Merit aid.. help me out here

[Anonymous]

OP,

How/when was your DD contacted about merit aid for UMBC?
My DD got an acceptance letter earlier this week, but no merit info was included.

TIA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP,

How/when was your DD contacted about merit aid for UMBC?
My DD got an acceptance letter earlier this week, but no merit info was included.

TIA

She got a separate mailing today that was for the aid award. It’s a large envelope. The aid is a grit and greatness award as part of the honors program.

[Anonymous]

OP here, To answer another question. Yes. She applied for financial aid by filling out a FAFSA.

There is no way I can pay what they calculate at our EFC. I wonder how they come up with that number. I mean, it’s not a matter of if I’m frugal and don’t go on vacation and keep driving my 5 year old car I can swing it. It’s like literally there is no way I can come up with that much money per year.

[Anonymous]

Community colleges sounds like a smart step for your daughter. Or commuting! She will be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, To answer another question. Yes. She applied for financial aid by filling out a FAFSA.

There is no way I can pay what they calculate at our EFC. I wonder how they come up with that number. I mean, it’s not a matter of if I’m frugal and don’t go on vacation and keep driving my 5 year old car I can swing it. It’s like literally there is no way I can come up with that much money per year.

Have you received your financial aid letter yet? I would call them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, To answer another question. Yes. She applied for financial aid by filling out a FAFSA.

There is no way I can pay what they calculate at our EFC. I wonder how they come up with that number. I mean, it’s not a matter of if I’m frugal and don’t go on vacation and keep driving my 5 year old car I can swing it. It’s like literally there is no way I can come up with that much money per year.

The real question is why is this a surprise? The calculators are there so you know.

Driving a five-year old car? Odd comment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, To answer another question. Yes. She applied for financial aid by filling out a FAFSA.

There is no way I can pay what they calculate at our EFC. I wonder how they come up with that number. I mean, it’s not a matter of if I’m frugal and don’t go on vacation and keep driving my 5 year old car I can swing it. It’s like literally there is no way I can come up with that much money per year.

Op, you are finding out why some families opt to community colleges and state U. Colleges are expensive. Whether it’s too much for your family or not is irrelevant as far as the school is concern. We put three kids thru college and our newest car is 11 years old. Did you not save money over the years?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, To answer another question. Yes. She applied for financial aid by filling out a FAFSA.

There is no way I can pay what they calculate at our EFC. I wonder how they come up with that number. I mean, it’s not a matter of if I’m frugal and don’t go on vacation and keep driving my 5 year old car I can swing it. It’s like literally there is no way I can come up with that much money per year.

The real question is why is this a surprise? The calculators are there so you know.

Driving a five-year old car? Odd comment.

Um, also, they expect the parents to take out loans. Have you ever hear of those, OP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, To answer another question. Yes. She applied for financial aid by filling out a FAFSA.

There is no way I can pay what they calculate at our EFC. I wonder how they come up with that number. I mean, it’s not a matter of if I’m frugal and don’t go on vacation and keep driving my 5 year old car I can swing it. It’s like literally there is no way I can come up with that much money per year.

The real question is why is this a surprise? The calculators are there so you know.

Driving a five-year old car? Odd comment.

Lol seriously. We have HHI of &700k/yr and drive a 2009 and 2012.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, To answer another question. Yes. She applied for financial aid by filling out a FAFSA.

There is no way I can pay what they calculate at our EFC. I wonder how they come up with that number. I mean, it’s not a matter of if I’m frugal and don’t go on vacation and keep driving my 5 year old car I can swing it. It’s like literally there is no way I can come up with that much money per year.

Please ignore the rich holier-than-thous, the trolls, and the posers.

Normal readers understand that your comment was meant to imply you were not using potential college $$ for a car payment.

[Anonymous]

OP, UMBC is your in state college?

How much was your daughter's merit aid award?

In state tuition this year was $12,000 at UMBC.

Can your daughter live at home and commute? Cost of room would be 0, cost of food would be whatever you pay now for her -- $200 a month? Cost of commute would vary depending on your circumstances of course.

They estimate the cost of books at $1600 a year -- but you can get them more cheaply.

Your daughter can take a loan of about $5000 a year to help with costs, and is expected to work summers to earn at least $2000. Does that, plus her scholarship, get you close to being able to afford the expense?

How much per month did you think you could pay towards college?

[Anonymous]

If you applied for financial aid, every college will send an individual statement showing your personal costs for the upcoming year. Call each school and ask about their timeline. Some schools send this info out right away while others wait until March. Student decisions are due end of of April.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, To answer another question. Yes. She applied for financial aid by filling out a FAFSA.

There is no way I can pay what they calculate at our EFC. I wonder how they come up with that number. I mean, it’s not a matter of if I’m frugal and don’t go on vacation and keep driving my 5 year old car I can swing it. It’s like literally there is no way I can come up with that much money per year.

The aid offer is unlikely to come back lower than the EFC. Plenty of people can't afford the EFC they are quoted--it really isn't a statement about what the family can afford, it's about how much aid the family is due, given their circumstances. Given how little aid there is to go around, and how expensive school is, these aren't the same.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, To answer another question. Yes. She applied for financial aid by filling out a FAFSA.

There is no way I can pay what they calculate at our EFC. I wonder how they come up with that number. I mean, it’s not a matter of if I’m frugal and don’t go on vacation and keep driving my 5 year old car I can swing it. It’s like literally there is no way I can come up with that much money per year.

Please ignore the rich holier-than-thous, the trolls, and the posers.

Normal readers understand that your comment was meant to imply you were not using potential college $$ for a car payment.

Thank you. Yes. It was just an example.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, To answer another question. Yes. She applied for financial aid by filling out a FAFSA.

There is no way I can pay what they calculate at our EFC. I wonder how they come up with that number. I mean, it’s not a matter of if I’m frugal and don’t go on vacation and keep driving my 5 year old car I can swing it. It’s like literally there is no way I can come up with that much money per year.

Please ignore the rich holier-than-thous, the trolls, and the posers.

Normal readers understand that your comment was meant to imply you were not using potential college $$ for a car payment.

Thank you. Yes. It was just an example.

It was a bad example. A lot of parents driving much older cars to pay for kids college.