<p>I don’t think it is necessary to guess her college if she doesn’t want to say anyway.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s important what college OP is planning on attending. All that is important is for her to be able to meet the direct bill amounts in August at this point in time if she is going to go there. Yes, there are a lot of other far reaching questions as to whether or not this school is even affordable for OP. But until she and we, know what her award is, what the tuition is, what the gap is each term, and if she and her family can meet it, that is the immediate crisis. '</p>
<p>OP, do some research. If your award letter is not clear, and many of them are not, You need to know what the Tuition and fees, room and board, are for the school. Those are the direct bill charges and you have to have that money in your account, half of it if anyways, if your school is on a semester plan and get it paid or you won’t be back the second semester. You can’t take all of the money given and put it towards the first term, putting off how you pay the next term. Those federal loans and grants are only given out by the term, and half are allocated to the first term. (an exception for those starting second term for some loans, but that isn’t the case for you). Freshman are very limited on loans given, and parental involvement is needed to get more. A parent has to apply for a loan.To get any loans, the parent’s credit history has to meet a standard. It all goes on the parental credit report when the parent gets the loan. Cannot be discharged.</p>
<p>@BrownParent Regarding your costs for CA instate public, I’m assuming you are talking about a UC. Cal sates (at least Cal Poly) are not nearly as generous. Also I don’t see a student contribution of around $3000 that’s usually required.</p>
<p>Yes that was an actual package from Berkeley (Cal Poly COA is not that high) I left off the title of University Grant from the first figure. The student wasn’t asked to contribute anything extra than the loans and the w/s as you can see in the detail. The w/s itself was almost 3k though.</p>
<p>Cal Poly COA may be lower but we pay more there than we do for our other son who goes to UCD.</p>
<p>Brownparent, wow, the UCs are very generous to low income students. Our SUNYs only meet need up to tuition and fees most of the time. There is TAP which is state aid and the federal entitlements. So anyone with a very low EFC will pretty much get tuition and fees met with that and then some but rarely up to full cost for a boarding student. </p>
<p>I’m not sure I’m on board for full cost of students being met to go to sleep away school if the EFC so warrants. I would support it when there are no state schools within commuting distance for the student to which s/he is accepted. But I think that I would only support meeting need up to commuting costs when there are such schools available to which the student has applied unless special circumstances exist.</p>
<p>I apologize. I am a very stubborn person and all of this seems like it’s just a big whirlwind of financial confusion that is extremely overwhelming and frustrating and I have no idea how to deal with it since I am a first generation college student in my family. Heck, I’m even the first in two generations to graduate from high school. It’s just a lot and I really don’t know how to handle it.</p>
<p>As for the FWS, I have applied for jobs in the falls since they have become available. The main job I’m hoping to get that I applied for is a sort of coordinator position at a local store. It pays $9.50 an hour for about 6 hours a night and about 3 days a week (that’s the minimum, if I remember correctly).</p>
<p>As for the loans, I gravely misinterpreted the information I was given. It’s not $11,00. I got the numbers mixed up with my scholarship and grant amounts. With the grant, it’ll cut tuition down to $15k. So how does getting the loans work, then? I thought that you could get loans from private lenders from the amount needed. For instance, I’ve gotten information from SallieMae (notorious for student debt, I know) about being able to borrow up to the total cost of attendance (which is absolutely ludicrous).</p>
<p>I’m doing the best I can with what I have at this point, and also with what I am trying to get. As for the family sending me money, it consists of other relatives willing to help me out, not my immediate family that is struggling to eat and pay bills.</p>
<p>I cannot believe how rude I was to you all who are spending your time to give me advice. It’s just that this is hard to deal with when I just feel so alone in this whole process. </p>
<p>My mom has been pushing me to go to a cheaper school, but I’m not sure if I’m willing to give up my dream to do that. Sure, it’ll leave me in some debt. Sure, it may not seem like the smartest decision, but my gut feeling, my instincts are telling me to go through with attending this college.</p>
<p>When it comes to law school, I’m going to cross that bridge when I get to it. I understand that planning for the future is important, but I cannot freak myself out over something that’s years away. It’ll make the situation worse.</p>
<p>I do have faith in my abilities to succeed. I’m graduating in the top 2% of my class, I have an incredibly good work ethic that’s gotten me far, and most of all, I believe in myself. It sounds very cliche, I know, but it’s worked for me thus far.</p>
<p>I spoke to a college admissions rep at one point and she was telling me about financing a college education and student loans and how she’s even in debt. But she’s also told me that she doesn’t regret going into debt because it gave her the chance to do what she loves. I even spoke to one of my teachers about it as well and he told me that he’s in nearly $100k of debt from getting his undergrad degree and also his bachelor’s degree, but he told me that every penny was worth it since he got to do what he loves as well. And if he hadn’t gone into debt, I wouldn’t have met the man who inspired me to do great things in this world, as selfish as that sounds. And also, my second mom (teacher at school), also went into debt financing her education and if she hadn’t have done so, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. I think everything happens for a reason. Student debt is, by no means whatsoever, a glorious undertaking, but it’s worth it. If it doesn’t work out after the first year, then I’ll transfer or figure things out. I’ve spent my whole life planning for the future and it’s done nothing but give me headaches and anxiety. The one time I acted impulsively is when I applied to this dream school of mine (I wasn’t originally intent on applying) and I think it’s the right decision.</p>
<p>I know I shouldn’t base my judgment call off of two people who are content and even very happy with the lives after student debt, but by that same logic, I shouldn’t base my judgment call off of those who are extremely miserable with their debt. However, I believe that in life, you are forever indebted to people and things, some things can be valued with dollar signs (i.e. student debt), and some things are invaluable (i.e. the love and support and help I get from my family, friends and even you all on here). My job is to make this work as best as I possibly can, learn from what I’ve done, and be able to help others.</p>
<p>If you all have any further wisdom you’d like to impart, please feel free to do so. I have to learn to stop freaking out over things and be able to actually work through them. Unfortunately, I don’t have a trust fund or rich parents, so I didn’t exactly luck out (like most college students). But if I don’t take this plunge into the world with the hopes that I can do more than just worry about my student debt, I would be greatly mistaken.</p>
<p>You mention that the tuition is cut down to $15k - is this per year or per semester? Also, what about room/board/books/fees - are those covered by the grant/aid and therefore all you need is $15k for your first year (or first semester?)?</p>
<p>sallie mae will not loan you that much without a qualified cosigner. they will do a small loan at a high interest rate w/o a cosigner.</p>
<p>they used to not require cosigners for big loans, but that caused a LOT of problems when kids could not pay.</p>
<p>what is the name of the school, and what is the name of the one your mom wants you to attend?</p>
<p>I’m not trying to make you feel bad, OP. I’m trying to figure out what your situation is, because your info does not make sense. Let’s discuss loans first of all.</p>
<p>Regardless of what OTHER people have taken out in loans in the past, the situation right now for you is that you are entitled to take out $5500 has a freshman through Direct Loans. Some of those loans might have subsidized interest (up to $3K) while you are a full time ug student. Unless the college has given you Perkins or other loans in your own name (very rare, I don’t think so), THAT IS ALL when it comes to what you can borrow without getting your parents involved. How much has the college given you in student loans in their financial aid package? If you already have those Direct loans and nothing else, that is it for you without having a parent apply for a loan.</p>
<p>My close friend and her daughter owe about $200K and rising in loans. It’s wrecked my friend’s life. Her husband left and she’s stuck with the loan that she cosigned with her daughter. Her daughter took out all the loans she possibly could. She took out the Direct Loans, she was given some Perkings, she than had her mom take out PLUS, and then when her mom was rejected from PLUS, she took out even more Direct loans which you can get as a student if your parent gets rejected. They then took out some private loans that were co signed ones so that both mom and daughter are equally on the hook for the borrowed amounts. YOU cannot borrow up to the total cost of attendance, but your mom can and maybe the two of you can with some private Sallie Mae loans with interest rates and terms that make the 7% PLUS loans look like bargains if your mother doesn’t have good credit. And with parent loans, all of those good program that are advertised for loan forgiveness do not apply. Your mom owes the money. And for the co-loans you both do. Better take out life insurance if you get some of those because if you die, your mom still owes. It’s her loan too. On both credit reports too. </p>
<p>I agree that loans could be a good thing for a family. A family I know managed to get maximum Direct and Perkins loans each year for their daughter most years. So the girl did borrow about $60K for ug and owed more because some of that money was not subsidized and the interest did crank. She was in a 6 year program so borrowed an additionl $20K or so that sixth year, and then parents took out some loans which she promised to repay. She was in some 6 year medical something program, and when she got out, she found a job paying $40-50K a year, lived at home and was able to make a nice dent in her loans for several years living at home, paying off her parent’s loan with the greater amount of interest and some of her higher interest loans. She’s still paying but with her job, it’s doable, and she’d probably tell you it worked out just fine and without the loan she would not have this job, not have graduated from that program. All true.</p>
<p>So I know two people, and for one it worked out, and for the other, it’s wrecking the family and the credit and the futures. There are people for whom it works out, and it doesn’t and every gradation in between. But the fact of the matter is that I don’t think you were offered anything other than the Direct loans as part of your aid package, so it means Mom has to sign for you to borrow any more money, and it goes on her head, not yours, and then some loans where ti goes on both of your heads (and credit histories). </p>
<p>So how are you going to get the $15K you will owe? Is that for the term or for the entire year? Is that what your tuition, room and board and fees are going to cost you? Because if you cannot pay for your first term, there will not be a second. I suggest you call your financial aid office and the bursars office and find out how much you will be billed next month and when it all has to be paid. You might be able to go on a payment plan for a fee, or get late fees, but once it comes time to register for 2nd term classes, it HAS to be paid, or you can’t go to school next term. That’s the way it works. Then you have to figure out how to pay next term’s amounts.</p>
<p>All that does not include the money you have to come up with out of pocket to get to the school, supplies you need, books, etc. You already spend some of your outside scholarship money on some of those things. frankly you would have been better off, banking it all and letting it all go towards your billed costs, and using the school computer labs, and made do in terms of clothes and things. Those are all expenses you can play with. The school direct bill costs are not. You pay or you are out. </p>
<p>As for your work study, you can only earn up to what your award says you can. Then you have to find a non work study job if you want income. The job you describe will go through a $900 work study allocation very quickly. Sometimes work study jobs have non FWS slots too, and then you can shift to one of those. But that is not always the case. Sometimes once that money is used up, you lose the job. Adios, good luck in finding another job this time non WS. Some schools have a lot of open market jobs available so no big deal, at others you can be very hard pressed to find anything paying more than minimum wage if that, and not for many hours. </p>
<p>Your big problem right now is whether or not you can afford this school. Can you even pay for the first semester, let alone the first year? Remember, you are not likely to be able to take out more loans than you have without your mom coming on board. Can she afford to put her credit record on the line, would she even qualify to borrow? You would know all of this better than we would. My friend was able to borrow through PLUS the first year, but then could not after which drove them over to those private co loans which have very harsh terms when the parent’s credit is bad, and it stick both of you for the same loan. PLUS does not have great interest rates, but has flexible terms and is forgiven if you or your mom die. Not so with those co loans. Neither can be forgiven by the way by any of those programs you brought up because it’s primairly your MOM’s loan, and you cannot officially take them over later. They will keep both of you on the hook till death of both of you or repayment.</p>
<p>@collegecrisis96, you mention getting a FWS job at a local store. Is the store associated with the university? I thought the Federal Work Study jobs were specific jobs on campus (like in the university library, etc). Additionally, not all jobs on campus have that Federal Work Study source of money. </p>
<p>When you apply, I believe, you need to ask if they are “Federal Work Study” jobs. Although, I’m not sure what the financial aid implication is if you get a job on campus that is funded through the university itself from non-Federal funds.</p>
<p>As far as working at a summer job not associated with the university, I believe the money earned there would be in addition to any funds earned at school at the FWS job.</p>
<p>The $15k is the total with room & board along with fees. The only thing I have to cover outside of that are the costs of textbooks. My mom most likely won’t qualify for a PLUS loan. How are students expected to pay for a college education, when schools give OK aid to the low-income students whose parents have bad credit? I’ve worked so hard to try to ensure a future for myself because education is all I have, and it’s becoming harder and harder to finance.</p>
<p>As for the FWS job I applied for, it’s a store associated with the campus itself. Maybe I’ll be able to work two part time jobs. Who needs sleep, right?</p>
<p>So I have $15k to pay for the first semester. We’re billed on August 1st and as far as I know, it’s a flexible deadline. I’m allowed to set up a 5-month payment plan so I will do that and work on getting the $3k every month as best as I can. </p>
<p>The out-of-pocket money I need for other essentials is what I figured I’d spend the (minimum) amount of my other scholarship money on, and send the rest to the school for tuition.</p>
<p>I got it that $15K is what you need to get. I wasn’t sure if it’s for the year or the semester the way you are reporting things. Remember your grants, loans and workstudy are often reported as an annual award, but are distributed by semester. How much in loans have you been awarded? $5500, remember is the max of freshman DIrect loans you can get for the YEAR, not the semester. so all you can get right now is $2750 for the first semester in loan. Work study isn’t going to help much because it will be a month most likely before you see that first pay check and it’s likely for two weeks. If you got $900 for the YEAR for work study that’s just $100 for each full month you are at the school, and you’ll likely need that for miscellaneous expenses such as laundry, supplies, fees that come up, etc. </p>
<p>No one is ENTITLED to a college education. Most states have local state colleges or community colleges cloe by to most locales so that kids can go there, commuting from home and the cost is low enough that with that first year $5500 loan , and summer and part time work, they can make it work. Sleep away college, private college is expensive. Who do you think should be paying for that? Did you go away to boarding school, to a private school for high school. </p>
<p>Frankly, I don’t think you can afford this school. If you really want to go there, you can delay admissions till January, second semester and take the full $5500 loan then which would reduce your cost to about $9500 for that term if the school will let you do that, and you’ll have some money saved from summer and the rest of 2014 to put towards that semester if you have the discipline not to spend it which could put a dent in that amount. I can tell you a way to get a little bit more money in the next paragraph. But really if your mom can’t pay or borrow, I don’t see how you are going to come up with $30K net each year. You can’t borrow without mom really being the front person for the loan. IT’s a challenge to earn $30K net a year for anyone let alone an 18 year old or young adult right out of high school. Do think about this logically.</p>
<p>You can get another $4k in loans if your mother applies for PLUS on line (if you have a FAFSA on file which you must have if you are getting the aid you are) then it takes just a few minutes and very private, and it takes a minute for the answer yes or no to come back. If the answer is yes, I’m not sure it’s so wonderful since your mother doesn’t seem to be in any shape to be taking these loans, but it has happened as they are not as strict as many lenders. But if the answer is no, you automatically get $4K in loans more for the year. Still a drop in the bucket for the $30K you need, but if you go second term only, you can use that full $4K for that second semester. IF you get it first semester, you have to use half for first term, and half for second. Those are the rules. </p>
<p>I think you should work first term, take your loans out for second term if you really want to check out this school, and also start looking at more affordable options. If you have high need, there are some schools that might meet it better than this school has. IS your EFC under $30K? If it is this school has gapped you ,which is typical of FAFSA only schools that cost a lot. </p>
<p>@collegeCrisis96, I am quite confused, and I’m probably the only one confused. Please pardon that I’m a little lost.</p>
<p>Do you need $15k more for the first semester that is unmet need, or do you already have $15k in grants from the school for the first semester? Or is the $15k the total cost of tuition, room and board? I’m sorry that I don’t understand. </p>
<p>We all appreciate how much you have put into this process throughout the last year, and also into your replies to everyone here. We’re wishing the very best for you and want you to be able to get to the college.</p>
<p>It appears that College Crisis needs $15K more than what the college has given to her. But it is very confusing because she talks about working FWS for some additional funds. The way it usually works is that the school gives an aid package breaking it down among grants, loans, work study. THe amount the student has to pay is the COA minus those amounts. However, the important figures in all of this are the unmovable direct billed costs which are the tution, fees, room, boards billed each term. The financial aid for the year is general split in half, with half released the first term,and the other half the second term, with the exception of work study which is paid directly to the student as earned if a FWS job is obtained. </p>
<p>What OP is saying is that she needs to come up with $3K a month or $15K for the first term and the same for the second. how a college student is going to earn that much net, as it is a living wage for many people, and still go to school full time, I cannot see. This does look like an unaffordable school to me. WIthout knowing , the EFC, and the aid package and breakdown, as well as the COA with tuition, fees, room board broken out, it’s difficult to see what the issue is.</p>
<p>To complicate the matter, the OP got some scholarship paid directly to her that she spent, around $5K total and don’t know how much has been spent. Most schools (and federal regs) require that such scholarships be reported because depending on the EFC and COA, sometimes awards have to be reduced. I don’t give a fig about the school money, but running afoul of federal laws can be a problem. However, if the OP does have a very low EFC and is still stuck with a $30K nut it’s unlikely that is an issue, but we don’t know for sure. It seems to me that the OP was seriously gapped by this school --OP, correct me if I am wrong here. </p>
<p>If the OP got Pell, Direct Loans and workstudy and owes $30K after all of that, it’s a major problem. Even that $5K award though it would have helped make the first term costs, is not going to put a huge dent in $30K. She can’t take out any more loans without her mom applying (and getting turned down would give here another $4K), but we are still talking about an 18 year old coming up wit $30K in 10 months when she and mom have little or nothing saved up and actually gobbled up the outside scholarship money for food and necessities when it was received. This is not a workable situation, IMO, unless the school comes up with some more money. My kids have trouble coming up with $5K on their own each year with their wants and needs in the summer and things </p>
<p>College…could you please clarify…do you need $15,000 per semester or $15,000 per year…to attend this college?</p>
<p>You know, college crisis, I,m a TRIO employee, and I’ve spent more than 20 years working with low income, first generation college students just like you. Your college has left you with essentially an insurmountable gap between aid and what you can pay. I have seen this many times, and I must tell you, as a kindness, that rarely do I see this end well. If this college has an SSS program, get yourself signed up. There may be some small scholarships for books available, but more valuable will be access to people who have answers, who will happily sit done with you and explain your aid, (among other services). </p>
<p>Thank you, @cptofthehouse. I appreciate your kind and detailed explanation above. </p>
<p>Thank you for your sharing your tremendous expertise about financial aid and all things college-related. Thank you, too, to @thumper1, @mom2collegekids, @BrownParent and everyone else, for taking the time to share your expertise/experience to help others!</p>
<p>Be very careful with loans that you intend to have ‘forgiven’ by working in the public service. Only certain types of loans are eligible (stafford, pell, other federal loans). Loans from the school or private loans are not. Parent PLUS are not.</p>
<p>@twoinanddone: Pell is a grant, not a loan.</p>