Umass or New Paltz (NEED URGENT HELP)

[abiabu]

I might show my dad so that both parents can see umass and tell me whether its viable or not

[austinmshauri]

@sybbie719 can answer questions about the [Excelsior Grant](Tuition-Free Degree Program: The Excelsior Scholarship), but I think the deal is pretty straightforward. The state is the last payer for tuition (so it’s applied after Pell) and only covers tuition.

From the NYS website:

In order to apply, students must:

• Be residents of New York State
• Attend a SUNY or CUNY two- or four-year degree program
• Take 30 credits per calendar year (including January and Summer sessions)
• Plan to live and work in New York following graduation for the length of time they participate in the scholarship program

Make sure you understand the rules, especially the last one. In addition, every course you take has to count toward your major, so plan wisely.

In order to qualify for the Excelsior your family income has to be less than $125k/year, so make sure you know your budget. Can your parents pay $30k/year out of that income?

[sybbie719]

Are either of your parents a NYS resident with a physical presence in NYS?

Who has legal custody of you?

Who do you live with?

Where does your other parent live? Are you 100% certain that you are eligible for in-state tuition? You may not be eligible for
MA in-state tuition if you do not reside with the MA parent

[abiabu]

@austinmshauri

@sybbie719 can answer questions about the [Excelsior Grant](Tuition-Free Degree Program: The Excelsior Scholarship), but I think the deal is pretty straightforward. The state is the last payer for tuition (so it’s applied after Pell) and only covers tuition.

From the NYS website:

In order to apply, students must:

• Be residents of New York State
• Attend a SUNY or CUNY two- or four-year degree program
• Take 30 credits per calendar year (including January and Summer sessions)
• Plan to live and work in New York following graduation for the length of time they participate in the scholarship program

Make sure you understand the rules, especially the last one. In addition, every course you take has to count toward your major, so plan wisely.

In order to qualify for the Excelsior your family income has to be less than $125k/year, so make sure you know your budget. Can your parents pay $30k/year out of that income?

I am not sure, I dont know how much they make but they say that they can work something out. I dont know if i should trust them with this i have a feeling they might use loans which i dont like, but idk why I am leaning toward umass. i just called my dad and he said that its a rlly good school. I just am worried if its worth it or not.

[abiabu]

@sybbie719

Are either of your parents a NYS resident with a physical presence in NYS?

Who has legal custody of you?

Who do you live with?

Where does your other parent live? Are you 100% certain that you are eligible for in-state tuition? You may not be eligible for
MA in-state tuition if you do not reside with the MA parent

My parents i think have half custody and i live with my mom. mom is in NY dad is in MA

[austinmshauri]

You don’t know what “it” is. Are your parents paying for college or will you be graduating with ~$80-120k in loans? Or is the loan amount somewhere in-between? You need to know that to decide.

Does one of your parents live in MA and the other in NY?

[abiabu]

@austinmshauri

You don’t know what “it” is. Are your parents paying for college or will you be graduating with ~$80-120k in loans? Or is the loan amount somewhere in-between? You need to know that to decide.

Does one of your parents live in MA and the other in NY?

mom is in NY dad is in MA they said they would pay for college and i hope that the loan amount is somewhere in between whenever i question my mom about it she gets annoyed

[Bill_Marsh]

@abiabu

@Bill_Marsh

@Bill_Marsh

@abiabu;d-2187893

HI guys, I am a senior who is probably gonna have to go to college and I have been on the fence about my college decision for months now. I dont have time anymore and I really dont want to choose the wrong school. I got accepted to a lot of SUNYS , but the two school Im looking at rn are New Paltz and Umass. I like both of these schools HOWEVER I am very distraught on which one to pick.

New Paltz is only 19K per year because of scholarship, but then I have to live and work in NY for 4 years or else the scholarship becomes a loan. That’s tricky because Idk if I will be able to work when im at school I always wanted to move away from NY because i dont like it a lot. Umass is 30k, but Umass has better rankings and more people there so I figured i could meet more people and it looks like there are lots of opportunities at Umass. I have been always against college debt, but my mom said it doesnt matter and my dad only knows about New Paltz and not about my acceptance to Umass. Im hesitant to tell him because he might persist and say no.

If i choose Umass I might be able to get a fund from my high school but im not sure. I am really at a loss here. I have been madly researching and doing online tours in order to see if i can choose, but I am still on the fence. I mean, I could just go for the cheaper option but idk if ill get into umass again if i was doing my graduate degree or if i can transfer.

In what state did you attend high school?

I asked because of your statement that you would have to live and work in NY. I’ve read the requirements to be considered a state resident and know they say that you must be in residence for 12 months prior. So the literal interpretation is exactly what you say.

However, if you have had a permanent residence in NY state, maintain a home address, came to a SUNY out of a NY high school, and can provide the necessary documents (NY state driver’s license, NY bank account, etc), I can’t imagine that they’d question where you spend your time. A family could have a second home at a lake or beach where they live in the summer. Does that mean you can’t go as you always have normally? When he was in college, my son had a summer job one year in Yellowstone (Wyoming). It didn’t affect his state resident status.

I don’t live in NY, so I’m no expert on this subject, but I would encourage you to see just how restrictive this is. It’s not like you’re an out of stater trying to establish residence. You already have it. How could they possibly enforce this?

Best of luck.

The scholarship is an Excelsior scholarship and in an email my counselor attached a website link, but it doesnt even work. I searched up the requirements for he scholarship and it didn’t say much about how restrictive it was.

is 30k too much for umass or is it worth it because a lot of people like it, has good food and the facilities look rlly large.

Sorry, but I misunderstood the work and residency requirement.

UMass is only worth the extra $30K if it is a better college to help you advance toward your goals. What are your goals? Why are you going to college in the first place? What are your interests? Intended major? What do you see yourself doing after you graduate from college? 5 years after college? 10 years after college?

UMass certainly isn’t worth it just for its popularity, food, and size.

[abiabu]

@Bill_Marsh

@abiabu

@Bill_Marsh

@Bill_Marsh

@abiabu;d-2187893

HI guys, I am a senior who is probably gonna have to go to college and I have been on the fence about my college decision for months now. I dont have time anymore and I really dont want to choose the wrong school. I got accepted to a lot of SUNYS , but the two school Im looking at rn are New Paltz and Umass. I like both of these schools HOWEVER I am very distraught on which one to pick.

New Paltz is only 19K per year because of scholarship, but then I have to live and work in NY for 4 years or else the scholarship becomes a loan. That’s tricky because Idk if I will be able to work when im at school I always wanted to move away from NY because i dont like it a lot. Umass is 30k, but Umass has better rankings and more people there so I figured i could meet more people and it looks like there are lots of opportunities at Umass. I have been always against college debt, but my mom said it doesnt matter and my dad only knows about New Paltz and not about my acceptance to Umass. Im hesitant to tell him because he might persist and say no.

If i choose Umass I might be able to get a fund from my high school but im not sure. I am really at a loss here. I have been madly researching and doing online tours in order to see if i can choose, but I am still on the fence. I mean, I could just go for the cheaper option but idk if ill get into umass again if i was doing my graduate degree or if i can transfer.

In what state did you attend high school?

I asked because of your statement that you would have to live and work in NY. I’ve read the requirements to be considered a state resident and know they say that you must be in residence for 12 months prior. So the literal interpretation is exactly what you say.

However, if you have had a permanent residence in NY state, maintain a home address, came to a SUNY out of a NY high school, and can provide the necessary documents (NY state driver’s license, NY bank account, etc), I can’t imagine that they’d question where you spend your time. A family could have a second home at a lake or beach where they live in the summer. Does that mean you can’t go as you always have normally? When he was in college, my son had a summer job one year in Yellowstone (Wyoming). It didn’t affect his state resident status.

I don’t live in NY, so I’m no expert on this subject, but I would encourage you to see just how restrictive this is. It’s not like you’re an out of stater trying to establish residence. You already have it. How could they possibly enforce this?

Best of luck.

The scholarship is an Excelsior scholarship and in an email my counselor attached a website link, but it doesnt even work. I searched up the requirements for he scholarship and it didn’t say much about how restrictive it was.

is 30k too much for umass or is it worth it because a lot of people like it, has good food and the facilities look rlly large.

Sorry, but I misunderstood the work and residency requirement.

UMass is only worth the extra $30K if it is a better college to help you advance toward your goals. What are your goals? Why are you going to college in the first place? What are your interests? Intended major? What do you see yourself doing after you graduate from college? 5 years after college? 10 years after college?

UMass certainly isn’t worth it just for its popularity, food, and size.

My thought process is that im not really sure what JOB i wanna truly do in life, because I have a lot of interests but I know that I want to do something with myself that doesnt require me to work paycheck to paycheck and something that interests me. In 5 years I want myself to either be more financially secure or I want to be able to so i think that at umass i might be able to try a lot of different things and see what I like. From this website , umass appears to have more programs and If it gets too expensive i can either transfer or just drop out because i dont wanna tax myself or my family too hard because i made the right/wrong choice.

https://www.collegetuitioncompare.com/edu/166629/university-of-massachusetts-amherst/financial-aid/

Also, it would have been easier for me to choose had i been to each school, but since corona happened i didnt get a chance to go to those school I was only able to go to Oswego and Brockport

[abiabu]

The school said that they might be able to get a grant so i told them umass, but would it be better to choose new paltz?

[CollegeMamb0]

The least amount of debt you have, the more financially secure you’ll be. Especially if your career requires grad school at some point.

Don’t go to a school thinking you can transfer - money for transfers is MUCH worse than for freshman. Plus you have issues like moving credits over etc might mean an extra semester or year is needed.

If your mother is annoyed by finance questions, that signals to me that she has no clear way of paying and is maybe ‘hoping things work out’. Don’t do this. Go to a school you can afford, or take a gap year and reapply.

[abiabu]

I already told the school i am going to umass, but havent made the deposit. Should i quickly change my mind? if i do it now i might have a chance oh god i dont know

[Bill_Marsh]

@abiabu

@Bill_Marsh

@abiabu

@Bill_Marsh

@Bill_Marsh

@abiabu;d-2187893

HI guys, I am a senior who is probably gonna have to go to college and I have been on the fence about my college decision for months now. I dont have time anymore and I really dont want to choose the wrong school. I got accepted to a lot of SUNYS , but the two school Im looking at rn are New Paltz and Umass. I like both of these schools HOWEVER I am very distraught on which one to pick.

New Paltz is only 19K per year because of scholarship, but then I have to live and work in NY for 4 years or else the scholarship becomes a loan. That’s tricky because Idk if I will be able to work when im at school I always wanted to move away from NY because i dont like it a lot. Umass is 30k, but Umass has better rankings and more people there so I figured i could meet more people and it looks like there are lots of opportunities at Umass. I have been always against college debt, but my mom said it doesnt matter and my dad only knows about New Paltz and not about my acceptance to Umass. Im hesitant to tell him because he might persist and say no.

If i choose Umass I might be able to get a fund from my high school but im not sure. I am really at a loss here. I have been madly researching and doing online tours in order to see if i can choose, but I am still on the fence. I mean, I could just go for the cheaper option but idk if ill get into umass again if i was doing my graduate degree or if i can transfer.

In what state did you attend high school?

I asked because of your statement that you would have to live and work in NY. I’ve read the requirements to be considered a state resident and know they say that you must be in residence for 12 months prior. So the literal interpretation is exactly what you say.

However, if you have had a permanent residence in NY state, maintain a home address, came to a SUNY out of a NY high school, and can provide the necessary documents (NY state driver’s license, NY bank account, etc), I can’t imagine that they’d question where you spend your time. A family could have a second home at a lake or beach where they live in the summer. Does that mean you can’t go as you always have normally? When he was in college, my son had a summer job one year in Yellowstone (Wyoming). It didn’t affect his state resident status.

I don’t live in NY, so I’m no expert on this subject, but I would encourage you to see just how restrictive this is. It’s not like you’re an out of stater trying to establish residence. You already have it. How could they possibly enforce this?

Best of luck.

The scholarship is an Excelsior scholarship and in an email my counselor attached a website link, but it doesnt even work. I searched up the requirements for he scholarship and it didn’t say much about how restrictive it was.

is 30k too much for umass or is it worth it because a lot of people like it, has good food and the facilities look rlly large.

Sorry, but I misunderstood the work and residency requirement.

UMass is only worth the extra $30K if it is a better college to help you advance toward your goals. What are your goals? Why are you going to college in the first place? What are your interests? Intended major? What do you see yourself doing after you graduate from college? 5 years after college? 10 years after college?

UMass certainly isn’t worth it just for its popularity, food, and size.

My thought process is that im not really sure what JOB i wanna truly do in life, because I have a lot of interests but I know that I want to do something with myself that doesnt require me to work paycheck to paycheck and something that interests me. In 5 years I want myself to either be more financially secure or I want to be able to so i think that at umass i might be able to try a lot of different things and see what I like. From this website , umass appears to have more programs and If it gets too expensive i can either transfer or just drop out because i dont wanna tax myself or my family too hard because i made the right/wrong choice.

https://www.collegetuitioncompare.com/edu/166629/university-of-massachusetts-amherst/financial-aid/

Also, it would have been easier for me to choose had i been to each school, but since corona happened i didnt get a chance to go to those school I was only able to go to Oswego and Brockport

You don’t need to know what job you might be working in. Very few people know that. But it would be helpful if you can identify interest areas that you might study. Even though you’re interested in lots of things, interests tend to cluster. Do you see a pattern?

The fact that UMass is bigger is no advantage in exploring interests becauseyou can’t take everything they have to offer. New Paltz has a pretty comprehensive set of offerings, so there’s already lots to explore there.

What you don’t want to do is eliminate something that you’re strongly interested in by choosing the wrong school. Does UMass offer something you’re interested in that New Paltz does not? That would be a good reason to pick UMass. For example, UMass has a School of Agriculture and New Paltz does not. If you go to NP, you will be eliminating the whole field of agriculture as a possibility. Same thing with Nursing, which UMass offers and NP does not.

[abiabu]

Ok, I just did some research and apparently the high school has a scholarship fund that has been around for a while and this is one of the reason i told the school umass. on their website it says that students may get up to 2 years of 1k-4k in scholarships. if i do get something from it, then things will be less expensive. If i change my mind i dont think i will be able to get suipport from my school, but i wont miss new paltz deadline or anything

[austinmshauri]

You need to talk to both your parents. How much of the net cost can they cover? How much is loans? You can’t make financial decisions without facts.

Where else did you apply? Are there any schools you can commute to if residential college costs more than your family can pay?

[abiabu]

@austinmshauri I have talked to my mom about finances 3 times and she gets irritated with me when I keep asking her if she was sure if she could pay for umass. I am gonna try takling to her again about it today, but I haven’t sent the financial information to my dad yet i called him last night and he said that “we will work something out” which might mean he doesnt have a plan yet. I was trying to decide whether to trust my parents or not because idk how else I will pay for college i am a nobody 17 yr old.

My mom said she wanted to pay half and dad the other half

[NJdad07090]

ok if your mom said she will pay half ask your dad if he can pay the other half, it may have already been decided in the separation agreement. If they both say they can pay, go where you want which seems to be Umass, less restrictions after you graduate, better school, more majors. perhaps you can take a fed loan say 5 k a year to help your parents out , do not know if that was on the table or not in your planning, I would get your deposit in soon to make sure you have a spot.