<p>My question is, is should I accept the award offer now, or wait to see what my d’s actual cost will be. What happens if the cost is quite a bit lower than the accepted package? Will some be rescinded?</p>
<p>I don’t see how the cost could be lower than your accepted package unless you have a lot of loans in your pkg. If so, the loans would be reduced. </p>
<p>If you have Pell, that can’t be reduced. What is in your package? What does it currently add up to?</p>
<p>It adds up to $42612- with 4500 in loans and 2300 in work study. The rest is NMF scholarship and federal grants.</p>
<p>I expected the COA to be about 39000 for everything, including personal expenses and travel, which I got from the net price calculator. Considering she will take the Silver meal and the Honors suite, I think our cost will still be in that ball park.</p>
<p>The COA will stay the same no matter what your D’s costs actually will be. Bama doesn’t change the COA based on actual choices.</p>
<p>You can decide to take less in loans if you won’t need them.</p>
<p>In-State … Description …Out-of-State
$9330… Tuition and Fees … $22630
$10781…Room and Board…$10781
$1100…Books … $1100
$1158… Transportation…$1608</p>
<h2>$2300… Miscellaneous…$2860</h2>
<p>$24669… TOTAL…$38979</p>
<p>So, if on MyBama it is saying that the OOS COA is $42,600, which is $4k higher than above, that has to be including the costliest “all you can eat” meal plan and the one-bedroom dorms or maybe The Bluff??</p>
<p>Anyway…aid will be based on that high amount. If you’re selecting cheaper options, that’s good. That means that you’ll either need less in loans/cash or you’ll be gapped less.</p>
<p>This past year, UA listed higher costs for financial aid purposes. It makes sense that total costs would rise about $3,000, $2,200 if you exclude housing costs and include tuition increases.
One thing students will learn at any college is not all people will have the same financial situation, ranging from those with enough money to take a group of friends on an expensive spring break vacation all the way down to those who barely have $5 to spend. UA can be really cheap or really expensive depending on ones lifestyle.</p>
<p>I don’t include loans or work-study when computing my total costs as that is not “free” money. I also don’t include costs I don’t have to pay, such as tuition or a parking permit. Looking at my costs for next year, I anticipate paying $16,000, which includes $8800 for my dorm room (I could live off-campus, but the savings would be relatively small), $2,800 for food, $2,400 for travel (traveling 2000+ miles each way isn’t cheap), and $2,000 for books, course fees, and personal expenses. After work study, my total cost is just over $12,000 (upperclassmen get larger work-study awards).</p>
<p>The expenses quoted above allow me to live a comfortable lifestyle with more than enough food and clothing, an active social life, and great grades. That said, I don’t have a car or TV, buy most of my clothes on clearance, and don’t purchase items from vending machines. I could reduce my costs even more, but I feel that my comfort and happiness are worth the additional $1,000-$2,000.</p>
<p>Using m2ck’s Walt Disney World analogy for housing selection, expenses at UA range from Grand Floridian (full OOS tuition, expensive fraternity/sorority, luxury dorm room, large SUV, spring break in Cancun, etc.) all the way to Wal-Mart parking lot (3 people in a studio apartment, no car, free food from attending on-campus events and extreme couponing at Publix and Rite Aid otherwise). I live a moderate, Port Orleans-Riverside (the former Dixie Landings) lifestyle.</p>
<p>. I live a moderate, Port Orleans-Riverside (the former Dixie Landings) lifestyle.</p>
<p>I love it.</p>
<p>Yes…and the COA is assuming that you’d be going to Bama on the Grand Floridian plan.</p>
<p>the below is from the Net Price Calculator, but uses 2011 - 12 numbers…</p>
<p>OOS for 2011-2012
Direct Educational Costs…Fall…Spring…Total
Costs Paid to UA …$17,275…$17,015…$34,290</p>
<p>Breakdown of Direct Costs:</p>
<p>Tuition (12 to 16 hours)…$10,950…$10,950…$21,900
Course Fees…(estimated)…$365…$365…$730
Dining Dollars…$300…$300 …$600
Residence Hall…(4 BR supersuite)…$4,050…$4,050…$8,100
Meal Plan…(Silver)…$1,350…$1,350 …$2,700
Parking Decal…$260…$0 …$260</p>
<p>Estimated Indirect Costs…Fall…Spring…Total
Transportation & Misc/Personal…$2,215…$2,474…$4,689</p>
<p>I know that the Supersuites will likely go up to $4400 per semester …$8,800
I don’t know what the projected OOS tuition will be for 2012-12…$23,000 ???
and I don’t know what the projected Silver Meal plan will be…$2,800 ???</p>
<p>But, as mentioned earlier, a student can save about $3k by choosing a standard double instead of a supersuite. And, indirect costs will vary by the person and how thrifty or not-thrifty he is. </p>
<p>Has anyone yet received the 2012-13 breakdown yet?</p>
<p>I see the 2012 COA is up and I have $4400 plus $1634 for the silver meal plan per semester and then $600 per year Dining dollars. That adds up to $12,668 per year! Noticeably higher than last year. </p>
<p>My D isn’t really a breakfast eater (usually an energy bar) and usually just makes a sandwich or wrap for lunch and takes it with her. Does the silver plan make sense for her?</p>
<p>The silver plan is only required for frosh. For most girls and some boys, it is too much.</p>
<p>once a student is a soph, the bronze plan, the 50 plan, or even no plan becomes a better option.</p>
<p>If your D doesn’t spend her dining dollars, those can be returned at the end of the year.</p>
<p>For Frosh, they need to figure out how to get the most out of the plan. it would be better for your D to go to the dining hall during lunch and have a sandwich made there. They do have some pre-made and will custom make.</p>
<p>Interestingly enough, my D is skeptical about getting a super suite, especially a 2 person. She wants to have more opportunities for casual interaction than less, so she can meet more kids. BUT she likes the Honor dorm idea so that she doesn’t have to deal with rowdy partiers at all hours of the weeknight.</p>
<p>Why isn’t she considering the 4 person super suite?</p>
<p>The 2 person super suite is much more expensive.
There aren’t many 2 person super suites. There may not be any available.</p>
<p>She will meet people in honors super suites…especially the 4 BR. Which hall is she considering? </p>
<p>Also…to use up the Silver Plan…students are encouraged to stop by, grab a To Go box, and fill it up and put it in the dorm fridge for later.</p>
<p>“Interestingly enough, my D is skeptical about getting a super suite, especially a 2 person.”</p>
<p>I don’t think she’s interested in a 2 person. I would agree, a 4 person suite is much better for freshmen. The 2 person is not widely available and is more expensive. My D was initially set to go into a 4 person and wasn’t responsible for choosing the 2 person. She would have been much better off in doing so as a freshman.</p>
<p>I would think your D would be very happy in a 4 person super-suite. They are really nice.</p>
<p>As an addendum to my post, nearly all of the super suites are 4 person and the very few 2 person suites are usually taken by upperclassmen. I would only recommend them for freshmen if both are very mature and know each other well in person before arriving on campus. If that is the case, both options are nice and they will be fine.</p>
<p>2girlzmum- did you see the info here, or on MYBAMA? I looked on mybama, and only saw the info through the summer session.</p>
<p>I KNEW someone was going to ask that and I frankly don’t recall how I found it. I looked again in the obvious places and can’t find it again. I do recall that the top of the page was marked to indicate these numbers were not final. </p>
<p>Sorry but that’s all I can add right now. If is comes to me later, I’ll post it.</p>
<p>vlines…</p>
<p>Are you talking about COA? </p>
<p>the residence halls did go up…super suites especially.</p>
<p>Most of the other “increases” are somewhat manageable… And may be Frosh year only (like the pricier meal plan).</p>
<p>I was looking for the “official” info on mybama. I knew that costs went up, but I also knew that the costs were not yet final based on an earlier conversation. When I saw that 2girlzmum said she saw the COA published, I thought maybe it was the final sum. I would like to go ahead and fill out the monthly payment form. May and June will both be a little crazy, and the more things I can check off of the “to-do” list, the better!</p>
<p>Vlines…</p>
<p>If you don’t get the amount correct to the dollar. If you’re off by a hundred or so, you can just pay that to Bama in August, and all is fine.</p>
<p>It would seem that it’s best to slightly underestimate anyway, and just square things at the beginning of the semester.</p>
<p>You won’t be able to get a firm number even when COA is finalized since you won’t know what your child’s Course Fees will end up being until after he has his final schedule. the Course Fees on COA can only ever be an estimate…it has no idea what each child’s course fees will be.</p>
<p>that is what I was kind of figuring out about the course fees…</p>
<p>STEM majors tend to have higher course fees because of labs, technology, etc. </p>
<p>These are my son’s fees for this semester</p>
<p>Eng’g College Fee…110.00
Eng’g Facil/Tech Fee…132.00
Honors College Fee…27.00</p>