If you defer at UR for next year it is like enrolling there, but not attending until next year. You can’t deposit somewher else and take classes somewhere else.
You can get a job at a restaurant, store where ever if you take a gap year. You can make about $6,200 a year before it would reduce Pell I believe. Yes, the work study income at UR would not count against your federal aid eligibility for next year’s FAFSA.
The plan your sister and mom came up with sounds like a bad idea. How would it help if your mom would take online classes? The transcript is in your sister’s name.
Sounds like your sister is not graduating on time if she has been in school 6 years and not finished. She is running out of aid, there is a limit of how many semesters you can get Pell for. Your sister should have worked in summer and paid CC tuition out of pocket and saved Pell for 4 yr university. Also the loan limits for junior and senior year are $7,500 a year. If your parents applied for plus loan she could get another $4,000 I think. If she worked she should be able to come up with the $15,000.
Your sister needs to talk to the FA office of the school to see what she needs to do to get aid reinstated. How many credits does she need to make satisfactory academic progress? If she has any classes left to take at CC maybe she can pay out of pocket for one or two and work to earn the money? The goal is for her to graduate and get a degree.
But not by falsifying information. There is a way to get back on track, sometimes students have to retake classes they failed or work a semester to save up money before continuing your studies. Or pay for some classes out of pocket to regain eligibility for FA.
Also if you tutor someone and make over $400 a year you need to file a tax return. It is self employment income.
@minion15 Ahh yes, I’m familiar with how hard it can be to find a summer job sometimes, specially in small towns lol. Did you call UR and ask them if they can throw in some extra aid for this year? Tell them you’re willing to put in your savings, and explain how you tried getting a job but couldn’t, and they might just meet you halfway. I really hope you can attend this year. You sound like a great kid and a good fit for UR. As for personal expenses through out the year, you should be able to get a work-study job pretty easily to cover for those; just pay attention to app deadlines and recruiting events at the beginning of school.
By the way, I know it must be hard for you to see your sister struggle, but please don’t let this hold you back from attending your own school. You are so close, and as long as your parents aren’t paying for your college, her financials shouldn’t mingle with yours. This may sound a bit harsh, but I’d hate to see you miss out on this great opportunity. There are many ways you can be supportive without forgoing your own studies.
Yes, I think brownparent calculated that you would need about $2k, so $1,100 sounds about right, after the deposit.
Can you find out if you can apply for a work study position (university job board online) now or do you have to wait until you get there? Usually you work between 10-15 hrs, but you can’t earn more than the $1,500 per semester with the ws job. That should be enough though for expenses, books and two tickets home.
When you get to UR they should be able to tell you if freshmen can get paid internships and if they help the engineering students get them. I would think that the paid internship would allow you to pay for housing by maybe subleasing an apt for summer. If not then you go home and try your best to make sone money there during the summer.
Do you have enough saved for first semester bill, books, and also second semester bill?
Then your ws income can cover personal expenses, books for second sem and travel home.
And summer job will have to cover next year’s bill and books and travel, over $4k
Univ of Rochester although pricey is a first rate education with classes available. Rochester is not a very expensive place to live once you get there (at least not if off campus) If you go now or in a year definitely go.
Stop this craziness. Calm down and stop making everything complicated… I do not see any reason to contact the financial aid office. You are already getting the maximum package you are going to get from them. They are giving you everything but a small contribution and a normal student loan which you would get almost anywhere.
I don’t see any reason to defer. You will be in about the same position next year. You can’t accept enrollment or get work study or take any classes anywhere if you defer. If you go to U of R at least you can start work study. I think it is better to work a year after graduating making a salary a person with a degree gets rather than a year before making a minimum salary with whatever work you can find. And college costs go up every year.
internships/co-ops done during the school year are helpful, you get paid decently and you are gaining experience and perhaps going to get a job offer from the employer. This is okay to do this and delay your graduation by a semester for this. All your aid will be saved for the next semester. Don't worry about this now, you probably won't do one until a year or two in. Or you can do a summer one. Do not get distracted by this issue. you will understand once you get there.
You cannot go to U of R if you enroll another university. It does not work this way. Then you will be a transfer and have to apply fresh as a transfer and you will not likely get a big aid package. This makes no sense.
If you make $9 per hour, you will work about 11 hours a week.
you can start at engineering and see if you like it, if you switch out that is fine. There are all kids of other jobs. I would not worry about this.
your student loans will start repayment 6 months after graduation. They will be about $325 a month for 10 years. You can also do income based repayment if you didn't get enough pay to make the 325 at first.
although you shouldn't worry about grad school now. Often employers give tuition assistance. Some grad schools offer aid or tuition remission and teaching or research assistance for MS, almost all do for PhD.
Now whatever your mother and sister are up to is more craziness if not fraud. If you sister needs help she should go to tutoring at school. Pell grants last for 12 semesters or 8 years. Loans can be taken for 7.500 per year until 32,000 is reached (or 52,000 for students when the parent is declined for a Plus loan.)
Wow you are very fortunate to have received such a good financial aid package. You did not say if you had asked if the financial aid office if they could offer you even a little more, given that your sisters financial situation has changed since you filed the forms. Seems like a good idea to ask. I think you should jump on this opportunity to attend the U of R rather than deferring a year.
In the summer after freshman year many students stick around the area and work. You can find a room in a house to share with other students and live relatively frugally.
Also most students are concerned about the workload and the difficulty of doing well in classes when they first start out because it is a new challenge. Give yourself a chance to meet your challenges as you are probably well prepared if the school has admitted with the aid you need.
Go for it and buy yourself a warm coat (from Goodwill) when you get there.
At UR you can sign up for the payment plan. You will pay the amount due for the semester in 4 monthly payment. That means that you will only need to pay about $300 a month this first semester. There is a fee to be on the payment plan, but it is only about $25 per year.
Looks like a list price of $65,600 ( http://enrollment.rochester.edu/financial-aid/undergrads/ says $65,344, but your travel cost is probably higher), with a net price of $12,000, which would be quite a stretch to cover with federal direct loans plus work earnings (and it looks like your low income family would not be able to contribute much if anything).
Have you checked Rochester’s net price calculator to get an idea of what its financial aid will be like with you without the scholarship?
Is the extended length of attendance the reason that her financial aid ran out? If not, do you know why it ran out for her and whether the reason could apply to you if you take the CC-to-state-university route?
What west coast state? The various west coast states have different prices for CCs and state universities, so it would help others help you if you mentioned it. If you are a California resident, the CC-to-state-university route is probably a more viable choice from cost and selection of majors than if you are a resident of many other states.
It looks like Rochester is a stretch financially, but you have not given enough information for others to help you determine whether your CC-to-state-university option will be more or less expensive.
OP, you mentioned that you do not plan to fly home for winter break so you will not need to pay for airfare. If you plan to try and stay in your dorm, you need to make sure that it is possible for domestic(US) students to do so. Even if it is possible, they may charge you extra fees for housing. You should investigate URs policies in advance so you can make plans accordingly. Perhaps you could arrange to stay at a friend’s home(somewhere near UR/drivable during winter break.