My understanding is that to get coverage on an exchange in a different state, you need to become a resident of that state. A young adult who is a dependent on parents tax return and is attending college OOS, going home for summers etc, does not seem to be able to that in my experience. It is a huge problem IMO.
@thingamajig, she asked a couple of weeks ago about a deferral of the scholarship for a year so she could work and make money along with asking about work study and this is what she got back:
"When it comes to work-study, it’s not something that you qualified for at this time, but if you think that it would make it possible for you to attend Agnes Scott, then I think we could potentially submit a financial aid appeal and ask for that. Its not a guarantee, but it sounds like you have done some financial homework on your end which can strengthen an appeal. If you have received other financial aid packages from other colleges that are stronger than your offer to attend Agnes Scott, that can also help to bolster a request for additional aid. A new student financial aid appeal is never a guarantee for additional funding, but I want to advocate for you as best I can.
If work-study is not an option, there are a wide variety of ways to get a non work-study job through the college’s “Hire a Scottie” website. On that website students get everything from nanny jobs to other jobs in the community as Scotties have quite the positive reputation! Many many of our students work at jobs they got through connections in the community.
When it comes to taking a Gap Year, you need to submit a proposal for what you will be doing for the Gap Year and it needs to be approved by Enrollment leadership. Typically students need to have a solid plan for ways that they will be doing something that enriches their lives or gives back to the community - let’s not go down that path yet. "
@WIparent4 , thank you for chiming in. In my 'round and 'round trying to get info on that site, I was finding out the same thing which is why I finally headed here to see if that was right. And Agnes automatically bills for what I’ve been told and so I can’t just do it for one semester, which means I’m out of luck when the enrollment period opens. She’s working full time right now to help but no way will she make $20,000 to quality for subsidies.
Sigh.
Bard Berlin might be alot more…whatever…about other stuff but heck fire the insurance is like $70 or some ridiculous amount like that. $3350 is a heck of alot of $!
$3300 is actually really cheap for the level of insurance they are offering, specially if that’s for thewhole year (not just school year)?
The employer provided insurance we get through my husband’s job costs more than that AND is one of those awful high deductible ones. Go see a doctor and its at least $130 out of pocket right there.
I can’t say I would call $3300 really cheap for coverage for one 18 yr old, but maybe that’s just me! Yes it should be for the whole year & an excellent policy but still…yikes. Especially if based on family income, this student would qualify for significant subsidies as part of family grouping or CHIP in own state
But guys, the insurance piece is what it is. 3300 $ in the Atlanta, 900 $ in Berlin. She will be able to wait tables in both places, and since it appears she hasn’t maxed out her government loans yet she can make both work, there will be hardship with both choices, but it is doable. I just cannot imagine that you can see four years into the future to determine whether this will make Berlin cheaper than Atlanta. She may want to spend her junior year in the US in order to make connections. She may want to spend it in Africa!
I would also think that the gap year is an additional risk. Tuition and health insurance costs will only go up. And a gap year may make a cookie cutter kid more interesting to colleges, but she is plenty interesting! If a college has been hesitant to admit her, it’s probably her lack of cookie cutter credentials which made it harder for them to judge her academic preparation. But the gap year won’t help with that.
I think Atlanta is so different from Mississippi it would count as “getting out”. (I’ve never been - I should go, we have family there!). Her college will be a liberal bubble. I’ve looked it up, it’s beautiful! (Berlin is a lot of things, but not beautiful). It is tiny, but she may be able to cross register with Emory if she can’t satisfy her intellectual needs with what Agnes Scott offers. With Bard Berlin, which is so tiny to be minuscule, she will be stuck with what they offer.
Not dissing the Berlin option, she can make it work, too. But she’s got to want it. If she is so unsure what he wants, that’s being a teenager, I get it, but that’s when you stick with the safer option closer to home.
But please please stop beating yourself up about this. If there is anything that strikes me as even harder to understand than college admissions in the US, it’s health insurance!
There is another unwelcome surprise for first time college parents if your child has a “nice scholarship”. If the scholarship covers any room and board, then that amount is taxable as unearned income. For students with a “full ride”, this can translate to taxes well over $1000. And the IRS can even assess penalty on underpayment of withholding to boot.
Actually you’d have to be careful about checking to see if your D could work if she was out of country if you and your D are serious about Berlin. Many nations have laws about whether or not an international student can work at all and have strict rules and laws about that.
It sounds like AScott is willing to work with your family to help figure out how to make it more financially feasible. I don’t understand why insurance isn’t included as part of the cost of attendance in calculating the budget and any aid.
D has dual citizenship. So that bit is easy.
For anyone else who’s wondering: international students can work up to 120 days full time (ie 8 h/day) or 240 days part time (ie 4 h/day) or any combination thereof and unlimited hours as teaching or research assistants.
Does she have a German passport? I have to travel several hours to the nearest German Consulate, and it takes several months to get it.
I agree, Agnes Scott sounds like they are willing to work with her.
I don’t understand how she qualifies for a subsidized loan, but not federal work study, if there is need.
But they said you can try appealing the FA.
The federal work study program is woefully underfunded. There aren’t enough opportunities at many schools to offer it to all students who may qualify.
This is a kid with substantial food-service experience- she will be able to find a job in Atlanta, even if not work-study.
@scholarme That is actually probably above average ($3,300) for college health insurance plans. I’ve heard higher, but have certainly seen lower as well. But… the OP is actually lucky the school offers a plan. Some colleges don’t.
I PM’ed you
OP I think that you mentioned you would have to pay for the health insurance with a credit card. Rather than pay high interest rates on a credit card balance, reconsider having your D take out her federal loans, at least the $3500 which is subsidized (no interest accrues while she is in college).
Life happens, and cars need repairs, homes need repairs, illness strikes and you are you are unable to work, or you have medical bills. Although it would be awesome to avoid loans altogether, your family truly seems to need the financial breathing room that D’s student loans would provide at this juncture.
As far as paying taxes on the room and board part of any grants and scholarships goes, you may still be able to claim the AOTC education tax credit for your D to help offset any taxes owed, as long as her grants and scholarships are not restricted to being applied to tuition/fees only. You can get more advice about the tax situation here on CC too.
I’m feeling financial fatigue/application fatigue/fatigue fatigue particularly hard this morning and I’m a little more emotional than usual but I do want to thank each and every one of you for being so kind and helpful. I posted thinking there was some option I was missing that would work better and be cheaper but apparently there isn’t so at least that’s good to know. But I also learned alot - about subsidized and un and even about taxes which is now a new thing to check on because I had ZERO CLUE - so I really, really do thank you.
I was waiting on someone to jump in and be ugly about homeschooling or being financially unwise or stupid about the process or whatever yet no one did and I am particularly thankful about that at this vulnerable time.
@Tigerle , especially thank you this morning for the comments about my non-cookie cutter kid. From when this whole process began, I think it bothered me alot that no one anywhere seemed to get that. (For instance, I JUST got an email from the U of A that they cannot consider her for admissions because her transcript doesn’t show credits, letter grades and GPA - literally NOT how homeschool in MS works - or at least not in my house - and that was not a problem with any other school she applied to. Ugh. I’m tired, tired, tired.)
Like i said upstream, I have a kid in Georgia who had to buy an individual health insurance policy. The school plan her school now offers is better and about the same cost as the individual plans available in the Atlanta area. We did this dance for three years…and celebrated big time when the school reinstated school based PPO insurance…which covers our kid in multiple states in network (hers is a United Health Care Plan…and it’s excellent coverage as we have seen).
And it covers her year round. $3300 was last year’s cost. Wouldn’t surprise me if it’s $3500 this year.
I agree that the federal loans are better than taking on credit card debt, although I’m still unclear (maybe missed it) on whether she already has to take out the loans to cover the cost of the school. For the unsubsidized portion, interest does not accrue while kid is in college, and first payment isn’t due til 6 months after graduation. The federal loans have a lot of consumer protections that other kinds of debt don’t have, too.
Oops…I’m sure @intparent meant to write that the subsidized portion does not accrue interest while the student is in college.
For all Direct Loans, whether subsidized or unsubsidized…payment doesn’t begin until after the student leaves college for 6 months (graduation, dropping out…whatever the reason is).
@4sugarplums here is another thought. If you qualify for the AOTC when you file taxes, that could be up to $2500. When you get that credit…next year…you could pay off that much of any loans your kiddo takes to pay for health insurance.
I guess y’all are gonna have to give me a lesson now on these loans and taxes because I’m lost already : /