The federal student loan is $5500 as a freshman, $6500 as a sophomore, and $7500/year as a junior and senior ($27k total). If a student gets need based or merit aid, that helps cut the costs. Parents pay the rest. Any loans over the $27k student loan have to be co-signed by parents.
It seems like trying to stay close to home may be the most limiting factor in terms of your budget. There are definitely more options if you look further afield in the West or South. For example the University of Utah offers both Environmental Science and Asian Studies (and Japanese) and you can get residency after the first year which brings the COA down to about $20K.
Also worth noting that at many public flagships the Honors College is a great option for students who are at the upper end of the GPA/SAT range amongst admitted students. And if you want merit, your D’s stats had better be at the upper end of the range anyway.
BTDT on shedding tears because my bank account and budget did not allow me to send my oldest to the Top 10 schools that DD was accepted to. I felt like I let my child down. But she had found some schools she liked that we knew would be affordable and she’s at one now and loving her life there. She doesn’t have to work 20 hours/week in order to eat, which has given her the freedom to participate in other activities that bring her much joy.
I think you have to look at the college search like a house search. There are three main factors in buying a house: price, location, and condition. When your budget is limited, you have to pick two out of three; you just can’t get them all. College is like that: price, location, matching the other criteria. Something has to give when you’re on a budget. If you’re not willing to give up other criteria (like Asian Studies and studying in Japan), and your budget is limited, then maybe location is the variable you have to change. I agree with others who have said that you probably should expand the search geographically.
"“no, you cannot go to the schools you have earned your way into…” You know, that’s an emotional, not a rational, way of looking at it. No one just earns earns their way into a dream, there are many considerations.
Plus, I mean this nicely, but if you don’t recognize the $5500 loan figure, you may be behind in understanding much about paying for college. Maybe you need, “How to Pay for College Without Going Broke.”
The simplistic answer is that the OP wants the college education to be good, close to home and cheap. The dilemma is that the solution set only allows them to pick two.
My kid1 is a college freshman, and kid2 is a senior in high school. It took way too long for me to get a handle on college costs as being real, and feel good that you’re here asking questions. I learned so much from reading posts and asking questions. Yes, sometimes I felt as if I’ve been kicked in the butt, and I then did some really big picture planning, and determined what we could afford to pay each year each kid. With those boundaries set, the net price calculators on each colleges’ website was very important for list building. Kid#1 was accepted into almost all of his schools, and waitlisted at one. Most importantly, when the aid came in, he had choices that were affordable for us. I also will say this, we thought we couldn’t “tighten the belt” with money, but we have found ways to cut back. We’ve really changed our mindset about needs vs. wants, it is a process, but a good one. I feel good that we’ve been able to model “living lean” for our kids, which I hope will stick with them as young adults.
I have been told at interviews that my college “wasn’t good enough” to even be considered as a candidate. I still remember the bitter sting of that. I know, one might say “then they don’t deserve you”, and as right as that may be, it’s still the reality. So at the end of the day, I’m aiming high if I can pull off a miracle for the kids, but reality may bring me to what in the end is a very logical option (CT state schools, with the option to transfer after 2 years to UConn)
Had no idea that was even an option, thank you.
Agree on that, I have currently tagged Stony Brook, Binghamton and Buffalo as options. I realize these schools are very solid. Niche has them as overall “A” schools, with “A” in value as well. In fact, given her desire to be in Env Science, SUNY College of Enc Science & Forestry might be the best option of all, but the Asian Studies minor and abroad could be more of an issue.
If I am reading the numbers right, the SUNY schools appear to be about 25-27K out of state.
Uconn state schools, a big drop off in quality compared to SUNY out of state schools, with tuition in the 11-12K range (13/14k cheaper than the SUNY).
Agree that your D could get a great education at a number of flagships for around the same cost as UCONN if that doesn’t work out for her. South Carolina, Alabama, Missouri, maybe others. Possibility of honors programs and dorms and I think she’d have a great experience!
@HankCT here are the links, and the costs. Unless your kid is going to live in a car or tent…here are the costs. You need to include EVERYTHING…tuition, feels, room, board, books, personal expenses.
https://www.binghamton.edu/admissions/cost/index.html $41706
https://admissions.buffalo.edu/costs/index.php $41705
http://www.collegecalc.org/colleges/new-york/stony-brook-university/. $41889
http://www.collegecalc.org/colleges/new-york/suny-college-of-environmental-science-and-forestry/ $ $36,953
Still for an OOS student, these costs in the northeast are less than say…UVM, or UMass Amherst…or UNH which is in the $50,000 a year range.
University of Rhode Island is about $42,000 a year. They do offer some merit aid.
My son also wanted to attend a state flagship. He was an above average student and did not get in. Since he ONLY wanted this one school, he went to a Junior College in the same college town and got a 4.0. He was accepted to his dream school(with merit money!) for Sophomore year. This worked out well for him. He considers his first year as kind of a speed bump he had to overcome. He still had a taste of the college life that year, but his goal was in sight the whole time. Maybe there is more than one way to approach the issue.
Look to Western Universities.
At U of New Mexico, your daughter would qualify for the Amigo scholarship (in state tuition). Room/Board/Tuition at in-state rates is about 18K per year.
U of Wyoming also has auto merit for stats for out of state students, check the website for details.
ASU’s NPC provides information about what level of merit scholarship she might qualify for. Barrett Honors College is very well regarded and Phoenix is served by many airlines and direct flights.
Fingers crossed she gets into U Conn and it ends up being affordable!
True, but the student has to become a Utah resident, file taxes as an independent person (which means the parents lose the exemption and the AOTC) and live in Utah most of the year (summers). Not all 18-19 year olds have the ability or desire to do that.
There are a lot of schools that give merit awards. She need to look at which schools have her Japanese program paired with her major. Location is really going to limit her options
My DD attended a school with a COA of about $50k (when she started; it went up every year!). She had about $20k in merit aid, bringing the cost to her to $30k, which was still $10k above the state school price. She then used other scholarships and aid to bring the cost down to our range. Her compromise was location.
Our EFC (I just got that back from FAFSA) is $63,396.
After taking out income taxes, and 401k contributions, and medical premiums, that’s about half of our total take home income. How I wish we were currently only spending about 50-60% of our take home …
^ that’s the minimum a school would expect you to pay. Of course, that’s only if you choose a university that costs at least that much.
Or you could help your child choose one that is within your budget, and spend less.
I think our EFC was about double that, and the oldest kid’s choices ranged from $10k-$40k after merit. We gave him a budget of the cost of the instate flagship (~$25k/year) and he went hunting for merit (ending up being full ride so there’s that.)
It doesn’t matter what the EFC is- it only matters what you as the parent are willing to spend. So it doesn’t matter at all how realistic the EFC is to your household budget or your income.
Well, now you know. From here on out, the only relevant number is what you can ACTUALLY afford with a granular plan on where every dime is coming from.
After that, it’s time for a sit-down with your D. This will not be the last time in her life that she’s got to prioritize her wish list in order to keep within a budget. One of my kids wanted to do a study abroad in a specific place with some specific goals. It didn’t work with the rest of the course sequence-- the program overseas wasn’t that flexible, and the major back at the home university had too many complicated requirements. We told ALL our kids upfront- 8 semesters, period. Anything that delays graduation- that’s on them to figure it out. So we would not sign off on a plan that allowed for the overseas study but added an extra semester on to the degree.
Guess what? Kid got a fellowship which paid for flights, a stipend for living expenses, and a modest salary to work for a professor in the same city where the study abroad program was located. Did it the summer after freshman year. Had to come home the day of the last final in early May and work every shift possible at the hated HS summer job in order to make enough money to cover some of the other expenses. But instead of us paying to live abroad, someone else was picking up the tab. Yes, there were essays and an interview involved in winning the fellowship. Guess what- you’re a college kid. Writing essays is your core competence. Was it the same as the 6 month study abroad plus travel afterwards? No. Did it cost us anything? No. A good compromise all around.
Find out from your D which are the non-negotiables (being close to home?) and what she’s prepared to do without. That plus your budget is going to give you a framework to start the hunt.
If your FAFSA EFC is $63,000…your income is higher than $200,000 a year or so…or you have a huge amount saved (which is a good thing).
https://fafsa.ed.gov/FAFSA/app/f4cForm suggests that married parents with one student going to college in Connecticut, an income of $256,000 and assumed assets of $89,516 has a FAFSA EFC of $63,264.
Other combinations of income and assets:
$73,000 income, $1,000,000 assets => $63,468 FAFSA EFC.
$164,000 income, $500,000 assets => $63,433 FAFSA EFC.
Colleges may calculate their own EFCs for their own financial aid differently from the FAFSA EFC calculation. Use each college’s net price calculator to see, but do not expect much grant aid at this level of income and assets.
As noted above the best option is to cast a wider geographic net. If she’s willing to study abroad for a year then going elsewhere in the US shouldn’t be a deal breaker.
Just on the point about Utah above (though of course that is far from the only option): “True, but the student has to become a Utah resident, file taxes as an independent person (which means the parents lose the exemption and the AOTC) and live in Utah most of the year (summers). Not all 18-19 year olds have the ability or desire to do that.”
There are no federal exemptions for dependents under current tax law and the AOTC would not be available to OP since his income is “over $200,000” as detailed in his original posts. So in this case there would be no loss of federal tax benefits (and it doesn’t in any way limit the parent from providing financial support, despite this being described as “financial independence”). You just live in Utah for the summer after freshman year, after that you can do whatever you want outside term time. The University of Utah encourages OOS students seeking residency to become orientation leaders: you get free room and board for the summer and get paid as well. While it might not be to everyone’s taste, it is a very straightforward process.
Are you self employed? Is that why your medical premiums are high?
Something isn’t right here. You say you have NO savings…no assets really because you couldn’t save…but your EFC is $63,000? If that EFC is based solely on income…your income exceeds $240,000 a year or so. Because there is nothing else adding to your EFC. No assets, no savings, no second home.
@HankCT The Florida State U and USF both have OOS COAs close to UCONN IS. One of my nephews transferred to USF from UCONN and had a great experience.
If your D is willing to consider smaller schools, she is likely be eligible for the $35K Gateway scholarship at Ursinus College in PA (The Gateway Scholarship guarantees admissible applicants who earn an ACT of 27+ or SAT of 1220+ $35,000/year). Current COA for 2018/19 is $65K. Ursinus is a nice LAC and one of the CTCL.org schools.
Ursinus has an East Asian Studies major and minor, with study abroad opportunities, and also an Environmental Studies major and minor. A freind’s D attended Ursinus and loved it.