Will the need for financial aid significantly reduce my chances of admission?

<p>I'm really set on going to an OOS school that I fell in love with but I know I'll be needing financial aid. I can pull out loans if I have to, but I want to know that if my family's financial situation will hurt my chances of getting accepted because it will seem like I don't have the means to pay them?</p>

<p>First, if you need Financial Aid and you don’t apply for it, you can’t go.</p>

<p>It won’t hurt chances at schools that are need blind. However, many private schools are ‘need aware’ or ‘need sensitive’. I believe that publics are need blind, but not sure about that for OOS.</p>

<p>However, most schools do not guarantee to meet full need. So you may get accepted but if you don’t have the means to pay them your EFC plus any gap that isn’t covered, then you can’t go.</p>

<p>If you are still looking at University of Florida…the school is need blind for admissions. BUT they do not meet full need for students. The likelihood of you getting substantial need based aid or merit aid at this school, as an out of state student is very limited.</p>

<p>Your other posts say you are from NY state. There are a ton of SUNY colleges, and if you are low income, wouldn’t you qualify for TAP? That would certainly be much more affordable than an out of state public university that does not meet full need for all accepted students.</p>

<p>If I were a betting person, I would guess you would be accepted to U of Florida…but will not receive sufficient aid to attend.</p>

<p>How much can your parents pay per year??</p>

<p>Nothing to add to what Thumper said/asked.</p>

<p>Thanks for the responses.
I am applying to SUNY colleges but I also have family in Florida and I would like to start my pre-vet experience at UF. My mom and I have talked about financial aid and scholarships and we are trying our best to meet what we would have to pay - we will pay as we have to through loans, our family income, and aid.</p>

<p>I’m not sure how much we make a year (last I heard it was less than average in NYC), but I know it’s just very difficult since my dad no longer supports the family financially and my mom is the only one who makes any income, but she believes that any financial aid will suffice. It was just worrying me that UF would see that as “She cannot pay therefore we cannot accept her”.</p>

<p>As an OOS student the financial aid over and above the max $5,500 Direct Loan you can take out will be slim to none. What little aid the school has to give is given to in-state students whose families pay taxes in FL. </p>

<p>Given that you want post-grad education get your undergrad degree from the least expensive school possible.</p>

<p>The out of state cost of attendance at UF for this school year is about $42498 or so. You would be guaranteed a Direct Loan of $5500. Can your mom pay $37,000 or so for the school year…think over $3000 per month? That is likely what this school would cost you.</p>

<p>Taking loans in that amount is not a good idea especially since you will need additional loans for veterinary school (where really, there is no aid besides loans). Plus, you mom, on her income alone, would need to qualify for those loans for all four years of undergrad study.</p>

<p>Please consider other options. SURE apply to UF if you want to…but be prepared to walk away if you are admitted without sufficient aid to attend…which is likely.</p>

<p>Vet school is hideously expensive, and right now there are more veterinarians out there than there are jobs for them. Do you really want to become yet another DVM working as a part-time vet tech while trying to pay down something like $250k in college loans? Think it through.</p>

<p>If you truly are serious about a career in veterinary medicine, you want to get the best pre-vet training you can find for the least amount of money. Save your debt for vet school.</p>

<p>"It was just worrying me that UF would see that as “She cannot pay therefore we cannot accept her”. "</p>

<p>What good does it do to be accepted if you cannot afford to attend? You are much better off applying to the SUNY schools.</p>

<p>I’ll definitely take this all into consideration!
Thank you so much for your feedback, it really is helping me figure out where to go after all of this.</p>