<p>Ok, my daughter applied ED to a SUNY school, and EA to a couple of others, which are in-state for us. However, all of these schools are a distance from us, and would require room and board.</p>
<p>I was also told that ED provides no admittance advantage over RD other than you get to know if you get in quicker. </p>
<p>Even though the College Board ED agreement says that you are bound providing you get a financial aid package that enables you to attend, I was advised that there are basically no institutional grants/scholarships for freshman. Which means, there is nothing but Pell and Tap, which cannot even be applied for until January.</p>
<p>Based on online calculators, our EFC would be about $3000, leaving an unmet need of about $11000! It also stated that we might be eligible for a Pell grant of about $1800.</p>
<p>Now, today we filed an online application for a private college, the total costs of which would be $23000. However, they have an instant scholarship calculator just based on grades and SAT which said my daughter would be eligible for about $16000!!! So if my daughter is still eligible for a Pell grant, am I imagining things, or is my daughter going to be screwed if she is accepted ED to a SUNY?</p>
<p>We can come up with the $3000 EFC by next year, but no way will we have another $11000 for that unmet need. My own student loan debt is crushing and there is no way that we will qualify for Parent Loans with our credit and income status. While work-study may be possible, I am worried that my daughter may be unable to handle work-study and a full-time courseload. I know that I was never able to handle working while in college, although I was raising her at the time. We actually prefer the SUNY's to the private, but I don't want my daughter to be $40000 in debt in 4 years!</p>
<p>many students find that private schools -- especially those that meet 100% -- are indeed cheaper than the local state school. They have funds they can award which state schools do not have. ironic -- but true.</p>
<p>if the SUNY school does not meet 100% need (which it doesn't seem like it will, from what you said) she can bow out of the ED contract that she signed. it sounds like that would be the best thing to do. I don't know if she has to bow out right away or she can wait for other acceptances.</p>
<p>What you have found is not unusual at all. Here in Calif, the UC finaid package includes a lot of self-help (student loan, work study, parent loan), and some middle class folks (however defined) can find it "cheaper" to attend a 100% need private college, even before merit aid.</p>
<p>Things may have changed but 2 years ago when my d was accepted to a SUNY she received a 2500 scholarship. Who advised you that there were no grants or scholarships for freshman, another person who applied or the SUNY finaid dept?</p>
<p>Daughter had 3 private schools whose fin. aid packages would have cost less than our flagship state university. State U dragged its feet, not sending the fin. aid offer until Apr.18 (May 1 deadline). Didn't make them look very good in our eyes.</p>
<p>She ended up at a private university--why not, was cheaper!</p>
<p>According to the terms of the common application, the ED agreement is binding "only if sufficient financial aid is offered". I was informed by an admissions counselor that they do not offer scholarships and grants to freshman, although information elsewhere says otherwise. So if the sole means of financial aid are Tap, Pell, workstudy, and loans, FAFSA and TAP cannot be filed until 1/1. A tuition and housing deposit has to be sent in by 1/15. And what if it turns out that they cannot meet our demonstrated need?</p>
<p>So as I am reading this, we are supposed to retract every other application without any assurance that they can meet our demonstrated need. </p>
<p>On the one hand, this public school is a bit of a reach for my daughter, and she will be very, very lucky if she gets in and I will be proud of her. I think that the school would be very well suited for her. This makes me feel that perhaps we should just hope for the best, hope that the financial aid office will work with us once an offer is extended.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if what they say is true, and they truly give no admissions nor financial advantage to you if you apply ED, then this may have been a mistake. And since decisions are coming out this week, I don't think there is anything that can be done. I suspect that if we were to ask the application to be converted to a "regular decision" application, she'd have no chance simply for that alone.</p>
<p>Both my two graduated from privates at less than the cost of our flagship state u. S recieved substantial talent based aid for the first two years and was on full tuition scholarship for the remaining three of a five year program at a top music program. D's specific program was not even offered at state u. Her merit aid put her a few grand under the cost of state flagship. </p>
<p>Based on the stats and talents of the individuals involved, it can indeed by a very real possibility.</p>
<p>This is true, yes. Both of my children have grown up being told that because of my income, they will almost certainly get better aid at private colleges than public ones. That was true for me when I was in college, too -- my private college could afford to meet need with their endowment and could be flexible in their financial aid choices. State schools are usually locked into financial aid polices based on state legistation or regulations and often have much less flexibility in dealing with special circumstances.</p>
<p>Its often better if one is dependent on aid to wait to compare packages.
BUT- For instance our FAFSA EFC was roughly equivalent to costs at instate school- applied to and attended $$$$ lac that "met" 100% of need.
This need was met with loans, work study & grants.
However, other students who also were accepted couldn't attend possibly because the PROFILE identified assets that increased their EFC.</p>
<p>I would agree that students should limit their debt, many don't realize that "need met" includes meeting need with loans.
However-work study is managable for most students- even my daughter who needed to use public transportation to get to her workstudy job freshman year ( tutoring high school students), enjoyed the opportunity & workstudy gives students an opportunity to have a broader perspective of their campus.</p>
<p>My freshman year in college I worked on the food service dishline scraping plates into the garbage disposal ; it was so much fun because there were a whole bunch of students doing it at once and we just talked the whole time. I hope social opportunities like that still exist!</p>
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[quote]
According to the terms of the common application, the ED agreement is binding "only if sufficient financial aid is offered". I was informed by an admissions counselor that they do not offer scholarships and grants to freshman, although information elsewhere says otherwise. So if the sole means of financial aid are Tap, Pell, workstudy, and loans, FAFSA and TAP cannot be filed until 1/1. A tuition and housing deposit has to be sent in by 1/15. And what if it turns out that they cannot meet our demonstrated need?
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<p>Remember that it is the school, not you who determines what is considered "sufficient FA." This is why there is an old adage here on CC that if $$ is remotely an issue do not apply ED. With a 3000 EFC, you will be eligible for Pell, probably some TAP but it will not make a dent in the total bill (unless your kid is admitted HEOP, even then there will be loans).</p>
<p>I know in our house, when the need based, meeting 100% of demonstrated need (with a large amount of grant aid) kicked in, it was definitely less expensive for my D to attend her current school, than it would have been for her to attend SUNY, where we would not have gotten maybe some scholarship $$ but we would have been paying the bulk out of pocket.</p>
<p>If your daughter has not yet been accepted ED, have her change the app to regular decision ASAP. There are SUNYs that do have some nice scholarships, and there are those that do not. Binghamton, for example, gives very little non need awards. Buffalo gives generous money to kids with high stats. </p>
<p>As for private colleges, if your student applies to a school that meets 100% of need and their aid tends to be heavily weighted in grants, it is very possible to get more money from them than from a public university that does not meet 100% of need, and I don't know any that do. Also, there may be merit awards at private schools that can heavily subside the cost. That can also occur at some public schools but you and your student should have checked this out carefully before applying if cost is an important factor. For example, Arizona and Pitt have some great full rides for kids with the right profile. </p>
<p>As for the eligibility for $16,000 by an instant scholarship calculator, you had better be careful as to what that means. Being eligible does not necessarily mean getting the award. My son is "eligible" for all sorts of scholarships, but I doubt he will be getting those in the upper amounts, as I know well kids are out there with far higher stats. He just meets the minimums for consideration, and consideration does not mean he'll get anything. If FAFSA is showing a $3000 EFC, it does not necessarily mean that Profile which many private schools require would come up with the same amount since Profile goes further into asset investigation. Also some private schools meet financial aid with self help and just a bit in grants. </p>
<p>I recommend that you look at the USN&WR Ultimate Guide or subscribe to their website. It gives you a list of schools that meet need, showing the % need met and merit money. You can then look up the schools individually and get the average breakdown of scholarships and loans which would give you an idea of what you may expect in a package from that school. In any case, I would not go ED when financial aid is involved because you cannot compare offers and they tend to vary widely.</p>