Hi, I’m a senior in high school and was accepted into my dream school. I wasn’t worried about paying for college until I got my financial package back and I was STUNNED.
The school that I want to attend next fall is almost $52,000 a year.
I only got $29,000 in total scholarships and grants.
$52,000 - $29,000 = $23,000
My parents are paying $6,000 a year, and so I would have it down to $17,000.
I am also optimistic that I will be entering in as a sophomore, so hopefully I get a year’s worth of money off? I’m not too sure how that works, but let’s say I get 25% off since I’m going in as a sophomore.
$17,000 x 3 years = $51,000… FIFTY ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS.
I am not willing to pay that much for school, but it’s the only school I’ve applied to so far. I have no idea what I’m going to do.
What I am confused about is that the average indebtedness of graduates from my school is around $30,000. My admissions officer basically told me that this is what I should be expecting in debt. Why am I paying SOOOOO much more than the average student? Can anyone PLEASE tell me why??
You say that your parents will pay $6,000 per year – but what does the school expect your parents to pay? Did you run your NPC (net price calculator, online)?
A user told you this in August: “Don’t forget to consider finances. You don’t mention cost constraints, but that is a big part of the picture for most people.” So I’m not sure why you feel you were lied to. If you spend any time at all on CC, you’ll learn that paying for college is a big challenge for a lot of students.
@MaineLonghorn I feel lied to by my college, is what I’m saying. And in regards to my previous post, it is difficult to adequately express EVERYTHING on these forums. Money has always been a big factor for me, but I have had every reason to believe that I would only be in around $30,000 of debt after four years (as that as what admissions officers have been telling and that is what the stats have said online).
No, that’s not how it works. If you enter as a sophomore, you should expect 3 yrs x $23k per year = $69k (ballpark). That’s assuming (a) tuition and fees don’t rise, and (b) you continue to qualify for similar financial aid awards.
It’s unfortunate that you are stunned. Estimating the cost using the college’s Net Price Calculator may have saved you some surprise.
I’m sorry to bear bad news, but yes, that’s how expensive it is. Did you run the NPC before you applied to see how much it would cost? A dream school is pointless if you can’t afford it once accepted.
You have options. Attend community college for 2 years, and transfer. You might be eligible for subsidized government loans, and you can at least get guaranteed unsubsidized government loans, but that is still money that must be repaid. I don’t know what your grades and test scores are like, but if they are high, you can take a gap year and reapply as a freshman at colleges that gives full rides. Plus you can work this summer and earn money.
Unfortunately, the best merit awards go to freshman. Starting at a CC would mean you will be a transfer student, and not many colleges give merit awards to transfer students. When all your college offers come back, see if any are more generous than the one offer you have. You might be able to negotiate a little more money from the FA office, but you will still have debt. Use as many AP or CLEP credits as you can so that you can enter as a sophomore (was this what you meant?)
Basically though, your college is unaffordable. You will not get enough from the governement to pay the costs, even if you were prepared to take out that much in loans. And as you said, it’s not worth going into that kind of debt.
@iStudyMan
“I am not sure what they think my parents will pay. But my dad is self-employed and usually makes about 80k a year and my mom doesn’t make much either.”
Running the NPC would have shown you what the school expects your parents to pay.
You keep comparing your estimated debt to the average student’s debt, but the average student doesn’t go to a private college. You would owe less by going to a public university.
Finally, you need to verify with the school about that supposed sophomore status. Many privates won’t award credit based on high school AP courses/classes.
The college did not lie to you. They told you their costs^. They also told you the debt that you alone would incur:
With Federal loans, you are eligible for the following funds on your own:
Freshman year: $5500
Sophomore year: $6500
Junior Year: $7500
Senior Year: $7500
Total: $27,000
Rounded up, that’s the average loan for students: ~ $30K. They told you that, as per your information. They didn’t lie to you. They told you $30K debt on you. Not for your parents.
Your parents are on the hook for everything else. It is what it is.
The schools are a business and need to pay their bills. Nothing is free.
Why did you think they would fully fund you?
People on this forum always ask: Can you afford the schools?
I often see students on this site say: “Money is not an issue.”
Come acceptances, it suddenly becomes a big issue.
I hope you applied to some safeties.
I take it you didn’t use the Net Price Calculator for each school you applied to? I know it doesn’t work well for self-employed.
Before you applied, did you run the college’s Net Price Calculator with the financial information that you put in the actual financial aid forms, and did the college’s Net Price Calculator suggest a significantly higher grant/scholarship with significantly lower net price than the offer you actually got?
Or did the college otherwise say that it would offer you better grant/scholarship than it actually delivered?
I am sorry that this is all a shock to you. But, the college is not lying to you. The college gave you a generous package especially considering your self employed father makes 80k and your mother works. The 23k that they are expected to pay, actually sound low. It is not the college’s Fault that ** that your parents are only willing to pay $6k**. Who do you and your parents think are suppose to pay for your college. You have received scholarships and grants courtesy of other people parents.
If you ran the net price calculator in advance, you would have seen that your family would be paying more than 6k for college. Now if your parents are dying in the hill that they will only pay 6k, then you will have to find a school that cost 6k because the line for paying for college starts at your house with your parents.
The school posted its tuition and fees, so you knew that amount. They told you the average debt of students at the school is $30k, which is probably true. They did not tell you you’d be average, and they didn’t tell you if it was common for students at their school to have saved $20k before coming, if their students qualify for Pell grants, get athletic scholarships, get other outside scholarships, but you can look up all that on the Common Data Set for this school.