Vent-DD got college financial aid summary

[karliebug]

My DD is an A student, planning on attending a state college (Penn State, local campus). We filled out the FAFSA, which said she doesn't qualify for federal aid based on our income. She received her financial aid letter today which basically says she can take out a loan for $3500 but that we will need to foot the rest of the bill-about $14,800. Oh, but we can for a fee of $50 spread it out for 10 months for $1480 per month plus the $50 fee. How many people have an extra $1480 per month sitting around???? We have no savings, and lots of credit card debt, a mortgage, a car payment, etc.etc. She has applied for lots of local scholarships but they are for a few hundred dollars and frankly, I don't know if her chances are very good for getting those. I guess I'm just venting, but I don't really know what we will do. She works part time but most of her earnings go to gas money,clothing,etc. She will work full time this summer.I plan on calling the financial aid office on Thursday (when I'm off work) to see if there is anything else they can do for us or if she can at least qualify for work-study. Thanks for listening.

 

[maggiew]

Maybe she can try to go to a community college for the first 2 years and work her way through? It is cheaper to go to a CC and it might make it more affordable.

Maggie

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Her letter should have included any work study she is eligible for. Just a tip, wait a little bit until kids start accepting/regecting schools. Call the school (or even better...send it in writing) and tell them that this school is DD's first choice but the financial aid package isn't what she hoped and ask them to reconsider. She may get more $$$. You see, they are offering a bunch of financial aide to kids who won't be going to that school. SOOO, they will have all that money laying around and WILL give more out after the initial letters are sent out. I did this and ended up with more scholarship money AND work study for my top choice school.

 

[bumbershoot]

Things might have changed since I was in college, but ALWAYS contact the financial aid people at the college that has been chosen. Each year I sas rejected for financial aid entirely, and each year my mom sent a letter of explanation to the aid office, and soon after that the offers (mainly loans, a few grants, lots of work study) were available to me.

 

[Lisa_M]

Having been in your daughter's situation (as millions of other students have been) options are very limited. Even if she qualifies for work study, it really won't make a dent in that bill. Your options other than a payment plan, are have her wait a year and work like crazy to save up money, go to school full time (or part time) and work to try to pay as she goes, take out a Parent Plus loan (federally guaranteed and begin payments after 6 months) or have her take out a private student loan (interest rates are based on credit scores and variable). I went the private loan route and it wasn't the best idea, but the best idea for me at the time.

Is she living at home? You said local campus, I don't know if that means you live in State College, or if she is attending a satellite campus in your hometown. If she can live at home, that would greatly reduce the bill and be my recommendation, even if she has to take a private loan to cover the rest of the bill.

Good luck!

 

[petchie]

Maybe she can look at one of the PASSHE schools that are state funded? (Penn State is a public, not a state school even though everyone thinks it is a state school) http://www.passhe.edu

Much cheaper than Penn State!

 

[ajk912]

I know this doesn't help your situation, but it just blows my mind that it's just ASSumed by nearly every college out there that parents are able and WILLING to contribute to their children's education. That just blows my mind. Sheesh. My parents couldn't even be bothered to fill out the FAFSA....they say it wasn't worth their time. Guess who had a REALLY rough time going to college because of it?

 

[EthansMom]

Has the college contacted her regarding Merit Scholarships yet? Also, if she has any idea what she'd like to study, she should contact the head of that department at the college and ask if there are any scholarships available for incoming freshmen.

Good Luck!

 

[Mocharilla]

Maybe she can try to go to a community college for the first 2 years and work her way through? It is cheaper to go to a CC and it might make it more affordable.

Maggie

This is what I'm doing.

She may not want to do this, but at that high of a cost, it's honestly a better idea.

Remember, her future jobs will only care that she got a BA or BS from the 4-year college and not worry where she got her AA from.

 

[alittlepixxiedust]

I'm not sure where you live in PA, but from my understanding if you are a full time employee of Penn State which also includes the Hershey Medical Center your children would automatically qualify for a 75% tuition reduction. I think part time employees also get a reduction but there is a waiting period.

You said the campus is local so this might be worth looking into.

 

[Jeninindy]

My DD is an A student, planning on attending a state college (Penn State, local campus). We filled out the FAFSA, which said she doesn't qualify for federal aid based on our income. She received her financial aid letter today which basically says she can take out a loan for $3500 but that we will need to foot the rest of the bill-about $14,800. Oh, but we can for a fee of $50 spread it out for 10 months for $1480 per month plus the $50 fee. How many people have an extra $1480 per month sitting around???? We have no savings, and lots of credit card debt, a mortgage, a car payment, etc.etc. She has applied for lots of local scholarships but they are for a few hundred dollars and frankly, I don't know if her chances are very good for getting those. I guess I'm just venting, but I don't really know what we will do. She works part time but most of her earnings go to gas money,clothing,etc. She will work full time this summer.I plan on calling the financial aid office on Thursday (when I'm off work) to see if there is anything else they can do for us or if she can at least qualify for work-study. Thanks for listening.

I feel your frustration!!!!

We got the same "financial aid" package. Stafford Unsubsidized Student loan for $1750 per semester at an interest rate which is currently 6.8% with a 2.5% origination fee.....

Thankfully, DS is going to Indiana University, which is a state school, tuition is currently $187.50/credit hour - so for a full load of 15 credits plus assorted fees and books - each semester will be approx $4000. He is paying half of his tuition (sort of - he doesn't know his half is going in a special bank account) and we are paying the "half." Oh and he is living at home for at least the first two years.

We have hunted down just about every scholarship we can find and he has submitted a ton - unfortunately most of the scholarships also have a "need" stipulation, so we shall see what happens.

He has had a tough time in school and has worked his butt off to get where he is - his GPA is 3.6, he has Asperger's and still has an IEP, but has been on his own without special services for 2 years. He has worked part time since he was 15 and does have $8,000 saved so far, but even that counted AGAINST him when we were being analyzed for financial aid. He will probably have another $3000 saved by the time school starts - but that will count against him next year for financial aid. Go figure........have to stop teaching him that work ethic.

Our FAFSA said that we could afford to pay $30,000 a year for college - LMAO, I wish I knew where I put that "EXTRA" $30,000.......Oh wait, I know $10,000 went towards medical bills, looking under the mattress for the rest............

 

[barkley]

I feel your frustration!!!!

We got the same "financial aid" package. Stafford Unsubsidized Student loan for $1750 per semester at an interest rate which is currently 6.8% with a 2.5% origination fee.....

Thankfully, DS is going to Indiana University, which is a state school, tuition is currently $187.50/credit hour - so for a full load of 15 credits plus assorted fees and books - each semester will be approx $4000. He is paying half of his tuition (sort of - he doesn't know his half is going in a special bank account) and we are paying the "half." Oh and he is living at home for at least the first two years.

We have hunted down just about every scholarship we can find and he has submitted a ton - unfortunately most of the scholarships also have a "need" stipulation, so we shall see what happens.

He has had a tough time in school and has worked his butt off to get where he is - his GPA is 3.6, he has Asperger's and still has an IEP, but has been on his own without special services for 2 years. He has worked part time since he was 15 and does have $8,000 saved so far, but even that counted AGAINST him when we were being analyzed for financial aid. He will probably have another $3000 saved by the time school starts - but that will count against him next year for financial aid. Go figure........have to stop teaching him that work ethic.

Our FAFSA said that we could afford to pay $30,000 a year for college - LMAO, I wish I knew where I put that "EXTRA" $30,000.......Oh wait, I know $10,000 went towards medical bills, looking under the mattress for the rest............

may be too late for you but just as an fyi-if you have medical bills or expenses due to a medical situation (lost wages due to md appts/days off, perscriptions, co-pays...) you can contact the financial aide adminstrator at a child's college and request that they recompute the fed figures based on actual expenses vs. the set formula they use. this can result in a student becoming eligible to grants they otherwise would not be. i suggested this to a friend whose dh had an unexpected injury that impacted their finances and sure enuf her dd received some grants she was not previously deemed income eligible to

 

[Vijoge]

a She received her financial aid letter today which basically says she can take out a loan for $3500 but that we will need to foot the rest of the bill-about $14,800.

I hear ya. They think we can pay $13, 500 and DS can borrow $2700.

 

[Gillian]

He has worked part time since he was 15 and does have $8,000 saved so far, but even that counted AGAINST him when we were being analyzed for financial aid. He will probably have another $3000 saved by the time school starts - but that will count against him next year for financial aid. Go figure........have to stop teaching him that work ethic.

This is one of the problems for hard working students. Most of what they have saved or what they earn during the year is expected to be spent on tuition.

I've been trying to tell this to my SIL for a while, but she really doesn't believe believe anything I say, even about Disney. Their FAFSA says they can afford 20k this year.

We're still figuring this all out, our kids are only 4 & 7.

 

[Teacher03]

I feel your pain....we are currently trying to figure out how to put our third (and last) through college. We just got one through at a cost of $120,000 (we paid about half), our son will be a senior in college next year, and now we have our youngest. We do not make alot of money. I'm a teacher and I have to go back to school to get my masters (it's required), and we just can't do it. We haven't received her financial aid package yet, but I have been worried about it daily. We know what to expect with our son, but I don't know what we will do with two. I am going to have to get a second job, which I really don't want to do. It is just so depressing...I feel we will be paying for college for the rest of our lives.

 

[MissMommy928]

I'll be graduating with my Bachelors in May and my school is 23,000 a year. I didn't qualify for financial anything my first two years, and took out at least 4,000 in loans every semester after just to pay what financial aid couldn't the other 2 years. I"ll be graduating with about 65,000 in debt. Obviously it's not ideal, but at least i have the opportunity to live with my parents and pay off that debt in 2 years. I won't let it accrue that assinine interest they're charging.

Why not go to a community college and then transfer into the state university? It's such a cheaper way to go. Gen eds are just gen eds. You can do them anywhere. Transfer to the university when the credits count towards the degree of choice. You'll save so much money in the longrun!

 

[HaleyB]

They expect parents to borrow money to finance their children's education. Not that I think anyone should, but that is why there are parent loans available.

I had to lol when I saw our family contribution for our son 3 years ago. Never in a million years did I think we would be able to pay it, and we can't. But by cutting back as much as possible, in every way anyone has ever suggested on these boards, we have been able to get by without loans. Next year, his last, we will have to sell some stock to cover tuition. As soon as he graduates one of us is getting a new car! Not having a car payment is part of what made it possible for us, that got is about 1/3 of the way there.

In addition to work study the department she is going to may have some non-work study jobs. Mostly those go to Grad students, but it never hurts to ask. If there is anything that is an unusual expense, medical, job loss, anything, let the Finical aid department know. The FAFSA numbers can be adjusted so long as they can show proof of the income loss/expense.

 

[wendy darling]

My DD is an A student, planning on attending a state college (Penn State, local campus). We filled out the FAFSA, which said she doesn't qualify for federal aid based on our income. She received her financial aid letter today which basically says she can take out a loan for $3500 but that we will need to foot the rest of the bill-about $14,800. Oh, but we can for a fee of $50 spread it out for 10 months for $1480 per month plus the $50 fee. How many people have an extra $1480 per month sitting around???? We have no savings, and lots of credit card debt, a mortgage, a car payment, etc.etc. She has applied for lots of local scholarships but they are for a few hundred dollars and frankly, I don't know if her chances are very good for getting those. I guess I'm just venting, but I don't really know what we will do. She works part time but most of her earnings go to gas money,clothing,etc. She will work full time this summer.I plan on calling the financial aid office on Thursday (when I'm off work) to see if there is anything else they can do for us or if she can at least qualify for work-study. Thanks for listening.

Has she thought of trying for a loan with Sallie Mae? I think they are loans for education.

 

[ZPT1022]

I know this doesn't help your situation, but it just blows my mind that it's just ASSumed by nearly every college out there that parents are able and WILLING to contribute to their children's education. That just blows my mind. Sheesh. My parents couldn't even be bothered to fill out the FAFSA....they say it wasn't worth their time. Guess who had a REALLY rough time going to college because of it?

I was in a similar position- my dad died when I was 11 and my mother had remarried by the time I was off to college. Step "father" was certainly not paying anything for me to go to school but his six figure income definitely hurt my chances. I went to a year and a half of community college because it was what I could afford to pay for. I had wanted to go to a state school which would have cost less than $10,000/year, including room & board. My expected family contribution was almost $20K Like that happened.

The FAFSA is really screwed up.

OP- good luck. Hopefully you will get somewhere when you call the financial aid department. Search out every source of aid you can possibly think of- your church, your DD's former schools, community stuff, if she knows what she wants to do, try professional organizations for that field of study (which may help with internships down the road too). Good luck to you and to your DD, I hope it all works out for you

 

[Jeninindy]

Has she thought of trying for a loan with Sallie Mae? I think they are loans for education.

You cannot just apply for those loans - you have to qualify for them via the FAFSA.......

They tell you what you can and cannot have.....bless their hearts....sorry, bless the computer's hard drive.....