<p>"“think she WANTS to go to Alabama, but may have to go elsewhere for a couple of years. She does have that full tuition scholarship, but wanted help for room and board. She did apply for a number of local and other scholarships with no luck…I think her family makes too much money for need schollys…of course that doesn’t mean they can easily write a check for the balance.”"</p>
<p>Be SURE to explain to her (and her parents) that if she gives up the Bama scholarship she will NOT get anything like that as a later transfer. The CC transfer awards are very small. If her parents cant help pay now, then they wont likely be able to later unless some windfall of money happens.</p>
<p>Many people wrongly think that a big merit offer as a frosh, mean that they want HER and will give it to her as a transfer. The school wants her stats as an incoming frosh.</p>
<p>Her parents dont need to write a check for the balance. If the girl takes out a $5500 loan, and contributes a couple thousand from work over the summer, the parents may only have to contribute about $4-5k…which they could pay monthly using the Bama Plan (tell them about that, but I think it starts in July, so sign up is soon). </p>
<p>I dont know what the parents are paying for now, but many families see some home savings when a child goes off to college…less food, less water, no music/dance lessons, etc.</p>
<p>The parents may also qualify for the tuition tax credit, so that money can be dedicated to the child.</p>
<p>They can also take out a Plus Loan for a small amount if necessary. If they wont qualify for a Plus Loan then the D can borrow another $4k on top of the 5500. If one parent has bad credit, then an option would be to have THAT parent apply, so she can get that extra 4k.</p>
<p>She can also get a part-time job during the school year to cover her day to day expenses. </p>