People assumed that I got a "free ride" because I was smart. While flattering, it really wasn't the truth. Being a top student got me into the school, but being "lucky" enough to come from a large poor family is what got me the financial aid. Some top universities, mine included, offer no merit-based aid. The assumption is that all accepted students are intelligent, so they reserve financial aid for those who cannot otherwise afford to attend.
Yes, if you have two students who are equally qualified in terms of academics, BUT one of them comes from a financially needy family, OFTEN scholarships take that into consideration. And I understand the theory: This student has suceeded in spite of not having had the benefits of a family that is able to provide enrichment activities, perhaps has not had the benefit of college-educated parents. Sometimes that's true, sometimes it's not true . . . but, yes, a student with financial need does have a leg-up on the scholarship competition.
There was a scholarship I was a shoe in for. I had top grades, an excellent application. It was a fairly big scholarship, but the pool of applicants was small (my fathers industry association). He knew all the other possible candidates, and had been president of the association.
It happens. I don't mean to say that unqualified students get the scholarships . . . but when two or more students are fairly close, sometimes the one with a social connection wins.
This -- and the previous comment -- are both examples of why you cannot assume that your tip-top student will absolutely win big scholarships. Too many factors come into play.
My earlier point was not about the top flight schools. My point was merely that for a good student, there is money available if they are open to a lower level school, probably a step below their dream school.
Yet my experience -- my experience with literally thousands of seniors over a 21 year teaching career -- is that this is true sometimes, but it is not a given. Hope for it, apply for it, give it your best . . . but at the same time, have another plan in the works so that if it falls through, you know how you're going to pay.
College is just like anything else, you need to do a ton of research. Honestly, DS applied to 13 schools, 12 accepted him & out of the 12 he received significant Merit at 10. The school he choose in DC is covering his tuition for the next 4 years & we pay his room & board. His goal was to graduate with less than $10,000 in debit so he could take loans for Grad school. In his sophmore year he is going to apply to be an RA & if he gets that he will them have his room & board covered.
That's wonderful, but it's also highly unusual. Most students could do as much research as you did and still not garner that type of result.
Books you can get used, borrow, or get online for cheap according to my son after speaking with kids at the school he is accepted.
Three of our state schools do not sell books: A textbook rental program is included in the tuition. Students go to the bookstore with a printed copy of their schedule, sign for the books, and -- provided they return them on time -- they pay nothing. It's a great program, and it says to the students, "Books are so important that we are going to MAKE SURE you have them." I don't see why all schools don't do this. I don't know why parents and students don't rally for it. My daughter's Chemistry book alone would've cost almost $400; however, her total book cost for the semester was $10 (for a consumable lab manual).
Sure, but in my experience, families with enough money to go to Disney regularly don't get a lot of need based grant aid - they primarily get loans - if they get anything at all.
Yeah, we did the FAFSA thing for our daughter's freshman year. We are
not high wage earners, but we do live frugally and save. It came back saying we should be able to pay the equivalent of her college costs TIMES TWO each year. So, if I interpret that correctly, it means that even when our second child begins college, we're still not getting any need-based aid.
What state are you in? My state doesn't give any scholarship money.
Most states do offer some scholarships -- most commonly they're offered for prospective teachers and nurses, and most commonly they're termed Scholarship/Loans, meaning that the student receives the money for 1, 2, 3, or 4 years . . . and promises to work in the state (rather than leaving the state) for 1, 2, 3, or 4 years after graduation. The Scholarship/Loan is repaid through service (and they can specify specific areas of greatest need). I had one of these, and my daughter has one right now.
But Pell Grants aren't designed for the middle class - they are designed for low income students. For 2011, 60% of Pell Grants went to non-dependent students - wards of the court, orphans, 24 or older, married, vets or active duty personnel. Of the remaining 40% of grants - 60% of those go to families that have an income of less than $30k a year. Its possible to get a grant if you have a higher income, but it isn't likely and not something that should be planned for. PARTICULARLY when we are trying to cut government spending at both State and Federal levels. If you want to get your kids through college with a minimum of loans (and both of those are IFs, not all kids are cut out for college and not all parents prioritize minimal loans) - don't go to Disney - SAVE that money for college.
Crisi, you can state facts all day long, but people who want to buy into the "If you just work hard enough at it, money will appear" idea will still believe it. And it'll work for some people, but it will not work for everyone; in fact, it will not work for the majority.
You'll only help pay if the graduate? So the kid who most likely can afford it gets help but screw the kid who just can't pass the math or has some life issue cone up that makes leaving the smartest choice....
This isn't a choice we've made, but I do know a couple families who've opted to have the kids take out loans . . . with the agreement that the parents'll pay back the loans ONLY AFTER graduation. The idea is that when the going gets tough (and that happens to 100% of college students at some point), knowing that those loans are out there can FOR SOME STUDENTS be a powerful motivator to keep pushing through rather than giving up.
I trust that each of us knows our own children best, and I trust that IF you choose to use this method, you know best what motivates him or her.
I love the posts where "college can be cheap if you make wise choices" and then say how their child goes to the major state U down the street and lives at home. Not all of us live in college towns!
True, but in my state, it's a rare student who doesn't live within an hour of SOME state school. An hour's commute isn't ideal, but it also isn't outrageous.
The larger point is that all of us, no matter where we live,
have options. It's up to each of us to examine all of those options. Money does matter when you're sending your child to college, and few of us can afford to say, "Anything you want, dearie!" Yet that seems to be the way we approach the college decision: Choose what you want, THEN try to figure out how to pay for it. When we use that method, loans often seem inevitable.
But I firmly believe that they need to have skin in the game. I went to school with a lot of kids with parents who just wrote a (BIG) check every semester for their tuition, room and board. And I watched them party and not take it all very seriously. They thought once they were accepted at a big name school, their work was over. And I watched a some of them leave after that first semester.
