Financial Respect 101

anxiousmom
Sat, 07 Jul 2007 15:53:43 +0000

We lucked out and both kids got accepted to, and will attend, a school that meets 100% of need, as determined by FAFSA and PROFILE. Most kids get grants, plus $1800 work/study, plus student loan (capped at $14625 for the full 4 years.) Some kids get merit aid, and/or preferential packages with all grants and no workstudy or loans. With two kids in college this coming year, the amount we pay out of pocket is almost the same as with just one kid in college. (A tiny bit more, but easily explained by contribution from son’s assets.) It is very important for those of you choosing a college to ask questions about how your college will change packages in future years. Ask how much the student loan indebtedness is for student’s who take out loans (not averaged over ALL students, including those who don’t have loans!), ask how much work/study is in the package, and ask if it changes each year. Ask if there is a gap, and if so, how much. And get the USWNR and look at all the financial aid information. If the college only meets 70% of need, chances are NOT good that you will get all your need met, unless you are in the top, top of the entering class and they give you preferential treatment. Ask your questions to Financial Aid in an email, so that you can refer back to their own answers if a question arises. Getting stuck with a big increase or big gap during senior year is awful, but should not be unexpected if you have done your homework. It is important to go into this with eyes wide open! :(