My son is deciding between 3 schools. He will be studying Physics at all and is in the Honors College at all.
1. University of Rhode Island- $6,000 merit, cost of attending $18,000.
Small physics department and do not have Astronomy or Astrophysics and cannot guarantee research opportunities. BUT- home state school, best friends attending, aid will not change over the 4 years.
2. UMass Amherst- $14,000 merit, after aid, COA will be $28,000. (w/out sister in school, may be 3K more)
Can double major in Astronomy and Physics, research opportunities for all the students. One close friend attending. 2 hour drive from mother.
3. U Wisconsin-Madison- No scholarship, large aid package, so COA will be $18,000
Also, good Physics program, have Astronomy and research opportunities. Far away from mom, but 5 1/2 hour drive from father. Have never visited.
He is really down to UMass and Wisconsin-Madison, but I am concerned about the financial aid at Wisconsin. What happens if my daughter decides to leave school mid-year, which she is considering? The biggest piece of his award is an out-of-state grant which seems to go away if the EFC increases by more than $1,500. Have you heard of siblings dropping out affecting someone’s current year aid?
Can you afford these schools after your son’s freshman year, if you no longer have two in college and your EFC increases?
Can afford URI and UMass, but if the OOS grant of $20K goes away completely at Wisconsin, then no.
If you are receiving an OOS FA grant based on your EFC, once your daughter leaves college and your EFC increases…your FA will decrease. If you can’t afford Wisconsin I would choose a different school.
UMass sounds like the best choice for his situation, as it not only offers the program he wants, it is affordable, and the opportunities for research are available. Wisconsin does not seem affordable. A two hour drive to UMass Amherst is not bad at all, and goes through a beautiful part of the state.
Is your son getting resident ( or MN Reciprocity) due to his dad? If so, that changes the max price if the aid goes away.
FA doesn’t usually change mid-year. One of my kids took a semester off and it did not change her sister’s EFC, which was set at the beginning of the school year.
Thanks for your thoughts. Their dad lives in Ohio, so no reciprocity.
If the FA does not fall off significantly, we can do Wisconsin. I will need to reach out to them and see how much aid changes after sibling in not in school (say after next year).
Glad to hear that the FA doesn’t change mid-year.
It feels like UMass is the best option as you can easily drive there. If costs go up, getting to and fro Madison might become a challenge.
Seems like the other student is currently in college… whether or not she leaves school mid year, wouldn’t she leave school eventually (if she stays in school, she will eventually leave school by graduating)? In that case, the potential change in FA due to having fewer students in college could still eventually happen.
If s school finds out about a change, they can and sometimes will change your aid mid year. Learned the hard way. Made me VERY careful in subsequent conversations with the FA folks. UMass seems like the best combo of his major and cost.
Update- I called the FA department at Wisconsin and was told even without daughter in school, the amount extra he would have to pay is just the EFC (which, even doubled, is manageable). And, his grant is a Promise award (which is based on my income), so they promise to meet the cost of tuition and fees for all four years. So glad I asked! Now, he just needs to decide where he would rather be.