Syracuse includes the federally funded Direct Loan. This is a total of $27,000 spread out over the four years. Payment would be about $300 a month for ten year or could be accelerated if income allows.
In my opinion, getting a $200,000 plus degree in computer science would not be onerous…and a job in computer science should enable to have this student pay this loan.
But the student also will need to make these payments ON TIME…and not procrastinate!
Agree. The most notable thing is equity in a primary residence. In NYC, especially if purchased a while ago, real estate could have a LOT of equity.
If your parents are getting paid at all under the table, this must be reported on both the FAFSA and Profile.
If your parents own a business, some of the business deductions allowed for IRS purposes are added back in as income for financial aid purposes. This won’t show on either financial aid form…but will show in terms of your net costs.
OP has the option not to take on this loan for a CS degree at a school that’ likely better in CS than Syracuse.
I agree….there are like other affordable options IF this poster gets their applications completed.
My point is…I just don’t think these loans should be a deal breaker if they are included in the financial aid package.
The poverty level for a single adult in NYC is about 60K - and this is a family. If they own, the question will arise, where did the money come from? If they rent, they’re probably paying an amount that could not be covered by a 60K/yr income, so again, the question arises, where is the money coming from? Same if they own a car, or two. There really is no way that a family living in NYC on 60K/yr could accumulate anything, let alone 100K, unless there were substantial undeclared income.
There’s another possibility. They could have higher income in the past.
True. But the assets would have to be listed on the FAFSA and CSS, and would affect financial aid. And from what the OP has related, that is not happening.
Other possibility: OP’s parents do not have 100k but would s1crifice their peace of mind and would borrow this amount outside of the usual banks for a school they consider prestigious enough.
However, and this is key, OP can attend a prestigious college without parental debt.
@Stressed_out_high
First things first:
Mo-Tues= tests + meeting with GC
Tuesday evening= report back on your progress. At that point you can worry about MIT, CSS, ED2, etc.
(* Suny Buffalo, NOT Buffalo state)
If the OP’s family has $100k in savings, they need to be listed on FAFSA and CSS. But most colleges would require the family to contribute only $5-6k each year of that $100k savings. A few of the most generous colleges would require none because the family’s income is below their threshold.
Are you talking about the simplified needs test? If so…here are the criteria…income needs to be below $50,000 a year. The OP said income was <$60,000 a year…
Dependent students are eligible for the simplified needs test if the annual income of the student’s parents is less than $50,000 and any of the following criteria apply:
I’m aware of this test for FAFSA, but I’ve seen a few CSS colleges have gone beyond this simple test and require less contribution from families with income below certain threshold (which probably depends on family size).
Agree that with $60,000 income, this student could get a full ride at some colleges that meet full need for all.
But that doesn’t exclude them from needing to report their assets on the financial aid forms…as you noted above.
I agree. They need to report their assets on all FA forms.
Living in a rent controlled place, don’t own a car, living cheaply?
Isn’t the median household income in NYC about that much?
Agreed, my inlaws saved a remarkable amount, immigrant family where education was key did what was needed to send my husband to college regardless of cost.
OP- get an application in TODAY to Stonybrook and Binghamton. Then you can breathe.
Have you thought about taking a Gap year to work? That will give you time to save a little money (but be realistic about how much- certainly not enough to pay for college all by itself) and do a proper job on your applications?
As others have pointed out, there seems to be some wishful thinking on the part of your parents. I totally understand the prestige factor- we all do. But getting into Berkeley when it is completely out of reach financially is a waste of time on an application which you could be spending focused on a realistic option. And racing through the MIT essays is a bad idea as well. Folks think the essays are an after-thought and it’s all about high scores- WRONG. They need to be thoughtful, reveal something interesting about you that isn’t already in the application. That takes time.
Agree you need to get a handle on how much money your parents CAN contribute, not how much they WANT to contribute. And you need to take time to research colleges where everything you bring to the table will be an asset- your ethnicity, Stuy, your abilities, etc., not where they are working against you because the college sees applications from half your class!
This is exactly what is more likely to happen. For some immigrant families, college prestige is the hill to die on. For them this is the key to climb out of poverty. They may be borrowing from relatives or pool from their community as well, all outside of the standard lending sources.
Horribly sad that prestige would cause huge debt when the child could be equally successful at a T100 school with no debt.
And a T50 with no debt and a T20 with no debt…
Need blind/100% need colleges are what this student should be aiming for.
Lucky for him he’s got the SUNY system+ CUNY if need be so that he’s got affordable safeties and lots of choices that dontinvokve debt.
Even without the financial part of the equation, stony brook> some universities such as Syracuse for CS.
This student needs to cast a broad net. It sure looks like admission to a tippy top school is….possible. But there are no guarantees. Every kid, regardless of how strong they look on paper, needs sure things that are affordable.
I’m a big fan of building from the bottom up. Find those sure things for admission that will be affordable…then add matches and reaches.
If all this student does is apply to reaches…he might get accepted but he might not. Just about everyone applying to these elite schools is a tippy top student. 90% or so don’t get accepted at many.