Hello, I’m a current freshman and my household income is ~200k. My final bill for my first two semesters will be $66,087. Two questions: Is there any point in me applying for FAFSA? And more importantly, where can I find scholarship opportunities? I’ve googled of course but I have a hard time discerning between which ones it wouldn’t be worthwhile for me to try for, if there even are any, and which one’s are.
Submit FAFSA if you want guaranteed government loans. You are eligible for $6,500 for sophomore year.
You will have a hard time (close to impossible) getting any need-based scholarships with a household income of $200k. You will also have a hard time getting any external merit scholarships as a current college freshman.
The best scholarships, both need-based and merit, come from your own college. Certainly the price of your school wasn’t a secret when you matriculated. How was your family planning on paying for four years?
Most good aid comes from the school itself. If you’re a current first-year and have no aid from the school, it’s unlikely to change in subsequent years.
You’ll need to fill it out if your school requires it for merit scholarship consideration, and is also needed for direct loan eligibility (federal student loans), of which you qualify for $5.5k in your first-year (and more in subsequent years).
Aside from competitive large-amount scholarships (Gates, Coca-Cola), most scholarships like you’re going to find on Google are one-time, small amount scholarships. There’s no list of ones that it would be worthwhile for you to try for, and even so, more are typicaly earmarked for entering first-years. THere may be some small departmental scholarships that it might be worthwhile to ask about.
Since you’re already a college student, there are few outside sources for merit. Your dept major might have somem small one time awards for its best students. Often there aren’t many, and the awards are like prizes for being the top dept student.
Try finding a job on campus. Or ask your FA office if there are any scholarships in your major.
Did you consider the cost of college and your budget before choosing a school last year?
Can your parents pay $66k+/year for 4 years?
Agree with @Madison85. Is paying full cost of attendance realistic for your family for all four years?
If yes, you are all set. If not, have you considered finding a less costly school?
Yes, to lower the cost, look for scholarships in your major in your department, in your major in related trade associations, you will likely find small amount but it could be possible to find 5,000. Hard, but not impossible. Excellent suggestion to get a p/t job at college, most have these listed online now. You should see a variety of things for 12 hours a week or so to put a little cash in your pocket. You can also work summer. Look for internships that pay too.
Basically it is possible to pay less than 66k by being a first time freshman and targeting colleges that cost less or that will give you scholarships, but that ship has sailed.
@thumper1 @BelknapPoint @Madison85 I originally intended to go to a lower-cost university that I had a near full ride to instead of this expensive, but far more prestigious school, but my parents said that we could afford the latter. But I still want to get that 66k down at least a little bit. I would assume a ~200k income means we’re set but me and my parents both agree 66k is still nothing to sneeze at even if we can afford it.
Ok, so you want merit money and the school is affordable. For current college students, generally your own school is the best place to find modest departmental scholarships.
You could work over the summer and likely earn up to $4k-$5k and hand that over to your parents to get that $66k down a bit.
Your parents are the ones calling the shots. They want you to graduate with a diploma from an expensive "prestigious"school. They made that decision. If you are feeling guilty, you are a good son/daughter, but they made that conscious decision to fund you, in order for them to feel better about themselves and to “keep up with the Joneses”.
If you can’t find a scholarship, which is more than likely, you’ll have to work to reduce their costs by a couple thousand dollars. But honestly, it was their call.
You can work/save over summers to earn a few thousand. you can also borrow $5k per year to further reduce. ou can rent books or buy used to save money.
Private awards are hard to get and often have a “need” component. Your parents made the decision, let them deal with what you can’t control.