Will I have enough money?

Paying for College
1

<p>Well, basically, I come from a pretty financially disadvantaged family. However, I want to go to a school that is relatively expensive, and I'm really wondering if I'm going to be able to pay for it all.</p>

<p>So I want to go to a school that is about 26k a year for just tuition, and about 37k a year for tuition, R&B, and books, total.</p>

<p>I have no legal father, and according to the accounts of every near expert I can get on this subject, that means that only the income of my mother counts, and not her live-in boyfriend. (He's actually my father but he's not on the certificate and my parents aren't married). </p>

<p>So, basically, here's some basic info about me:</p>

<p>-I've got a 102 weighted GPA. (My school doesn't do the 4.0 scale.)
-My class rank is 4 and my co-rank is 3. (My class is extremely competitive.)
-My mother makes <20k a year.
-I'm a National Merit Semi. (I will probably be a Finalist, as to my knowledge I don't have any issues that would disqualify me.)
-I'm applying to Ithaca College, most likely early decision.
-I plan to study Occupational Therapy.
-My essays will be good.
-My SAT score is 2100.</p>

<p>With that information, is there anybody that can give me a ballpark estimate of what I'm going to need to take out in loans? </p>

<p>Also, will financial aid and scholarships cover R&B, or does that HAVE to come out of pocket or from loans?</p>

2

<p>You have the potential to get excellent financial aid and to graduate debt-free. </p>

<p>Why do you want to apply early decision? This is not a good idea if you want to be able to compare financial aid packages. (By the way, Ithaca College has no early decision <a href="http://www.ithaca.edu/admission/faqs.php?action=viewq&faqcat_id=1&faq_id=105%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.ithaca.edu/admission/faqs.php?action=viewq&faqcat_id=1&faq_id=105&lt;/a&gt;)
As a NMF, you will get offers for full rides (tuition, room and board) from some colleges. Some will even give you a free laptop and funds for research projects. See this thread: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=136920%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=136920&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Even without NMF, given your family background and academic profile, you are competitive for some schools that guarantee to meet the entire family need and with a family income of less than 20K, that means either no loans or very small ones. </p>

<p>Now you should work on researching schools where you will be competitive and which will meet full need (and are in locations where you would like to be). Do you want to stay near Ithaca, in NY, or in the northeast? Or would you be ok in the midwest, south, or west? There are great schools in all those places that would give you excellent aid. </p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

3

<p>Yeah, I found out about ED right after I posted this. My guidance counselor had a big book that has pages on just about all colleges, but apparently he must've missed that when going over application stuff with me. </p>

<p>Basically, I KNOW that I am going to Ithaca College, and even if I got a full ride somewhere else, I would still go to Ithaca. </p>

<p>Thanks for the help. I was discussing with my older brother about this, and he said it would be difficult to cover that much money. But I realized that he also went to college on a GED and didn't have nearly the grades and academic potential that I have.</p>

<p>Basically, if I can't get everything covered by financial aid, scholarships, and loans, I'm going to have to turn down the school that I really really want to go to. There is no family aid possible for me.</p>

4

<p>Are you SURE that Ithaca can cover your costs of attendance? I know nothing about their scholarship awards. You need to research this carefully. They have a fine OT program, but so do a LOT of other schools where you would definitely be a great candidate for significant aid.</p>

5

<p>I hear that you are strongly interested in Ithaca College. But keep in mind that you could get better financial aid elsewhere. So, imho, keep an open mind and apply to a number of places, and then make your decision once you find out where you got in and what they offer in the financial aid packages.</p>

<p>[written before reading post of thumper1]</p>

6

<p>Well, here's the problem. I can't keep all that much of an open mind about where I want to go, because my family does not have a car, and neither will I went I start college.</p>

<p>Hence, location is a HUGE consideration, and Ithaca is pretty much the closest good school for what I want. I'm definitely applying elsewhere, mind you. I'm not dumb enough to trap myself into a school that I might decide against for some reason or another, and I fully recognize the potential of having to pick a different school for being unable to pay. I will definitely be applying around, which is feasible for me because I get fee waivers for my apps. </p>

<p>I suppose maybe a full ride might sway me to another school, but I am doing whatever I can to avoid complete isolation from the people I care about.</p>

7

<p>
[quote]
I have no legal father, and according to the accounts of every near expert I can get on this subject, that means that only the income of my mother counts, and not her live-in boyfriend. (He's actually my father but he's not on the certificate and my parents aren't married).

[/quote]
</p>

<p>While this may be true for the FAFSA, keep in mind that schools that take the CSS profile will ask about money from other sources or people who help support your househould. In addition, schools that give large amounts of insitutional aid will require a non-custodial waiver. </p>

<p>This basically means that you have no contact with your father and you don't know where he is (which is not the case since you state that he lives in the household). It does not matter as to whether or not his name is on your birth certificate. In addition ask your self if the neutral 3rd party have to compromise their integrity to say that your father has never been a present part of your life, if they have met him or if he has showed up at school events, etc. If they cannot do this, then you will not get a waiver and schools will look at the income and assets of your non-custodial parent.</p>

<p>Remember that when you and your mom sign the forms you state that the information you are attesting to is true. Misrepresentation can result in the rescinding of your admission, repaying all FA given to you and possible criminal charges.</p>

8

<p>hyperJulie - You don't need a car to go to college. You can investigate colleges on-line. You don't have to visit them before applying. Some may offer you funds to visit before accepting an offer. You can go to college by bus or other transport. The vast majority of college students do not come home all that much during the semester. With low income and a strong profile - including NMF - you can live on campus and not rack up large debts.</p>

9

<p>according to USNews online, Ithaca College only meets ~50% of financial need. While your stats will place you in contention for merit scholarships at Ithaca, PLEASE apply to other colleges as well so you can compare other offers and see if Ithaca will match.</p>

10

<p>Are you a NYS resident? If yes, consider applying through HEOP especially if your family meets the income eligiblity guidelines</p>

<p><a href="http://www.oss.syr.edu/heop.php#Eligibility%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.oss.syr.edu/heop.php#Eligibility&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>For you the big thing wil be becoming a National Merit finalist. Should this happen, the worse case scenario, if your mom makes under 20k (and no assets) and Ithaca is a FAFSA only school you would be eligible for</p>

<p>Full tap 5000
Full Pell 4030
possible SEOG ~2000 (*avg)
18,000 if you do indeed become a national merit finalist
Perkins loan ~1500
stafford loan ~3500
which might just make it manageable</p>

<p><a href="http://www.ithaca.edu/finaid/apply_prosp_accep/index.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.ithaca.edu/finaid/apply_prosp_accep/index.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>(click the financial aid document)</p>

11

<p>I just checked the Ithaca website. Oddly, they do give a CSS Profile number...but on the site itself, there is no mention made of any deadline for the Profile (unless I missed that...you really need to check that carefully). I guess my question would be...why is there a CSS code number but the Profile is not required. That seems odd to me, but I suppose it could be. I would call the finaid office to verify the forms you need to complete for consideration for financial aid. They will certainly answer your question.</p>

12

<p>There is a lot of conflicting information.</p>

<p>According to the college board, the CSS profile is required of all students who are applying ED (november 1 deadline).</p>

<p><a href="http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.jsp?collegeId=1453&profileId=2%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.jsp?collegeId=1453&profileId=2&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>however, on Ithaca's website they state they do not offer ED or EA.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.ithaca.edu/admission/faqs.php?action=viewq&faqcat_id=1&faq_id=105%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.ithaca.edu/admission/faqs.php?action=viewq&faqcat_id=1&faq_id=105&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I agree with Thumper that your best bet would be to contact the school directly</p>

13

<p>God, this is all a mess. Plus my guidance counselor started his first year when I first started high school, so he doesn't KNOW a lot of these things. </p>

<p>With my father's income, I THINK that we land about the $35000 range in income. It looks like more than it is, really, because our mortgage has increased ridiculously since we moved into our house and basically our incoming is basically essentially equal to our outgoing money. </p>

<p>momfromme- I realize that I don't NEED a car to go to college. However, the situation is that if I go someplace much farther away than Ithaca, nobody from my family is able to come and pick me up to bring me home. Therefore, I will be completely stranded far away from home. </p>

<p>And yes, I'm a NYS resident, hence Ithaca being a reasonable distance away. </p>

<p>Sybbie- What is meant by assets? Is my house included in that if we're still paying for it? </p>

<p>Plus, I have absolutely no intention of misrepresenting myself on the forms. If a form is supposed to include all financially contributing parties, of course I would include him. However, I can't call him my father either because that would be a misrepresentation, so if a form asks simply for legal parents I can't include him, can I?</p>

<p>Ugh, this whole situation is a complete mess. Being a poor bastard makes college so much harder to figure out. </p>

<p>I do intend to make a phone call to the school relatively soon, and I'm my boyfriend is going to take me on a visit to Ithaca so hopefully I can have some of my questions answered there.</p>

<p>This irks me. I worked my butt off all through high school to be the best student I could be, and even then, I might not even be able to go to the school I want because my family doesn't have the money. That sucks. </p>

<p>I'm sorry if I'm whining, but this whole mess has put me into an abnormally angsty mood at the moment. -_-;</p>

14

<p>" However, the situation is that if I go someplace much farther away than Ithaca, nobody from my family is able to come and pick me up to bring me home."</p>

<p>Is there no plane, train or bus that goes to or near where you live? Lots of students' parents can't bring them to college, so the students use other sources of transportation (including getting rides with other students), and also ship their belongings to the school.</p>

<p>"This irks me. I worked my butt off all through high school to be the best student I could be, and even then, I might not even be able to go to the school I want because my family doesn't have the money. That sucks. "</p>

<p>The majority of students -- even those who may seem well off -- have financial considerations when it comes to choosing their colleges. I live in a city that is solidly middle class -- college town, lots of professors kids. Probably most students here (including National Merit Scholars0 go to in-state public schools because that's what their parents feel they can afford to pay for.</p>

15

<p>
[quote]

It looks like more than it is, really, because our mortgage has increased ridiculously since we moved into our house and basically our incoming is basically essentially equal to our outgoing money</p>

<p>Sybbie- What is meant by assets? Is my house included in that if we're still paying for it? </p>

<p>Plus, I have absolutely no intention of misrepresenting myself on the forms. If a form is supposed to include all financially contributing parties, of course I would include him. However, I can't call him my father either because that would be a misrepresentation, so if a form asks simply for legal parents I can't include him, can I?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>While FAFSA only schools do not look at home equity, schools that use the CSS profile do look at home equity when putting together a FA package. At some schools your house is considered an asset.</p>

<p>
[quote]
I can't call him my father either because that would be a misrepresentation, so if a form asks simply for legal parents I can't include him, can I?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>While your father's name may not be on your birth certifcate (which is not so uncommon) if he is your biological father, it does not negate the fact that you do live with your father and he is very much a part of your life.</p>

<p>As long as you are near a greyhound or amtrak station, or near an airport, you can get to school. A car is not a major necessity because there are plenty of people who travel further to school and do not have cars. Many parents just make the first trip to college to help their kids move in (many parents who live across country do not drive their kids to school). After that students travel back and forth on thier own.</p>

<p>I aslo agree unless you are independently weathly, that finances are a consideration to most families when it comes to going to college, which is why you must make sure that you have a financial safety in your list of schools.</p>

16

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<p>It doesn't sound like the home equity is the issue. It sounds like the family either has an adjustible rate mortgage and the payments have gone up...or that they have refinanced taking out more consumer debt. Families that refinance and take on more debt as related to their homes would in theory have less home equity. That could play into the finaid calculations. However, increased PAYMENTS for mortgage due to rising interest cost would have no impact at all on home equity. They would simply be reflecting the adjustable nature of the mortgage. Now...having said all of that...this OP needs to talk to someone with knowledge about finaid, and the family assets. </p>

<p>Now...regarding college choices...my kids also worked their butts off to be the best students they could be. That does not mean that they only had ONE choice of a college to apply to. They had a range of schools. Unless you LIVE in Ithaca and can walk to that college (if that is the case, I would suggest you commute to save more money), you certainly can broaden your search. My DD and DS go to college away from home. We do NOT drive them to school. They use public transportation to get from place to place (buses, trains, planes, rides with friends, etc). If you live close enough to go to Ithaca, you might want to check Springfield College and BayPath College. Both are in MA near Springfield, and both offer OT. Both also are near bus transportation hubs. I do not know about their finaid options. But I would think that with the stats you posted, you would be competitive for scholarships at both. Check them out. Also, you might want to consider someplace like Boston University Sargeant School which is one of the top OT schools in the country. BU has the trustee scholarship...and yes, it is a highly competitive one, but if you get it, you attend with no tuition. It would not be a guaranteed scholarship, but it doesn't sound like Ithaca has any guaranteed scholarships that will cover the full cost of attendance. You might also want to look at the schools within the SUNY system. I can't imagine that one of them doesn't offer OT.</p>

<p>I guess what I'm saying is...apply to Ithaca, and see what happens. It is quite possible that you will be able to follow your dream. But...you need to consider other options as well.</p>

17

<p>"Ugh, this whole situation is a complete mess. Being a poor bastard makes college so much harder to figure out."</p>

<p>Figuring out all this college stuff DOES take a lot of time and work and it can be confusing. It's a lot for a high school student to be doing largely on her own.</p>

<p>However, given your stats and your income, you will be eligible for truly excellent financial aid -- if you pick schools you can get into and which will meet your family's full need and/or offer merit aid.</p>

<p>Take a few minutes and see how much schools which meet full need will expect from your family in contributions -- There area various calculators out there. This one needs only a few numbers from you. <a href="http://www.finaid.org/calculators/quickefcchart.phtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.finaid.org/calculators/quickefcchart.phtml&lt;/a> You may be pleasantly surprised by what you find. </p>

<p>You have choices and do not have to end up with large loans at the end of college. </p>

<p>But you don't have choices if you limit yourself too much. If you are sure you don't want to go more than a day's travel time by land, there are many colleges within a day's bus ride of Ithaca. </p>

<p>Also, while this adds another complication, you might want to think about whether you are limiting yourself by deciding now that you want to be an occupational therapist (and only applying where there are OT programs at the undergraduate level). There is a range of related occupations, including registered nurse, and some of those pay more and have more capacity for higher level employment. For example, an RN can become a medical administrator or a nurse practitioner. Also, I think that many OTs get that training at the masters' level, which also brings with it higher income than a bachelors degree in OT.</p>

18

<p>thumper1- I'm confused as to why you're listing schools in Massachusetts. I live in New York. o.o</p>

<p>As for needing to be able to get there, it's too far to commute, but it is close enough that a relative of mine can give me a ride. This relative is retired and has cataract problems, so asking her to drive farther than Ithaca (45 minutes away), isn't feasible. I would bus in and out but that would not allow me to bring all of the things I will need for college. </p>

<p>I'm through trying to explain the car situation because it is truly confusing and I won't even attempt to get you people to understand it. What I'm saying is that getting THERE and BACK are the issue. I recognize in college that I can get around using local public transport and my own two feet.</p>

<p>I'm going to apply to SUNY Buffalo because they offer OT, but I have a guide to the SUNYs and they are the only one that offers anything about assistant.</p>

<p>As for other related careers, I have decided on OT because I love what they do, and it is very important to me to have that as my profession. I do not want to be a nurse. Going to a school that doesn't offer what I really want would be a complete and total waste of time. I will not compromise my plans for life because it was more convenient to choose a different career. </p>

<p>I am, once again, looking at other schools, but that doesn't change that I do have my heart set on Ithaca.</p>

19

<p>"I would bus in and out but that would not allow me to bring all of the things I will need for college. "</p>

<p>You can ship things to college. That's what lots of students do. For instance, students may move from coast to coast with no parental help. They have to fly, so they send their belongings through parcel post or something similar.</p>

<p>You also could pay someone from your hometown to drive you and your belongings to school.</p>

<p>As an example, when I went to grad school the first time, I had to move from D.C., where I had interned for the summer, to Calif. I had shipped my belongings from Mass., where I was in school, to D.C. for my internship. I flew to D.C. from Mass. as I didn't have a car.</p>

<p>I shipped my belongings from D.C. to Calif., and flew to Calif. for grad school.</p>

<p>Among schools offering OT programs in NY State are:
Columbia, Keuika, New York Inst. of Technology, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Stonybrook, Mercy College, Long Island U., and York College. </p>

<p>There also are some Penn. colleges offering OT.</p>

20

<p>I can't go to Columbia because I haven't taken SAT Subject Tests, plus I'm horrified of living in a big city. </p>

<p>I'm intending to apply to SUNY Buffalo, Utica, also SUNY Binghamton, the lattermost of which would be solely if for financial reasons I couldn't go to a college out of town (I live a commutable distance from Binghamton). </p>

<p>I don't intend to go to Pennsylvania because there are scholarships I can get at New York schools that don't apply out of state. At least, so I've been told.</p>