GREAT news/bad news

[Serena]

My dd got an acceptance letter from the college that she really, really wanted to go to. She is so excited right now.

But then I read the financial info. That is still in the paper filling out process and hopefully they will take a little more pity on me than that.

 

[Dan Murphy]

That is great, Laurie, so happy for Brit. And yes, college expenses can be frightful. My best.

 

[Trish5768]

I can feel your pain. Hugs to you. I hope they will take more pity on you and myself as well. Congratulations to your daughter she must be thrilled.

Trish

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Congratulations!!

What school?

We are right now waiting to here from the schools DD applied to.

 

[Blondie]

Congratulations to Brittany!

 

[Pin Wizard]

Congrats to your daughter! College expenses are FRIGHTENING! I'm trying to fund my own currenlty. OUCH! I think it's time to put college on the back burner and get back to work for a while so I can spend that money at school.

 

[honeywolf7]

Congrats to your daughter.

 

[marlasmom]

CONGRATULATIONS. BTW read all the poop on financial aid. One of the magazines - maybe Newsweek has a whole issue devoted to it and I think - it's been a long time - Petersons has some very good info. what school.

 

[Serena]

Carol, she's going to Purdue U.

 

[catsrule]

Good luck to your DD.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

Purdue is Excellent! Congrats to her.

I know those bills can be frightening. I hope that Financial Aid office comes through for you with some nice grants.

 

[gina2000]

Go to your library and scour the reference section....look for scholarships and financial aid books. There is a ton of money that goes unasked for. If you find something that fits your daughter's interests and the foundation's criteria, you may have found a bit of gold at the BEGINNING of the rainbow!

Congratualtions to your daughter! Purdue is a great school!

 

[Beauty]

I agree with Gina!! There is so much "help" to be had you just have to read and read and research and then research some more!

Way to go Brit! I am so in awe of her ambition Laurie!!



Oh and I have spent the last 5 minutes looking at Kathy's clipart ....LOL!

 

[Rajah]

Good work and congrats to your DD!

 

[OhMari]

Anyway, congradulations on your daughter getting into Purdue. Our local General Practioner's kids go there. The oldest is a senior and he is an RA and he gets free tuition and room and board.

Granted there are scholarships out there, but they are very time consuming. I remember when my daughter was a senior in highschool, she had an actual portfolio to keep it all straight. She still applies, and she said it is like having a part time job Just be carefull, cause a lot of deadlines are in February and March.



Financial aid is very hard to get. My husband got laid off in October and I filed a reexamine paper for financial aid. You have to be laid off 3 months before they will even consider it though.
They found $250 grant for each semester, so she was able to apply the whole $500 for this semester. It would of been about what she owed, otherwise I paid the room and board and she borrowed the rest thru loans. When she graduates she will probably have about $30-40,000 in school loans. But I told her, you will always have your education. If she wouldn't have gone to school, about the only jobs around here are at a printing place, and she would be paying for a loan on a car that costs that much.

 

[powellrj]

great news, I don't envy the paperwork you have ahead of you. We did it last year, and it seemed to take forever for me to get it right!!!

 

[NHAnn]

Great news...congrats to your DD!!!!!!!!!!!That first acceptance letter is a great moment, eh??? My DD has been accepted to University of New Hampshire, one of her top 2 choices, still waiting to hear from the other 3 places she's applied.

My sympathies to you on the financial aid stuff Last week we had to file our FAFSA and the CSS Profile which a couple of the places DD has applied to require...they had a 2/1 deadline. (DD was poking fun at DH and me stressing out...she kept saying "Now you know how I felt with the application process all last fall!! The preliminary figures from the FAFSA say that our expected family contribution is more than what I earn in a year...(they assume that my DH her stepfather will support me and our household while all I earn pays for college I guess!)

HUGS to you both!!

 

[C.Ann]

Hi there!

I'm back to working in the college financial aid offices again and thought I would pass on a few tips to you..

First of all, if your DD is working, she should keep her yearly income below $2500 a year or it will hurt her chances of getting the best aid available..

Secondly, she should have no more than $3000 in assets in her name (bank accounts, trusts, savngs bonds, etc.).. If she does, get them out of her name and into yours - it makes a BIG difference in the FC.. Actually it's best if she has NO assets in her name so regardless of the dollar amount, you might want to move them anyhow..

Thirdly, do not do anything "major" in her senior year of high school - purchase a new car; buy a new home or refinance the one you currently have; etc..

Fourth - if there is no court agreement (in writing) stating that her father will contribute to her college finances, then they have to base it on only what YOU can afford..

Fifth - and most important - once you receive the aid package from the school, do NOT accept it automatically. Write them a "special circumstances" letter outlining why you can not afford the FC that is expected.. Many, many times those special circumstance letters suddenly "free up" a much better offer.. You can include things in the letter like expenses for your other DD's (tuition and such); health insurance premiums paid out of pocket -as well as all other medical/dental bills that are not covered (including co-pays and such); the fact that you're a single Mom; an expected loss of income in the coming year; etc.

I run these figures all day long and you would be surprised what a difference any of the above can make in aid packages.. Give it your best shot and you may be pleasantly surprised!

 

[dvcfamily41801]

Congratulations to your daughter!!!

 

[Duchie]

Congrats to your daughter! Purdue is a great school!