Student Aid Question

[raymaga 25]

Hi Everyone:

My daughter (Permanent Resident) who is currently living with us and attending college will be transferring to a 4-yr university in September. She has applied at 3 universities, has been accepted at 2 so far, and the financial aid packages we have received are very small, due to our family income.

My husband and I are unable to pay the remainder of the university expenses ourselves and we're wondering what some of you did to make up the difference between the financial aid granted and the total amount of university tuitition/expenses? We do not want to get any PLUS loans ourselves that you have to start paying back before graduation and my daughter can't get any PLUS loans herself until she's a grad student.

Any input would be appreciated.

[Amby 490]

apply for every scholarship possible. someone at the school should be able to tell you which she would qualify for.

[Empress of Groovy 373]

Is she not eligible to take out her own loans? (Aren't PLUS loans parent loans?)

[HAL 9000 96]

She'll have to file a FAFSA and then take out a Direct loan. Subsidized would be better.

Or...

she could try work-study on top of it if she qualifies. She may have to go on her own financially to qualify for other things. Have her meet with a financial aid adviser in addition to applying for loans. She still may be on time for some.

[Mononoke28 134]

After I realized that my parents could not pay for an out-of-state university, nor for my top choices which were NYU and Columbia, I cried for like a month. Then I realized that our local school, UNLV was not that bad. Tuition was way less expensive than the other ones I wanted to go to, I ended paying for all my tuition myself, got a great education and to this day it was the best experience of my life.

Looking at other schools is not so bad if you look at them with a different set of eyes.

Diana

[Empress of Groovy 373]

After I realized that my parents could not pay for an out-of-state university, nor for my top choices which were NYU and Columbia, I cried for like a month. Then I realized that our local school, UNLV was not that bad. Tuition was way less expensive than the other ones I wanted to go to, I ended paying for all my tuition myself, got a great education and to this day it was the best experience of my life.

Looking at other schools is not so bad if you look at them with a different set of eyes.

Diana

Yes, compared with private schools, state schools are a steal. I went to a state school and had no problem getting loans to cover my tuition (which was cheap, although this was in the 90s) and about half of my living expenses. I did work a lot to cover the rest of my living expenses and it took me five years to finish, but it was certainly doable. Neither of my parents was in a position to take out a parent loan, so that wasn't an option. I know that tuition is significantly higher now than it was 15 years ago, but if a state university is an option, I'd go for it.

I guess the tricky part concerns whether your daughter, as a permanent resident and not a citizen, would be eligible for a subsidized student loan.

[raymaga 25]

Thanks so much for your input everyone!!!

My daughter will be able to get loans herself (without a co-signer) as soon as she is a graduate student (after her bachelor's degree which she is still working on). So, we have about another 2 years where we will need to find ways to pay whatever is left after the student aid she is given.

She was given a subsidized Stafford loan for $4,500, but that's it. Her tuition/expenses etc. are estimated to be around $16,000 per year. My husband and I will pay for her books, and her Dad (in Canada) will also contribute some, but there will still be a lot left to pay.

We have already done the FAFSA and that's how they have calculated what aid she is eligible for. And since she is not a grad student, she can't get loans herself.

The 3 universities she applied to are state universities, not private universities.

I guess we're going to have to make the long drive to the top university on her list to see what they can offer (if anything) to help with the overage.

Any other comments would be greatly appreciated.

Edited April 25, 2008 by raymaga

[HAL 9000 96]

Then it looks like scholarships and a job are in order for her... good luck!

[raymaga 25]

She has applied for several scholarships, and we are waiting to hear if she got any of them.

If you are awarded scholarships, doesn't that just take away any financial aid you were offered? So, we'd lose the $4,500 subsidized Stafford loan if she gets any scholarships, right?

[Miranda&James 8]

She has applied for several scholarships, and we are waiting to hear if she got any of them.

If you are awarded scholarships, doesn't that just take away any financial aid you were offered? So, we'd lose the $4,500 subsidized Stafford loan if she gets any scholarships, right?

Well, I don't know. I don't know a lot about the whole deal beyond what I did. I had a full tuition scholarship, plus another half tuition scholarship (given to me as a check), and I also had student loans to help cover my housing costs. My student loans are from Direct Loans.

[Empress of Groovy 373]

Thanks so much for your input everyone!!!

My daughter will be able to get loans herself (without a co-signer) as soon as she is a graduate student (after her bachelor's degree which she is still working on). So, we have about another 2 years where we will need to find ways to pay whatever is left after the student aid she is given.

She was given a subsidized Stafford loan for $4,500, but that's it. Her tuition/expenses etc. are estimated to be around $16,000 per year. My husband and I will pay for her books, and her Dad (in Canada) will also contribute some, but there will still be a lot left to pay.

We have already done the FAFSA and that's how they have calculated what aid she is eligible for. And since she is not a grad student, she can't get loans herself.

The 3 universities she applied to are state universities, not private universities.

I guess we're going to have to make the long drive to the top university on her list to see what they can offer (if anything) to help with the overage.

Any other comments would be greatly appreciated.

I forgot to ask, is your daughter classified as an in-state resident for tuition purposes?

I seem to remember that the university's estimates for living expenses were on the high side. I was fortunate enough to go to college in a city with a very low cost of living (Tucson) and never paid more than about $450 a month for rent and utilities. There are lots of ways to cut living expenses, the most obvious being sharing living accommodation. In lots of places, renting a house or apartment with roommates and doing your own shopping and cooking is cheaper than living on campus w/ meal plans.

Pardon my ignorance, but why isn't your daughter eligible to take out her own loans as an undergraduate? I'm not sure I've heard of a student being eligible for loans only as a grad student, but things may have changed since I was in school. I took out all my undergraduate loans (federal) with no cosigner.

Edited April 25, 2008 by Big Agnes!

[HAL 9000 96]

No... Federal student loans are not underadjusted when a student receives a scholarship. Besides, most scholarships are merit-based, right?

[metta 0]

She has applied for several scholarships, and we are waiting to hear if she got any of them.

If you are awarded scholarships, doesn't that just take away any financial aid you were offered? So, we'd lose the $4,500 subsidized Stafford loan if she gets any scholarships, right?

I don't know about Washington state but NC has a good website for College planning with info on different types of loans.

here it is:

CFNC.org

[Amby 490]

She'll have to file a FAFSA and then take out a Direct loan. Subsidized would be better.

Or...

she could try work-study on top of it if she qualifies. She may have to go on her own financially to qualify for other things. Have her meet with a financial aid adviser in addition to applying for loans. She still may be on time for some.

unless you are married or over the age 24 you have to include your parents income on the FAFSA

[wally 0]

my daughter is also entering college next year.

not all scholarships are merit based but those are likely the ones she's applied for since I think athletic scholarships would have been already offered.

when we sent in our FAFSA, we sent them to the three colleges my daughter had been accepted to.

each college sends out a financial aid package. did your daughter receive a financial package from the other college she was accepted to?

also, this link has a ton of information: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financ...d-scholarships/