<p>...but I'm not sure how this whole financial aid business works. I know that I will need it, but I forgot to ask my guidance counselor all about it since today was the last day of school. I really need to know how I can get started on this, because my parents are extremely overbearing about it. My family income is around 80-85k, but my mom likes to pretend that we are dirt poor and that we barely have enough to eat on, (for one reason or another) and so she "expects" me to get a full-tuition scholarship at any college I apply to, but that's definitely not going to happen. Being the realist, I know that I will have to take out loans or recieve federal aid of some kind (in undergrad and, hopefully, medical school), so could somebody please explain how this works (or link me to a FAQ if necessary)? </p>
<p>I don't mean to make myself look ignorant on these issues, but it really worries me about how I am even going to pay for any of this and a lot of people tell me I shouldn't worry...but I do anyway. -.-</p>
<p>Xelba, it’s not a dumb question. And the answer is very complex. With a family income of what you have, you are not likely to be PELL grant eligible. That is the guaranteed grant for low income students. What most folks do is fill out the FAFSA which you can do with an online calculator just for estimates for when you fill it out for real after Jan 1 of 2011. FAFSA checks your eligibility for federal aid (citizen ship, other student loans, criminal background) and the calculates what is called an EFC (Expected Family Contribution) If that number is below about $5K, you are eligible for PELL money. With a family income of $80K, it is extremely doubtful that is going to happen for you. It also makes you eligible for Stafford loans.</p>
<p>What sort of schools are you eyeing? Are you in the running for the highly selective schools? Many of the private, highly selective schools define need in a different way, often using PROFILE. You should run your numbers through that calculator, picking a school that catches your eye. That gives you a number that may or may not match your EFC from FAFSA. That number is what defines your need at that particular college. There are schools that meet 100% of that need and schools that meet on average less than 100% of that need. Some of the schools have no loans to meet that need, some stuff your financial aid package with loans. Some schools are not need blind, though they may meet the need of the kids they do accept. If you want or need money, you need to have a few schools in each category, because just because a school does not meet 100% of need or is not need blind, does not mean that you will be one of the kids that are gapped. I’ve seen some kids get their most generous offers at those schools. If you are at the top of the applicant pool at a school, it is more likely that your financial aid package will be attractive for many schools.</p>
<p>Then there are merit awards. Again, look for schools where your stats put you way up there as compared to the other kids there. IF the school gives scholarships, that may be a way to go. Merit and finanicial aid can also be integrated in such schools. MomfromTexas has written an outstanding thread on how to look for full ride scholarships. There are also threads on CC that have lists of guaranteed scholarships that are lined to GPA and test score thresh holds. A few schools of this type should be on your list.</p>
<p>Most important of all are the safety schools. Safety in terms of cost and admissions. They are the low sticker price schools, usually state schools or local schools to which you can commute. Maybe your state has some scholarships that you can get that will sweeten the road to your state flagship, or some other program that does the same. </p>
<p>When it comes to financial and merit aid, along with admissions to the most selective colleges, it is really a lottery, so you should have some sure bets in there as well. When you need and/or want money you need to cast a wide net, is what I always say.</p>
<p>As mentioned above…your family income is too high for free federal financial aid. </p>
<p>The amount you can borrow with federal student loans is also very limited…about $5500 for the first year. </p>
<p>You can borrow larger fed student loans for med school, but there won’t be free money for that and if you borrow for undergrad, that will affect how much you can borrow total for med school ($224 total). That may sound like a lot, but many med schools cost more than that for tuition, room, board, supplies, books… </p>
<p>As for scholarships…that will largely depend on what your stats are (test scores & GPA) and whether the schools you apply to give big merit scholarships for high stats.</p>
<p>I’m guessing that when your mom mentions that she expects you to get “full-tuition” scholarship that you mean more than just tuition…perhaps you mean a scholarship that covers tuition, room, board, books, etc. Those are rare. </p>
<p>Your parents need to be educated about the education process. </p>
<p>What state are you in? NY? If so, there are some SUNY’s that give merit scholarships.</p>
<p>Are there any good schools that you can commute to?</p>
<p>What are your stats (GPA, ACT, SAT (including SAT breakdown).</p>
<p>Are you a likely National Merit scholar or National Achievement? Are you a URM? What was your PSAT score?</p>
<p>Yes, except more recently it was boosted to a 590 writing and an 11 essay. Both of the other scores are the same. I got a 25 on my first ACT and I will be taking it again on Saturday.</p>
<p>I don’t want to discourage you…but your SAT scores are not going to give you full ride scholarships at most schools. You really need to boost that math score. Good luck on your retake of the ACT. That would need to also be significantly higher for merit aid at most places.</p>
<p>I agree that you should read the thread momfromtexas wrote. She found schools for both of her kiddos with very significant merit aid. Take the time to read it.</p>
<p>What schools are you considering? That might be helpful to know too. In addition to looking at schools where you might get merit aid, you also need to look realistically at schools where your acceptance will be very likely…AND the cost is realistic for your family.</p>
<p>I posted this on your other thread, but am reposting here…</p>
<p>I think this student is going about this in the wrong way.</p>
<p>Your goal is to become a physician.</p>
<p>Your parents have a decent income ($85k), but it sounds like they won’t pay their EFC (telling you to get scholarships.)</p>
<p>The problem is that - so far - your stats are rather modest.</p>
<p>ACT 25 (retaking)</p>
<p>SAT
590 CR
450 M
540 Writing. (10 essay)</p>
<p>another sitting - 590 writing and an 11 essay.</p>
<p>Right now, your stats are in the 80th percentile (ACT) and about the 75th percentile for SAT. </p>
<p>The problem is that recommending OOS publics will not be affordable. You won’t likely get accepted to top privates or privates that give the best aid. Your stats are not high enough for merit scholarships.</p>
<p>Also, since med school is your goal (which will involve big loans), it is not wise to borrow a lot for undergrad. The max fed loan for undergrad plus med school is $224k, so med school COA takes most of that.</p>
<p>Therefore, you really need to look at your own SUNYs and perhaps not make neuroscience the parameter because that’s not necessary to get into med school.</p>
<p>Look at the Momfromtexas thread so you can begin your search. In case you end up not getting the merit/financial aid you need, you should be looking at your local SUNYs. Take basic courses that will strengthen your foundations in academics, and build up a good gpa which is essential for med school. Take a med school required course each term and be ready to take refresher courses before you take the MCATs which is the other big deal in getting into med school. If you don’t improve your test taking abilities, you won’t likely be getting into any med schools. Focus on the specifics you NEED for this goal instead of making lofty, high goals that are difficult to achieve. The specifics are difficult enough to achieve at the caliber needed to gain med school admissions. </p>
<p>If you are eligible for URM or disadvantaged status, there may be some CUNY/SUNY other med school prep opportunities availabe for you in NY. You need to investigate that possibility.</p>
<p>Encourage your parents to run the FAFSA and Profile EFC calculators at [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) and at [College</a> Calculators - savings calculators - college costs, loans](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>Calculate Your Cost – BigFuture | College Board) Talk with them about how much they are willing to pay for your education. Compare that figure to the EFCs that the calculators produce. Talk about how much money they expect you to earn in the summers and during the school year. Discuss the amount of debt that they believe is acceptable for you to take on. And, please, accept that your parents are only willing to pay what they say they are. They may indeed be living on the edge even though the annual family income doesn’t look to you like they should be.</p>
<p>You have lots of good options in New York State. The community college system is very strong, and many of them have residence halls if you choose one that is too far away to commute to. The SUNY system is excellent, whether you would start there to begin with or whether you would start at a CC and transfer. You can get a very good education in your home state without having to rob a bank.</p>
<p>At SUNYs, he and his family will probably be exected to pay in full. There is an important discussion that needs to hape soon–how much will they pay? This student may want to start at a CC.</p>
<p>^^
Right. HE may want to start at a CC or start at a SUNY that he can commute to.</p>
<p>I know that that is frustrating to kids who have dreams to “go away,” but college isn’t free and if the family can’t/won’t pay and/or stats aren’t high enough for big scholarships, then there isn’t a Tuition Fairy to step in and pay.</p>
<p>From a cost perspective, as well as to give you a better chance academically, I would also suggest looking at schools that accept more B students. You’d likely be offered more in merit aid, perhaps even an honors type program, and the coursework would not necessarily tank your gpa for med school. I’m not saying you’re not up to rigorous classes, but to go to a SUNY known to be very strong in the sciences such as UB or Stony might actually put you at a disadvantage if you’re serious about getting into med school - good schools, but I think they’re somewhat notorious for their “weeder courses”. If you’re thinking of going into research, then the science schools would be a benefit. Otherwise, you might think about Albany, Fredonia, Plattsburgh, Potsdam, Brockport, etc. for SUNY’s. For instate privates, you might look at schools like Canisius, Niagara, Hartwick, Utica, D’Youville, etc. that aren’t terribly expensive and where the merit gods may smile on you - it doesn’t really matter much what your undergrad degree is in for med school, or even where you got it. GPA and MCAT scores, along with LOR’s and EC’s are much more important.</p>
<p>I agree with Sk8mom. The smaller SUNYs and schoolsawould be a better bet. The big 4 SUNYs do have tough science classes, large science classes, that tend to weed out rather than nurture.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids, it depends on his GPA. The Presidential Scholarship ($1000 a year - a state scholarship) requires a 3.5, and it has to be maintained at 3.2 to keep it. </p>
<p>He probably will be able to get through community college but will have a harder time financing upper division.</p>
<p>It’s possible he would receive as much as $4-5K at a SUNY, which would cover the full instate tuition. Some of them also have named scholarships designated for students from a certain county, etc. From the other thread you referred to, it looks like his gpa is good, it’s just the score mismatch that’s a problem. I’ve seen this a lot with NY kids and the SAT math section and idk what that is…maybe due to public schools teaching to the Regents exams, which are very different from the entrance exams (and in some districts teachers omit parts of the normal curriculum which are unlikely to be on the state exams as the focus is on meeting Regents standards), or simply the odd math curriculum they had until last year. If he can prep like crazy and get his ACT or SAT math scores up, that would obviously be the best. My D used Sylvan periodically for math and had good experiences with them.</p>
<p>Anyway, the SUNY’s, including the SUNY CC’s, all have different scholarships which range from full rides (usually requires an additional app) to nothing (for freshmen anyway, ie. Binghamton and Geneseo who offer the bulk of scholarship money to returning students). Some are very upfront about the cutoffs, some have merit aid calculators online, some have almost no info. At Plattsburgh, for example, the OP would likely be offered honors college and $3500 in scholarship money if his ACT goes to 27. Brockport would likely offer $4K and has several honors programs which offer many opportunities as well. There’s really no central source for info, one has to search the individual sites (one of these days, I’m going to start a thread for info/links on the SUNY General forum).</p>
<p>I got my undergrad at SUNY Utica/Rome. Most of the time I had a 4.0 and only was awarded the Presidential Scholarship. There are other scholarships listed, but I never got them. Most kids don’t, and given the OP’s scores I would assume his GPA might be lacking as well.</p>
<p>I still think the only thing he can depend on in the SUNY system is the Stafford Loans.</p>
<p>susgeek, SUNY IT, being a “young” SUNY, simply may not have the scholarship money the others do…they really are all very different and the funding does not come from NYS but from endowments. The amounts I posted above are automatic scholarships and are based on current info posted on the school websites. They may have similar sounding names (ie Presidential, Deans, Founders) but be very different awards…a Presidential at UB, for example, would be a full ride while a Dean’s would be $2500+ for an instate kid (more for OOS) depending on his stats as compared to the rest of the cohort.</p>
<p>I agree with Susgeek. The $2.5K at UB has a 1300 SAT (CR + Math) threshhold for starters. Maybe more now. However, the schools may have financial aid for those who demonstrate it. Son knew a lot of kids on aid of some sort at UB. </p>
<p>For the financial safeties, looking at local school would be smart. SUNY tuition is not bad; it’s the room and board that puts the cost up high. On the other hand, after freshman year, many kids go off campus and the rents in Buffalo are quite cheap with many kids going that route.</p>