Hello,
I’m a senior right now applying to college and the FAFSA deadline is coming up and I was just wondering if it was worth my time to fill out a FAFSA application. My parents reported about 275k gross (jointly) income on their tax returns so I don’t know if I qualify for any aide. However, we do not live large. My 2 older sisters have severe mental illnesses which sky rockets our medical costs and they are both in college with full tuition. Would the government give me anything?? My dream school is NYU and I really don’t think our family can afford it with 2 other kids in college and medical costs without any help.
Thanks!
The FAFSA deadline is not coming up. The 2017/18 FAFSA is available to file starting on Oct 1.
With that income you will only qualify for federal loans, but maybe a school will require the FAFSA to be filed, you can do that later.
Will there by three kids in college at the same time?
If finances are a significant consideration, I am going to be bold here and say…NYU is probably not the school for,you. They do not guarantee to meet full need…and they don’t. The school costs about $70,000 a year to attend.
Are the other college siblings in college now? Did they do the FAFSA? How much are your parents paying each year for them to attend college?
Also…NYU will also require the CSS Profile which delves more into your finances than the FAFSA.
Why are you applying ED? Are you sure your parents can pay the cost to attend NYU? Do you understand that if acceoted ED, you are supposed to accept the offer, and withdraw other applications? Yes, I know that if the finances don’t work out, you can decline the ED acceptance…but if you really don’t think this school is affordable, don’t apply ED.
Her is the rub. You will get ONE financial aid award if acceoted to NYU ED. It might be your best…but it might be your worst. You won’t ever know…because you chose to apply ED…and can’t compare net costs amongst schools.
Unless your family is able to pay pretty much most of the cost of attending NYU, you might want to consider this choice to apply ED.
^ Excellent advice.
Ohhhhh I thought Oct 1 was the deadline. Thanks.
Have you asked your parents how much they’ll spend on college each year? If not, do so.
Do your parents have health insurance that covers some/all of siblings’ medical expenses? If so, and there is some remaining uncovered costs, their income is so high that likely an adjustment will not be made.
Have you thought about applying to schools that will give you merit scholarships?
What do you mean by saying that both siblings are in college with full tuition?? Does that mean that your parents are paying full tuition for each of them? How much is their tuition??
Your parents might also have a lot in savings or assets.
The gov’t isn’t going to give you any free money. Zilch!
NYU gives terrible aid.
You live in NJ and you recently got an ACT 29
<<
My UW GPA is a 3.5
My W GPA is a 3.9
SAT Score is a 2120
ECs are a bit weak
<<<
What is your Math + CR? It appears that your SAT might be higher than your ACT. Take the SAT again.
What is your major??
I just got a 31 on my ACT so that’s what I’m sending in.
My Math + CR is a 1330 and a 31 ACT is better than those so I’m just going to not send my SAT scores. I don’t know what my major is going to be yet. I’m going to apply to all the NYU schools and whichever one I get into, I’ll go to. If I’m rejected from all of them, I’ll probably apply undeclared to Northeastern and if I’m rejected from Northeastern, I’ll go from there and decide on something.
@johnc17 if you can edge up to a ACT 32 (along with GPA 3.5 or better, weighted or unweighted) you would have a full tuition scholarship (8 semesters) at University of AL. They will take Dec ACT Score, but maybe you can do the Oct test and ‘get in the groove’. Could be a great safety for you. If you are interested in Eng or CS, you would also get $2500/year automatic if you declare eng or CS. UA has honors programs that are good (DD is in one), and being in HC gives priority registration each term.
Sounds like you want to stay in NE, and maybe not.
Need to see what your parents are willing to contribute.
@SOSConcern Thanks for the information. A 32 is very unlikely for me to get. It was a miracle that I got a 31, and it will likely not happen again, let alone get a 32. In addition, I actually got a 30.5, they just round it to a 31, so to get a 32, I’d have to improve a lot. However, I’m already registered for the October ACT.
As for location, I would really like to stay in the Northeast, but it’s not set in stone. My parents don’t mind paying some tuition, but 70k a year with 2 other kids in college is a lot. Even if I could maybe get 15k or so in aide/scholarships and take 20k per year out in loans, my parents would only have to pay 35k per year in tuition which they wouldn’t mind. Even 40-45k would be OK for them. Just 70k is a lot.
Thanks!
@SOSConcern Also, I don’t know if I would fit in in the South. I’ve never lived outside of the Northeast before.
First off, YOU cannot get 20k/year in loans. You are capped at 5500 for the first year (going up by 1k over the next two years). Your parents would have to cosign for them.
Secondly, 80k+ in loans is WAY WAY WAY too much for undergrad. You really shouldn’t take more than the direct loan limit (see the 5500 above).
H and I never lived outside WI either when we graduated from college and moved to TX where he had his first professional job, and when I could get to TX I did, and got professional employment there. Now we live in another southern state.
University of Alabama has a lot of OOS students - more entering students are OOS than in-state for a lot of reasons, and from all over the country for a lot of reasons.
Your stats are good, so look to where you would like to study and also do well with merit.
I don’t think your score was ‘a miracle’ - you just are better at the ACT than the SAT. The ACT is testing smart. If you did a little test tutoring, you might surprise yourself on it.
Look at cost effective places, perhaps anything in your area that you can commute to? You didn’t indicate what you want to study. What are your parents saying?
@SOSConcern I’ll definitely look into UAL. I actually took an online Kaplan ACT course over the summer, before that, I got a 27. Do you know if it’s a 32 single score or super score that they require? Because I may be able to get a 32 super score…
Definitely have a money talk with your parents about what they can afford.
The only reason to file the FAFSA is to qualify for student loans - you will probably not get federal aid because it does not consider things like medical expenses.
However, depending on the level of medical expenses, it may make sense to file a financial aid appeal to your college or to file the CSS/Profile (for schools that accept it) because unusual expenses can be noted there. If you decide to do a financial aid appeal, you will need to do the FAFSA as well.
You can use the college board EFC estimator to find out if your medical expenses are high enough to impact your EFC. https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/paying-your-share/expected-family-contribution-calculator#
I would file the FAFSA. Some schools will require it for merit aid. And if you do have 2 siblings in school that will be a consideration and if you are applying to a meets full need school, you may end up with a small amount defined as need and be offered a small grant. Run the NPC for all your schools showing your 2 siblings and you’ll get an idea of what you may or may not qualify for.
One time sitting - no super score. But you would get 2/3rd scholarship at UA. My DD raised her ACT score by improving both in the strong scores and the weak scores. Analyze what kind of questions you miss, and make sure you use your time well. One NE parent PMd me that his student raised the ACT from first time score of 29 to second time score of 32.
Let me post some links to get you more interested/enthused:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrV8g7kxJps
UA has updated its Quick Facts http://viewbook.ua.edu/quick-facts/
(2014 enrollment breakdown by state - new undergraduates - which would be freshmen for the most part): http://oira.ua.edu/d/webreports/enrollment2/Fall_2014/f18.html
http://oira.ua.edu/d/webreports/enrollment2/Fall_2015/e10.html
This URL gives FALL 2015 data for all of the university (not just freshmen).
http://oira.ua.edu/d/webreports/enrollment2/Fall_2016/front
Can your family pay for you to attend NYU?
@thumper1 We definitely will be able to pay for NYU somehow if I get in, but some aid would be helpful, whether it’s need or merit based.