<p>
I’m not sure that last part is true. Remember that among all the other forces at work, everybody is trying to maximize yield. Showing interest in a school makes you more desirable, because it increases the likelihood that you will accept the offer of admission and drive those yield numbers up.</p>
<p>I think if the “homework” is done ahead of time kids can put together a list of schools they are willing to attend and that have probability of being affordable. I think it is hard to get kids to read all the fine print to understand not just their chance of being admitted but what the actual costs really are. Heck it’s hard for us double degreed adults to weed through the rhetoric.</p>
<p>From reading…
Financially, it’s all sunk in, with the reality of it all, and now, the thread is quiet. </p>
<p>This is sad (and just plain stinks) after the pressure of ‘Will they accept me’ and the ups and downs…
RTR started a great, and I mean Really Great Thread - so much knowledge is Here!
Advice for college plans and where to apply; sharing on where you’ve been - what the GC said you could do, your safety, your reach. </p>
<p>But the GC didn’t tell you…how to pay for it and how you should apply to some schools that you can afford.
This bothers me and I, for one, hope we all share this knowledge with younger students and their parents -
The cost of college is something to take a forefront in the admission process - as does the EFC. I am not sure why this isn’t more public…in our schools - right there in that GC office – while she’s shouting out Hofstra, Cornell, Tufts, Duke…
If it’s known exactly what amount of subsidized loans each student might qualify for each year – give that info to students/parents and the fact that they might not qualify.
It should be out there - as well as pointing you to the EFC calculators. Just as an eye opener to what it will cost and if you will even qualify for those unsubsidized loans.</p>
<p>Then perhaps, we wouldn’t waste those precious dollars applying and sending scores and FA reports to colleges we simply can’t afford. –
Oh wait – then they’d have to raise their costs, due to the lack of income from the applications…</p>
<p>What was I thinking?</p>
<p>PepsMom,</p>
<p>as a long-timer here on CC, I must say that there have been quite a few threads over the years emphasizing the need for a school that is both an academic and a financial safety, and the folly of falling in love with just one school before knowing the actual cost of attendance. One of the best posters on this topic is curmudgeon - you can use the search feature to find his posts on financial aid, which are many. One interesting place to start is the thread <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/492777-swallows-capistrano-financial-aid-myths-realities.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/492777-swallows-capistrano-financial-aid-myths-realities.html</a></p>
<p>Pepsmom, everything I have read on cc leads me to believe that most GCs do not discuss finances during the process. </p>
<p>I have never been worried about my son being accepted to some nice choices, but have been concerned with how to pay for this all along.</p>
<p>Frankly, I think it is horrible that many students do not understand the consequences of all of the loans. Most FA packages for freshmen are now offering 5500 in student loans as part of the package. That is a huge amount of debt, IMO, for a 17 or 18 y/o to take on.</p>
<p>I noticed that 5500 too compared to 2500 or 3000 when my son went 4 years ago. I don’t think, in some majors, 20,000 is totally unreasonable in the end, less than the average debt 0f 23-27,000 (in 2008). No debt or under 10,000 would be better, but sometimes difficult. My son took some stafford loans every year and I helped the first year to pay 1 down. I think he will be able to pay it even if his intial pay isn’t that high. Some students at state schools have to pay close to 18,000 for tuition and parents aren’t helpling very much. For them it’s the only way to get from point A to point B.</p>
<p>I think the problem is GC’s and others telling students to just concentrate on getting in, not how to pay for it. I’ve had my daughter told an extra 10,000 a year is “nothing” at a good school vs a not so good…well 40.000, if you put it a different way, is significant, to me and I’m sure to her, when she graduates. I’ve had dentists, teachers, neighbors act aghast that my son went to Drew and not another, what they considered, “better” school he got into. He loved Drew, but FA never seemed to enter their minds in the thought process. When my son mentioned his FA package to one, they just were silent, couldn’t seem to respond, but their opinion was already noted.
Although everything seems today, okay to talk about, money is still the last taboo and I think it hurts our children especially with college decisions.</p>
<p>At a minimum, this is what they will borrow if they have demonstrated need, and they are a dependent student: </p>
<p>Freshman: $3500.00 Subsidized Stafford, $2000.00 Unsubsidized Stafford
Sophomore: $4500.00 Subsidized Stafford, $2000.00 Unsubsidized Stafford
Junior: $5500.00 Subsidized Stafford, $2000.00 Unsubsidized Stafford
Senior: $5500.00 Subsidized Stafford, $2000.00 Unsubsidized Stafford </p>
<p>So at a minimum, they will be borrowing $27,000 in Stafford Loans over 4 years.<br>
Should the rules changes, who knows? That $2,000 in Unsubsidized could go up! </p>
<p>Many schools may include other loans with the Stafford loans, you may refuse them, just draw a line through it and say “No”. Then you may add that to your EFC. </p>
<p>In the words of Kalman Chany “Paying for College Without Going Broke” : “An uneducated Consumer is their best customer.” (“their” referring to the colleges) My H has told me recently that he feels by me educating myself on FA when our oldest child was in the 7th or 8th grade, that I have saved our family $1,000’s over the years. </p>
<p>Our high school offers a Financial Aid Night, but I don’t attend as I know more about the FA process than the person giving the presentation. I attended it once! </p>
<p>If parents aren’t happy with the FA packages by any of these schools their kids are accepted to, then have the child take a year off, if possible! Start the process over again! Prep for ACT/SAT, retake the tests, get better scores. Look at “Average % of Need Met”, apply to schools where student is in the top part of the applicant pool. Even consider applying to schools where your state residence offers “geographical diversity.” </p>
<p>Taking a year off is an option, just make sure your child isn’t kicked off your medical insurance because he/she turned 19 and is not a full time student.</p>
<p>I think that extra 2,000 (8,000 over 4 years unsubsidized) is a real hardship being put on the backs of our children. The loans going into packages have gotten too high IMO. Students starting college in 2010 will have higher student loans than those who graduated recently. Since the economy is not going to turn around in the blink of an eye, these kids have a much greater weight on their shoulders than the student who graduated while the economy was strong and jobs were plentiful. I think this burden is just terrible. I do not have a problem with student loans, but the amounts that are in the packages, as slumom listed, I feel are too high. What I think doesn’t matter though because students are being asked to borrow these amounts as part of their FA packages. Watch and see what the government does in the future as young voters plead for mercy regarding these debts. So many students are going above and beyond by borrowing even more to cover EFCs and gaps between a school meeting EFC and true cost of atttendance (using private loans). Irresponsible or not, they are being choked by all of this debt. I predict some program for government loan forgiveness coming in several years, or fogiveness by sliding scale based upon income. I really think that it will happen. Caution to borrowers, just do not count on getting that relief!!!</p>
<p>This is such a great thread!
It should be required reading for all students and parents in 8th grade.<br>
Like SLUMOM, I attended one school district Financial Aid night and never returned.
I learned everything here on CC from knowledgeable posters.</p>
<p>Our son had very high aspirations in school choice right out of HS back in 2004 (several NYC conservatories). He had some acceptances, but the FA packages were totally unrealistic for our family. Luckily, he also had a few financial safeties. He wasn’t thrilled initially. But guess what? He found the challenges and quality professors he was looking for even at these ‘lesser’ school.
Even for these ‘inexpensive’ state schools, we required him to take the maximum (then) subsidized Staffords. We firmly believe in some skin in game. We paid the rest.</p>
<p>He is now half way through a masters program on scholarship. He will have approx $22K total Staffords for undergrad and grad. No debt would have been preferable but this amount will be manageable. We also can cover it should we choose, but he doesn’t know that. Again, we think he should have ownership in his life choices.</p>
<p>Why is money such a taboo topic? Why do the high schools not emphasize how disappointing it can be to be accepted but unable to attend a high priced college?</p>
<p>So glad our family is almost done with this phase!
Best of luck to others just starting out. CC is an incredible resource!</p>
<p>I don’t wish to engage in GC-bashing, but discussing college without noting the cost is like discussing driving without mentioning safety. When our GC urged us to leave the college decision totally up to our son, I said “We love our son, but would you give him sole discretion to invest over $200,000 of YOUR money?”</p>
<p>Our GC was a nice woman, but not much help. In our meeting with her, I asked for help in finding some financial safeties for S.</p>
<p>We ended up with 3 suggestions, none of which offer S’s major, and one being UVM, which at 40K OOS is hardly much of a financial safety.</p>
<p>For kids with our stats it’s tough. There are many schools S can get into and would love to go to, but since his GPA/rank is not at the top, he won’t get the merit that would allow us to send him there.</p>
<p>Other than in state publics, his only real option is to go to a lower tier private and major in something else. Which really isn’t an option. Perhaps if he was willing to go far from home there are more options, but he didn’t want to go far from home.</p>
<p>Okay, I am completely in shock!! We just got a FA package from a school that I had COMPLETELY discounting in my head for various reasons. It was one of those schools that my son applied to after getting an email for an abbreviated, quick notice application. This FA offer came 5,000 better than what was our best offer so far!!! We now have a spread between worst and best offers of 11,000 out of pocket just for freshman year!!! I am completely in shock! Now I don’t know what we are going to do! Wow, just wow!</p>
<p>northeastmom- well, that’s good news. The school is letting him know that they really want him… Does your son like this school?</p>
<p>WB, he has no idea. We have never visited, he has never been interviewed, and he has never attended on local event that he was invited to attend after admission. Go figure. Now they have our attention, lol!!!</p>
<p>That’s great news, northeastmom!
Congrats to your son for getting THEIR attention.</p>
<p>Time to look at that generous school a bit, huh?</p>
<p>NEmom, as shocks gop, that;s a very good one!</p>
<p>musicmom, I guess we do need to consider them now. I always thought one needed to show interest to get a good package. I was wrong. We showed none, other than my son completing one of those free priorty type of applications. I thought this would give him an early “yes” and would take the pressure off the process, which it has done. Now the pressure is back on regarding this school!!!</p>
<p>My S2 just got his first finaid package today from a private, rolling decision school. It was good but not good enough. It was below our total EFC slightly (both kids together however) but over what we can/want to pay given we have 2 in college next year, so it was 7 grand above my son’s EFC on his own. It had his merit scholarship, a grant, work study, Stafford and a tiny bit of Perkins. Fortunately it was his least favorite. If it was his favorite we’d have to take a small PLUS loan to make it happen. I think it will be a very interesting year! I’m guessing S2 was probably somewhere above 50th percentile stats wise but not in the upper 10-15%.</p>
<p>northeastmom-</p>
<p>Similar happened with our son for undergrad. He was sent one of those “priority, we waive the application fee, early action, no essay required” applications. It certainly encouraged him to complete the application, they made it so easy. It also offered an early audition slot and admission decision AND merit award, if any, by Dec! </p>
<p>This school did offer son generous merit award (think it was about 1/2 tuition) but he headed elsewhere for undergrad. He is now at this same school for grad on scholarship.
Hope equally interesting results for your son! Just never know with these apps I guess.</p>
<p>Such a wonderful story, musicmom! </p>
<p>We have been talking about this package for a few hours. My DH was joking with our son about how much he now loves this school. Son said, “Dad, but you haven’t even seen it!”, and dad jokingly responded with, " I have seen enough to know how much I love this school!" Honestly though, I just don’t see this school as the best fit for our son. At least this school is now financially very much on the table. We will need to wait and see all of the other packages.</p>