<p>I have received a very good financial aid package that covers about 80% of my expenses, including tuition, fees, books, etc.</p>
<p>Still the loan amount I would have to take out is around $10000 pero year.
How can one succesfully negotiate a better package?</p>
<p>If 80% is the average aid they award, they probably won’t go higher for you unless there’s been a drastic change in your circumstances, but you can certainly write a letter and ask for a few thousand more. You can check their aid averages here:
[Student</a> Aid on the Web](<a href=“http://www.studentaid2.ed.gov/gotocollege/campustour/]Student”>http://www.studentaid2.ed.gov/gotocollege/campustour/)</p>
<p>You can influence how much you’ll spend on discretionary items such as transportation, books, personal expenses, etc. - the non-billable items. Most students, I’d guess, do not borrow for these but use grad gift money, summer/campus job earnings, parent help, etc. Since these items often amount to several thousand dollars that might bring you down to $8K. Stafford loans are $5,500. Can your parents afford to pay the remaining $1250 or so per semester? Many colleges have a monthly payment plan available and there are generally no interest charges. Also, your folks should be aware that there are tax credits/deductions available for education expenses, so it may increase their refund or at least decrease their income tax bill next April! They can check out IRS pub 570, and this page for more info:
[FinAid</a> | Saving for College | Education Tax Benefit Coordination](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org/savings/taxbenefitcoordination.phtml]FinAid”>http://www.finaid.org/savings/taxbenefitcoordination.phtml)</p>
<p>Finally, your award may not show the ACG (if you’re Pell eligible and have taken an academically rigorous HS courseload) of $750 for the first year. The schools apparently have to verify your final transcript before awarding it. There is also a federal Teach grant available if you’re even remotely considering teaching. It’s up to $4K per year and converts to an extra unsubsidized Stafford if you don’t pursue this career.</p>
<p>[Student</a> Aid on the Web](<a href=“http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/TEACH.jsp]Student”>http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/TEACH.jsp)</p>
<p>@sk8r</p>
<p>do you have any idea whether more aid is provided in ED or RD?</p>
<p>I suppose it would depend on the school, but I wouldn’t expect it to be significantly different…unless the RD applicant missed FA deadlines!</p>
<p>$10,000/year is considered a very manageable amount of student loan debt, and many schools expect students to assume more debt than that, so if that is all the debt your school expects you to incur, I don’t think your financial aid award will be increased.</p>
<p>ED is binding right?? so what do you do if you get accepted in ED and you cannot afford the college even after the college has given you some aid??</p>
<p>First to Duke…when you apply ED to a school, you are agreeing to attend that school. If financial aid is an issue…don’t apply ED. The reality is that the SCHOOL computes your need and meets it…not your family. Sometimes those things do not match. Yes…you “can” get out of an ED agreement…but you would have to demonstrate that the school did not meet your need (per THEIR calculation…not yours). </p>
<p>To the OP…if you are taking $10K in loans annually and the school is meeting 80% of your costs, you are attending a school that is roughly $50,000 a year. As others have noted, it is very possible to reduce some of the costs for things that are NOT billable by the university (spending money, travel, books, etc). You NEED to do this.</p>
<p>What you don’t tell us is what the college determined your FAMILY should be paying. You also don’t mention your FAFSA EFC. Was your family contribution or EFC in the $10k range? If that is the case, it is unlikely that the school will budge on your award UNLESS there has been a significant change in your family finances (for the worst) since you completed your financial aid applications. </p>
<p>But you certainly can ask…just don’t be surprised if they say no.</p>
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<p>By whom? I certainly wouldn’t want my kid to take on $40K of debt for undergrad, and I’m sure I’m not alone in that. </p>
<p>Max would be $20-25K. If it’s more than that, the school is too expensive.</p>
<p>owlice, I’m currently going into around 40k of debt for undergrad.</p>
<p>Having such a blanket statement as, “Max would be $20-25K. If it’s more than that, the school is too expensive,” doesn’t fit in all situations.</p>
<p>Depending on ones major and future career plans, 40k of debt could be a reasonable amount. In my case, my school’s average starting salary for my major is around 70k. To have 40k of debt, with a starting salary that high, is more than manageable.</p>
<p>Well…just remember that the $40,000 in debt will net you a loan repayment of at least $450 per month for ten years…if not more (depending on the interest rate).</p>
<p>But I agree…the debt amount is an individual family decision. We felt that our kids should take out the Stafford loans in their names so they would have some “skin in the game”. We also took out some loans. In total, we certainly had $10k per kid in debt per year. BUT our kids were also attending very expensive private schools that met their needs well. For us, this was worth that money. For others, it would not be.</p>