@paveyourpath My parents didn’t go to college in the US and I’m the first child going off to college so that is why they (and I) filled the FAFSA out thinking it was part of the regular application process
Filing the fafsa will enable you, the student, to take a $5500 loan…if you want to.
The fafsa is free…no harm in filing it.
I would like to refer people back to my comment on pane 3 #39 [not you, @thumper1]
wait so what is a unsub loan?
the interest is unsubsidized by the government. and the interest payments may begin right away.
thanks @AboutTheSame
so whats the benefit?
There is no benefit if you have the 5500 already. Only if you are coming up short, or want to repay some yourself.
The government will only subsidize you if you are very low income.
you are only likely to get merit money, not any financial aid, which subsidized loans are.
oh
TexasDA, just sit down and go through the cost w/ mom and dad. I know it “seems like” none of your business, but you need to know.
Suggestion: start with the costs, figure you can work for about 3-4k. So ask how are we going to handle this? Can you (mom and dad) pay the cost, do they want you to handle some portion, and if so, how much.
You dont want to get to May not knowing. It will be ok, just do it.
@HRSMom Ok i will talk to her soon
@TexasDA Okay, that does shed light on a couple of things. It’s very possible that your parents do not realize what the cost of college will be. Also, you mentioned you are the first child going to college. Does that mean this is the first time your parents are going through this process or that you are the first child going to college but you have younger siblings that they will also have college tuition to pay for? If it is the latter, be sure to pay it forward for your siblings and help them navigate through the various scholarship opportunities that may be available to them.
@paveyourpath yeah its the first time they have to navigate these waters along with me
How many siblings do you have, @TexasDA, and are they spaced close together? Just trying to get a handle on the financial impact your parents will face re: college costs.
@TexasDA are your parents married to,each other? If so…you want to have this conversation with both your mom and dad.
Even if they are not married…you want to have this chat with them both,
married. one sibling but in intermediate school
Do you know if your parents are in agreement about what they are willing to spend on college for you?
I dont think I can proceed in figuring out my next steps until I have a convo with my mom.
Why not with your mom AND dad??
@texasDA the reason people were confused is because you said “financial aid” in the thread title. “Financial Aid” is approximately what you get when your annual EFC is less than the annual cost of attendance. Obviously, for you that is zero. Merit is based on academics and athletic scholarships are based on sports. Your friend probably got FA from SMU.
As to merit, the schools you applied to are pretty highly ranked -therefore competitive - so merit is VERY competitive. You may get 10 or 20k at some schools… but likely not many. BC will give you nothing.
@thumper1 yeah both