<p>I'm going to the George Washington University, and if I get the scholarship I want then I won't have to worry about my FA package, but for right now I am. My parents make 70k a year combined for a family of 4. My biological father was deceased and my step dad didn't really adopt me. I'm the only kid going to college though. I'm hoping I'll get a good FA Package, what do you think? I'm pretty nervous. I was talking to some kids who already did get theirs and they said they got about 30k a year from the school.</p>
<p>George Washington University costs in excess of $50,000 a year. I don’t believe they guarantee to meet full need for admitted students. </p>
<p>If you have an acceptance NOW it must be an Early Decision acceptance. That being the case, you should either have already received or will soon an estimated financial aid award IF you filled out the Profile and submitted it to GW. Did you do so?</p>
<p>Yeah I filled it out late so I’ll probably be getting it sometime in Jan.</p>
<p>And I read online that they meet 91% of people for aid and the average is around 20k a year (then again most people who apply, their parents make over 100k usually)</p>
<p>I think what you read is that they meet, on average, 91% of NEED…which is not the same as meeting 91% of cost! Need is calculated as COA - EFC. People with high incomes would have higher EFCs and, therefore, less need. It may not be a useful statistic for you to focus on as it may not pertain to your situation…and, in the end, that’s what really matters. Good luck and let us know how your awards come out!</p>
<p>So, is the school giving you an extension for accepting your ED offer? </p>
<p>What is the scholarship that you applied for? Is it some kind of full ride? If not, how will you cover the rest of the costs?</p>
<p>That’s what I meant. 91% of people get need and the average package is 20k. And yes the scholarship is 180k. And if I can’t cover the rest in costs, I’m gonna use loans and grants. I think I might get a good FA package, since I know people who make more money than my parents and got 30+k.</p>
<p>But if you get the merit money, that will BE your FA package. That counts as FA.</p>
<p>I’d take out loans that I’ll just have to pay back</p>
<p>Can your mom and stepdad help you at all? I think it’s going to be difficult to borrow (and pay back) large loans if they’re not paying at least your EFC…do you know what your EFC is going to be? Do you have any savings for college? Are your parents going to take loans in their names or be willing to cosign for you? The federal Stafford loans that you take are limited to $5500 for freshmen, $6500 for sophomores, and $7500 for juniors and seniors.</p>
<p>It looks like the 10/11 COA for GWU was $56K and it’ll probably go up a bit each year. This is the data College Board has regarding their FA:
Average percent of need met: 94%
Average financial aid package: $36,215
Average need-based loan: $4,649
Average need-based scholarship or grant award: $25,467
Average non-need based aid: $21,083
Average indebtedness at graduation: $31,299 </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>In context with the current numbers, students on average have 94% of their need met (note that the 94% refers to a dollar amount, not to the number of students) and the average FA package is $36,215. Those numbers are good but it’s important that you understand that the EFC and whatever GWU expects as a student contribution (likely several thousand per year) will not be covered by need-based aid. So, unless you garner very high merit aid, you have to plan to cover your contributions through loans, parental help, work, outside scholarships, gifts, etc. and/or do whatever you can to keep your indirect costs (personal, books, transportation, etc.) lower than their budgeted amount.</p>
<p>When will you KNOW about your scholarship? You have an ED acceptance in hand and that usually comes with a DEADLINE for accepting or declining. Are you SURE you will know about this scholarship BEFORE the deadline for the ED acceptance decision? If not, have you spoken to the admissions folks at GWU to ask for an extension for responding to your ED acceptance. You do realize they do NOT have to give you that extension. BUT you need to ask. If they don’t give you an extension, you will be required to make a decision without knowing about this scholarship. </p>
<p>Did you get an estimated financial aid award WITH your ED acceptance? Usually schools give this so that ED students have an idea of what their financial aid will be so they can reasonably accept (or decline) the ED acceptance. </p>
<p>And then there is the proverbial discussion re: ED. You DID sign an agreement to attend GWU if accepted. Yes, if the finances don’t work out you can say NO to that acceptance. It sounds like you are hoping for that scholarship and without it, the finances at GWU will not work.</p>
<p>If you haven’t already done so, you should run your family income/assets etc through one of the online calculators using the IM (institutional methodology). This will give you a GUESTIMATE of how much GWU will expect your family to contribute annually. Then you need to discuss this amount with your parents.</p>
<p>From her post on the GW forum, it looks like she filed the ED financial docs at least a month late, so may not get an estimated award by the response date. OP, make sure you meet their filing deadline for financial aid and have your data complete or the best possible estimates…looks like that date is Feb. 1st.</p>
<p>Problem is…the ED decision for enrollment is probably due WELL before Feb 1. </p>
<p>If she turned her finaid application form (the Profile) in late, she may NOT have a financial aid estimate in time to meet the ED decision deadline. She needs to contact GWU and ask for an extension…which they may or may not give to her. It is not the school’s fault that she missed that deadline. She applied ED. They may hold her to the deadline. BUT ONLY GWU can answer that question for her. If it were me, I’d be on the phone ASAP to get this resolved.</p>
<p>The reality is she cannot continue to apply to other schools until she makes a decision whether to accept or decline the ED offer at GWU.</p>
<p>My dad was gonna call them to get an extension (but he keeps prolonging it even though I keep telling him because he has all the information about our money and stuff) he’s calling this week. The deadline is January 14th. I find out about the scholarship probably sometime in Jan or Feb.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Why are you waiting for your DAD to do this? YOU are the one who got accepted ED and YOU are the one asking for the extension. Do this yourself.</p>
<p>I can’t because my dad said he wanted to ask questions and stuff. He does the bills he knows the money issues and it’s not just that question I got to ask. So that’s why I’m waiting for him to call.</p>
<p>r0kAng3l…plan to be around when your dad calls. The college might not even speak to him about this since YOU are the applicant. Be there…just in case. This is especially true if you are already 18 years old.</p>
<p>I’m 17. And my dad already called, they said we have to write an email to explain why we need an extension. Also, I did a calculated estimate online of how much I should be getting from GWU and my EFC. It said my EFC was 9312 and this is the other information I got: </p>
<p>Net Cost Detail Freshmen<br>
Your Net Cost $20,111<br>
Cost of Attendance $56,625<br>
Your EFC $9,312<br>
Your Financial Need $47,313
Estimated Unmet Financial Need $2,839
Estimated Loan/Work-Study Award $7,960 </p>
<p>Is that good?</p>
<p>I checked it on collegedata and it said based on GWU’s average FA packages and stuff, that my FA package will be roughly 47k (a general idea from them and it’s not 100% accurate but it’s very close). That would be great if I could get that much!</p>
<p>How much of that $47K will be loans?</p>