<p>where do they tell y ou about scholarships online? </p>
<p>i just got the email that my financial aid info is up on teh website, i just checked and all ig ot was a 2k loan.</p>
<p>i was expecting some merit based scholarship (i got into gemstone), do u think it will come later?</p>
<p>merit scholarships are listed with the rest of your financial aid info... mine was on the same page w/ the loans, etc.</p>
<p>ITS UP!!!!!</p>
<p>I got a 3500 Scholarship. 3500 in grants. 7000 I don't have to pay back. I am quite happy. work study and loans add a total to over 13000</p>
<p>what about me is so unattractive to colleges?!? seriously?!</p>
<p>Is it completely done?? All I got was a low-interest loan offer :(</p>
<p>youll get an email telling you to check when its completely done</p>
<p>i am really happy for my 7000 i don't have to pay back and I know many here are upset and I have no reason to complain but they want me to pay 6500+ per year and 8000+ if I decide not to take the work study. That is 6 times my efc. </p>
<p>That makes it tough on my family. I am just surprised and happy i never have to pay that 7000. Otherwise I should be expected to get a summer job and a job during the school year. I should be able to bring in 4-6,000 at the least through some jobs over the summer and the school year and that would be low.</p>
<p>wow shafted...they want me to come up with 15k? looks like i wont be attending would rather drop around the same at gtown or dmouth.
I cant believe I got shafted like this...lol
GoodLuck to all! :)</p>
<p>maryland is so annoying.</p>
<p>I know--- we are devastated. Don't know if we can swing this. It's really sad when it's cheaper to go to a private out of state 44,000 per year school than to your own state university. Something is definately wrong with the system. Maryland is losing it's smart kids just because they are poor. There is no way a smart kid in Maryland who is poor can afford to go to College Park if they don't give out more aid....................Congrats. to all of you who got good aid. It's a great school!</p>
<p>I think many private schools aim for that EFC number while many public schools cannot reach it. Maryland is much chearper than a private school in the long run with all the loans but public schools cannot afford to give out loans for everyone. I mean if I get 7000 a year that means my ENTIRE education is going to be around 50,000 from UMD. The only problem is they want 8 thousand directly from my pocket every year. A private school will be 40,000 a year and 160,000 total but will only ask for 2000 from my pocket. I'll walk out of a private school with a 150,000 debt.</p>
<p>UMD is where I am going. I think it is official.</p>
<p>Depends on how they reach the EFC. Some private schools with money give grants..............................oh well, I hope they don't keep raising the tuition at College Park like they have been.</p>
<p>i got the two years dean scholarship, which is 4500/year for two years. that's still not enough to tempt me to go, but it was nice to get something.</p>
<p>where will you go?</p>
<p>i'm going to go to northeastern because i got a full scholarship there. but maryland is a great school. good luck everyone! i hope maryland is generous to all of us. :)</p>
<p>cheapseats, keep in mind that college is an investment that will be affecting your whole life. After all, compared to how much money you will make in your life, $160,000 isn't really that much.</p>
<p>i completely agree dylin. Its not like i am not going to go to college thinking 160,000 is too much. lol. Its just that I think that UMD is a top 25 business program and it will cost me 11,000 next year(about 7-8,000 Out of pocket). I see no reason for me to be able to justify going to another school that is slightly better. Everyone's circumstances are different but UMD seems like a fit for me.</p>
<p>160K is a crushing amount of debt, I hope nobody fools themself regarding their ability to repay extremely large college loans.</p>
<p>The optimism of today may come crashing into cold hard reality in the case of an economic slowdown of any significance. I can tell you from experience that debt doesn't go away easily. </p>
<p>A few weeks ago, there was a thread about the reality of assuming huge amounts of debt. digmedia was praised for making the following post. Other parents commented it should be required reading by all prospective college students. I agree with that sentiment. Here is dig's message if you choose to continue reading:</p>
<p>"At 4%, a $100K loan paid off over 20 years means a monthly payment of over $600. Let's say that you are getting a Liberal Arts degree, where the average starting salary is $30,828. That works out to $2569 per month. Social security and Medicar takes $205 of that and state and Federal income taxes will take about $308. Health insurance and other benefits will take another $450 of that, leaving a take home pay of a little more that $1600. Subtract the $600 for your loan and you now need to live on $1000 per month.</p>
<p>A car payment will be (for a not-so-new used car - $10,000 @ 6% for 48 months) $235, insurance (under 25) will be approximately $125 per month, and gas and maintenance will be another $100 per month. Subtact these from the $1000 and you have $540 per month.</p>
<p>A one-bedroom apartment (depending on the area) might be $450 a month. That leave you $90 a month for food, utilities (including cell phone and high-speed internet). Which means you'll be using your credit cards and going deeper in debt.</p>
<p>Which really means you'll end up living at home, letting your parents feed and house you while animosities are building up between you and them. Which REALLY MEANS that you'll be miserable as hell.</p>
<p>AND THAT'S JUST THE FIRST YEAR (19 more to go)."</p>
<p>Feel free to play with digmedia's estimates to see how debt will effect your post-college life. If you need help figuring the Social Security on your projected income, multiply your projected income by .064 and subtract that from your gross income. </p>
<p>Good luck to all.</p>
<p>gnusasaurus,
Thanks for that illuminating post. Very helpful reality check.</p>
<p>Ok. First of all. The person are assuming a rather low average. Not everyone is going into liberal arts. With a chemical engineering degree or something and it's a lot higher. Like...50,000/yr. Also, do not forget to factor in bonuses of all sorts, employee benefits, and the such. </p>
<p>In addition, the person assumed that he will be livin on 30K/yr for the next 20 years. Not to say that's not possible...but it's not very probable nontheless. After a few years in the workforce, most people's salaries go up considerably. That is assuming that you do not go back to school for a Masters degree or higher, in which case your salary will continue to increase. </p>
<p>In general, the better the school, the more your degree is worth. For example, NYU Stern and UPenn's nursing program graduates have an average starting salary of 60,000/yr with excellent benefits, MUCH higher than other colleges.</p>
<p>Another example - cheapseats wants to go into business. With a degree from a very well respected school, he'll probably start at the 40-55K range. If he picks a field such as investment banking, with a base of 55Kish and bonuses of 25-30K a year, with the salary (in general) increasing exponentially with each year of experience, he'll have 100K in college debts paid before he's 30. </p>
<p>GRANTED....if you want to be a social worker or something similar with a low paying job (actually....I don't know if social workers are THAT low paid), then yea, it probably doesn't matter where you get your college degree from and yea, you should probably aim for as little college debt as you can.</p>
<p>Summary: One must consider future career plans, current circumstances, and the difference between the 2 colleges to make the final decision. There is no clear cut answer between "better college + debt vs. slightly worse college + no student debt"</p>