nickmag94

My mom is not unemployed. She works pretty much full-time and makes probably around $600 a week. I know that's not alot but still something. To be honest I'm really not sure how much she makes but I know she works around 4 hours a day (usually making $100 a day.) She might end up making around $27-28k a year but for some reason that seems high. To be honest I'm not sure.

My dad alone makes a little less than 60k per year.

When I called the financial aid counselor, he said that my family's salary was too high to get more need-based aid, but a little low which is why I got SOME aid, just not alot.

mom2collegekids

My mom is technically unemployed, and my dad makes an average salary


Why did you write ^^^ and now you say that your mom is employed?

Anyway, something doesn't sound right. If your dad makes $60k and your mom makes about $25k, that sounds like too much for TAP...but maybe not.

kinderny

It could be the mom's wages are under the table so "technically unemployed". Would also explain why OP qualified for the FA. But as he said- he actually is not sure how much his mom makes.

cptofthehouse

You are in the situation that a lot of people are. According to the FAFSA which is what your school uses to determine financial aid, your family does have need if you go to that college. So the financial aid director is not being entirely truthful when he says your family makes too much money for aid. They make too much money to get any more state grants and too much for federal grants,but not for the school grants. They have chosen not to give you what they have as they chose to give to other students. The SCHOOL is saying that in writing, that , yes, you have need, and here are some loans that you and your parents may be able to take to pay for the need. And, oh, your parents can borrow more from the same source, the DIrect Loans, if they qualify, up to what the college costs minus any other student loans and grants.. So let us be clear on what that situation is. Your family has NEED to pay for school defined by FAFSA and EFC and what the school costs.

However, most schools do not meet full need. Most don't meet any and do exactly what this college has done, so this is not a terrible, isolated thing, but the way it works.

It's not that any of us are pushing you towards a community college. It's an option. A more affordable option than this school. You see right there what it is going to cost for you to go to college there. You and your parents are going to have to borrow money which you and they will be repaying long after the college experience is over. You will owe a lot less if you go to communty college for two years, or a local state school and commute, because you will then just have the commuting expenses and tution. Your parents can support you with the 3 squares and a cot. You can live at home for free and bag your lunch and snacks, eat dinners or other meals at home. That comes to a big piece of the cost. Your parents can pay that out in cash or loan if you go away to school, or absorb it with what they have if you stay at home.

lookingforward

Or Mom's job is not permanent, is on an as-needed or contract basis and thus figured into your aid package. You did say, earlier, that the parents could pay 8k. Just work the numbers. Ensure that all of you know the family budget, current financial obligations on the combined income, what's truly left over to pay college bills or make loan payments.

If your nut (COA-aid) is roughly 18k, parents pay 8k, and you take $5500 in Staffords, that leaves $4500- is that right? How will your parents pay that? That's the conversation to have, the details to confirm. Don't assume. And, most kids can't take that extra loan, it's parents. Either they can manage the costs now or they take PP loans. Remember, the total indebtedness wouldn't simply be your own loans, but theirs too.

Many parents here make those sacrifices to pay the school bills, tightening our belts to do so. But, this boils down to numbers, now and projected over 4 years of school and any long term loan payments. You have to have your eyes wide open.

cptofthehouse

Whatever the OP thinks the parents are making or have made doesn't matter. 2011 FAFSA has been filed, hopefully meshes with the tax returns, but the school isn't giving a dime. All that may be affected is the state TAP which amounts to a couple of thousand dollars and some Stafford loan subsidy, which is all the student got.

nickmag94

No my mom does have a permanent job. And yes, I called the school and asked them all this. According to them, a specific amount of financial aid is given to the freshman class. Apparently it is not NEED-based, but it is MERIT-based. And he said that there are limited opportunities for that since the school does not have much financial aid. Being a state school and all I don't think that's too shocking.

So that means the school probably gave those merit-based financial aid awards to students who were extremely high in terms of merit. Since New Paltz is a really good school, in order to get this scholarship you probably have to have SAT scores in the 1300s or 1400s (out of 2 parts) and a high GPA.

Another thing that might help people reading this: I asked the guy what a "SUNY Tuition Credit" was, and he said that a few years ago, SUNY tuition was increased, and so that small amount of money is them giving me a little bit of compensation for tuition being increased. Also, he referred me to apply for another loan that could get us 4 or 5k. Although I'm still not sure if it's a loan or free money.

annikasorrensen

A "loan" is something you need to pay back. Of course, you need to verify details, but it is almost guaranteed to be a loan and not freebie monies.

teachandmom

OP, I just wonder what other schools you applied to. Was this the best financial offer of any school? You asked how others do it? My D is at a private University and with Merit and grants plus her Stafford loan, we are left paying 11,000 a year, and we make a bit less than what it sounds like your parents make, and we have very little assets, so none of that comes into play. So, depending on the schools, the money they have to use for FA (state schools usually don't offer as much as some private schools), scholarships offered for Merit, etc, you can do better than what your family will pay. That is why the search is so important to begin with when considering colleges. My D was accepted to a "dream school" but it just wasn't affordable for us without risking stability. The school she is at now was affordable and pleased her, so a true "safety" all around!
Good luck to you..and my D has worked full-time every summer since turning 16, so keep job hunting so you can help yourself as much as possible!

mom2collegekids

Also, he referred me to apply for another loan that could get us 4 or 5k. Although I'm still not sure if it's a loan or free money.


loan


What was the name of it?

nickmag94

Other schools I got into:

-Brockport (got a 1k per year scholarship, however in order to keep it I would have had to stay dorming on campus and on meal plan. I live like 20 minutes away from the campus.)
-Oswego (got a small scholarship)
-St Bonaventure (got scholarship but still with tuition being EXPENSIVE it was still like $30k/year.)
-Fredonia, Purchase, no scholarships.

And then of course New Paltz, with no scholarships.

Probably financially the best bet for me would have been Brockport, but in the end I'd only probably be saving a few thousand a year. And I'd rather be at MCC than Brockport, to be honest. I absolutely hated Brockport -- it was way too close to my house (I live 10 minutes away from the school), the people there were rude, and overall it was just not what I wanted. I fell in love with New Paltz and if that means I have to pay a few more thousand per year, so be it. It's only a little bit in the grand scheme of things and I'd rather be somewhere I'm happy than be at a place I hated.

kinderny

If your parents are fine with coming up with $12K,
and (really important---->)you are fine owing what you will, then just move forward now. You don't need to justify where else you applied, and what scholarships you got from other places. (That said the $1000 per year difference between Brockport and New Paltz is rather small in light of your decided preference. ) So do your best to earn money in the summers, take advantage of work study to also reduce your money owed, and go for it. Good luck.

cptofthehouse

It's not a small difference. The cost of Brockport and New Palz is about the same, but you can live at home and only pay tuition at Brockport. That's quite a savings. As you got to know people, you could then find a room off campus, a job, etc and you would have a leg up being very familiar with the area.

It's going to be a tough go to go away to college. Please bear in mind that it is a privilege and luxury to do so, not something to take for granted, and people do have to work hard and sacrfice most of the time to get a college education. It is NOT the usual thing to go away to school. It's just been hyped up to be.

nickmag94

I understand fully that it is a luxury to do so. I have been working my ass off for two summers working just about full time in physically exhausting jobs. I understand the meaning of hard work and what going away to college means for me. However, I am not going to go to a college I don't like just to save a few thousand dollars. And I'm not going to be a 20 year old college student living in my parents' house.

It seems that everybody here thinks I am a selfish brat. Well, I guess that's the internet for you. People you don't know, judging you and thinking you something you're not. Whatever.

Thank you for all the answers everybody.

lookingforward

No one said you were a selfish brat. You asked and people answered from their perspectives. You did frame it, several times, as "I want." You did claim not to be very up on the core info needed to proceed with decsions.

The ultimate choice belongs to you and your parents. But, it's usually a good idea to take the advice to look at this intelligently, make informed decisions- rather than simply swing back to what you "want." If the financial stretch encourges you to do your best in college and make someting of yourself, we'll all be happy to hear about that, as the years go by. Best of luck. The end.