<p>our EFC is 8k
Rutgers just posted the FA awards online. the list price -tuition,fee, room/board is 19k. DD gets a 3500 loan and a work-study job.
16,000 due
Small LAC from Pope book -Eckerd
37,474 for tuition, fees, r&b. this is one airflight away in FL
DD gets merit award, grant, loans.
15,729 due</p>
<p>Some finances changed since DD2 applied to college, making paying tougher but not changed in a way the schools will take into account.
we already have 400 a month in student loan payments, and DD1 will be in grad school. DD1 will take on the entire cost, but if it comes down to her needing a bit more than she gets…</p>
<p>I also feel half-way to a breakdown not knowing where else she will get in, and what kind of package she will get. We have those “extraordinary expenses” and each school will review that differently.</p>
<p>We’re waiting for Holy Cross, Skidmore, Wooster, Fordham and St. Michael’s (who at best will, I think, match Eckerd). Anyone will x-ray vision, PM asap.</p>
<p>I know how you feel. This whole thing drove me crazy last year. Rutgers is simply not a bargain. How do they arrive at out of pocket at around 16,000 for both schools with an efc of 8,000? I don’t get it. Are they meeting your need by offering parent plus loans or something?</p>
<p>Your EFC is $8K. Is that doable or is that stretching it as well? Rutgers is $16,000-$8K EFC= $8000 gap</p>
<p>Little bit less gap at Eckerd.</p>
<p>Did you check or can somebody check the percentage of those who have 100% of their need met at HC, Skidmore, Wooster, Fordham and St. Michael’s? That way IF she does get in you have an estimate of what kind of gap you are looking at for those schools, if any. </p>
<p>My son applied and got into Fordham last year and received a substantial merit from them + pell+ loan+ WS= still a gap, but that was just our experience.</p>
<p>Is living at home for a year or two a possibility while attending Rutgers? Is the distance commutable? Keep in mind most freshman courses are offered in triplicate so taking classes only on M-W-F is a good possibility or even T-R but that one is more difficult.</p>
<p>If kiddo works full-time plus, all summer she could probably earn quite a bit towards the gap, but probably not the whole amount. Is there any chance of any outside scholarships?</p>
<p>We also have a very low EFC (hence the Pell grants) and many, many of the schools son was accepted to gapped. He did do his homework and made sure some of those he applied to did say they would meet 100% need. Albeit each has their own idea of HOW to meet that need. Some with lots of loans and maximum WS, others minimial amounts of both.</p>
<p>He did work his tail off for outside scholarships though.</p>
<p>Good luck and I am sure some of the other seasoned posters with have some great suggestions.</p>
<p>We have ALL been where you are now. Some of us more than others (4 times here!)</p>
<p>Breakdown and % in loans vs. grants can be checked on the CB. I did not find it accurate. The reason was that one school my S applied to meets 91% of need. They double dipped with the amount my S is responsible to pay. They explained that children should be responsible for a part of their educations, etc. Fine. The problem is that EFC takes this into account already. They tacked on over 4,000 additional dollars to our EFC as being part of son’s responsibility. They told him that this can be paid though earnings from summer employment. I needed his summer employment money to go for books and spending money.</p>
<p>I agree. Where do they get 16k? We have to pay the full bill, but at least it’s supported by the EFC calculation (mystery that it is!) I hope you wind up with at least one school that meets 100% of your need!</p>
<p>Yep, I had the same EFC and that sounds about right…my private school packages all left $15k or so and the OOS state schools were more because they didn’t give any grants. Was something different supposed to happen?</p>
<p>Watch the merit aid from Fordham though - a lot of it is not automatically renewable, and so you can be in for a shock year 2. Just check, that’s all.</p>
<p>My completely uneducated guess is that Holy Cross and Skidmore will be bad.</p>
<p>Rutgers without books etc is 19,000. The sub. stafford loan drops it to 16000, then they listed a workstudy of 2k but having been through 2 kids, 3 colleges including Rutgers - I don’t count on that.
When DS looked at schools Fordham met need and Skidmore did not, but most sites now seem to say it’s the reverse. On the fordham threads here kids posted the parent cost as 3xEFC and I think one was 7xEFC (probably a very low one?)
Holy Cross meets need and it’s got other Irish music lovers, Skidmore comes close, Wooster a bit less but has great program and bagpipes, St. Michael’s never meets need. Oops left out Dickinson, which has great anthropology and meets need. She is waiting to hear from those schools and St. Mary’s Maryland. Keep leaving that out too - I think cause oos, assuming not going to meet need.
I am not sure of her chances of admission at any of these schools. </p>
<p>I hate that there is such a short time between admissions/FA award arrival and picking a school.</p>
<p>“Watch the merit aid from Fordham though - a lot of it is not automatically renewable, and so you can be in for a shock year 2. Just check, that’s all.”</p>
<p>OldinJersey, I seem to recall you saying that your situation was a bit unusual, at least for FAFSA. If that’s the case, you may need to be prepared to sit down with some FA people when your daughter narrows down her choices and present your case. You might want to PM TheDad and/or Curmudgeon; TheDad was able to get a slight adjustment on his daughter’s FA package her freshman year by making a well-reasoned presentation; Curmudgeon is the grandmaster of unusual-by-FAFSA-standard circumstances, and he might be able to provide you with some tips.</p>
<p>Of course, if I’m remembering wrong, just ignore this post!</p>
<p>you are correct, we have a couple of unusual circumstances. I have written a letter of appeal based on extraordinary circumstances every single year since 1997. Or was there a break for 2002? sigh. lots of them at any rate.
We have very large out-of-pocket medical bills most years. We had constant income fluctuations up/down, some lay-offs. I am officially disabled by NJ law, though did not try for federal. Medical bills run from 8k to 20k depending on the year. We have had some adjustments in packages most years.
I will have DD1 in grad school starting in the fall. This then gets confusing. RU, Holy Cross, St. Mary’s Maryland all said they counted grad students as family members, and most said they counted her as In School, though some do not. Then we found out that depending on the school, they will likely leave DD1 out when figuring institutional aid.
One of the problems with appeals is that, depending on the school (RU for sure) the appeal goes to a committee and may not be considered to July or later. That is part of my breakdown. If the FA officer is able to adjust the package based on our situation, then I can bring all the bills, checks, paystubs etc right to a school. If an appeal is not reviewed til after May first, the school most likely would have to be off the list unless the initial offer is low enough that we think we can survive it they don’t give additional money. OHHHHH.
Cur - if you see this, PM otherwise I’m off to haunt you!</p>
<p>DD just got an acceptance to College of Wooster, which happens to have everything she wants. She’s thrilled, and they gave her a great merit scholarship, a grant, bit more in loans (3500 and 2000) but I think we can do this one!!
So now only a semi-breakdown!</p>
<p>Congratulations! I am so happy for you and your DD. I know that angst. I am so glad that you can semi-relax now! Was the deal better than or similar to Rutgers instate? I hope so. Wooster sounds like such a nice school. It is on our long, long potential list.</p>
<p>OldinJersey, kudos to your daughter on her acceptance! It’s is one of my favorites, although my daughter didn’t apply (she already had one school from Ohio on her list). When I first saw this posting, I thought, “COW will come through”, and I’m so glad my gut instinct was right. So glad that an acceptance with the “right” FA package came through for you and your daughter.</p>
<p>that leaves 10800 parent plus loan.
This is much closer to our EFC. The best part of it is that although RU is a great place, and the Douglass program wonderful, we have worried all along that it was not the best fit for DD2. College of Wooster sounds great, has every subject she wants to study, plus they have bagpipes. It is the school that excited her the most, and seems closest what kind of program will best teach her to think, write and grow.</p>
<p>oldinjersey, I remember your hesitation about class size at RU, and frankly I felt the same way about it when my oldest son was applying to schools. He never even applied to RU for that reason, as well as other reasons (ie: the buses etc.).</p>
<p>It sounded like your DD was enthusiastic about COW, so I am glad that she can attend! Fabulous. </p>
<p>It is a shame that there are not more affordable, wonderful options for kids in NJ, and so many kids get turned away from TCNJ that would like to attend. JMO.</p>