That amount would require parent cosigning or parent loans, since it exceeds the federal direct loan limit.
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Are there any admissions for the student without the full ride with net prices below $30k without the uncertainty for future years that Penn has?
I know it very well. I am thinking $50K for each kid. I think $27K in Federal loans and the rest in private if needed. I believe $50K is a reasonable amount for their intended major. And this is maximum. The goal is just to have Federal loans
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Yes, they both got into Rutgers Honors College with $10K scholarship, I believe it would be below $30K
It makes a lot of sense, but I canât do it to him.
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I donât know if it makes any difference to your calculations, but one thing to consider is that you wonât be paying your kidsâ food bills for much of the year (since itâs already covered in the cost of attendance) and you also wonât be paying for ECs or other costly activities they may have incurred as high school students. That can sometimes help with cash flow considerations. These are things we took into consideration when determining college affordability.
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Looks like net price would be $22k of billed costs, $29k including assumed unbilled costs (books, personal/misc., etc.).
In other words, it looks like one twin has two financially safe options (Maryland and Rutgers) and the other twin has one financially safe option (Rutgers).
What did you tell them about financial limits before they applied?
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This is a wonderful, but tough position to be in, especially since youâre dealing with twins with similar interests. Youâre torn between finances, wanting to be fair, and giving to each child what each one needs.
Twin 1 should absolutely take the full ride at U Md. Great school overall, not too far from home, perfectly fine for his major, a full-spectrum university with a ton of other majors should he change direction. All for free!
Twin 2 should probably take his best option balanced against expenses. That might be Rutgers, might be a UC. If his father just started earning again in 2023, you need to realize that the fin aid offer from Penn was based on the 2022 tax return - so you can figure that the price for Penn will soar next year, certainly by junior year, maybe double or more! Yes, talk with Penn fin aid, ask what the price would have been if Dadâs income had been in 2022, what he now is earning in a full year, combined with yours, and without any consideration of other twin (who presumably is taking the full ride at U Md).
And then, however you decide, you really should make it fair, by balancing it out. Discuss it with his father. Twin 2 should take out the max federal loan he can. What you and the father then contribute, you should contribute an equivalent amount to twin 1, by establishing an account for him into which you deposit the same amount that is being given to twin 2 for college, that he can use towards a car, or travel, or a down payment for a house, whatever sensible expenditure he would like.
Of course, if Twin 1 decides that he wants a more expensive option, like Penn, then he also takes the max federal loans, and you give equally to each kid. But you have to have the assurance that the father will contribute as much as is necessary - and what if he loses his job again? You and your kids know him best. Can you rely on him to continue paying? This is why it seems safest for Twin 1 to take the guaranteed full ride, and Twin 2 to take an option with definitively capped expense, like Rutgers or maybe a UC, so that if father does not pay, you can handle it, and of course, even it out so that Twin 1 gets the same money towards something else that Twin 2 got for college.
My daughter made $13K last year from her internship organization who allowed her to work about 10hrs a week for part of two semesters in addition to the summer.
Sheâs a civil engineering major in her first year of grad school, but the income was half senior year and half first year of grad school. Sheâs had the internship for four years. I think her income was about 8K or so when she wasnât working for them during the school year. Her internship is in a HCOL area and salaries are based on that.
You need to borrow more than $50K to get $50K after fees. Over 10 years, thatâs over $600 a month - do you really want to do that to your kids on top of rent, car payment and the like?
Itâs actually to you - as they canât borrow more than $27K - and thereâs a reason the feds use that #.
I understand wanting to pacify your kids - today - but think about the tomorrow.
One should not use loans and work to get to a budget. These are rigorous, high level schools and engineering is high level anywhere.
They may not have the time to work.
Itâs ok if they do but by requiring it, youâre already seeing the loans work their power of taking away your decision making - and thatâs, IMHO, not a good thing.
A lot of people said you can do this or that, etc. but itâs easier said than do. And the job market for college students is tightening.
I guess Iâm just a conservative, safety guy but I wouldnât let my kids go into debt, especially that much, Ivy or otherwise. Ivy gives no guarantee to you.
UMD and Rutgers Honors, for many students, will get them to the exact same place. Pennâs engineering salaries are high - but theyâre not necessarily engineering jobs.
This makes Penn sound affordable now.
Can they start working now to have a financial cushion?
You knowâŠ100% of your former spouses income wonât go toward college expenses. It will be a %age of his income. And frankly, the colleges will send a bill and it will be up to you parents how this is divided up.
My younger kid was offered a HUGE scholarship at her second choice collegeâŠwhich she declined. We sort of tried to bribe her into taking it, offering to buy a condo there, and a car. Thatâs how much we were saving. To be honest, Iâm glad she didnât take a bribe.
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Additional merit is great. It never goes away. I would consider Rice seriously.
If merit is big enough, you probably
can swing one in Rice and another in UC⊠theoreticallyâŠ
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Rice tends to be very popular with many who visit. It might be worth keeping under considerationâ or sending your student there to visit it.
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Would UCLA give your kids a chance for a closer relationship with their father? To see him for dinner sometimes or for him to be the âemergencyâ contact? Obviously I donât know anything about you all, but if that were to be true, and both twins got accepted, they qualify for in-state tuition, itâs affordable, and UCLA has a great engineering program, maybe the overall picture for your family makes this choice appealing in intangible ways. And you donât have to worry about financial aid changing, or tuition rising. Obviously not as good as a full ride + Rutgers but maybe a worthy compromise.
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@Anna75 Was Penn able to answer your exâs questions re: what the financial aid impact would be for years 2-4 based on his salary increase from 2022 to 2023?
I just called them myself. Turns out my ex-husband increase was not that much. I spoke with very nice senior financial consular. She said they try to keep financial aid constant or close to constant over 4 years, they donât want the students to leave the school because all the sudden they canât pay. Roughly every $10K increase in income will result $2K decrease in aid, but she said they always consider special circumstances etc.
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Thatâs excellent news!
So if your ex-husband will actually contribute half of their current cost of attendance, it looks like it might be doable?!?
Also, I just sent you a DM before I saw this. Itâs the envelope icon in the upper right of your screen where your avatar is.
Yes, I will respond to you. Now Penn looks very doable and possibly cheaper than UCs. Also, they can actually live at home and commute after 2 years on campus. I know they donât want to do that, but I will make them if our situation gets worse. Financial aid wonât change and I will owe about $8-9K in tuition only.
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Sounds like it is all working out. Glad to hear it.
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They are electrical engineering majors right? If they are taking advantage of everything Penn has to offer and hustle the first part of Sophomore year, they should be able to find an internship after their second and third years that could cover a good chunk to all of their housing costs for their last two years.
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