Hi, I was wondering if with my circumstances it would be helpful to send a letter to the financial aid department of the schools i’m considering. My family makes almost exactly 100k a year, so my EFC is 17k. This isn’t very accurate, however. My sister does very high level gymnastics that costs thousands of dollars a month, thousands in travel fees to competitions, and hundreds on various other things. These year she’s also had a lot of medical issues and has spent lots of time in the hospital. It’s definitely not the same as someone who has a long term illness, but still, the nights in the hospital and all the specialists add up. This year we’ve also had extreme car issues, both my parents ended up having to buy a new car- one because of engine issues(which cost thousands before the new car) and the other got in a bad car accident.
Would these circumstances warrant a letter to the financial aid department? Would I get more aid, or no? Thank you!
No. The cost of your sister’s gymnastic life are a family decision.
The cars are common debts that families deal with. If it wasn’t the cars it would be a new furnace or roof for the house, or dental work or some other emergency.
You might ask the college for more aid. Lots of people do and get it, but it is not because a sibling is in a sport or singing group or robotics competition. If there was a loss of income or uncovered medical costs, be sure to bring those up.
The new car, and the expenses for,your sister’s gymnastics program will NOT be considered. These are totally discretionary spending. I know…you are going to say you Need a car, but the reality is you could purchase an inexpensive used car.
In terms of medical expenses…the only thing schools consider is unreimbursed medical expenses. So…if your family has insurance, only the portion that was not covered by insurance would be considered by some schools.
In addition, many medical expenses that are elective could be NOT considered as well.
So…how much were your sisters UNREIMBURSED medical expenses?
@twoinanddone @thumper1 Okay, thank you. I was just curious because it’s a lot of money being spent and we really don’t have any spending income to spend for college and stuff. I’m going to cc for the first year, just curious about for when I transfer
@blackkitteycat
Gymnastics is a very expensive activity as you noted. But this is a choice your family is making…in terms of how that are spending their money. Colleges will not consider that expense. It is completely elective…and truthfully, that same money could be used for college expenses. Colleges are not going to grant you need based aid so that your sister can pursue an expensive activity, and your parents purchase new cars.
I am sorry to be so blunt…but that is how it will be viewed.
Maybe your sister will get a full scholarship for college off gymnastics? Then you can have the money she would have needed.
@twoinanddone Well, that’s the frustrating thing. My sister is very good at gymnastics and will without a doubt get a full scholarship. However, my parents have no money saved for either of us for college. It’s annoying because they don’t realize that if they had saved the same amount for me as they spend on her I could go to college without any aid at all. They’ve spent thousands on her, and aren’t willing to help me at all.
Do both of your parents work full time or does just one work to earn almost exactly $100k?
@Madison85 They both work full time
Sometimes these things happen. You have a plan to go to the CC for at least one year. Please make sure you talk to the transfer advisor at the CC when you get there. You want to see if there are schools in your state that offer aid to transfer students.
We spent pretty equal amounts on our kids…but we had one who was a more talented musician…and he did get more merit aid from his colleges…so his hard work and lessons paid off.
I hope your sister can remain healthy…or really, her prospects of aid based on her gymnastic skills will be greatly reduced. Really…her good health is way more important than any scholarship potential.
@thumper1 Yes it is! Thanks for the advice. I was just curious on if sending a letter would achieve anything, but it doesn’t really matter if it doesn’t since I already have a plan! Thank you!
We did the gymnastics thing. We used to joke that we should have just saved the $ and paid OOP for college. Honestly, though, it’s not much of a strategy for college. If sis is hospitalized now for injury, she may be beating herself up to the point where the div 1 coaches take a pass on her. Two of my girls’ teammates competed on scholarship (1for Oklahoma, 1for Iowa State). Others competed, but as walk ons, no scholarship money.
I have one college athlete. I never spent one dime on youth, club or high school sports expecting it to pay for college. I only paid so that my child could enjoy the team she was on at the time, to have an activity for her. It does pay for college, and her sister (who got a somewhat equal amount of money for her sport with NO possibility of it paying for college) benefits because I can give more money toward her school. Believe me, both of them think it is unfair that I pay more for one kid/sister has less in loans because of her scholarships. Life is never fair.
OP, many community colleges only have federal money (loans, Pell, SEOG) available for financial aid. A few like California have more. You need to find out if your state has other funds available that you might qualify for. There also might be a few local scholarships that could help you pay for books, transportation, supplies so apply for them. A letter to FA explaining that your family has had some financial set backs this year might (might) get them to give you some work study. Work study is better than earning money from a ‘regular’ job because of the tax treatment, but if you have to get a regular job, that’s fine too.
Are the dance and musical theater you do free? If not, they’re spending on you too. Sometimes, unexpected and expenses pop up. If some medicals expenses aren’t reimbursed, I’d let the colleges know and see what they say.
This student had an EFC of $17,000 and her COA for her community college is $3000…which she says she has covered.
@thumper1 Yes, I can afford CC out of my own savings and job that I have.
@austinmshauri Yes, they are free because I take them through my school
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However, my parents have no money saved for either of us for college. It’s annoying because they don’t realize that if they had saved the same amount for me as they spend on her I could go to college without any aid at all. They’ve spent thousands on her, and aren’t willing to help me at all.
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That would be understandably frustrating and I’m surprised that they haven’t seen the disconnect.
They’re spending thousands on her, year after year, and then she’ll likely gets to go away to college…benefitting from the money spent on her prior, while money hasn’t been spent on you. I can see the problem. Have you pointed this out to them?
@mom2collegekids Yeah, I have. My mom just says that she wants me to be responsible for my own education so that i’ll care about it more. It is very frustrating. I understand that my parents don’t owe me an education, but this isn’t like 1k total spent on her, it’s closer to 50k at least.
@blackkitteycat, That’s unfortunate. I can understand your frustration. It sounds like your parents hoped your academics would pay for your education and your sister’s gymnastics will pay for hers. I’ve known people who spent a lot on sports hoping for college money. Most didn’t see any, and the ones who did get grants didn’t get full rides. Your sister may be fortunate enough to be able to start at a residential college, but I don’t think it’s a given. I hope she’s realistic about her options.
Letters about medical expenses might help you get a little bit of aid but they won’t get enough to cover a $15k gap, especially when your parents EFC is $17k. I think your best bet is to start at your local cc then transfer. Many students in our area do that and it works out fine. They save a ton of money and they get a good education.
If you have any 4-year colleges close by, look into cross registration opportunities. In our state, students attending a local cc can take a class or two each semester at any of the area’s 4-year colleges (both public and private). They only pay tuition to the cc, so it doesn’t cost any extra. That gives them the opportunity to meet students at the 4-year college and attend student events there. If your college doesn’t do that, get involved in whatever activities they do offer. You won’t be the only one planning to transfer to a 4-year school.