You can borrow $5,500 for your freshman year with the federal student loans. That would leave $6,500 still unpaid at NYU. The loan amounts go up in later years ($6,500 sophomore year, $7,500 junior year, and $7,500 senior year) but tuition and fees will probalby also increase. Any loans other than the federal loans will require a cosigner, or your parents will need to borrow the money with a PLUS loan. Many parents can’t borrow that kind of money. We couldn’t. Our kid had to go to the cheaper college.
Not having Work Study money at Macaulay is good. That means if you want to look for a part-time job you can, but you don’t absolutely have to try to pin one down.