oops, don’t know how to correct that, I wasn’t done and accidentally hit enter…anyway…$11.75 beginning December 2017. If you can swing 15-20 hours, take the student loans and get the Maxwell Scholarship (if you received a full academic scholarship, my guess is you should be a strong contender for this scholarship) , it can work. Best of luck.
Also, the financial aid office is wonderful…I called them and gave the comparisons of what our cost was from another college and they came up with a $2k grant. Call them and explain the situation!!
You plan, you do your best to implent it. It was not “me falling asleep doing homework”. I did not “work my fingers to the bone”. I had plenty of fun and time for school. Just as you think I am being cavalier, I think some of you are overemphasizing the downside.
I hate it when people diminish with the word lucky. I wasn’t lucky. I was brave. It could have gone south. I took that chance knowingly. Eyes open. Fortune favors the brave.
Good luck OP. Either school will be great for you. Do what you think is best and don’t look back.
I am on a scholarship committee for a small community foundation. (and live in a relatively affluent region, although my own town is quite diverse).
It is wonderful when a kid from modest circumstances hits the jackpot (OP, which you have done here). It is sad and stressful when a parent needs emergency dental care and that drains the bank account which was supposed to pay for the bus ticket to college, or sad and frustrating when the generous financial aid just doesn’t cover the added health insurance cost for the student.
We try to fill in the blanks which don’t get covered by financial aid but it is hard. And distance makes it harder.
I am aware of Newhouse’s terrific reputation. But the OP needs to figure out how the gap is getting covered here, without resorting to a big old ugly pile of loans.
Fortune favors the brave. But even brave kids get the flu, miss a week of work, and lose their job. Even brave kids break their eyeglasses and need $200 to replace them.
OP you sound like a tremendous asset to any college.
I do not consider a total of $30k to be “a big old pile of loans”. it is a personal decision for the OP. I’m just worried she is only hearing the negative no loans ever message so many people have.
PS, all of those things happened to me in school. Not the glasses, but dental.
I think trying for the Syracuse program - and especially applying for the Maxwell scholarship + after calling Financial Aid- is worth it, if only the first year to see. The experience of living away from home, in a different environment, at such a top program, will be invaluable.
If things don’t work out, OP can always transfer back to FIU at any time, at an affordable cost. BTW, Bright Futures applies up to two years after high school graduation.
Hopefully it’ll work out and OP will graduate from a top program, with two solid degrees and fantastic connections.
BTW, having a 14-meal mealplan is NOT what “food insecure” means. Your 14-meal plan can be a copious hot breakfast + all you can eat dinner during which you can take out one cookie and one apple or one banana, and you make you own cheap bologna or PBJ sandwich for lunch which you eat with the cookie and piece of fruit. (<- tips for OP.) Some days you just skip breakfast or have a granola bar, and have both lunch and dinner in the cafeteria (this means 2 cookies and 2 pieces of fruit). You never go hungry, I promise.
Being food insecure means relying on friends giving you the fruit and cookie and making that your lunch, having zero breakfast, and not being sure how you’ll handle dinner one day to the next. It’s not having two guaranteed hot meals per day.
Tips for OP: A shift that always needs workers and never has enough, plus provides food, is the early shift for breakfast at the campus cafeteria. (And that’s free food that saves your meal plan meals). Working the Library Desk is to be “paid to study”, because you aren’t working the whole time and can sit/study during your shift.
First semester freshman year, limit yourself to 8-12 hours a week, and all in all don’t go over 12-15 hours a week while in school. Over the summer or even starting now and working over the weekends (this semester, little is at stake as long as you keep B’s) you can increase your hours and save it all. Once you’ve bought the coat, mittens, heavy socks, and boots, including at a thrift shop (also church sales in the really nice neighborhoods, you’d never guess what wealthy people drop…), you can keep them all 4 years.
HRS, loans are great. They are a tool like anything else.
A kid who understands what the cash flow requirements are on a loan, and has a plan for paying them down is in a good place to make a decision about borrowing.
I borrowed heavily to go to grad school. I accelerated (went two summers) to cut down on the number of months I was out of work; did NOT keep my job even though my employer offered to give me a part time job because I needed to focus on doing well in school. I tripled my salary once I was done with my degree vs. where I had been with just a BA AND moved to a lower cost of living city.
My story does not give me the right to tell other people how much to borrow. For one thing- I took a 5 week maternity leave with my first kid, and one week with my second (after two C-sections). I could afford the time off from work if were just mortgage, diapers, etc. but I could not continue my loan payments with no income coming in for three months (unpaid leave which was what my employer offered). Most of the women I know would not have done what I did. Many people would also not have agreed to leave a big urban area for a small midwestern city-- but I took the best job offer that came my way (not just the money but also reputation, advancement opportunities, etc).
I knew what I was getting with my loans- higher paying job if I did really well in the program, but I wasn’t off skiing every weekend like my co-workers or going to Aruba over New Years (they actually rented a big house. it sounded like fun).
I would do it again in a heartbeat. But it’s not for everyone. And at the end of the day- although I was financially independent of my parents, I could have borrowed money from them for an emergency. No interest. Pay them back whenever I got on my feet. If the OP doesn’t have this safety net-- it changes the dynamics of borrowing.
Am I telling other people how much to borrow? No. I am telling them it sounds do able, I am telling them to call FA and see what more they can do. I am telling them the opposite of all the doom and gloom stories. OTHER posters are definitely telling OP how much to borrow (zero). honestly not sure what the issue here is other than someone having a different opinion. Perhaps that is the problem.
I’ll follow Blossom.
My college story is the compliment of hers. I don’t feel I can tell others what to do…which is why my adivice is always…this is a family decision.
I worked to support myself in undergrad school. I borrowed $500 for my freshman year…which was a huge amount in 1969. That was so I could attend a private college. I transferred after my freshman year to a public university in my state. I worked every single day I was in college. Sometimes I worked several different jobs at the same time.
I graduated with $1200 total debt, but my loans were ones that were forgiven because I was a teacher working in a priority school district. They were forgiven in five years.
I followed the money for grad school. I really really wanted to get my masters at Northwestern, but the costs were just too high. I didn’t even apply. I went to another smaller public university where I had a teaching assistantship with tuition remission and stipend.
I graduated debt free. That was a huge gift to myself. When I graduated, I was able to go on a six week cross country vacation. I didn’t have to rush back to start a job immediately.
I was able to take 5 months off when I had each of my children. I didn’t have to worry about college debt…ever…at all.
That was right for me, and I would do it again if I was in the same position.
BUT that doesn’t mean it’s the right decision for everyone else to make.
I will add…I had no safety net…none. My parents couldn’t and didn’t help me with college expenses…but costs to attend college were a very small fraction of what they are today.
Did anyone suggest she try to make a case with Syracuse for more aid?
Another consideration - ask about the starting salaries and internship opportunities for students in the Whitman/Newhouse program.
Some people have a high tolerance for risk and others do not. Some people are more comfortable living frugally than others. OP should consider where she is on both spectra. Maybe take a risk tolerance survey online.
FIU has a lot going for it too. It is close to home and your parents could see you in your activities (plays, music, sports, dance?) It has a new high priced football coach so you can bet the school is trying to move into the next level, which in Florida is big. I know kids who go there who really like it. Because it doesn’t cost nearly as much, you’d probably be able to do a lot more - study abroad, travel for spring break (which I could NEVER do as I had to work), not work, take extra (fun) classes. My daughter is 2000 miles away from me, and I hardly ever get to see her play (except on video). I really wish she were closer to home.
I think you should try to make Syracuse work, ask for more in grants, try for more scholarships, look into the cheapest living situations, but when you have the best deal possible, really look at the financial sacrifice you’ll have to make. FIU is NOT a bad choice. You might really shine there. You also don’t know how you’ll like Syracuse. It is a long, cold winter, especially for someone from Florida. Some people do great going to school 1000+ miles from home, but others don’t.
You might qualify for more money from FIU too. If you are Pell eligible, you might get a Florida SEOG too, you might get some local scholarships (I found most local scholarships could only be used instate), you might get other FA from FIU so that you could live on campus.
What is the difference in expected outcomes between the two schools?
OP, you don’t have to choose FIU now, the only thing you have to decide is if you are giving up Syracuse (and I would try and get that extended) and the great scholarship. If your family has some of the college money saved, Syracuse may work. If they are planning on paying it out of income, thats harder. BUT YOU MAY GET OTHER GREAT OFFERS FROM OTHER SCHOOLS, so don’t focus on FIU now, focus on yes or no to Syracuse.
A degree from New house is a fantastic and the internship opportunities may end up paying the difference, but again, you may get other scholarship too from other schools.
Have we suggested asking for a one year deferral with scholarship to earn more $? Your scholarship, if not need based, would not be impacted if you spent a year earning as much as you can to offset the gap over 4 years?
@ClarinetDad16 I can’t really find job placement rates for FIU. FIU has a graduation rate of 52.9% and Syracuse had 80% and job placement in the mid 90’s. All students complete at least one internship
By the way, thank you to everyone who has responded! There are some points I had not even thought of and really appreciate the help 
@KaliIsabel, This thread has taken lots of turns. Can you give us a quick recap?
Did you find out if your insurance coverage is enough for Syracuse? What are the costs there (tuition, room, board, books, incidentals estimate, travel) and how will you be paying?
Let us know what you decide.
@kalilsabel : can you update us?