How much can a family earning $33,000 get from FAFSA?

Paying for College
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<p>Here’s the story.
I applied early decision to NYU: CAS: pre-med. Got into the Liberal Study program (which is basically like the CAS program except it has a strict curriculum and other things)
I’m really thinking about it, since NYU is my dream school…
but here comes in a question of money.</p>

<p>I’m in a family of 3 (me, mom, dad), we earn $33,000 (emigrated from Ukraine 6 years ago) and there really is no way we can pay the money that NYU wants - around $60,000 a year!!! Our EFC right now is around $1200 which is miserably small.</p>

<p>So my question is will FAFSA grant/loan me the money until I graduate a med school?</p>

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<p>FAFSA does not grant you anything. It is merely an application form that produces a number called the EFC which your school uses to determine what federal aid and institutional aid you may be eligible for. A low EFC does not mean that you will receive enough aid to cover the difference.</p>

<p>Federal aid is very limited. It will not anywhere near cover the cost of a school that costs $60k a year. It will cover a fraction at the most.</p>

<p>The main federal grant (money that does not have to be repaid) is the Pell grant. The maximum Pell grant for 2009-2010 was $5350 but the maximum requires an EFC of 0. With an EFC of 1200 you would be eligible for roughly $4100 Pell. The other federal grants are the ACG which is $750 for a freshman. It requires Pell eligibility and meeting some academic criteria. There is also the SEOG grant but that has very limited funding. A lot of schools only award it to students with 0 EFC. So the only federal grant money you are guaranteed with an EFC of 1200 is the Pell.</p>

<p>The main federal loan is the Stafford loan. A freshman can borrow a maximum of $5500 in Stafford loans. There is also a loan called the Perkins loan. This also has very limited funding and some schools do not even have any Perkins funds.</p>

<p>As you can see federal aid will cover a very small fraction of the cost of a $60k school. An other aid would have to come from the state, if you are a NY resident, and the school from their own institutional funds. NYU is not known for generous aid. We frequently see posts here from students who get into NYU but cannot make the finances work.</p>

<p>You need to make sure you have a financial safety school that you can afford so that you have another option if NYU is impossible financially once you see your FA award. Don’t get caught up in the ‘it’s my dream school’ mentality. If the money is not there without enormous debt then go elsewhere.</p>

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<p>*You need to make sure you have a financial safety school that you can afford so that you have another option if NYU is impossible financially once you see your FA award. Don’t get caught up in the ‘it’s my dream school’ mentality. If the money is not there without enormous debt then go elsewhere. *</p>

<p>Very true!</p>

<p>Since you’ll be going to medical school, you need to keep the following in mind. You will have to borrow about $250k+ for medical school. Your loan payments will be about $3,000 a month for that.</p>

<p>You likely not be able to borrow the money needed for med school IF YOU ALSO BORROW a lot for undergrad. Think about it. That would mean borrowing $240k for undergrad and $250k for med school (with payments about $6k per month). </p>

<p>No one is going to lend you that much money (and your parents aren’t going to qualify for such a loan). Remember, large loans for undergrad require co-signers and your parents income is too low to qualify (and they might not agree to co-signing anyway)</p>

<p>There is NO REASON to go to a pricey undergrad for pre-med. ANY good school that is strong in bio, chem, math, and physics can prepare you for med school. With top grades and a strong MCAT, you’ll get into med school.</p>

<p>You don’t want to ruin your chances for med school by borrowing so much for undergrad that you won’t be able to borrow what you’ll need for med school. </p>

<p>Have you received any info from NYU as to how they can meet your need? </p>

<p>Does anyone know what kind of aid NYU gives? Do they have gaps? I noticed that they only ask for FAFSA. Usually privates that only ask for FAFSA are not good at meeting need. edited to add: *NYU is not able to meet the full need of most students; however, we will attempt to provide students with an aid package that will make attendance possible. * OK, that is not a good sign. </p>

<p>I’m a bit confused, though. You applied ED, were accepted, yet you weren’t given an FA package yet? That doesn’t seem fair (or am I missing something). Without an FA package with your needs met w/o loans, there’s no way that you can know if you can afford this school. Yet, at this point, I’m not sure if you’re allowed to apply to other schools unless you reject NYU on financial grounds? </p>

<p>**When you applied ED to NYU, did you fill out ED financial aid application? ** This is important because if you didn’t fill this out, you won’t get any aid from NYU.</p>

<p>If you can apply to other schools…</p>

<p>What is your home state? You need to apply to some state schools and some schools where you might get some strong merit and aid. What are your stats?</p>

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<p>If you just received your early decision acceptance, you should be receiving a financial aid package soon…IF YOU FILLED OUT THE FORMS required by NYU. NYU is a FAFSA only school…and the FAFSA doesn’t come out until Jan 1. I don’t know what they use for ED applicants. NYU does not guarantee to meet the full need of its accepted students. BUT they do offer merit aid for highly sought after students.</p>

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<p>I almost shudder when I read posts like this! Your true dream is to become a doctor, right? Do yourself a huge favor and don’t fall in love with a pricey private school that could end up tanking your dream. NYU sometimes is generous with high need, desirable students but often leaves kids with huge gaps in financial aid. While you’re waiting for your FA package from NYU, please investigate some schools that you know you can afford (especially SUNYs if you’re from NY) and that you would be happy and successful attending. Binghamton, Geneseo, Stony Brook, and UB would be great places to start. SB and UB offer merit aid and other scholarships (check out the Acker at UB) so my guess is that you could end up with smaller than average student loans for undergrad. Since you don’t have a large economic “safety net” you must weigh your financial options very carefully and keep your ultimate goals in mind.</p>

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<p>*Your true dream is to become a doctor, right? *</p>

<p>Sk8trmom! What a great point! I’m going to borrow that when needed! The dream is the career!! :)</p>

<p>** <em>---------------------------------------------------------</em> **</p>

<p>From the NYU website, it almost sounded like the scholarship offer comes with the acceptance (but maybe I misread).</p>

<p>From NYU’s website: Only 5% of the 2009 entering class received merit-based scholarships (which ranged in value from $1,000 to $25,000). Also, please note that not all NYU schools/colleges award merit-based scholarships.</p>

<p>Since NYU is not good with aid, it has a reputation of being a rich kid’s school. If that’s true (my SIL went there), then I wouldn’t recommend any poor student going there. It could become frustrating being surrounded by kids who have access to money who spend weekends going to fun and pricey activities. JMHO</p>

<p>**Thumper (or anyone else familiar with ED)…**if this kid won’t get his FA package until after Jan, and he’s already been accepted ED, is he restricted from applying anywhere else in the meantime? It would seem like not having rec’d his FA package would be a “loophole.” I realize that his school might not send transcripts until ED is declined. However, couldn’t he at least apply and send test scores in the meantime? Don’t some schools have Jan 1 deadlines? Should Slavutich contact the FA office and ask when his FA package will come (I’m still not certain that he filled out the form.)</p>

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<p>Yes, I did fill out the ED financial aid application!
The problem is that since I applied ED, I need to decide within 11 days from today whether or not I’m accepting the offer. If I accept the offer I must withdraw my application from all other schools (so far I applied to Rutgers University; I’m from NJ)</p>

<p>My question is if I finish NYU pre-med, won’t I have a higher chance of getting into NYU med school or other prestigious med schools?
That’s the only reason I even applied to NYU in the first place.</p>

<p>Wednesday I’m going to NYU for the information session and I’m planning to stop by the financial aid office to try to get some type of aid estimate…</p>

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<p>As a side note I’m a she and not a he :P,
sorry the username mislead you:)</p>

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<p>For a private college of like caliber, NYU has a terrible financial track record: 72% need met; 58% free money; 42% self help.</p>

<p>I would not put a bet on NYU at all… particularly with an EFC as low as yours. You could be losing 10’s of thousands of dollars.</p>

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<p>you’re a girl! :)</p>

<p>*Yes, I did fill out the ED financial aid application!
**The problem is that since I applied ED, I need to decide within 11 days from today whether or not I’m accepting the offer. **If I accept the offer I must withdraw my application from all other schools (so far I applied to Rutgers University; I’m from NJ)</p>

<p>My question is if I finish NYU pre-med, won’t I have a higher chance of getting into NYU med school or other prestigious med schools?
That’s the only reason I even applied to NYU in the first place.*</p>

<p>NYU has NO business insisting that you make this drastic decision within 11 days (and withdraw all other applications) if THEY haven’t given YOU your FA package (that would be quite the scam if they could get away with that!). </p>

<p>Yes, definitely go by the FA office this week, tell them about your predicament, and ask to see what your FA package is. Do NOT let them pressure you into accepting then and there. No matter what they say, you have the right to go home and look over the offer. </p>

<p>And, YES, if you do well at Rutgers, and do well on your MCATs, YOU CAN GET accepted to ANY top med school.</p>

<p>You can’t afford NYU for undergrad and a top med school. YOu won’t be able to borrow enough money (nor should you). That would be too much debt. Doctors don’t make that kind of money during their early years.</p>

<p>BTW…unless you can go to Rutgers for cheap, you should also apply to some other good schools that will give you great merit money. There are many fine schools in the NE that will give you lots of money (I’m guessing that you have high stats). What are your stats?</p>

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<p>NYU is very stingy with its financial aid, and does not promise to meet 100% of students’ demonstrated financial need. I know students with need who turned down NYU because they got such small financial aid offers from it.</p>

<p>If you are strong enough to get into NYU, you have the stats to get into some much more generous colleges that also have good reputations. There are plenty of students who get into med school from schools less highly ranked than is NYU. College grades and MCAT scores count a great deal when applying to med school. It’s not worth it to go into deep debt for undergrad if you’re planning to go to med school.</p>

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<p>This student needs to contact NYU financial aid and find out IF they have gotten a financial aid award. The acceptance was JUST received. Sometimes the finaid award lags behind a day or two. That is not unusual. </p>

<p>However, this student does need the information before making any decisions about accepting the admissions offer. She could also call admissions and ask them what to do about that eleven day window…since she hasn’t gotten any financial aid information from NYU.</p>

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<p>pell 5350 (I’m not sure of max for next year) + perkins 2400 (I think that is NYU’s max) and stafford (5500) = 13250</p>

<p>EVEN if NYU gave you 30K, you would STILL be about 10K short for Year 1. Housing rates vary alot and books can easily be over 1K per year</p>

<p>My son is a junior at NYU</p>

<p>And yes, NYU does give this much out to SOME students. </p>

<p>DO NOT DO IT, don’t take on alot of debt for undgrad NYU. And NO, graduating from NYU does NOT make you more likely to be admitted to their Med or Law schools.</p>

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<p>Good advice from the above posters.</p>

<p>**sueinphilly’s **post reminded me of how expensive housing at NYU can be. I think there was a thread that said that housing alone (no food) can cost $15k+/yr at NYU. YIKES!</p>

<p>**Thumper **is right. Perhaps the FA package is lagging a bit. But, if that’s true, the school shouldn’t demand such a strict response - afterall, the school knows when it’s FA packages are going out. </p>

<p>As of yesterday, Sarah had 11 days to respond. I’m guessing that at the time she received the acceptance, it was 14 days to respond. So, I’m guessing that she got the acceptance around Dec 4th. Does that sound right???</p>

<p>Sarah is going to NYU today, so hopefully she’ll get some answers about her FA package. As others on this and other threads have said, NYU is stingy (hence, its reputation of being a bit of a rich kid’s school - per my SIL & niece who both went there.)</p>

<p>Sarah is concerned that she won’t get into a good med school unless she goes to a NYU-like school. That is not true. My friend’s son graduated from a mid-tier flagship in May and got accepted to Yale med school and 3 other med school. He was rejected by some odd lower tier med school for some unknown reason. But, he’s happy at Yale. lol</p>

<p>If Sarah goes to Rutgers and does well, she can get accepted to top med schools. Rutgers is not some unknown directional public. It’s a well-known, reputable flagship.</p>

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<p>^^^^</p>

<p>ooops, I know that your name isn’t Sarah. I don’t know why I confused you with another student (Sarah) who applied to NYU. </p>

<p>My apologies!!!</p>

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<p>Wow. NYU would be tough to get some decent aid to get out from if your need-based. Not that great of a school to go to compared to other schools…</p>