<p>I am a junior in high school, and my family has begun the college search process. Now, I’ve been reading a lot about the whole financial aid situation, what with loans becoming more and more unreasonable and colleges becoming need-aware in admissions. So, I was curious to find out what my situation would look like for next year when I begin to apply I compiled my parent’s financial information and used the handy EFC calculator on this website to get a rough estimate of what the FAFSA would say.</p>
<p>The calculator put my EFC at about 1,500. So, I know that the FAFSA will guarantee that everything beside the EFC will be covered in some form of aid, generally a mix of grants and loans. I am very worried, however, that I’ll get an unreasonable amount of loans and that this will adversely affect my college career. My In-State Tuition for UVM is about $22,000, but I would really prefer not to go there considering that I live three blocks away.</p>
<p>The main problem that I’m encountering is that the schools that I’m looking at are most likely not going to be able to give me very many options. For example, I’m looking at Reed College, which is notoriously need-aware in its application process. Then I’m also considering St. John’s College (I’m visiting the campus in Annapolis next week) and their cost is about $50k a year and are not able to offer very many options in terms of in house aid.</p>
<p>Basically, I’m freaking out here because I’m worried that my financial situation is going to limit me from going to the type of off-beat intellectual school that I want to go to. So, given my EFC, what type of aid would I be offered?</p>
<p>Wrong. Your EFC is the minimum you pay, unless you go to a school that meets 100% of need. </p>
<p>Your efc would offer you a pell grant and, if you are eligible, the ACG. </p>
<p>Always apply to the schools you are interested in. Your need may influence their decision, but it will not be the make or break factor. </p>
<p>I would say apply for scholarships now, as that’s really all you can do. Apply for scholarships, get a job to save money. Always have a financial safety school though when you are applying, even if that means going to a school that you’re not exactly thrilled with.</p>
<p>Unfortunately that is not true at all. FAFSA does not guarantee that everything besides the EFC will be covered by some form of aid. Many people see the term Estimated Family Contribution and make the mistake of thinking they will be covered for the rest. It is not the case. All the EFC is is a number that is used to determine your eligibility for federal aid (and sometimes State aid, depending on the state, and institutional aid, depending on the school). Federal aid is not generally sufficient to cover the full cost of even most 4 year State schools. They will generally cover the cost of junior colleges.</p>
<p>For instance my daughter has an EFC of 0 and is at a State school with a COA of a little under $20k. With just federal and State aid she would fall thousands short of the cost of the 4 year state school. The school, like many State schools, has no need based grants of their own. Fortunately she has the Stats to be in the top few % wise so got a very good merit scholarship from the school which waives all her tuition plus has a cash scholarship component. </p>
<p>Look for schools where you may be eligible fore merit aid. That can make a vast difference in the affordability. Or if your stats are excellent consider schools that promise to meet full need without loans.</p>
<p>…well, now I certainly have a bone to pick with my Careers teacher. He assured my entire class that families would only have to pay the EFC, and that everything else would be met with loans and such. Thanks for the input.</p>
<p>I would definitely look at schools that participate in the New England regional tuition program if you qualify. It will give you so many more options. Start saving money now too and, most importantly, have a discussion with your parents about how much per year they can afford to help you with! Then look for schools where your SAT and GPA will make you eligible for good merit scholarships. Try to keep a cool head and don’t fall in love with any one school until the FA award is made. Finally, make sure you apply to several safety schools that you know you can afford - these must be schools you would actually attend if the financial aid at the others doesn’t work out!</p>
<p>How much can your parents realistically afford to pay? </p>
<p>It’s not impossible to get into Reed or SJC needing aid (I got into Reed with 38k grants and my friend got into SJC with 40k grant and we’re international) it’s just that it’ll be that much more competitive. I would suggest that you post your stats up so we can suggest some other schools for you to consider.</p>
<p>Like this? Oh, and my parents can probably realistically pay about 5k-8k a year, at most, and if my mother isn’t laid off…</p>
<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): N/A (Practice tests suggest a score in the range of 2300…we’ll see how valid that is when I take it in June…)
[</em>] ACT: N/A (PLAN suggests a 34/35, but again I’ll find out when I get my scores back)
[<em>] SAT II: N/A
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.3 (Upward trend)
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 30%
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP US (Test in 2 weeks), AP Micro/Macro (Self-studied, tests in 3 weeks)
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: Will be mostly AP classes
[<em>] Awards: Appointed Member of the City Restorative Justice Panel, Two-Time Qualifier for the National Forensics League National Tournament, Vermont Lake Monster Scholar, Outstanding Achievement in Public Forum Debate
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Debate Team (Captain), Interact Club (Treasurer), Student Council (President), Cross-Country (Varsity), Model United Nations (Senior Member)
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: Vermont Dermatopathology (Assistant Lab Technician), Ben & Jerry’s Flagship Franchise (Scooper)
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: Vermont Democratic Party, BikeReCycle, Chittenden County Food Shelf
[<em>] Summer Activities: World Debate Institute, TASP (Possible, will find out in one week…)
[/ul]Other[ul]
[</em>] State (if domestic applicant): Vermont
[<em>] Country (if international applicant): USA
[</em>] School Type: Public
[<em>] Ethnicity: Caucasian
[</em>] Gender: Male
[<em>] Income Bracket: 44k
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A [/ul]</p>
<p>My GPA has always been an unfortunate part of my application. No matter how much I learn from my past mistakes it’s going to be hard to get colleges to accept an applicant with that kind of number; let alone give them merit aid.</p>
<p>To be honest, I can’t think of any off the top of my head. Have you tried fastweb? It is a great help. </p>
<p>You can try the KFC scholarship next year, it’s for people with low EFCs. There are alot, you honestly just have to look. </p>
<p>You said you’re not a first generation college student. Where are your parents alumni of? Many schools offer nice scholarships to the children of alumni.</p>
<p>My Dad was the first generation, he got a full scholarship to go to Virginia Tech. If my grandparents gave me money for college I would be set. Unfortunately they are of the mindset that college is a waste of money and time. My Dad was only able to go to college due to that scholarship, and as far as I know Virginia Tech isn’t exactly focused on maintaining legacies…</p>
<p>Ok, well is there anything specific you would like to do career-wise? I know there are lots of grants for people that want to be teachers for example.</p>
<p>Areas of Interest:[ul]
[<em>]Teaching
[</em>]Public Service
[<em>]Politics
[</em>]Law
[<em>]Philosophy
[</em>]Writing
[li]Mathematics[/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>Anything that fits in there I would be reasonably happy doing.</p>
<p>Tough being a Vermont state resident - unless you are the Val from a public Vt school - they get free tuition x 4 years.</p>
<p>October 30, 2008
Vermont college tuition tops nation</p>
<p>(Anya Huneke, NECN) - A new report out puts Vermont’s public colleges at the top of the list, for tuition. This is not the first time Vermont has ranked most expensive. But some in the state’s higher education system say there’s a good explanation-- and it has something to do with public funding.</p>
<p>In the three years since he entered the university of Vermont in Burlington as a freshman, Bryan Cordeau says he has watched his school bills jump.</p>
<p>Bryan Cordeau\UVM Senior “The increase in price is pretty astronomical.”</p>
<p>The cost of a college education is on the rise on campuses across the country… And many families are finding it hard to keep up.</p>
<p>Scott Giles\VP, VSAC “We’ve seen college costs rise 2% per year faster than incomes have.”</p>
<p>When it comes to public institutions, though, it seems tuitions vary greatly depending on where you live. and a new report finds Vermont to be the most expensive. According to the college board’s annual “trends in college pricing” … Vermont has the highest in-state public four-year tuition and fees, at more than 11-thousand dollars… Followed by New Jersey.</p>
<p>“But University of Vermont President Dan Fogel says the numbers are somewhat misleading. While it’s true- public tuition in Vermont is the highest in the nation … it’s also true, he says, that state spending per student is, in fact, the lowest.”</p>
<p>Tough being a Vermont resident as the state U tuition is similar to a private. However, Valedictorians that are residents of Vermont are offered free tuition at the U of Vt. for all 4 years.</p>
<p>October 30, 2008
Vermont college tuition tops nation</p>
<p>(Anya Huneke, NECN) - A new report out puts Vermont’s public colleges at the top of the list, for tuition. This is not the first time Vermont has ranked most expensive. But some in the state’s higher education system say there’s a good explanation-- and it has something to do with public funding.</p>
<p>When it comes to public institutions, though, it seems tuitions vary greatly depending on where you live. and a new report finds Vermont to be the most expensive. According to the college board’s annual “trends in college pricing” … Vermont has the highest in-state public four-year tuition and fees, at more than 11-thousand dollars… Followed by New Jersey.</p>
<p>“But University of Vermont President Dan Fogel says the numbers are somewhat misleading. While it’s true- public tuition in Vermont is the highest in the nation … it’s also true, he says, that state spending per student is, in fact, the lowest.”</p>