Parents of the Class of 2019

[mom2rtk]

Hey all,
I have been a lurker on this thread for awhile so I apologize in advance if this has been asked Dd has been accepted to two schools both offering scholarships we have filled out the FAFSA and my question is when will we be told about the financial aid an what we qualify for to determine which school will offer the best package? Thanks for any insight.

Welcome! I think different schools handle it differently. We have already gotten a full financial aid package from my daughter's school. Even seen it revised as her ACT was updated.

 

[mjkacmom]

Yes, we can do microwave/fridge. But, I know DD gets her late night pasta cravings LOL

Ds20 had a bad late night pasta problem, he had a microwave pasta cooker in his dorm.

 

[mom2rtk]

Yes, we can do microwave/fridge. But, I know DD gets her late night pasta cravings LOL

The microwave would be great. S&T didn't allow microwaves in the dorm rooms. When my son moved to a single studio apartment his junior year, it came with a microwave and that was a big improvement. But it does lose some value with such a small freezer section in the fridge. I think he subsisted on Ramen noodles and noodle packets for 2 years. Definitely a cost savings though.

 

[TB'sWidow]

Welcome! I think different schools handle it differently. We have already gotten a full financial aid package from my daughter's school. Even seen it revised as her ACT was updated.

Thanks any idea what kind of timeframe I might be looking at we just got acceptance from the second school this week offering a $25,000 a year scholarship but there was no other package info relating to financial aid. Dd is my third child but the first to go to college an with my husband being deceased I am overwhelmed with all of this

 

[bigbabyblues]

Thanks any idea what kind of timeframe I might be looking at we just got acceptance from the second school this week offering a $25,000 a year scholarship but there was no other package info relating to financial aid. Dd is my third child but the first to go to college an with my husband being deceased I am overwhelmed with all of this

Welcome! This is our oldest child, so our first time dealing with this. DS received something from his school the other day that they would start sending financial aid packages in January. It didn't say WHEN, just in January. It probably varies from school to school. He hasn't heard much from the other school that accepted him, other than they want us to pay a room deposit.

 

[TB'sWidow]

Welcome! This is our oldest child, so our first time dealing with this. DS received something from his school the other day that they would start sending financial aid packages in January. It didn't say WHEN, just in January. It probably varies from school to school. He hasn't heard much from the other school that accepted him, other than they want us to pay a room deposit.

Thank you I’ll be on the lookout then

 

[design_mom]

Thanks any idea what kind of timeframe I might be looking at we just got acceptance from the second school this week offering a $25,000 a year scholarship but there was no other package info relating to financial aid. Dd is my third child but the first to go to college an with my husband being deceased I am overwhelmed with all of this

This is our first time through this process too. I agree that it seems each school does things separately. My son has gotten merit scholarship offers from 2 different schools and both of them said that a full financial aid package would be coming later. One school said "in February" the other said "by mid-March." I don't think we'll be getting any need-based aid. I'm really not sure if I did something wrong in the FAFSA or they really expect us to be able to contribute that much. Our EFC was almost 75% of our yearly income! (We have generally been frugal people and have a decent amount of savings and I expected our EFC to be higher than the cost of attendance at the state-schools that DS is applying to, but I didn't expect it to be THAT high.)

 

[TB'sWidow]

This is our first time through this process too. I agree that it seems each school does things separately. My son has gotten merit scholarship offers from 2 different schools and both of them said that a full financial aid package would be coming later. One school said "in February" the other said "by mid-March." I don't think we'll be getting any need-based aid. I'm really not sure if I did something wrong in the FAFSA or they really expect us to be able to contribute that much. Our EFC was almost 75% of our yearly income! (We have generally been frugal people and have a decent amount of savings and I expected our EFC to be higher than the cost of attendance at the state-schools that DS is applying to, but I didn't expect it to be THAT high.)

thanks it is great to read what others have gotten or expecting. Unfortunately my life took a turn when I became a widow with three kids 16 yrs ago I was totally unprepared an did not save for Dd to attend college an I need to rely on financial aid a scholarship to bring cost down. Dd has been an excellent student an has worked hard for this.

 

[bigbabyblues]

Is she checking the emails from the school? I know they send a ton of them, but that is where DS' information came from. Maybe have her scroll through them and see if it says when to expect the financial package.

 

[mom2rtk]

I'm not sure how my DD knew her financial aid package was posted online. Maybe an email from the school. Maybe word from couple of friends she knows also attending Mizzou. But in addition to that, she got a big envelope from school last week that said "Financial aid package enclosed" on the outside. LOL. But then, when she was accepted, they also sent out a letter with the words "acceptance letter inside" on the outside of the envelope.

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

thanks it is great to read what others have gotten or expecting. Unfortunately my life took a turn when I became a widow with three kids 16 yrs ago I was totally unprepared an did not save for Dd to attend college an I need to rely on financial aid a scholarship to bring cost down. Dd has been an excellent student an has worked hard for this.

Also tell her to check her accounts at the schools. DD has gotten school e-mail addresses for all of the schools she's been accepted to, and there has been information in them as well. I'm not expecting to know our full picture until March when final acceptances and scholarships are announced.

 

[StephMK]

DS is our 3rd and final. It definitely depends on the school. He got accepted to UMN in October but they said the fin aid package would be mailed in March. UNL sent a scholarship notice with admissions and the full aid breakdown a month later.

The rest are not coming out until Feb/March and I expect the financial aid letters will be sent around the same time.

 

[MerissaAndMomLoveDis]

Anybody else's kiddo still churning out applications at the last minute?? Mine finished and hit send on two yesterday and did the essays for 3 more applications today (I think there were about 15 total essays for the 3 schools but she only had 6 or so left when I headed to work this morning) but hasn't finished editing/polishing them. I am not surprised she is getting them in so close to the deadline (Jan 1 or 2) because of her overloaded schedule during the last semester, but I had been hopeful she would not still be doing this at this point. She did all RD apps, and has 3 acceptances so far, but the remaining will all be late March notifications. I've said it before on this thread, but wow, this whole college applications thing has been way more than I ever imagined it would be. I had no clue. I'm so glad we have this page to support each other through this madness.

In good news, I gave DD a budget at the beginning of 2018 of $1500 to cover standardized testing, sending scores, college application fees and CSS profile fees. I just ran the numbers, and after she hits send on the last 3 applications, the final number will come it at $970! She was fortunate to get one fee waiver and the SAT was a free school day one at her high school.

 

[laughinplace199]

DS is working on his last application. He plans to have it done by Jan 1, but wants to have his college counselor look it over before he sends it. I think it's due the 15th. Can't wait to be done!

 

[wishesuponastar]

Wondering about what you would do....Daughter wants to go to first choice college but doesn’t have the financial package yet. Is insisting on going there no matter the cost but needs us to co-sign. Her major is only offered in 3 colleges in the country.

I don’t want her to have an exorbitant amount of debt. If she doesn’t go to this college the backup would require her to double major and when looking for employment would not have the reputation of first choice college.

Any advice how to handle this?

 

[MerissaAndMomLoveDis]

Wondering about what you would do....Daughter wants to go to first choice college but doesn’t have the financial package yet. Is insisting on going there no matter the cost but needs us to co-sign. Her major is only offered in 3 colleges in the country.

I don’t want her to have an exorbitant amount of debt. If she doesn’t go to this college the backup would require her to double major and when looking for employment would not have the reputation of first choice college.

Any advice how to handle this?

When will you receive the financial aid package and when is the deadline for her to accept the offer of admission (not sure if she applied ED?)?

 

[mjkacmom]

Wondering about what you would do....Daughter wants to go to first choice college but doesn’t have the financial package yet. Is insisting on going there no matter the cost but needs us to co-sign. Her major is only offered in 3 colleges in the country.

I don’t want her to have an exorbitant amount of debt. If she doesn’t go to this college the backup would require her to double major and when looking for employment would not have the reputation of first choice college.

Any advice how to handle this?

Dd22 had a similar situation, she was offered a financial package from a local college where she would’ve graduated debt free, but ended up attending another school with a much higher ranked business program. She ended up graduating at the top of her very large class and had a great job offer before she even graduated. Yes, she has a lot of debt, but is on a great career path. Who knows where she would’ve ended up at the lesser program. I think the major and future salary have an influence.

 

[wishesuponastar]

When will you receive the financial aid package and when is the deadline for her to accept the offer of admission (not sure if she applied ED?)?

No ED, I’m not sure when the deadline is.

 

[wishesuponastar]

Dd22 had a similar situation, she was offered a financial package from a local college where she would’ve graduated debt free, but ended up attending another school with a much higher ranked business program. She ended up graduating at the top of her very large class and had a great job offer before she even graduated. Yes, she has a lot of debt, but is on a great career path. Who knows where she would’ve ended up at the lesser program. I think the major and future salary have an influence.

Congrats to your daughter on all her accomplishments. My daughters major may have her only earning 50-60,000 to start. Plus she might have to move from home so there is living expenses too on top of loan payment. I think the financial package will be coming in soon.

 

[sk!mom]

Wondering about what you would do....Daughter wants to go to first choice college but doesn’t have the financial package yet. Is insisting on going there no matter the cost but needs us to co-sign. Her major is only offered in 3 colleges in the country.

I don’t want her to have an exorbitant amount of debt. If she doesn’t go to this college the backup would require her to double major and when looking for employment would not have the reputation of first choice college.

Any advice how to handle this?

Congrats to your daughter on all her accomplishments. My daughters major may have her only earning 50-60,000 to start. Plus she might have to move from home so there is living expenses too on top of loan payment. I think the financial package will be coming in soon.

I most likely wouldn't be cosigning.

Is this major only available at 3 schools because it's super niche and not very marketable? If that's the case, then a large amount of debt is a very bad idea. At her age, she likely doesn't realize just how bad an idea.