What can those with an EFC of $0 expect to pay?

Parent Cafe
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<p>Thanks twomules, I am also trying to find a TRIO program in our area - the main TRIO link appears to be set up for people applying for TRIO funds, doesn’t provide much information for those actually wanting to use the program.</p>

<p>Here is another link I’ve found that may have some helpful info for first-gen students:</p>

<p>[Interest</a> Group - First-Generation College Student Advising](<a href=“http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/interestgroups/c31/index.htm]Interest”>http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/interestgroups/c31/index.htm)</p>

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<p>I’m with SSS (one of the federal TRIO grants). We do have some monies to use for student aid, and my program tries NOT to award it to the students at the top of the heap as they already get plenty of assistance. We look more toward the middle. Maximum grant for us, though, is around 2K. The aid is awarded second semester, and only if the student is in good academic standing. It’s not going to foot the bill.</p>

<p>For an incoming student looking for sources of aid, I’d say check out a TRIO Talent Search program, as they deal with current high school students. TRIO SSS can’t do much until a student is enrolled. The fed prohibits SSS from recruiting, so there’s no way a college SSS program can promise aid to a prospective student.</p>

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<p>Thanks ordinarylives, it looks like many of these programs are associated with specific school districts?</p>

<p>So in Massachusetts I have found TRIO programs (ie, Upward Bound) for Boston and Worcester, for example, but not for other cities.</p>

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<p>There are a number of UMass campuses. Does this student plan to live on or off campus? </p>

<p>Fendrock, could you contact UMass and find out if the tuition remission includes remission of the associated fees? I would hope it does.</p>

<p>Is there the possibility of attending a community college to do the general education courses and/or get a two year degree…while commuting, and then finish at a four year school?</p>

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<p>Here it is for Lowell. [MCC’s</a> PreCollegiate TRiO Programs - Student Support Services](<a href=“The page cannot be found”>The page cannot be found), <a href=“The page cannot be found”>Unexpected Error;
I found it by putting “Middlesex Community College Trio program” in the google search box. What is the community college nearest to her? They may have some help for you.</p>

<p>You may have to check her high school web site or call the guidance office to find out what there is to link up to.</p>

<p>Ordinarylives - I wasn’t clear in what I wrote. I was more thinking about retention issues in addition to the financial help she will need.</p>

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<p>The community college route would of course be the default.</p>

<p>I am just trying to figure out if there would be any other affordable options.</p>

<p>It is true about tuition vs fees at Massachusetts state schools. Tuition at Fitchburg State for example is $970/annually (wow, what a bargain!) but in addition there is a “college fee” of $6,344/annually (okay, maybe not such a bargain…)</p>

<p>This link suggests that Middlesex and North Shore are the only community colleges in Massachusetts with TRIO programs:</p>

<p><a href=“http://cs.wellesley.edu/~bridgeke/final/Pages/comcolleges.html[/url]”>http://cs.wellesley.edu/~bridgeke/final/Pages/comcolleges.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>If she is in Boston, take a look at the Posse Foundation:
[Nomination</a> Process — The Posse Foundation](<a href=“http://www.possefoundation.org/about-posse/program-components/recruitment/nomination-process]Nomination”>The Nomination Process | The Posse Foundation)</p>

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<p>Unfortunately she is not in Boston; she is in a suburb – and actually a suburb with many immigrant children, so it is interesting to me that there are not a lot of obvious resources to help them.</p>

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<p>Yes, Fendrock, ETS and UB programs affiliate themselves with specific schools, generally those with high need. The program itself, though, is housed at a college campus. While only students at targeted high schools can enroll, anybody can contact the program at the college and ask questions.</p>

<p>Lots of TRIO programs have facebook pages. That might also be a place to search. I’m pretty sure there are more than two TRIO programs in the state.</p>

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<p>Fendrock, has the student taken any PSAT Or SAT type tests so that you can get some idea where she is in that area. THat can make the world of difference is what her options are. A not so great gpa paired with a not so great SAT scores is not going to make for an attractive scholarship student, first generation or not. But a very good SAT score would open up some doors for her, coupled with recent immigrant status of parents, first generation to go to college, and the challenges that go with that.</p>

<p>To answer your original question, a zero EFC for most folks going to college means free college. But most folks in that situation are commuting to school, going to a local state school with low tuition, and they get whatever total COA dollars in form of a check at times in excess of the schools tuition and fees. I know a young man who does quite well that way, as his commuting costs which are by what the college just uses for COA purposes are waaay lower since he lives close to the school and someone can just drop him off there enroute to somewhere else. His supplies and personal living expenses are negligible and absorbed by his large family as they had been prior to college. So what he gets from the PELL is pure gravy. That he can borrow, on top of that is even more tantalizing. </p>

<p>But if the young lady wants to go away for college, that puts her in the category with the “elite”. We don’t seem to recognize that this is truly a very special, and on an international level, very unusual situation, tantamount to sending a kid to boarding school. It is expensive. In that case, the PELL and the other federal monies she can get are not going to cover the entire cost of most colleges. Schools in the North East tend to have high room and board costs, and unless she is accepted by a school that gives excellent financial aid packages, meeting close to 100% of need, she is going to have trouble meeting those costs, especially with just federal money.</p>

<p>She would be entitled to $9500 in Stafford loans, in addition to a little over $5K in PELL money. The rest would be totally up to the school’s discretion and can vary widely. A state school does not tend to be really generous, unless she has very high stats, they are not likely to give much in scholarship money, unless UMass is more generous than most state systems. I live in NY, and SUNY Buffalo, the largest of the SUNY system tends to give a stock $2500 in merit money to high flying candidates, not exactly a windfall. Penn State does about the same for their Honors College kids. </p>

<p>If there is a private school that is local that is a possiblility, again costs can be reduced. The tuition to many private schools runs at about $35K. She is guaranteed about $14500 through Pell and Staffords. With Perkins, HEOGH government money along with some grants from the school inself, she might be able to swing it. Going away to a private college can bring those costs up to as high as $60k. For such schools, you can see that she would have to get money from the school itself since the gap between guaranteed monies of $14500 and what the COAs at such schools are about $45K. A lot of money that has a college has to come up with in order to have her attend there You can see why a student has to be have something a college needs; high test scores, an athlete, diversity, etc in order for the school to want to come up with that kind of money.</p>

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<p>Like ordinarylives, I work for a TRIO Student Support Services Program. As (s)he says, we don’t have a lot of grant money; not enough to even give everyone a small one–we look for who has the biggest gap, or very large loans, and we don’t do more than dent the surface. UB and TS high school programs don’t as far as I know, come with scholarship services either. Also, they are attached to specific colleges, but they also are attached to specific high schools. YOu need to belong to the one that works with your HS, if there is one. It’s not something you can go looking for elsewhere.</p>

<p>SSS programs can’t recruit non-matriculated students, but they usually advertise their services on the website. Most qualified students will be accepted into the program. They are extraordinarily good at helping students succeed in college; as stated above, we are a retention program, not an aid program, and offer intensive support–academic, counseling, study skills, financial literacy, major/career assessment, etc to help first gen and/or low income students make progress and graduate. Our program offers everything from FAFSA help, to test anxiety workshops to cultural trips to tutoring, but the most important tool might be the friendly ear offered. It’s a place students can count on someone to listen and help them make sense of the college experience, when very no one at home, even with the best of intentions, can offer the necessary help.</p>

<p>This document lists all current programs (this may change, as we are in the middle of a grant application year, and programs may be added or deleted any day now.):</p>

<p><a href=“http://www2.ed.gov/programs/triostudsupp/sssgrantees2009.pdf[/url]”>http://www2.ed.gov/programs/triostudsupp/sssgrantees2009.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>There is a local tutoring company that offers free practice SAT, ACT and PSAT sessions, so I will recommend that she sits one to see where her scores are at.</p>

<p>Also I will see where her interests lie career-wise.</p>

<p>Currently I am thinking she might explore the local community college, the local state school (which is within commuting distance) and a private university that is about 45 minutes away (she can visit and see what they have to say about their interest in her and potential financial aid).</p>

<p>The private university apparently does give good financial aid.</p>

<p>I will also try and find a book for her which explains how to calculate an EFC and lays out financial aid possibilities.</p>

<p>My sense at this point is that the most important help I may be able to provide is some sort of academic support for the upcoming school year, also see if her parents are interesting in finding an ESOL tutor (there is a volunteer program in our area that could provide this to them at no cost).</p>

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<h1>52</h1>

<p>sounds like you’re taking a realistic approach and are on the right track. The way your original question was phrased, “how much money can one expect with 0 EFC” I was afraid you had expectations of a large finaid package and might have been misled into thinking 0 EFC is a good thing. So many people are out of touch (see #50, “a zero EFC for most folks going to college means free college”) but unfortunately for almost all applicants, the lower your EFC the less access to college you have.</p>

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<p>“a zero EFC for most folks going to college means free college. But most folks in that situation are commuting to school, going to a local state school with low tuition, and they get whatever total COA dollars in form of a check at times in excess of the schools tuition and fees”</p>

<p>No, for most people a 0 EFC means either no college or college with very large loans. Only a tiny proportion of colleges can meet the need of students with 0 EFC, and most of those colleges are the most difficult colleges in the country to gain admission to.</p>

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<p>If your mentee wouldn’t mind going to a school affiliated with a church and wouldn’t mind going to a 4-year college in Kentucky, Berea College is a well respected college only for low-income students, and every student receives a scholarship covering tuition.</p>

<p>[Berea</a> College](<a href=“http://berea.edu/]Berea”>http://berea.edu/)</p>

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<p>In cpt’s post of #50, she made it clear that for most folks, 0 EFC means “free” college, because most folks go to CCs or local states and commute. A Pell will cover most if not all CC’s. Pell and Stafford (true not “free” but doable) will cover most local states if one commutes. At the private I teach at, full Pell plus full NJ TAG plus Stafford plus commuting will cover tuition and sometimes books. </p>

<p>For most 0 EFC students, “free” college or college with reasonable loans can certainly be the norm, IF they limit their college choices to the CC/public/commuting options.</p>

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<p>Cpt, UB is a TRIO-participating school and, although competitive for merit aid (which, I think starts at $3K and goes all the way up to a full ride), they provide other scholarships and grants to low-income students such as the full tuition Acker scholarship for first-gen, low-income and/or minority students (with SAT scores of at least 1200).</p>

<p>Btw, it seems that the Acker scholarship at Buffalo can be awarded to OOS students…that would be the type of program that would I would target for the young lady in question as it provides a number of associated services like special housing, advising, and free tutoring. In NY, there is the EOP program at public schools (HEOP for privates) - this also provides greatly enhanced financial aid and support services but is restricted to those “not normally admissible” due to lower gpa/test scores. Idk if MA offers such a program (it’s something that is indicated on our college apps) but that would be ideal if her grades are in the lower range for the schools.</p>

<p>In addition to Pell and state grants, she’d likely receive some SEOG money, Perkins loans, and work-study funds. When you’re speaking with her, make sure to mention that she can get application fee waivers from her HS guidance office as well.</p>

<p>I did not mean to imply by my previous posts/link that I thought these folks were illegals, but simply have found that, when it’s possible they are, it’s often best to rule that out first as it changes everything!</p>

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<p>I posted originally because I knew that a $0 EFC could NOT be equated with the expectation that a student would receive a full ride - thus the question in terms of what families could expect in the way of gapping.</p>

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<p>thanks for clarifying that</p>

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<p>Sk8rmom, my son graduated from UB. He was awarded $3500 in a performing arts scholarship and also was part of the Honors college. My second one missed the boat for applying for the Presidential awards, but he did get a merit award of $2500 with 1500+ SAT scores for cr reading and math. There are not many high level awards given, from what I could see at the Honors College meeting I attended. Now if you live in NY, or particularly in the Buffalo area, that $2500 can go a long ways to meeting the reasonable tuition costs, especially if the student gets a little bit of financial aid and takes out some STafford loans. But for OOS, it gets complicated.</p>

<p>The one Acker student I knew was truly up there in stats. Brilliant young man. The 1200 SAT that they state is truly a minimum. and for OOS kids to get an Acker they have to be truly outstanding. Now I don’t know anything about Trio and how that would figure into the picture, but I do know that Buffalo does take into account state residency, very heavily in awarding its scholarship money. It is open about this practice.</p>

<p>Not the say that the student should not be looking at these options. Once we have a better idea about what the student’s test scores are, we’ll be able to talk about some of these merit possibilities. Also, is this student URM? That can also play a role. I know that UVA and UNCChapel Hill are actively seeking first generation college students and have specific scholarship programs for them. But these and many other such programs are for the truly elite scholar. If the student gets, say an 1140 or so on the two parts of the SAT, these programs are not for her/him. </p>

<p>The other resource, Fendrock, is MomfromTexas"s thread on full ride scholarships. But again, the test scores are needed. This would be helpful in finding schools in the area, if the family and student don’t want to go too far, that may be willing to give a nice award to her even if her numbers are not that high.</p>