Hello,
I am going to be attending university in the fall and have some questions.
I have been lucky enough to receive a full-tuition scholarship to my university, and am trying to figure out how to pay for the $12,000/yr room & board, as well as personal costs, including textbooks and transportation.
I am going to have saved up over $3000 by the time I start school, and will be working part time during school to pay. The university has already let me know that they cannot cover any more until I am at least a sophomore or junior, when I can apply for an RA position to pay for room & board. My parents will probably be unable to offer much in the way of financial support while I am at school. I have received $2000 in local scholarships for the first year in addition to my full-tuition award.
I do not want to take out any more student loans (I am already taking out subsidized federal loans but don’t want to take on more debt than I need to, especially in case financial aid changes). I am looking for other forms of aid and any advice you may have regarding my situation.
Do you know of any general, non-school specific scholarships out there to cover textbooks or room & board costs? I know it is late to look now, but if you know of scholarships I could apply for next year, I’d love to hear about those too!
Any advice is appreciated. How would you approach this situation? Thank you in advance!
WORK. Work as a temp. I did it to pay for my rent and incidentals. You basically have a resume and go to a temp agency. You can work around your schedule. Or, become a waiter/waitress ( also very flexible). If you are wise you would become a bartender and make lots of cash. Depending on where the school is, 9K isn’t that much. Plus if you work you’ll use you time better.
If you are an entering freshman you can borrow $5500 through a student loan. Did the college offer work study?
Unfortunately, there’s no magic bullet, but it’s definitely possible. If you get a part time job, it could cover the majority of those costs. Then you could do student loans to cover the rest. The best college entertainment is dollar theaters and Redbox. You can watch DVDs on your laptop by downloading VLC media player for free. Ride the bus to school if it’s available. Dorms are generally cheap, but dining plans are expensive. If you’re allowed to live off-campus, calculate the living costs of dorms vs an apartment with a group of students.
Is tuition and fees covered? Or just tuition?
Did you choose the cheapest room and meal plan option?
With the $5,500 loan, $2,000 scholarship and $3,000 savings, you would have $11,500.
Half of your room and board will be charged per semester, and half of general fees (if not included in full tuition scholarship). Added will be any specific course or lab fees for classes taken that semester.
You can reach out to local churches, credit unions and civic organizations to see if they might offer small scholarships for books etc.
Plan on renting books or buying used if possible. The online access codes are the expensive part.
If you are low income or first generation college student, see if your university has TRIO or student success services.
Could your parents pay for your fees and books and maybe claim the AOTC for those on their taxes? That’s what we are doing.
For future years you could see if living off campus in a shared apartment would be cheaper than the dorm, and cooking should be cheaper than a meal plan.
Or pursue the RA position, but those are competitive.
@mommdc Just tuition is covered, but I only have around $300 in fees. I chose the cheapest room plan possible, but am going to get a full meal plan at least the first semester until I get used to the campus. I will talk to my parents about doing that and see if that’s a possibility.
@“Erin’s Dad” Yes, my school has offered work study, and I am currently on the lookout for jobs through that. I am eligible for up to $4000/ yr.
Most schools have payment plans, so if it helps, you/your parents won’t have to come up with the entire amount all at once.
Your parents will not pay anything?
@TomSrOfBoston My parents are willing to pay some if they can, but I won’t be able to rely on them for a lot of my funding though school. That is why I am looking for suggestions 
How much can you save by downgrading your meal plan?
Ask your parents if they will give you the up to $2500 they could get through the AOTC. Requires declaring some of your tuition scholarship as taxable on your return.
I agree w/ @Madison85, what would a cheaper meal plan save you? With full federal student loans, not just the subsidized, your savings and scholarships, you almost have that $12K covered. So lowering the meal plan could be helpful.
With a federal work study job, or any job on campus, that money could go towards your books. How much do you plan on travelling? DS only came home for Xmas, spring break, and summer, his junior year, only Xmas and summer.
Did you get any federal or state grants? If your parents can’t contribute anything, I would think you would be lower income.
What’s the cost of attendance?
- tuition cost
- dorm cost
- meal plan
What’s in your financial aid package?
- tuition grant amount
- work study amount
- amount of the loan you accepted
If the $12k net cost was reached by taking the subsidized part of the federal student loan (~$3500) then you only have $7500 ($2500 unsubsidized loan + $3k savings + $2k local scholarships) to put toward the $12k. You’ll need some of it for travel, books, and personal expenses until you get a job and get paid. How far is the school from where you live? Can your parents drive you or will you need to fly there?
Work Study is paid to you as you earn it. Jobs aren’t guaranteed and students are limited to 8-10 hours/week. RA jobs aren’t guaranteed either. I don’t think the AOTC tax break is a $2500 refund. If I remember correctly, $1,000 is taken off what parents owe and only $1500 is refundable. So it may be a challenge to raise the money you need. How much can you save by getting a cheaper meal plan? Can you get more hours or a 2nd job this summer?
I think you need to seriously consider taking the unsubsidized portion of that Direct Loan. That is an additional $2000 a year (assuming you got $3500 in subsidized loans).
If your aid changes in future years, you are not under any obligation to take the loans in the future. BUT right now…you need that loan!!
Food service jobs generally allow you a meal before or after your shift- so if you are working a cafeteria job, you do not need the full meal plan since you can likely get by with a partial plan plus your freebie meals.
@laralei Federal grants are being factored into my full-tuition award-- apologies for not clarifying.
@Madison85 @laralei @austinmshauri
The $12,000 figure is before I take out loans- that includes room & board and fees. If I lower my meal plan down to 14 meals/ week, then I can get the cost down to around $11,000. Lowering it to 7 meals/ week, I get the cost down to $10,500. Is the amount I save in cost worth it or should I go for what seems to be more convenient (21 meals/ week)?
I have $5000 from scholarships and work savings to use towards this all and can take out $5500 in loans if I need to. I have work study eligibility and will see about trying to get more hours for my summer job.
@thumper1 I will take out the unsubsidized loan if I need to, but was hoping to avoid that because the interest will start collecting right away.
Can I make this work out? Thank you all for your help!
Start with the 21 meal plan this fall and figure out how much of that you don’t need for second semester.
Also, regarding travel ( @laralei @austinmshauri ), my parents will be driving me to school in the fall, but I may need to pay for plane tickets in the future to get home. I will probably come home for Christmas break and the summer- not sure about spring break right now. I also have friends internationally I’d love to visit, but might need to wait until I’m not so broke
I’d do the 12 meal plan. You can always pay for any additional or increase the meal plan, but often you cannot decrease. I’ve never known any college kid to make it to every meal My daughter often had classes either at lunchtime or dinnertime, so she found it more convenient to grab a snack in the student union or take stuff from her room. I paid for a lot of meal at her sorority house that she never got to eat.
I would never pay for my kid to have over 14 meals in a plan by choice, they are never getting up for breakfast. Have some mesuli bars and fruit in your dorm. Will you have a fridge?
I’d take the 21 meal plan for the fall and see how that goes. Students whose families can help pay can get by with the 14 meal plan because their families can send them money if they need more. You can only take food from your room if you can afford to buy extra food.
If the tuition grant brings the net cost down to $12k, you may be able to make it the first year if you work more this summer. The $5500 student loan + $2k grant gives you $7500, so you’ll need to save $4500 plus travel money. The second year your gap will be more because you won’t have the local grants. What college will you be attending? Are there places off campus where you can get a job if you don’t get one on campus?