Which college is offering me better aid?

Paying for College
1

<p>Please help me figure out which school is giving me a better aid. My EFC is 18,000+</p>

<p>College A:</p>

<p>COA - 56,530
Scholarship - 15,000
Tuition grant - 15,620
Federal Direct -3500
Federal Perkins - 1500
Work study - 2500
Total Award - 38,120</p>

<p>College B -</p>

<p>COA - 55,760
Scholarship- 23,500
Tution grant - 6500
Federal Direct - 3500
Federal Direct (unsubsidized) 2000
Work study- 1700
Total Award - 37,200</p>

<p>Is it better to have the bulk of the aid in scholarship money or institutional grant?
What is Federal Direct unsubsidized loan?
Why is one offering Federal Perkins and the other is not? </p>

<p>I am awaiting other financial packages and they will probably be similar to the above but I would like to know what I should be looking for when comparing financial aid offers.</p>

<p>Thank you very much for any help/advise/enlightenment you can give me.</p>

2

<p>These awards look very similar. The bottom line is…can you pay out of pocket what the school did NOT award you? That is what needs to be answered. I would not count the work study award in the equation because that is money you need to earn while you are a student.</p>

<p>It looks to me like your balance at College A is $20910 and College B $20260…very close</p>

<p>BUT College B has a scholarship that is the bulk of your award. Is that a merit award or a need based award? Merit awards usually are renewed annually by keeping a certain GPA while in college. Need based aid is based on your financial situation and is computed annually. Are you guaranteed the scholarship for all four years if you keep a certain GPA? Check that.</p>

3

<p>Thanks, thumper.</p>

<p>The scholarship of $23,500 from college B is merit aid. It is guaranteed for 4 years provided I stay in their Honors Program and keep a certain GPA.</p>

<p>Same thing with College A. I am guaranteed the merit aid of $15k/year if I keep a certain GPA.</p>

<p>I suppose that was my question. Is it better to have financial aid that will not be affected by my GPA in case I am unable to keep my grades up?</p>

4

<p>All things equal, it is better to have guaranteed money over conditional funds. I know many kids, my own son and myself included who lost merit awards.</p>

5

<p>Yikes, cptofthehouse. That was what I was afraid of.</p>

<p>Btw, if you get your grades back up, do you get merit award the following semester/year? How does that work?</p>

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<p>* Is it better to have financial aid that will not be affected by my GPA in case I am unable to keep my grades up? *</p>

<p>Both College A and College B require a GPA to keep their scholarships. Even if you go to the one with the smaller merit scholarship of $15k per year, if you LOSE that money and your parents won’t pay for that loss, then you’d have to leave the school ANYWAY.</p>

<p>So, unless your parents would pay the EXTRA $15k per year if you lose the merit money, it doesn’t matter which school you choose. </p>

<p>So, would your parents pay $18k (EFC) + $15k (loss of scholarship) = $33k per year.</p>

<p>If your parents would never pay $33k per year, then the question is moot!</p>

<p>That said…you haven’t said what the GPA req’t is. If one requires an unreasonably high GPA, then choose the one with the lower req’t. If both require GPAs around 3.0/3.25, then choose the one you like.</p>

<p>Heebie…what kind of GPA do you normally maintain? </p>

<p>Is this a very challenging school and will you be in a very difficult major? </p>

<p>The ONLY kids I’ve ever known to lose their scholarships fall into three groups…</p>

<p>1) Partyers/gamers who didn’t go to class and/or study and/or do homework.</p>

<p>2) Kids who didn’t think to balance their schedules with hard and easier courses. These kids took too many hard science/labs/math/engineering classes in one semester.</p>

<p>3) Kids who try to work too many hours at their part-time jobs.</p>

<p>If you are a good student who doesn’t try to overwhelm himself, you’ll very likely keep your scholarship. My kids have had no problem keeping their scholarships. </p>

<p>As for your other question…each school has its own policy. Some will not return the scholarship if you later improve grades. Some will.</p>

7

<p>Institutional grants are also conditional in that they are based on your EFC and institutional funds each year. What is the language concerning the grants? Are they renewable, is there any gpa requirement, and is the freshman award the maximum for the four years?</p>

<p>Subsidized loans do not accrue interest while you are enrolled, i.e., $3500 borrowed will be $3500 owed at graduation. Unsubsidized loans do accrue interest starting from the date the money is borrowed so you will owe more than the face value at graduation.</p>

8

<p>For our kids…merit money was more of a sure thing than need based aid. We didn’t have need so merit based on GPA and guaranteed for all four years was the way to go.</p>

<p>Remember, need based aid is calculated ANNUALLY so if your family financial picture takes a turn for the better, your need based aid will be reduced. Also schools that do not meet full need are under no obligation to give you as generous a grant the second year as the first. BUT your merit aid will remain the same IF you maintain your GPA. Where do you want to hedge your bets?</p>

9

<p>Please do not compare financial aid offers using COA. Add up tuition/fees/room/board. Subtract grants and scholarships. THIS is the way to compare offers. You can then consider the loans … sub Stafford & Perkins are better than unsub Stafford, so use that fact when comparing. Work study may or may not ever be earned, so it’s not really wise to consider that when deciding if you can afford a school.</p>

10

<p>Kelsmom, I was just suggesting that the student use the COA minus financial aid (but not including work study) to get an idea of what their OUT OF POCKET expenses would be.</p>

<p>In the end, if they get $25,000 at a school that costs only $30,000 to attend, it’s a better “offer” than a school that gives them $25,000 but costs $50,000.</p>

<p>I think too often students and parents look at the amount of money the school is giving them and they do NOT look at what that translates into with regard to what the school will be expecting THEM to pay.</p>

11

<p>*I think too often students and parents look at the amount of money the school is giving them and they do NOT look at what that translates into with regard to what the school will be expecting THEM to pay. *</p>

<p>Very true!</p>

<p>A $20k scholarship to a school that costs $30k is soooooo much better than a $30k scholarship to a school that costs $50.</p>

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<p>My comment about not using COA was because the OP gave the COA in the original post. My issue with using COA is that schools can really vary in terms of what they put in COA. For example, Vanderbilt’s COA has a ton of padding … my kid does not spend like I guess the average Vandy kid must spend! Other schools on her radar had “leaner” COA’s. When we compared apples to apples, Vanderbilt was actually much less expensive than it appeared in the award letter.</p>

<p>Parents often express shock when they see the COA of the school where I work. However, if the student is commuting & living at home, most will pay far less than the COA. The way the budgets are structured can be misleading, IMO.</p>

13

<p>I think the COA is handy for first cuts and quick calculations… but yes, when the finaid letters arrive it is smart to unpack the costs as well as unpacking the finaid to get a clear picture and an ability to compare colleges.</p>