I’m sort of in the same situation as you! Can’t decide between Montclair or Temple, low tuition or my dream school? (Still waiting on Temple)
I would choose Montclair over William Paterson, especially if they will cost the same.
I think Drexel & Hofstra should be removed, unless your parents have enough money saved. If not, I don’t see how they could dedicate over half of their income to college expenses.
But yes, repost when you have your acceptances & budget.
“Hofstra-$35,000” Is this with the support you expect. Otherwise I’d think it was twice that. Well not twice that but that amount for tuition only not including food and board.
If the maximum you can contribute is about $10,000 ($5,500 federal direct loan plus some work earnings), then the amount your parents will contribute determines your choices:
< $8,000: local community college, try to transfer to a four year school later
$8,000-10,000: William Paterson or Montclair or above
$10,000-19,000: NJIT or above
$19,000-23,000: Temple or above
$23,000-25,000: Quinnipiac or above
$25,000-27,000: Hofstra or above
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= $27,000: Drexel or above
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However, it may be stressful to attend a college at the very limit of affordability, so even if you can afford a more expensive college at the very limit of affordability, you may find it less stressful to attend a less expensive college.
Since you prefer Temple over Hofstra and Quinnipiac, and the latter two are more expensive, then the latter two can be dropped from consideration unless they offer better scholarships or financial aid than you list above.
Also my mom said that she wouldn’t mind pay more for a better school(like Hofstra), and she would find some way if I do choose a more expensive school
Each time I tell her about community college transfer, she always says no gets into a long speech about how she never went to college & wants me to have the full experience
It’s difficult because she isn’t telling me what can we afford. When I ask her what is the max I can afford it conversation ends up with “I’m not going to limit you, but apply for as many scholarships as possible.”
How much does she expect scholarships to pay? I think people need to realize that outside scholarships aren’t a guarantee to cover half tutition, but they do help pay for college.
When she keeps stressing about scholarships & not telling me what’s affordable it makes me wonder how much we can afford.
Assume your parents can afford a maximum of 12-13K, which means, with your own contribution (5.5K federal loan + work part time from now until summer and full time in the summer = 10k) you’d have a 22-23K budget.
Do you qualify for the NJ “star” grant? Any Perkins, Pell? When you show “net price”, do the prices include Federal loans, NJ grants, Perkins, Pell…?
Hofstra is NOT better than the above, BTW. Just more expensive. Temple is better than the above, but also quite a bit more expensive, and since it’s out of state you wouldn’t get the state grant.
Scholarships come from the university itself. You may have a shot at a scholarship from WP, Montclair, and NJIT, perhaps Temple if you have something they like. The local scholarships can help you, but they’re typically small (a couple hundred dollars = will help with books and such) and only for one year.
What would your major be?
Given the family income you stated, I think you need to assume that your parents cannot contribute very much to college. I suggest you focus on William Patterson, and if you you are accepted, Montclair and NJIT. You will need to review the financial aid packages from all three schools and get an absolute hard figure from your parents as to what they can contribute each year. I appreciate that your mom will “find a way”, but I suspect that can be interpreted as they do not have the funds available, and that is why she is being vague.
When you get all your acceptances and financial aid, you will need to review them with your parents.
Where do you live? Is it possible to commute to any of these schools?
She is not doing you any favors by ruling out the community college option (in NJ, probably about $4,000 to $5,000 annual tuition, plus books, plus living and home and commuting costs; relatively expensive, but still significantly less than the cheapest four year school on your list; see http://njtransfer.org/ if you go this route) and not telling you what she will contribute.
It is best to avoid needing any parent loans or student loans beyond the federal direct loans.
This is post is too late. This conversation should have taken place before you applied to schools. Sadly you are not 1st person who I spoken to that parents wouldn’t give them a direct answer on affordability. This idea of don’t worry we will figure it out seems to happen a lot with 1st generation students. Did you feel out FAFSA yet? What is your EFC?
Report back once you have real financial aid offers in hand. If your family’s income is 67K and assets are consistent with income, I imagine you’d qualify for need-based aid, especially in-state. Right now it seems a bit early to recommend community college, gap year, etc. without real numbers to consider. Try to be patient. I assume your FAFSA has been submitted already?
I’ll probably go to Montclair if I’m accepted. I applied to both the Normal & Honors admissions. Montclair is ABET accredited in Comp Sci & has combined BS/MS. Combine that with the area of Montclair, it’s mid-large campus size, & low cost, I think it’s a good deal.
Still waiting on Montclair, Drexel, and Temple though