Loves it!
Apply for an RA position as soon as you are eligible:
Questions:
Op has a deadline of next week to decide whether or not to accept the offer from Syracuse. She will not find out if she has even one the scholarship until April 30. There is only ** one 20,000 scholarship ** being awarded. Op will have to find out if the scholarship is stackable considering the fact that she already has a full tuition scholarship ) she has to also think about the tax implications).
Did OP ever find out her status about having to commit next week
Getting an RA position is one of the most competitive jobs on campus because at many places it comes with free room - at Syracuse free room and board. Syracuse hires a total of 177 RAs. Of that numbe you do not know how many slots will already be taken by students who have been hired for another year. (at my D"s school you did not even get free room and it was still a competitive process).
If she can she should definitely go for opportunities. If she gets them then it is gravy. However, that should be her plan B (for her parents to have money back in their pocket). She needs a realistic plan A to finance school for the next 4 years.
I stumbled across this thread and I would like to congratulate you on your scholarship! My son is a Junior at Syracuse and loves it! He is majoring in Information Technology and Sports Management. I have been very impressed with the opportunities that exist at this school for students. I also agree that pursuing options for RA positions and other scholarships that may become available are worth your while and may help you afford to attend.
This is a family decision and hope you find a way to take advantage of this excellent opportunity.
I thought plan A was loans, maybe even a small parent plus loan.
This is a PELL grant recipient with a 9k gap (after PELL and her federal loans ) in her financial aid package.
She’s also traveling from FL to NY, which isn’t a small expense either. And her state school would cost very little. I’m not sure if she’d even have to borrow to go there.
Families should avoid PLUS loans. If a school isn’t affordable with the federal student loans, it’s just not affordable.
After the tuition scholarship, pell grant, and work study (to cover books, transportation, etc) added I would still have to come up with 14k. I have a job and plan to work 30+ hours a week around May and perhaps even get a second during the summer. I am estimating at least 2,500 from that which leaves me with 11,500. My parents already said they could cover $5,500/year which leaves 6k. My financial aid package says I am eligible for $7500 in loans but I am a little confused about this since someone said I can only take out 5k freshman year. Would appreciate any help in regards to this (loan options include: Federal Perkins Loans, Federal Direct Subsidized Loan, Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan) I also plan on getting the cheapest meal plan and dorms which I think would help.
You can also work during school. I worked in one of the local restaurants and it helped a lot, esp with books and travel.
You can take a loan of 5500. The rest would be parent plus loan). unless it is a Syracuse funded loan, not likely).
If you are down to $6 a year, I think you can find a way. With 4 years of 7500 loans, that is $30k already. So while you parents can borrow the whole gap amount (if qualified to borrow), try to avoid it unless it is something they can pay off quickly. You can also ask the to re-review with you and ask about any other options for paying R&Board.
You are only guaranteed the Pell grant you got this year, which is about $2,000, if your family income and assets stay the same in the next few years. That’s why I asked about 2016, 2017, 2018 income, compared to 2015.
The Perkins loan, I think Sybbie said, is no longer available after June of this year.
So your loan would be capped at $5,500 for freshman year.
Work study is earned during the semester, so not available to pay your first semester bill.
Yes, you can earn some money during the summer, and you also will need money to cover books, travel from FL to NY.
You need to find out if your current health insurance qualifies for Syracuse, or if you need to buy theirs. Also sometimes freshmen have to get a certain meal plan, so find out what lowest options you could choose.
The cost at FIU was how much? Is that with a scholarship?
If you start at Syracuse and then your parents can’t keep paying the $5500 a year, you will have to leave.
Your bright futures award might be gone and the freshman scholarship from FIU would be gone.
So I would ask Syracuse about health insurance, cheapest option mean plan and room, whether scholarship adjusts with tuition and fee increases, and the GPA requirement to keep scholarship, and then figure out how much tuition (free?), fees (free?), room and board would be, and how much total you are getting in Pell grant, then what the remaining cost would be (without loan or work study).
You cannot count work study yet. For work study, you must first get a job and work that job before you get any money.
Perkins loans are not guaranteed every year.
You may end up getting one for 2017-2018 (they have to grant it by September 30, 2017).
You must apply for financial aid every year. there is no guarantee that you are get the loan for the full 4 years.
https://ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/GEN1605.html
Syracuse’s posted room/board rate is $15,217. If there is any way that you can take the cheapest option (a triple and 2 meals a day) this could bring you down to $13,580 (savings of $1637)
http://housingmealplans.syr.edu/meal-plans/rates/
https://www.syracuse.edu/life/housing/residence-facilities-rates/
least expensive meal plan is currently $7150
Least expensive rooms is $6430
Questions/Concerns:
Will your parents be able to pay $5500 every year until you graduate?
Was your parents 2016 income more or less than your 2015 income (this will affect your EFC and PELL grant)
Depending on how much you make from your summer earnings, if could affect your EFC (PELL grant)
If you do not have adequate health insurance, you must purchase the school’s plan, which will be about $2230
each year (this will absorb any savings previously mentioned)
You must factor in approximately 2.5k/year for increases each year (you should be ok, if your scholarship specifically states Full Tuition vs. an amount of money). However, if there is not an increase in tuition, but an increase in fees, you will have to work that out.
Don’t forget lab fees/equipment fees that are associated with some classes
Look at Syracuse’s calendar. then check possible airline fares from Syracuse to your home .
You will have to make scarifies, not coming home for thanksgiving/spring break, so that you can come home from winter break/end of the school year (thanksgiving flights are expensive for the short amount of time you will be home)
https://www.syracuse.edu/wp-content/uploads/academic-calendar-2016-17.pdf
https://www.syracuse.edu/academics/calendars/five-year/
Don’t forget to calculate the cost getting to and from the airport in Syracuse (even if your parents pick you up and drop you off in Florida)
With a lot of belt tightening, and working, you could probably make this work. However, you have nothing in place in the event of an emergency.
Do you really want to live on the fringe the next 4 years. Keep in mind that there may some activities (you may want to go to a footbal/baketball game/concert/dance/funraiser/etc.), opportunities that you may not be able to participate in because your money will not be right. Being away at college is both an academic and social experience (this is your home away from home).
Your job my dear, come up with a 4 year plan to make this work.
FIU tuition and fees is $6,497-2500 (pell grant)-2500 (bright futures)=$1497
The scholarship does cover tuition increases and the only the gpa specification is “standard academic progress criteria”
@sybbie719 Thank you so much for all those points. I’m definitely going to sit down and reevaluate
Kudos to you for asking these question before you make this decision.
We want your family to have all the facts so you can make an informed decision.
When you call Syracuse FA, also ask if they will replace the $2,000 from the Perkins loan with a need based grant.
So looks like so far with cheapest room and board, you are looking at about $14,000 for that, plus at least 3 flights (fall, xmas, end of year). If you don’t come home TG, spring break, is there an option of staying on campus?
You have a Pell grant of $2750 and loan of $5,500 for sure, that leaves $5,750
That is if no health insurance is needed and no Perkins received.
So about $3,000 a semester in bills due to Syracuse.
You can earn up to $6420 on this year’s FAFSA as a dependent student before it would affect EFC.
And federal work study money gets subtracted from other student income on FAFSA.
What I would do is spend your summer earnings of $3,000 on the fall semester bill, so when you file FAFSA in October, you have less in savings (which would affect EFC). That would give your parents time until spring to pay their $3,000.
Then maybe they can help you pay for flights and books. Then with your work study you have spending money and book money for next semester.
It’s good that FIU is close to your house, so you could definitely commute? And if the tuition is $7,000 you should be able to pay that with the student loan and work earnings, even if you lost Bright Futures and Pell.
So it does seem that you have an affordable backup plan.
Get all the answers from Syracuse, in writing if possible, then sit down with your family and discuss.
The tuition for FIU is ~$6600/year and you can commute there if you have to transfer? If their acceptance rate for transfers is good, give Syracuse a shot.
There were some excellent points made above:
Work study is only paid as you earn it. You can’t use it for travel to Syracuse your freshman year because you won’t have it yet. I wouldn’t plan to use it for anything other than personal expenses (toiletries, pizza, etc.) because it won’t be much and if you can’t get many hours the money won’t be there.
The Perkins loan is ending, so don’t count on that $2k every year.
Costs increase yearly. Your net cost is ~$17k this year. It could be ~$19k next year and more the year after that. Plan for those increases.
If your family’s income increases, you could lose the $2k Pell grant.
We still don’t know if you have health insurance or if you’ll have to buy one from Syracuse. If you have to buy one, your net cost is $19k this year.
Income from non work study jobs can add to your EFC the following year. I think any earnings over $6k are assessed at 20%. So if you do work 2 jobs from May-Aug and earned $8k, I think $400 would be added to your EFC next year.
I would not worry about the work income too much, it depends.
A dependent-for-FAFSA student gets an income protection amount, for 2017/18 FAFSA I believe it is $6,420.
To that would be added deductions for social security, state and federal tax paid.
After that, the student income gets assessed at 50% towards EFC I believe.
If you earn $3,000 in the summer, no problem, you could earn even more.
A federal work study job, while taxed for federal tax, would not add to the total student FAFSA income, because there is a question on FAFSA about income from need based employment, and it subtracts it.
Also, if you get free tuition and fees, then your Pell grant would become taxable income for you, because it will be paying for nonqualified education expenses (room and board).
But while you might have to pay some federal (and maybe state) tax on that, depending on your total taxable income, it would not affect FAFSA EFC, because the FAFSA has a question about taxable scholarships or grants included in student AGI (on federal tax return), subtracting that amount as well.
So it seems only non work study income well in excess of the $6400 would affect EFC, and money in your account from those earnings, when you file the FAFSA (20% of studdnt assets assessed for EFC).
And that problem can also be solved, if you have more money leftover from summer job than your fall semester bill, put the rest into a 529 account, then it is a parent asset for FAFSA, and you can use it for future college expenses.
I would encourage this student to go to FIU and make the most of her opportunities. Syracuse is too risky, and for a Pell student, no student loan debt for the family is the best option.
I know it is the common wisdom on CC to tell kids to get the cheapest meal plan.
I think you need to ask the OP a couple of questions before we all assume that’s the way to go… if the cheapest meal plan means no breakfasts, and the OP is happy to make a cup of coffee in the dorm room and eat a granola bar- terrific advice, get the meal plan with no breakfast.
But if the OP DOES eat real food for breakfast- that cost is not going to be zero; OP isn’t buying bulk oatmeal in a warehouse store and setting the crock pot up every night.
If the cheapest meal plan means no meals on Sundays (which it did at my college) and the OP gets a job at a restaurant on Sundays- then terrific, problem solved, OP eats the freebie restaurant food.
But I don’t advocate college kids walking into a situation where they need to shop, chop, cook, prepare actual meals without knowing more about the OP’s eating habits, ability to plan nutritious meals, etc.
I know a lot of college kids who ended up spending MORE than the next highest meal plan because they took the cheapest- and then discovered they were eating in diners, fast food restaurants, etc. to supplement. No car- too hard to buy groceries. Only a tiny fridge so too hard to store produce. No oven so everything had to go into the toaster. Etc.
OP-- good luck to you sorting this out.
You can so easily work 25+ hours during the school year. At $10/hour it is $250/week. You would be able to save half that for a min of $6,500/ year. As you mentioned you can make even more by working during breaks and summer. It is very possible and not that hard. Many of us here on CC did just that during school. You will find you have plenty of free time in college to work. Time=money. Do not squander either.
If I made a lot more than 6k this year would that impact the FAFSA if I dont actully have the money available at the time of filing?
I do have health insurance, unsure what happenes to it once I turn 18.