How financial aid works

SlitheyTove
Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:38:44 +0000

You won’t be eligible for need-based financial aid unless there is some incredibly extenuating circumstance, such as enormous medical expenses.

Do your parents regard your college savings fund as their entire contribution to your college education? Or, are they also planning on paying some additional amount out of pocket each year? If the former, you will still be able to afford many schools with a total cost of attendance (COA) of almost $40k a year. You would probably need to plan on working summers as well. You could also look at schools where you would be eligible for merit-based aid. You will need to have high stats (GPA and test scores) relative to other students at the school to be considered for those awards.

Make sure to look at the Financial Aid forum for more information.