Yes the Evans is a full ride and room and board too…he has all of the qualifications…and so do many others…he hast been called for his interview.
All of those are merit scholarships, we received most of them before I filled out the fafsa.
His scores are 25 and 3.62. He wants to major in secondary education. What you are saying makes total sense…its just his dream was my dream too…I didn’t have the dream and I wanted it for my son.
His scores are 25 and 3.62. He wants to major in secondary education. What you are saying makes total sense....its just his dream was my dream too...I didn't have the dream and I wanted it for my son
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for someone who wants to major in education, then paying a lot for undergrad just doesn’t make sense. He won’t earn more.
His dream is his future career. I know it’s disappointing, but seriously most kids don’t get to go away to school because it is sooooo expensive…and aid is often elusive.
The sooner you can get his head turned towards affordable schools the better…you may hear some whining and complaining but that will end, especially when he knows that the money just isn’t there. He may think that HE can borrow the money…no, he can’t. He can only borrow $5,500.
What other IL publics might give him more merit? Are those deadlines past?
Hopefully others can make some suggestions.
I know that many love Truman State in Missouri and they give merit…but I don’t know what stats are needed.
We have a thread here of low-cost schools…some may be too far away though.
Though it is very impressive that your son has gotten some great scholarships already, please bear in mind that it isn’t the amount anyone gets that is as relevant as what the bottom line cost at each school is. We were ever so impressed when my one son got a $30K scholarship, and it was really tough reality check to realize that the cost for him going to that school was still going to be $30K. At that time, our state schools costs were low enough so that a mere $2500 merit award from one of them was still the better deal, since that brought the net cost down to about $13K.
My one son did get a very nice award from a local Catholic school that pretty much covered the tuition. In that case, it would have been less expensive than community college if he had chosen that option and commuted, as even the commuting costs were less going to that private option since it was located closer to home and was a very easy drive. A lot of his peers, many of them from well to do household took that offer, and are doing very well. So do look at local options. Living at home is about $7-12K in support from you that doesn’t cost you that amount since the core expenses are still their, and the true marginal cost for an extra person are lower. Living away is expensive, and yes, unexpected expenses are pretty much inevitable… My college son found that out the hard way—he is very organized and plans his budget with great care. But things happen, sometimes outside of the allowance you give for unexpected things.
It would be wonderful for him to get that full ride award, or anything that brings your costs down to an affordable level, but do realize that you are dealing with schools that simply do not meet full need. Nor do your state school which are very expensive relative to most of the state schools in this country. Also understand, that without a very large merit award that is pretty much a full ride, you will have to pay the EFC before getting dollar one. Scholarships often reduce financial need the way it works, so it’s not as though you are likely to be able to stack awards when need based money is involved.
So, do keep fingers crossed for that full ride, generous merit and/or financial aid, but also start looking around for local affordable options.
Where does your son want to be a secondary teacher? If it’s Illinois, he should be considering schools in Illinois as they will have the certification course sequence he needs.
As a starting teacher, he will not have the income to want to pay $140,000 in loans…that is about $1500 a month for ten years.
There are Catholic campus ministries at almost all schools.
While you should definitely also look at some local (public) options as financial safeties, above is a neat search tool for finding jesuit schools by region and major.
If you can find a school he can commute to or where the net price is $10,000 or less (after scholarship and Pell or institutional grants) that could be covered by the student loan of $5,500, work study and maybe a state grant or summer earnings.
John Carroll U has a Presidential Scholarship for your son’s stats, is Ohio too far? They have rolling admission so maybe still a chance for merit? Also on that map looks like Detroit Mercy and Wheeling Jesuit aren’t that far, it is close to Xavier.
Also a quick google search for “secondary education major Chicago Illinois” shows schools like DePaul, UIC, Loyola, Roosevelt, Northcentral College…
According to the data provided it looks like they would offer your son a $20,000 merit scholarship. Tuition is $30,500 and room/board is almost $10,000. They also have a competitive scholarship worth $2,500 in honor of Mr. Rogers whose hometown is nearby. http://www.stvincent.edu/FRS/
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please bear in mind that it isn't the amount anyone gets that is as relevant as what the bottom line cost at each school is. We were ever so impressed when my one son got a $30K scholarship, and it was really tough reality check to realize that the cost for him going to that school was still going to be $30K.
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The above is the important issue. ^^^^^ Net cost is everything!!! A $15k merit award means NOTHING if the net cost requires large loans.
The mom has indicated that even paying her EFC (less than $5k) will be difficult, so schools that give merit, but will have a remaining cost of $15k+ really aren’t’ doable.
As a future teacher, I would recommend borrowing as little as possible…certainly not more than $5k per year for the student. there is still a masters/accreditation year to pay for as well. (My niece just borrowed $40k from her parents for that year alone…yikes…she had no undergrad debt.)
QUICKLY find some LOW NET COST schools from the low cost list on the FA page.
I recommend gently making it clear that lots of people, including smart successful people, are not able to attend their first choice of college. It is not a good idea to get overly fixed on one school.
I am a firm believer that it is best, when possible, for students to go away to college, rather than stay home. However, that is not always possible. Metro Chicago is rich with a vast range of colleges. Surely there is a four-year school close to home. Can he live at home for Loyola? If not, then keep looking. This is essential.
batmom96 wrote:
Marquette is really the only one of the 4 he wants to go to
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Sit down with your son and go over the costs with him. If he doesn’t care or understand the costs and potential impact to you/him if big loans are taken then he isn’t mature enough to make this decision.
I ran the M net price calculator with your info. It indicated that at a minimum, you’d be offered at least a $26k per year Plus Loan and your son would be offered about $7k in Stafford/Perkins loans after all possible aid and possible merit. The aid is iffy because it included a SEOG grant which often doesn’t get awarded.
so…at least $32k in loans? No way.
More likely he hasn’t visited many schools, so M is just the one he liked best of the four. Plus, since he attends a Catholic high school, then likely there are classmates who are also talking about attending this or that pricey Catholic univ.
What univs can he commute to? Has he asked his dad how much is in his college fund?
You all have given me a lot to think about. I pretty much cried myself to sleep last night. Do any of you know if I have divorce papers that say dad had to pay 50%, how does that get enforced?
I emailed GC and she advised not to panic and we have to see what financial package each school gives. I am going to start looking tonight for other state schools because u of il is not cheap and niu doesn’t have his major.
He wants to teach in Il. He could commute to Loyola.
UIC’s tuition is about $15K a year. There are merit awards and possible financial aid there–look on the web site, and see if the GC can help with some of the awards that require paperwork.
As for your divorce papers, that is something you need to discuss with an attorney. Your state law and what is written exactly on the papers will have a lot to do with that.
Loyola is a private school that does not guarantee to meet full need, and rarely does so. The sticker price is alot more than what UIC would be, so there would have to be a lot of money given out to even get the price down to what the state school would cost just in terms of tuition.
The fact of the matter is that most students commute to college, even do it part time, working part time at least, often full time. Going a way to school is a luxury.
I was delusional thinking of him going to marqutte…3 years ago I didn’t even know that school existed. There is so much emphasis of going to college at his school and not having fulfilled that dream for myself I feel I have to do this. But after reading all of this advice, I know we need more options.
I don’t think you were or are delusional. It is possible that all will work out for Marquette. But it is also possible that it will not, and you and your son need to be prepared for that very real possibility.
College costs are often met by a combination of past, present and future earnings on part of the parents and the student. You and your ex have some 529s which is more than a lot of families have, which can be the past portion for yourself If your son has some money saved, that is in the picture too.(though I advise he reimburse you for expenses, spend it down or put it in the 529 so it doesn’t show up as student assets the day he files FAFSA and other fin aid forms–student assets get hit a whomping 20% with NO protection allowance). You are employed and hopefully your ex will help out somewhat. Whether you get court ordered money from him due to the divorce agreement is something legal counsel will have to discuss with you and what you have to do to get the funds. Your son should work this summer, (and even start looking for some weekend jobs right now) to get some present funds together. You need to tighten the strings even more (yes, I know, it’s tight already and at a negative, but you gotta look for even more ways to cut expenses). And then there is borrowing Whether your ex or you can or should borrow is a question, as well as your son borrowing whatever a school offers him on a subsidized basis and what else he can borrow He will be limited as students are not permitted to borrow that much, but if push comes to shove and you or ex don’t qualify for Parent loans, he could borrow up to $9500 in student loans.
But looking at the costs for Marquette, it’s a lot of financial aid, scholarship, loans, workstudy to bring that down to what you, your ex and your student can pay. It may not be worth it with other options out there.
One of my closest friends has a DIL who is a teacher. She went to community college , working part time for several years, and then transferred to a state 4 year school, commuting from home all of the time. She makes a living wage as a teacher just like those who went to private school for the education My son’s SO chose to stay home and commute to a state directional school, and is now getting her masters in OT at a private school, still commuting from home Again, she found work that paid well, and will be paying better when she gets her MS, without going away to school. My son who did go to his “dream” school put us in debt for 15 years with the loans we took for him to go there, and he isn’t making what she likely will be, and was not happy with his experience. We took the short,fast immediate payback route and it still was very painful and expensive taking out those loans.
thanks to all who’ve contributed to this thread. the information is very helpful to those of us who are just getting a grip on college costs. i’m going to share the link with some parents i know.