Some suggestions, please?

Paying for College
1

<p>I know this has most likely been covered here over and over but it's quite overwhelming to read through all the posts so please indulge me in answering it again!</p>

<p>What should my friend do who makes around $80K/yr. combined and lives a conservative life without many extravagances in an expensive area = nothing saved up and can't afford to swing a new car payment, let alone $20K a year for 4 years? (her EFC number). Their only equity is their home which they were hoping to use for retirement. Honestly, they don't have any extra money in their lives, not because of poor choices or living beyond their means, just average people working hard for their family and paying all their bills. No debt other than house.</p>

<p>Son is a Jr. average student - A/B/C+ depending on subject. Some sports but certainly not recruitable. No other EC's, part time job. </p>

<p>Is willing to go the State school route but still would be too high in this state. Definitely wants to live at school if possible.</p>

<p>Would love to hear how you all would go about starting this process if you were in a similar situation. The only thing I ask is that people are clear with the terms as we are both new to this process and don't know all the jargon and abbreviations...... thanks so much for helping newbies!</p>

2

<p>What state do you live in?</p>

3

<p>Massachusetts. </p>

<p>UMass is $11K instate plus $9K room/board</p>

4

<p>What are the son’s stats? GPA and ACT/SAT scores?</p>

<p>I would encourage the mom to post on CC. </p>

<p>If the family has an unaffordable EFC, then they only have a few options…</p>

<p>1) If the son’s stats are strong enough, he could get a generous merit scholarship.</p>

<p>2) the son could go to a CC for 2 years, and during that time, the parents could try to set aside some money for his last 2 years. The son could also work summers and part time during the year to set aside some money.</p>

<p>3) the son could go to a nearby 4 year college and commute.</p>

<p>How much can the parents contribute each year?</p>

<p>If the son hasn’t taken the SAT and ACT yet, he needs to do so. He needs to take both since some do better on one than the other - scholarships will be based on whichever one is highest.</p>

5

<p>If the student is a junior, he should take the ACT and/or the SAT as soon as possible–now is the time to start making a list and narrowing it down. You can’t really make a list until you have ACT or SAT scores. Personally, I believe that a student should take both tests–some kids do better on one than the other. Once you have scores, we can give you a better idea of your likelihood of need and/or merit based scholarships.</p>

6

<p>One of the problems is that they should have been saving before this point. You can’t, all of a sudden, be suprised that you have to help with college. College savings should have been started when the kids were very young. even $25 a month would have helped. I know that doesn’t help them now but maybe someone who reads this will start saving when their kids are young. </p>

<p>In their situation, I would suggest going to Community College the first 2 years, have the kid work part time & summers. Also, the parents would need to increase/start their savings. At the end of the 2 years, transfer to an instate college. Use your student savings, student summer work, parents savings and loans to get you through the next 2 years. This will keep the load amounts low enough to pay off in a reasonable amount of time after graduation.</p>

<p>Whatever you do, DON’T borrow the entire amount and let this kid come out with 80K+ in loans.</p>

7

<p>I will encourage her to post on here. I haven’t wanted to be too nosy and ask outright what the scores are (I also have a jr. going through the same process so did not want it to be comparing/competing, if you know what I mean). I’m guessing around 1200-1500 SAT. Thanks for the suggestion to try ACT. I’ll pass it on.</p>

<p>Mom doesn’t expect any merit aid. </p>

<p>They really can’t contribute much unless they refi their house. No extra money saved up or able to be squeezed out of their monthly budget. No grandparents to help out.</p>

8

<p>splat: I agree. Unfortunately, this whole world is completely new to them and they just didn’t. No excuses or explainations, just didn’t. We’ve always saved for our kids’ college educations so again, I don’t want to sound like miss smarty pants with her. It is what it is.</p>

<p>Is it possible to bust their butts and bring their numbers down significantly with scholarships if they start really applying? </p>

<p>Also, should he even consider trying to apply to private schools hoping that they have money to give? Honestly, he’s probably a B to low B student so schools most likely won’t be banging down their doors offering money. Average kid, average family with college dreams. Basically, they don’t really have many options.</p>

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<p>I’m guessing around 1200-1500 SAT. Thanks for the suggestion to try ACT. I’ll pass it on.</p>

<p>Is that out of 1600 or out of 2400?</p>

10

<p>Also, should he even consider trying to apply to private schools hoping that they have money to give? Honestly, he’s probably a B to low B student so schools most likely won’t be banging down their doors offering money.</p>

<p>Schools will still expect the parents to pay their EFC. The only thing privates might do is help with the remaining costs.</p>

<p>Also…the problem is that privates that give the best aid, admit kids with strong stats. </p>

<p>Even schools that admit students with average stats are often stingy with aid to those students…It’s called “admit/deny”. The student is admitted, but is given a lousy aid package.</p>

<p>The biggest problem your friends have is that they can’t afford their EFC and their child has average stats. That typically means starting at a community college, and later transferring. In the meantime, the family needs to start saving for those last 2 years.</p>

11

<p>Another option would be to have the child commute to a state college (these seem to run about $7000/yr tuition) and live at home. He wouldn’t get the dorm experience, but he’d save a bundle of money. </p>

<p>If he works in the summer, continues a part-time job during school, and takes out the Stafford Loan, that would go a long way towards covering this tuition & books for school.</p>

<p>In our experience, he is unlikely to qualify for many outside scholarships if he is an average student from a typical family. Also, most outside scholarships we looked in to were not very much money and only for 1 year.</p>

<p>I’m sorry that he and his family are in such a tough situation. I hope they can keep a good attitude about it and make the best of the situation.</p>

12

<p>We am in same circumstance- expensive area, make a little less EFC is now a little more with our one child at home.
This may help ( or not)
With our first ( our kids are also first gen), our EFC was lower , with lower income and more dependents. It was about $14,000 with about $50,000 income. Typical EFC is 1/4 to 1/3 of before tax income, not counting any current retirement contributions.</p>

<p>[</p>

<p>Our daughter was not really pumped about college, although she was well prepared and did apply to 3 instate universities and 1 OOS ( out of state), was accepted to all and one offered her merit aid without accepting, and another strongly encouraged her to apply to specific merit aid scholarships at the university.
She also has learning differences & is young for her age in some respects.</p>

<p>( her grades were about 3.3 at a rigourous private prep school- her SAT was about 1300- the old calculation & she had excellent essays, recommendations and EC’s- note she did not start any clubs- but she had 2000 hrs of volunteer service at the zoo , EC’s don’t have to be academic)</p>

<p>She took a year off- worked with CityYear/Americorps, lived at home ( although not everyone does)earned a small living stipend and an education award at the end of her term of service which can be applied to loans or tuition.</p>

<p>She reapplied to the 4 schools ( I just realized, we did this when she was * entering school*, she did a 5’s program, when the kindergarten wasn’t going to work- which gave us more time to find something else):wink:
and also applied to a private school in Oregon ( we are in Seattle), where my neighbor had attended & had told me that they had good need based aid.</p>

<p>Reed College- meets 100% - however- competitive to get in &
you still are paying your EFC, no merit aid.</p>

<p>Her package was small Perkins loans, subsidized Stafford loan and work study.
She also put all her summer earnings, toward our EFC & had minimal expenses during school year. We are just in Seattle, so airfare not needed, PDX has good public transportation, so she didn’t need a car & Portland also has the Goodwill Bins, so her work study $ was enough to get her school clothes.</p>

<p>By taking out PLUS loans and some home equity along with Tuition management systems plan to break down tuition over the year, she graduated and is still in Portland.</p>

<p>She was unusual in that she had a good summer job, teaching riding at a residential camp. Her sister works at the same camp- could also teach riding- but she prefers the regular camp counselor position, makes much less.
Since older D is now out of the house our EFC is higher, and over the cost of instate U. Manageable, but because no financial aid, except unsubsidized Stafford loans- also doesn’t qualify for work-study and jobs are hard to find off campus with out a car.</p>

<p>However- we don’t expect to retire- I don’t expect to anyway- and as neither one of us has attended a 4 year university, we are happy to be able to provide that opportunity for our kids.</p>

13

<p>Thank you all for so much help (and for keeping things simple for us with our oldest kids). I guess the situation is pretty clear cut. Unfortunately for them, they did not plan ahead and my friend just can’t believe that colleges would expect them to fork over 1/4 of their income but they do. Also unfortunately, their child has nothing to make a school go to bat for him and there are plenty of other, more qualified students to use their aid. </p>

<p>Like I said, it is what it is. She’s just frustrated as we all know people who receive aid by cheating the system. But that’s just the way the world is. They should have saved money, even if just a little. Their son should have worked harder in school. And on and on…</p>

<p>This has been a real eye opener. They should start this process with parents during the students’ freshman year. Again, thanks so much to all of you for taking the time to help out.</p>

14

<p>I wouldn’t be hard on anyone- Very Few students get nice merit aid packages to expensive schools.</p>

<p>My younger daughters best friend is attending Georgetown on a very nice aid- merit + need package- but she is a highly exemplary student and all around person.</p>

<p>Very unusual at this age and she isn’t that way because it would help her pay for school-
she just is.</p>

<p>Many of the schools that attract the top students- DON"T OFFER MERIT AID.
Their families will be paying their EFC- if he went to Harvard- I expect they would be paying their EFC
( But since he is a junior, have they actually done the FAFSA or are they just using an estimator?)
There are top schools which have some merit aid- & honors schools may require a certain GPA to continue to receive it- lots of pressure and the aid may be a nominal amount in some cases.</p>

<p>Some people are adjusting their standard of living to be able to afford college-
For instance our house is supposedly worth 4 times what we paid for it about 25 years ago. We have had unemployment/strikes to contend with, & our savings have been eaten up mostly, not to mention we have taken out some equity.
But we also could move upon retirement to a cheaper area & use the money from the house to fund that.</p>

<p>Some people stay in the area, but move someplace smaller once the kids are out of the house…-
there are lots of ways to be flexible and we are more open to them if we don’t start thinking about what " they" should be doing.
:)</p>