Hi guys! I’m going to keep my question short, but I REALLY need some advice!!!
I’m accepted to both schools, which one should I go to?
You’re “trying to apply for financial aid” – DO NOT commit to either school if you do nit have a financial aid package you can afford in hand.
If you didn’t apply to anywhere affordable or turned down all your affordable options, you’ll have to scramble. But free money for out of state tuition doesn’t just magically appear in the fall. Don’t fool yourself.
What do you mean you are trying to apply for financial aid? You have not applied yet? Can you afford these schools? Do you have any affordable options?
My family faced an emergency financial problem lately, although my parents said they can afford my tuition, I still felt like I should apply for aid. That’s why I did not apply until now.
Where are you finding FA options at this late date? Given your situation, pick whichever is currently affordable, since the deadline is in a few days.
I would get in touch with the FA departments at both schools and discuss your situation over the phone. If your parents can afford the total cost of attendance at both schools… for all 4 years… which could be in the range of $200,000… then you need to decide which school you like better. Have you visited?
@twogirls Thanks, I’ll do so. I visited UW only and the campus was beautiful. But I’ve never been to Chapel Hill.
UNC-Ch Hill is a very pretty campus
You have to decide what you are looking for in a school. There is no premed major, however both schools will prepare you for medical school… as will your instate school ( not sure what that is).
Why not attend your instate school if you are premed? Did you apply? It will be cheaper and then you will have money to put towards medical school… which is very expensive.
If you tell us what you are looking for in a school, I might be able to help. It’s impossible for us to tell you why you should choose one school over the other, because we don’t know you.
Is this a temporary financial strain or something that will last all four years? These schools aren’t going to provide financial aid to cover out of state surcharges, so make sure you start somewhere you can afford for all four years. You also have costs for medical school so an affordable undergraduate education is particularly desirable.
UNC meets full need based on the fafsa… but it also requires the profile for the first year. This student needs to pay their fafsa EFC for all 4 years at UNC. I don’t know about UW Seattle.
My question to the OP… can your parents cover these schools for all 4 years without cosigning loans?
FAFSA EFC means nothing (except for state and federal aid and maybe setting the minimum EFC) at UNC. Any need based aid from the school itself will be based on the profile.
UNC meets the Fafsa EFC. They ask for the profile for the first year… but do not use it to calculate the EFC.
It’s April 28.
Where do you have affordable acceptances?
Washington isn’t likely to give you much money to attend.
UNC meets full need…but the application deadline for financial aid was a LONG time ago.
Did you apply for aid at these school early in the game?
A couple of things…University of Washington Medical School…gives extremely high priority to residents of the state of Washington and a couple of other northern plains states. If you aren’t a resident of those states, it is very very hard to get accepted at their medical school.
@WayOutWestMom does UWashington give any favor to its own grads from out of state…in the med school application process?
UNC…great school…but if you can’t pay the costs…don’t go there. Don’t go to UWash either unless you have the costs covered with something BESIDE Loans.
Medical school will be loans…loans…and more loans.
You do understand that you can get accepted to medical school with an undergrad degree from any college? Right?
What’s the matter with your own instate public university? Can you afford that?
According to previous posts the original poster is an international student so no in-state option for her. Sounds like she had problems when she filed for aid initially (again in previous post).
My son is a UNC med school grad and loved his time at Chapel Hill. As an OOS student you had to have a great undergrad application to have been accepted, less than 18% OOS are accepted. Did you check with the scholarship office to see if you were eligible for any merit awards?
And yes UW med school is tough, tough for OOS students…son interviewed there as well, still choosing Carolina.
Kat
Remember, they will have an in-depth look at your financial from the CSS profile, which UNC will use to determine how to distribute their institutional aid. They feel that they will not need it in subsequent years because they expect this to remain relatively stable. If there is a major change in finances, trust and believe that the family will contact UNC-CH and will provide all of the supporting documentation.
As you see, they require the FAFSA to make sure that students remain eligible for aid. They will give the student any federal aid that the student is eligible for (including federal loans) based on the FAFSA. It does not mean that they will meet your FAFSA EFC.
UNC has met our fafsa EFC for three years so far ( 2 in school). When I spoke to a FA officer at the beginning of this process, I was told that they meet full need based on the fafsa EFC… but that the profile is required for the first year ( and only the first year).
That has been my experience… our fafsa EFC has been met for 3 years. Year 4 we will be full pay. I can’t speak for others.
For our family, this school hands down gave us the best aid package out of all my daughter’s acceptances. We qualified for some aid during year one, and zero aid for the remaining years ( based on the NPC)… at the other schools.
In November, the OP wrote this:
Surely sometime between November and now, these schools shared their policies on awarding need based aid to international students.
Maybe I’m misreading the following information from these two school websites. But if I’m reading correctly…she should not be expecting need based aid from either as an international student.
This student is an international student. She wouldn’t be completing the FAFSA for UNC.
https://admissions.unc.edu/apply/international-students/paying-for-carolina/
Doesn’t look like UNC-CH gives need based aid to international students. Am I reading this incorrectly?
https://www.washington.edu/financialaid/getting-started/eligibility/international-students/
Does not look likely for Washington either.
The OP will not get FA to these schools… as an international student.
Can your family pay the full cost for you to attend either of these schools?
You wrote:
Appealing for what financial aid?? It doesn’t appear that either of these schools award need based financial aid to international students. UNC doesn’t give ANY kind of aid to international students…or so it seems from their website.