OOS FA for parentless sister, staying with teacher. University of Arizona.

Paying for College
1

Long story.

My sister, after losing her mother, used to live with aunt and uncle (court mandated, not adoption,) and went to middle and high school for 3 years in AZ. Bad things happen, CPS gets involved, father comes out of the woodwork, sister moves to TX with father beginning of sophomore yr.

1 yr later, loses father, lives part time with brother who came from overseas to take care of her. Brother has to go back to work in Europe, teacher in school steps up and takes care of her for 3 months. During this time, she gets credits to graduate early, and gets accepted to UoA, with 6000$/yr merit scholarship. Does not apply to TX schools bc she is afraid of overly religious people, and counselor says she won’t get in to UT Austin…

Her CV:
SAT mid 1900s, GPA somewhere above 3 (not sure exactly where), lot’s of EC’s and state/national competitions with awards. Volunteering.

She is legally blind because of a degenerate condition in her eyes called RP, though she CAN see, barely, and lives normally with adjustment and training which she has had for 10+ years.

Her Financial aid award:
Her EFC is 0 from Fafsa, and she is a bona-fide independent student, with no legal parents. Her brother is her legal conservator until next September (can decide living situation and make financial decisions.)

She desperately wants to become a psychiatrist (she wants to do research) and does not want to learn a new language and work in Europe. She wants to live and work in the US. She has about 30,000$ in a foreign country for her, held by a distant family member, which the family member won for wrongful death of our mother.

She does not have the option of living with family and attending local community college, no family left in the US. She will also be only 17, so needs a proper campus environment/student housing. How do we make UoA a reality for her?

She should get pellgrant + 6000/yr from UA plus a few random scholarships she applied to. But that leaves about 15-25k/yr correct? No parents can sign for that large a loan for her. What can we do to make college a reality for my sister?

2

Independent students can qualify for Pell up to 5.700 plus a federal loan of 9,500. Some states have funds if it is your home state.

a) state grants from your home state for instate colleges
b) the college you apply to
c) outside scholarships and grants that you apply for that you fit the criteria for as far as merit, low income, ethnicity, disabilities etc (usually starting in fall of your Sr year of HS)

Applying to colleges you can afford or that will provide you fund is really key. It isn’t realistic to just pick a college and think the funds will appear, unless your family can come up with it for you. Not applying to affordable colleges because of ‘being afraid of overly religious people is childish.’ I hope you can help her find something she can afford. If there is out of state tuition involved she could request a waiver due to having some ties there and being orphaned but I don’t know if that is possible, I think some states do it.

Many students that do have parents still cannot qualify for a large loan. It isn’t wise anyway. The amount she is allowed to take is already too large imo.

Student Federal Direct Loan

Independent
freshman 9,500
sophomore 10,500
jr 12,500
sr 12,500
Lifetime loan limit for undergraduates = 57,500
https://studentaid.ed.gov/types/loans/subsidized-unsubsidized#how-much

3

If she gets Pell, $6,000 scholarship and $9,500 loan that would be almost $22,000. Could the relative pay the rest out of that $30,000? Would she be able to have 12 months housing on campus to stay there during breaks and summer? She should definitely work during schoolyear and summer to help with costs.
Is the money held for her by the relative in her name? She might have to report it as an asset on the FAFSA.

4

There is a chance she could be considered an Arizona resident, or get government sponsored help with college for sticking for 10+ years with her disability program. This program has been transferred from state to state with her.

The money is not held in her name, and it could be exclusively used for her college needs spread out over 3-4 years.

I guess if Arizona’s price can come down by a few grand by means of scholarships or waivers, this is plausible.

What she will do in her breaks is not the barrier though. That can be managed I am sure.

5

Definitely find out if she qualifies for state grants and other assistance.

6

First of all, let me say that I can’t imagine what her home life has been like. She is very young to be thrust into an immediate situation like this, so it will be difficult no matter what her future entails.

I am a realist, however, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

Is UT Austin the only school in Texas with religious people?

I don’t think she can make Arizona financially happen as an OOS student. Psychiatry involves graduate school. If she thinks school is expensive now, wait until grad school. She needs to make her education as inexpensive as possible and that would mean staying in-state with less expensive options. She may have to impose on her teacher friend for a gap year.

I’ve worked with young adults with disabilities for years; they try really hard to be self-reliant and to have others view them as “independent”. Having a disability and leaning on that diagnosis, as a crutch for finances and sympathy, won’t work.

If she wants to attend school in Arizona, that is her choice; but, it doesn’t mean that she may easily find funding. She needs to consider some of the public schools in Texas that would be less expensive because overall, her education is going to be very expensive. If she can’t move past dealing with religious nuts, then she may want to consider another major.

Just looking at this pragmatically.

7

Sorry, it’s med school, not grad school, that will be extremely costly-$200K minimum.

8

Good advice overall, thanks.

I think for her career, she is looking at becoming a researcher instead of a doctor, so perhaps the path is different? Maybe she will have to settle on a more academic or job oriented field, or she will have to sacrifice and get huge loans for med-school.

Regardless, your advice is much appreciated.

I just wanted to do due diligence, and see if anyone knew of anyway that she can make Arizona happen OOS. It may be possible if she finds some scholarships.

I think her GPA is quite a bit better than I am letting on, and she has several 4’s and 5’s on AP classes. So she may yet find more scholarships…

9

UT Austin is probably the least religious school in Texas. I exaggerate, but it’s pretty silly to write off a host of affordable in-state options for that reason.

10

I think I was unclear. She wanted UT Austin, but none of the other TX schools.

I also agree that the reason is pretty ridiculous, and the financials may end up forcing her to go back for in-state options.

Currently, she is trying to see if she can be counted as an AZ resident, as she was a ward of the court in AZ.

11

Is she a citizen? If not, there may be more problems when she turns 18 than college. If she is, the state may pay for her first year/semester of college as she’s still in state care. Of course, that would mean Texas. And there are ‘overly religious people’ in AZ too.

She can’t afford an OOS school. She needs to look at ‘right now’, not medical school or grad school. Also, check that the $6000 wasn’t for OOS students and that she’d lose that if she got instate tuition in AZ. It’s all such a balancing act. I’d check with the National Association for the Blind to see if it knows of any funding or assistance.

12

Practically speaking, unless Arizona considers her in-state, she needs to stay in Texas. So she avoids Southern Methodist and Baylor due to religious issues, there are plenty of other places. UTEP/El Paso has a low cost of living, for example.