Okay, I’ll try to be brief. I started my FAFSA for 2015-2016 today and reached the stage where you list the institutions you want information shared. I am narrowed down to the University of Toledo and Lourdes University. What order should you use on the FAFSA to get the most state aid? My gut tells me to list UT first, especially since Lourdes is a private, not-for-profit. What would you do if you were in my shoes? Also, if you have any suggestions on making the decision, it would be much appreciated…
Can you list just one college, submit it, then later update it by replacing that college with the other one and resubmit? This way each college might view itself as your first choice.
Ah, I see what you’re saying. That makes sense. Do you have any idea how long it takes to process each request? Do you have to wait until the first school processes your FAFSA to resubmit? In doing so, would I miss any deadlines? Lastly, when you go to submit to the second school, would you just swap it out with the other and go through the Sign/Confirm pages again? Sorry for having so many questions, it’s my first FAFSA; I’ve had college classes before, but never had to file.
in california it is best to order the schools descending in the amount of potential cal grant.
@rgosula How do you determine which school has the highest potential grant money?
@Madison85 When you file separately, do you just swap out college names and sign and confirm a second time?
@Madison85 I read somewhere that this won’t work—every school will see every other school you list, even if you file one at a time. One suggestion would be to list them all alphabetically, which might be the best way to go except for the state aid issue.
But the schools won’t know your order of preference if you submit one at a time.
For the Cal-grant, you must be a CA resident and a CA HS grad, going to a CA school. The top 5 schools you list on the FAFSA are sent to the California Student Aid Commission. The order of the schools has nothing to do with the amount of money you get. It’s just a matter of logistics.
I think uc gets most, then privates, then csu, then cc.
Calgrant
@Madison85 I never thought of it like that. If I were to file separately would I just replace one school’s name with the other one and sign and confirm again??? Confused…
@Planner Do you happen to remember where you read it? If not, no big deal. I mean, they’re separate filings, so how would institution A see institution B? Just curious…
@rgosula Thank you! That clears up some confusion.
@kgos16 Here’s my issue, I live just across the state line from UT and qualify for their in-state tuition. Would I be considered for grants via the Ohio grant office or Michigan’s?
The University of Toledo (www.utoledo.edu) is a public university. On the other hand, Lourdes University (www.lourdes.edu) is a private, not-for-profit university. While I received extremely generous scholarships from both institutions, I will still be forced to pay some out of pocket costs (depending on how much I am awarded from the FAFSA). At this time, UT is the school with the lowest out-of-pocket costs at $2750-ish/year, while Lourdes would be roughly $9,000-ish/year.
As an Accounting major, I am looking at the bottom line: What am I getting for my money? I know this is not always the best thing to do, but I cannot help myself. If money were no object, I would go to Lourdes in a heartbeat, but I will be paying for the majority of my education, therefore the prospect of $2,750/year is hard to shy away from…what would you do?
Is it better to go for the lower out-of-pocket now or pay more now and risk reaping possible rewards later?
Apply to both, wait for admissions and aid results, then decide. Maybe Lourdes will end up being more cost effective for you (assuming of course you are admitted to both).
Alphabetical order is OK. In the case of a sizable public U like U of T, I wouldn’t expect that the Fin Aid office has the time to worry about whether they are first, last, or other. So if you go with alphabetical order, Lourdes would be first, then U of T.
You would need to look at those states individual grant qualifications. I doubt an out of state student would qualify for a specific state grant.
@kgos16 I qualify for in-state tuition (our county has reciprocity due to the close proximity). I will also be living at home.
@happymomof1 I have applied to both, been accepted and offered generous scholarships to both. Leaving FAFSA out, UT it much, much more cost effective, just because it is a public institution. I took the following from my previous post:
The University of Toledo (www.utoledo.edu) is a public university. On the other hand, Lourdes University (www.lourdes.edu) is a private, not-for-profit university. While I received extremely generous scholarships from both institutions, I will still be forced to pay some out of pocket costs (depending on how much I am awarded from the FAFSA). At this time, UT is the school with the lowest out-of-pocket costs at $2750-ish/year, while Lourdes would be roughly $9,000-ish/year.
As an Accounting major, I am looking at the bottom line: What am I getting for my money? I know this is not always the best thing to do, but I cannot help myself. If money were no object, I would go to Lourdes in a heartbeat, but I will be paying for the majority of my education, therefore the prospect of $2,750/year is hard to shy away from…what would you do?
Is it better to go for the lower out-of-pocket now or pay more now and risk reaping possible rewards later?
Do they both have a 5 year program (5th year is a Masters) or a program with 150 credits so you can take the CPA exam?
You should risk reaping rewards later, if there truly will be a difference. You are at the beginning of a long career. Your choices now have great leverage and will be magnified by effects of compounding over your lifetime.
Right now, you have one variable- about $30,000 cost difference- amortized over a lifetime. You need to list all the variables that matter to you and give each one a weight according to its relative value to you. Then score (1-10) the variable for each school. The cost of attendance should be one of these variables, so U-T would get a 10 and Lourdes would get a 6? or a 3? whatever you decide. Other variables could be class size, quality of career center placements, winter parking convenience, etc. Multiply the variable weight by the score and sum up the values. You will see which one ends up being the best value according to your criteria.
Compare the scores. If you still have no opinion, go with the higher score. If you don’t want to go with the higher score (after all that), know that you do have a preference, and go with the lower score. Don’t look back. Enjoy college!
University of Toledo has a Masters of Science in Accounting, this would qualify you to sit for the CPA exam. The CPA exam pass rate for graduates is slightly higher than the national average.
Does Lourdes have a Masters in Accounting? Does Lourdes have internship agreements with Big 4 accounting firms? What is the CPA exam pass rate for Lourdes graduates?
As a future accountant, you need to factor in that 5th year (cost), and intangibles like career prospects, internship opportunities, ability to sit for CPA exam, and overall, how well you will be prepared for your future career.
Where is the extra $9,000 each year going to come from? You can’t borrow that much on your own. Can your family pay it, or pay the amount remaining after a federal student loan?
Run the Net Price Calculator for each institution. Check through the websites for more information about how merit and need-based aid are handled. If it isn’t on the website, email the financial aid offices and ask. Sometimes federal need-based aid can be stacked on top of merit-aid. Sometimes if there is federal money coming, it replaces part of the merit component. It really, truly is OK to ask both universities how they handle this.
@Madison85 Thanks for the information–it’s definitely something to consider. I actually only need four years at UT, I have almost all of freshman year knocked out via dual enrollment. I have already checked and the courses will transfer to Lourdes and UT.
@ItsJustSchool Thanks so much! This really helps in narrowing down between the two, especially with the cost difference.