<p>USmominuk, Take a look at Southern flagship universities, particularly LSU, Alabama, Auburn, Ga Tech and Clemson - she will not be able to swim competitively at these schools unless she is very good (Olympic caliber for Auburn, for example), but the price is right (except maybe Ga Tech), and the education is good. LSU, in particular is good, I think because of the big chemical industry in that area, and Alabama is a real bargain, and the engineering school is not too shabby (cutting edge automotive engineering, search Mercedes).</p>
<p>Thanks cangel. That’s the confirmation I’ve been looking for, I guess, that the southern direction might be the way to go. But yes, not swimming would be a problem and so would Olympic level! We will check these schools out, though.</p>
<p>I think Florida has a good swimming program and is not too expensive.</p>
<p>I would suggest she applies to a range of schools, then evaluates the financial aid packages when she gets them. You may be suprised! Because you are so close to retirement age, some schools require a lower contribution from you - because they know you will be retiring soon. Some schools who use the PROFILE do not count home equity as a factor - but just look at it to see that it is in line with your other financial information. I suggest you read the financial aid webpages of your daughters favorite schools, then email your questions and circumstances to them directly. Now is a good time, before they get really busy in the Spring. (By the way, have you tried one of the online calculators to find your estimated contribution?? ) Also, is your daughter a US or British citizen? (Sorry if I missed this information). It will make a big difference. Not all universities give financial aid to international students.</p>
<p>For Sgiovin1: ? why did you take an home equity loan rather than a PLUS loan?</p>
<p>I think it was due to the fact that the home equity would mean we would pay lower taxes?? The taxes on our house are 12000/yr. We had very little mortgage payments and we had high income…so to lower our personal income taxes we took out a home equity loan. Of course we then refinanced at a lower mortgage rate and paid off the home equity loan. We just recently took out a new home equity at a very low interest rate but have not used any of the money yet. We will in the next year for home improvements and in case we need more money for her tuition. The home equity I understand does not show up as assets. If I am correct, the PLUS loan has a higher interest rate than the home equity and I am not sure if it is tax deductible. i could be wrong.</p>
<p>Wow, there is so much in this thread that I am having trouble focusing on the issue at hand. USmominuk, am I right in assuming that you are US citizens living in Britain with a daughter who wants to go to school in the US with mid to upper mid range SAT scores and wants to study engineering, and you are limited in college funds? If that is the case, you need to do several things. You need to focus on engineering schools with SAT scores where her numbers will be in the upper 25%. She will be more likely to get a generous financial package and be considered for merit aid that way. As a female in engineering she will be at some advantage for this. Some schools to consider are Kettering, IIT, Drexel, Clarkson, Stevens Inst, Rose Hulman. As Nedad wisely suggests, you need to research this venue carefully. I also suggest picking up the USNWR Ultimate College Directory to get aid stats on the schools you end up selecting so you can see what the likelihood of aid will be. As US citzens, you will be able to get PLUS loans to supplement any package your daughter receives, and the interest rates are pretty good these days. They will give you 10 years to pay off each year’s tuition is what it come down to with these loans. I am not familiar with the home equity situation in Britain so I cannot comment about that. But colleges do not care where you come up with the money, and though they may suggest a home equity loan, they do so because they are generally an easy source of loan money for most US families, not because the colleges want the money from that source.</p>
<p>Frenchmom, yes, US financial aid is very confusing. Basically, this is a capitalist society and you are expected to pay for your children’s college situation. The federal financial aid program in place is very basis and tends to pay only for those with very low incomes,and even then cannot pay for most private colleges. And most school use family income as the measure of affordability. So step parents are on the hook even if they will not pay, there is a prenup stating they will not pay. If you got it, particularly in salary, you gotta pay it or your kid cannot go to college. I know many kids who are not in college or are picking off one course at a time at a local school as they work full time because their family situations are such that the family would not pay. A bulk of these kids have a complicated family with steps, and halfs, and all kinds of contract obligations. Doesn’t matter. Also high mortgages and debts are not going to cut it with the financial aid offices. If the father feels that an expensive house is more important to him than his children’s education, then that is tough luck for the kids. </p>
<p>My suggestion is to look for a variety of prices for schools for your kids including the California system since their father lives there. The colleges there have excellent reps and are inexpensive relative to the other options. Also look at schools where your kids would be high stats kids and where a lot of merit aid is available. Certainly apply for financial aid–I suggest you run through a sample form–I believe there is info at the beginning of this thread directing you to some sample apps, and see where you stand. Some colleges will take into account tuition being paid at other private schools, and you should let all of the schools where your son is applying know about that though it is not necessarily a line item on the apps. Good luck in this process both of you!</p>
<p>USMOMINUK: Be careful about Stevens Inst of Tech for your D. My D did get into that school and they gave her generous scholarship monies…and they also lure you in with the thought that they will give you the fifth year for free if your child does not graduate in four years. Sound too good to be true? The down side is that it is primarily a commuter school for kids who live in NJ and she will be somewhat alone on weekends…and the school spirit is so…so. If you truly want a more diverse experience, try Carnegie Mellon. My D opted to go there instead and is having a great time with good academics to boot. They are also looking for girls and are very generous with the financial aid packages. GOOD LUCK!</p>
<p>Jamimom - you have our situation pretty well understood, with the exception of our being too old to take out loans other than equity, for which we now find I’m too young! The other problem is that D is considered Oxbridge material here and wants the equivalent uni there (but won’t re-take the SAT) AND better weather, as well as competitive swimming! I’m guessing she’ll see if anyone means what they say about considering the whole picture, not just test scores, and if they won’t she’ll give up the dream of going to America for college. But we won’t give up yet. I do appreciate all suggestions and information because I was really ignorant a month ago about much of this.</p>
<p>Yes, thank you Jamimom. We got the EFC thing figured out and now understand that we can do this as when the younger kids go to college we will still pay the EFC. Husband is happy to pay but we were a little afraid with 6 kids between us!</p>
<p>USMOMINUK, may I comment about a few issues with the caveat that I am no expert on any of them (g).</p>
<p>Competitive swimming- if your D is a super swimmer she could be recruited to Division I schools but there is a catch with the most competitive of them and that is that she will be there to swim and academics have to fit in around the training program. A friend of mine has a daughter who was being recruited heavily for women’s softball by very competitive Div. I schools with the best programs in that sport, full ride, etc. But after an interview with one coach who told her point blank that “if you come here your time will be mine for the next six (not four) years” she refocused her plans on less competive programs. She realized in the long run that her education was going to provide her with a livelihood and not her softball skills. She still went Div. I but at a school where she could expect to finish in four years. Division III schools often have competitive programs in specific sports, more emphasis on academics but offer no athletic scholarships (see below).</p>
<p>Engineering- a female would have an advantage at many programs because of the dearth of women in the field and women are as a result often heavily recruited. Same goes for math and many of the sciences. She may be a candidate for merit scholarships based on her area of interest. </p>
<p>Swimming + engineering- I don’t have much knowledge of schools that can meet both requirements, but I do have some knowledge of one school’s situtation which I will use as an example. My D attends Kenyon which has a 3-2 engineering with Case Western, Rensselaer Polytech and Washing U.
<a href=“http://www.kenyon.edu/x13549.xml[/url]”>http://www.kenyon.edu/x13549.xml</a></p>
<p>And women’s swimming has won 20 out of the last 21 Division III titles (a record bested only by the men’s 25 straight titles).
<a href=“http://athletics.kenyon.edu/x60.xml[/url]”>http://athletics.kenyon.edu/x60.xml</a></p>
<p>A few swam in the Olympics but not for the US.
<a href=“http://www.kenyon.edu/x18595.xml[/url]”>http://www.kenyon.edu/x18595.xml</a></p>
<p>While she won’t get an athletic scholarship in Div III, if she has an outstanding academic record, especially in math and science, she could qualify for a merit scholarship.
<a href=“http://www.kenyon.edu/x10027.xml[/url]”>http://www.kenyon.edu/x10027.xml</a></p>
<p>Weather- well, in Ohio the winters are “bracing” shall we say, so perhaps that rules it out. </p>
<p>My point is that you could find schools that are not the obvious engineering or swimming locations that could provide an excellent education and still match her interests with a greater likelihood of merit aid in addition to what ever you might get in the way of need based aid. But you will have to search a bit to find them and then evaluate them carefully to be sure that they still meet your requirements. I have heard many good and a few bad things here on CC about the 3-2 engineering programs.</p>
<p>At the other end of the size scale, if you want warm weather,
<a href=“http://search.weather.yahoo.com/climo/USAZ0233_f.html[/url]”>Seattle, United States - Weather Forecasts | Maps | News - Yahoo Weather;
competitive swimming,
<a href=“http://thesundevils.collegesports.com/sports/c-swim/asu-c-swim-body.html[/url]”>http://thesundevils.collegesports.com/sports/c-swim/asu-c-swim-body.html</a>
and engineering
<a href=“http://www.fulton.asu.edu/fulton/[/url]”>http://www.fulton.asu.edu/fulton/</a>
with a fairly aggressive policy of offering merit scholarships to attract top students, you could look at ASU.</p>
<p>Gawd, that was a long, rambling post. What was the original question?</p>
<p>Take a look at some top D-3 swim schools such as Kenyon, Denison, Washington U, Emory, Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon U, CAse Western. Though they do not have athletic scholarships, they do give out merit awards and being a participating NCAA athlete in swimming has clout at these schools. By looking at the top NCAA schools last year in each division and looking at the times that these kids sport, you can get an idea where your D falls. I know a young lady who is on a full swim scholarship at Drexel and is enjoying it there. Gannon is a smaller catholic school (don’t know about the engineering there) that gives out money. Many of the catholic schools are in that category-Wheeling Jesuit, Villanova, LaSalle. Bucknell, Lafayette, Lehigh, compete against each other in swimming and have strong coaches and program along with good engineering programs. Pennsylvania has a number of D-2 schools that give athletic scholarships for swimmers, and the tuition is reasonable even for out of staters-Clarion, Edinboro, Slippery Rock, Millersville, West Chester, Shippenburg,Indiana U of Pa, etc. I am randomly naming schools that are off the top of my head that gives lots leeway for swimmers as the sport is important to the school and there are many, many more. UFlorida is a top swim school, I believe and her times would have to be in the national range to be competitive. But Mary Washington in Virginia is a lovely school with a strong swim program and a low price tag. Most of the flagship state colleges have very competitive swim programs, and your D would need to have superb times in order to be recruited there.</p>
<p>I don’t remember thinking that you are too old or young for home equity loans in Britain. I just don’t know anything about that situation, and that is something you need to discuss with an expert. It seems to me you have already investigated that venue and came up empty. </p>
<p>There are some low tuition school in the US as well, such as Grove City, York College, Washington College in MD (lots of merit aid), and some of the southern state schools such as Mary Wash, College of Charleston, UNC Asheville. Some have swim teams as well. The book I recommended will let you know under each college blurb if the school has a NCAA swim team and what division the sports are in.</p>
<p>We also looked at refi - equity - Line of Credit. Found current PLUS program too good. We are in similar situation but without your higher income and RE taxes. </p>
<p>Fire your Banker! He/she probably cost you $n0,000 bucks. Your bank probably also has PLUS loans; IF not, look at literature that CMU gave out. In your state, try Citibank as the lender and PHEA-/AES as the servicer agent. </p>
<p>PLUS are currently at ~4.10% for A clients; Interest is deductible regardless of your income or your itemization status. If you pay, while in school, you may pay interest only, or some other amount (you can chose any amount and make payments as often as you want/month) which then gets you a discount on interest to 3.77%. . Interest is simple interest NOT scheduled as in a home loan. Consolidate the PLUS every year and get a locked interest rate of 1/2% off the then current rate or 3.50% (today’s, rounded to next 1/4%,) for as long as 30 years or less depending on consolidation amount. You may borrow as much as total costs of school regardless of direct financial and income. There is also a life insurance policy that is built into the program/no cost. Check it out.</p>
<p>My banker/advisor is my husband!! I suppose he should be fired! But thanks alot. I will copy this and save for future reference. We have not used our home equity loan to date so we still might be eligible for the PLUS at some point.</p>