due to the school</p>
<p>The thing you need to consider is that the school gave you none of their money and they gave you the maximum loan amount. Those loans will go up as the maximum goes up. Next, $4000 is a very large work study amount, it means you’ll be working a lot. Then expect tuition to go up every year. So even for 3 years you will end up with a lot of debt, considerably more than the national average.</p>
<p>It seems many kids can’t avoid debt, but have you considered anouth year at community college to keep yours down?</p>
<p>Thanks for replies…actually I have considered going back to cc.</p>
<p>But, of course, I have my mind set on going to this specific school…and I’m sitting here stumped…I don’t know what to…I want to do this…I know I can…but what if finances get worse doing my next 3 years? I feel like either way, I’m still going to graduate with debt anyway.</p>
<p>My intentions are to work incredibly hard and hope that next year the school gives me more money.</p>
<p>Since Sue said that I can’t factor work study into my COA because it’s not paid all at once…should I decline work study and just take out the appropriate amt. of private loans+grant+FedGrants…or should I stick to my original plan =
grants-fedloans-workstudy+private loan?</p>
<p>Also my school offers a payment plan…so I could actually use my work study money for tuition payment.</p>
<p>I would not decline work study, though you might have to decrease your award if it’s too many hours. How much of the COA are fixed/billable charges, and how much are variable costs (books, transportation, etc.)? </p>
<p>You can request PLUS loan, which might be easier for your mom to get, and if she’s turned down you’ll be eligible for an additional $4K in Stafford loans.</p>
<p>Also, did you receive the Academic Competitiveness Grant this year? If you can pull your gpa up to a 3.0, it will be awarded at $1400 for next year.</p>
<p>Yes, any way you look at it, you will end up with debt, but it’s the amount that matters. Student loans are with you until they are fully paid off. Even bankruptsy does not discharge them. They will come after your pay check, your tax refund, anything you have to recoup them. Right now 1 in 5 students with more than $20K total debt can not pay their loans back and the number keeps rising.</p>
<p>You want to have a life after college, to be able to live decently and drive a decent car, not use all your money to repay loans. I know people in their 40’s still paying and it affects how their families can live.</p>
<p>You need to look at average salaries for recent grads of your college with your major. Then figure out what you will need to borrow and what the monthly payment will be. There are many online calculators. Search here for poster ‘mini’, he posts loan repayment numbers. That will quickly tell you what you want to borrow at most.</p>
<p>Also, is yours a school that may give more money later? A few do but the vast majority don’t.</p>
<p>ACG Year 2 eligibility is calculated at the end of Year 1 and includes all grades transferred in. If Year 1 is over (according to the school’s Year policies, which vary) & the gpa is less than 3.0, there will never be a Year 2 award. It’s hard to say if OP is going to be able to get a Year 2.</p>
<p>I am not a fan of taking on as much debt as you are considering. I would strongly encourage you to take as many classes at the community college as possible. If you still owe them money, you need to work for awhile until you can repay them. It doesn’t make sense to take on more debt before you deal with what you already owe. I know you want to go to the university, but you need to proceed with caution. Loans must be paid back … and you have to be realistic about how much you will be borrowing & how much your monthly payments will be.</p>
<p>Did you get a Year 1 ACG? This would be based on your high school coursework. Many schools require you to provide the financial aid office with a copy of your high school transcript for evaluation. The sticking point I find for many students who are denied the ACG is 4 credits of English … many students do not take all 4 years.</p>