College tuition

[archcommus]

So my tuition for college is $7,892 per semester, so $15,784 a year. Some questions:

1) Whenever I receive a scholarship/award amount from the college and from the state, I'm assuming the amount is for one YEAR. Since payment for each semester is due before the first day of each semester, how do I split up the scholarship amounts? Do I put all of it towards the first semester, split it up evenly between each semester, or what?

2) How do I know whether I should get loans through the school or the state or another source?

3) My college offers 10-month payment plans. That is 5 months for each semester. The 5-month payment period for the first semester is from May to September. My question is, what is the point in enrolling in this plan? Since all the money for the fall semester is due by the 1st of September, all this plan really does is let you delay the full amount ONE month. Otherwise, you could just save the money YOURSELF over the summer, and then pay a lump sum before September 1st. So since the monthly payments are prior to the beginning of the semester anyway, what's the point in enrolling in it (it even costs $50 to do so)?

 

[Aves]

At my school, all scholarships were split evenly between the fall and spring semesters each year.

 

Originally posted by: aves2k
At my school, all scholarships were split evenly between the fall and spring semesters each year.

Same.

 

[jlee]

Originally posted by: jumpr

Originally posted by: aves2k
At my school, all scholarships were split evenly between the fall and spring semesters each year.

Same.

 

[archcommus]

Thanks.

How about 2 and 3?

 

[furie27]

2. If you're elligible for Stafford or other federal loans, lower interest rates.

3. Don't have any real answer to.

 

[aplefka]

Number 3 just doesn't make any sense beneficially speaking.

1 and 2 are up to you.

Basically, I'm of no help.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

3 doesnt make sense

if the money for the SPRING semester is due in september, then you are actually spreading that semesters payment out over the whole semester. likewise i would expect the fall tuition (usually do at start of class in aug or sept) to also be spread out over the course of that semester with the last payment coming near the end.

 

[DaiShan]

At my school you notify them in advance of any scholarships we are expecting and they wait for them to come in and reduce your bill by that amount

 

[archcommus]

That's the odd thing, the five months that you spread the payments over are PRIOR to the beginning of the semester. You make the payments for the fall semester on the 1st of each month from May to September. So that way it's all paid by the first day of classes. But if you don't do this, you get a bill in July, and then the money's due by, again, the first day of classes. So the payment plan is no different from just saving on your own and paying a lump sum at the end of August.

Unless I'm missing something.

 

[archcommus]

Bumping this up for some more opinions.

I get the bill for fall semester in July. Does that mean I have to get any loans that I want to get BEFORE that date, or can I wait until after I receive the bill and then get loans and have them simply adjust my bill.

I know 15 grand a year may not sound like a lot to some of you but my parents and I really can't afford much more than a few thousand out of pocket.

 

[shopbruin]

Originally posted by: archcommus
Bumping this up for some more opinions.

I get the bill for fall semester in July. Does that mean I have to get any loans that I want to get BEFORE that date, or can I wait until after I receive the bill and then get loans and have them simply adjust my bill.

I know 15 grand a year may not sound like a lot to some of you but my parents and I really can't afford much more than a few thousand out of pocket.

you have to talk to the school's financial aid dept. we don't know how your school runs.

when i took loans out one year, i couldn't even get them until i attended the mandatory borrower's meeting and proved i was in attendance by turning the form into financial aid.

i remember at my school, they would disburse the fall loans and financial aid on a certain day, which always seemed to be AFTERthe actual date tuition was due. however, there was a short grace period - if you weren't paid off by then, you were dropped from all your classes (and i knew some people who had this happen to them, and they had to go beg the professors to let them back in.) plus i think somehow the system knew you were getting loans/grants/etc so they knew not to drop you. if not, you argue with financial aid.

have you accepted your financial aid package yet? if you have, then you'll know how much you'll be getting. once again, you will need to ask when your school disburses the money to your account, and how that affects the due dates. especially if you will be receiving loans, there is additional paperwork you must fill out with the company you'll be borrowing through to complete the loan process. actually, a better question is have you RECEIVED your financial aid offer?

 

[Mo0o]

For taking financial debt, make sure interest doesn't start until after you graduate

 

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: Mo0o
For taking financial debt, make sure interest doesn't start until after you graduate

I guess that's a biggie, huh?

Originally posted by: freesia39

Originally posted by: archcommus
Bumping this up for some more opinions.

I get the bill for fall semester in July. Does that mean I have to get any loans that I want to get BEFORE that date, or can I wait until after I receive the bill and then get loans and have them simply adjust my bill.

I know 15 grand a year may not sound like a lot to some of you but my parents and I really can't afford much more than a few thousand out of pocket.

you have to talk to the school's financial aid dept. we don't know how your school runs.

when i took loans out one year, i couldn't even get them until i attended the mandatory borrower's meeting and proved i was in attendance by turning the form into financial aid.

i remember at my school, they would disburse the fall loans and financial aid on a certain day, which always seemed to be AFTERthe actual date tuition was due. however, there was a short grace period - if you weren't paid off by then, you were dropped from all your classes (and i knew some people who had this happen to them, and they had to go beg the professors to let them back in.) plus i think somehow the system knew you were getting loans/grants/etc so they knew not to drop you. if not, you argue with financial aid.

have you accepted your financial aid package yet? if you have, then you'll know how much you'll be getting. once again, you will need to ask when your school disburses the money to your account, and how that affects the due dates. especially if you will be receiving loans, there is additional paperwork you must fill out with the company you'll be borrowing through to complete the loan process. actually, a better question is have you RECEIVED your financial aid offer?

They are sending out my financial aid offer this coming Tuesday, so I should have it by Wednesday March 16th. Basically it'll just state what the school is giving me as a scholarship. The FAFSA determined my estimated contribution to be about $5500, so that means my estimated financial need is about $9500. I have no clue what to expect as a scholarship from the school; it could be a grand, it could be five grand. As for federal grants, I am not eligible for any of them. As for state grants (PHEAA), I will not find out how much they're giving me until May. All other third-party scholarships I should attempt before the end of June. So that means all scholarships and grants should be accounted for before they send the bill in July. Would I THEN be able to apply for loans after knowing how much I actually owe, or would I need to apply for loans before they send the bill in July?

 

[shopbruin]

i'd say, just look at what your offer is when it arrives in the mail. see what scholarships will be granted (double check if they're renewable or not.)

usually schools (well mine did) would combine all grant offers, scholarship offers, and loan offers on the one financial aid offer, you would then circle what you accept, and then send it back in.

third party scholarships you should attempt now and not count on them. if you get them, see if they can make the check out to you. if they insist on sending it into the school, it shouldn't be a problem as you will incur charges throughout the months to your student account. also, i would always have "extra" from my loans after it was deposited into my student account, so the excess amount was directly deposited into my checking account, and i used that to buy books. your school may offer the same if you have an excess amount for your student account also, and the third party scholarships will just be deposited later.

depending on your school, you may have to start the loan process when you send in your acceptance of your financial aid offer. they will then notify the lenders that you would like to start the federal loan process and send you the paperwork and the list of banks.

seriously though, if you think you're going to not get enough in scholarships, they won't offer you work study, and you should assume third party scholarships won't come through, just go ahead and apply for the loans and control yourself that if you do have an excess to not blow it on crap like other students. student loan rates are cheap and capped (if these are federal loans!!)

i'm trying to remember, but i think you need to apply before, as the banks do need to process all your paperwork.

 

[deejayshakur]

PM for the info to a good loan shark.

 

[imthebadguy]

get rich parents

 

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: freesia39
i'd say, just look at what your offer is when it arrives in the mail. see what scholarships will be granted (double check if they're renewable or not.)

usually schools (well mine did) would combine all grant offers, scholarship offers, and loan offers on the one financial aid offer, you would then circle what you accept, and then send it back in.

third party scholarships you should attempt now and not count on them. if you get them, see if they can make the check out to you. if they insist on sending it into the school, it shouldn't be a problem as you will incur charges throughout the months to your student account. also, i would always have "extra" from my loans after it was deposited into my student account, so the excess amount was directly deposited into my checking account, and i used that to buy books. your school may offer the same if you have an excess amount for your student account also, and the third party scholarships will just be deposited later.

depending on your school, you may have to start the loan process when you send in your acceptance of your financial aid offer. they will then notify the lenders that you would like to start the federal loan process and send you the paperwork and the list of banks.

seriously though, if you think you're going to not get enough in scholarships, they won't offer you work study, and you should assume third party scholarships won't come through, just go ahead and apply for the loans and control yourself that if you do have an excess to not blow it on crap like other students. student loan rates are cheap and capped (if these are federal loans!!)

i'm trying to remember, but i think you need to apply before, as the banks do need to process all your paperwork.

Thanks for your help.

I just saw now that I would've been eligible for the Trustee Academic Scholarship if I had gotten a 1300 on my SATs. It's a $5,000 scholarship renewable every year with a CGPA of at least 3.6. Damn...

Anyway, I know the offer from the school will tell me what they're giving me as a scholarship. I'm not sure if it will include loan offers or not. Again, I won't find out what the state's giving me until the end of May.

Okay, so $7,892 is due by the end of August. If the school will give me a scholarship of $2,000, then $1,000 will go towards the fall semester. If the state gives me $3,000, then $1,500 will go towards the fall semester, leaving $5,392 to be paid. If I can my parents and I can only come up with $2,000 by the end of the summer, then that leaves $3,392 to be paid. If that trend continued I'd be graduating with $27,136 of debt.

What do you guys consider a reasonable amount of debt to be graduating with after four years? What do you consider high, or low?

 

[archcommus]

Bump!

How does one figure out a reasonable guess as to what their school will provide as a need-based scholarship? Do they even try to fulfill all of your calculated need?

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: archcommus
So my tuition for college is $7,892 per semester, so $15,784 a year. Some questions:

sigh

my college was ~ $18,287 a semester $36,575 a year
School now is about 18k a year 9k a sem

apply for all te hloand you can, state and federal, and do finincial aid as well, hopefully you will get something, unlike me who got sh!t

they are typically split by semester

some peopel cant budget money for shi!t thats why there are those plans

 

[archcommus]

Well, my friend's family, for example, who is also going to the same school as me, makes about $75k and they have about ten grand in the bank. They estimated that they could contribute about $13k, and so his need is only two grand. He may not get anything from the school at all.

However, my mom made $26k last year, and my dad was unemployed for nine months of the year because he quit his job and was setting up a business. After you add in what he got back from his last job's 401k our income was $41k, and since they exhausted most of what they had in the bank, they estimated our contribution to only be $5500, making my need about $9500. I HOPE that they actually try to fulfill your entire need with a scholarship, but I'm not sure if they even attempt that.

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: archcommus
So my tuition for college is $7,892 per semester, so $15,784 a year. Some questions:

sigh

my college was ~ $18,287 a semester $36,575 a year
School now is about 18k a year 9k a sem

apply for all te hloand you can, state and federal, and do finincial aid as well, hopefully you will get something, unlike me who got sh!t

they are typically split by semester

some peopel cant budget money for shi!t thats why there are those plans

You going to MIT? Im a NU student and they keep increasing the tuition and room/board every year. Its now 13K per large semester and 6.5K per small semester for tuition alone, and 4800$/2400$ for housing.

OP:
If you are like me and got the shaft on scholarships - Im a great student but fell in the cracks when competing with other students for scholarships, get as much of the Federal Stafford Subsidized loan you can. You dont get charged interest on it until 6 months after you graduate. If you go to grad school, you dont get charged interest on it until 6 months after you get your graduate degree.

If the school you are going to has a good population of alumnai, try to enroll into endowed scholarships. You will have to contact your department specifically for these scholarships. Usually they run 1200$ per year - every bit helps.

In the end, I always pay my bills in the beginning in one large lump sum. I was lucky enough to be told to save all of my money since childhood and have been able to fork over the 100K cost over the past 3 years (Parents paid for 1st year) (including a coop job that paid 24K$ per year). Hopefully you have a savings account to help you out. I know most of my friends came to college with like 5$ minimum for a savings account - very unhelpful for them.

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: Tiamat

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: archcommus
So my tuition for college is $7,892 per semester, so $15,784 a year. Some questions:

sigh

my college was ~ $18,287 a semester $36,575 a year
School now is about 18k a year 9k a sem

apply for all te hloand you can, state and federal, and do finincial aid as well, hopefully you will get something, unlike me who got sh!t

they are typically split by semester

some peopel cant budget money for shi!t thats why there are those plans

You going to MIT? Im a NU student and they keep increasing the tuition and room/board every year. Its now 13K per large semester and 6.5K per small semester for tuition alone, and 4800$/2400$ for housing.

no i went to Dickinson College, allready have a degree

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: Tiamat

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: archcommus
So my tuition for college is $7,892 per semester, so $15,784 a year. Some questions:

sigh

my college was ~ $18,287 a semester $36,575 a year
School now is about 18k a year 9k a sem

apply for all te hloand you can, state and federal, and do finincial aid as well, hopefully you will get something, unlike me who got sh!t

they are typically split by semester

some peopel cant budget money for shi!t thats why there are those plans

You going to MIT? Im a NU student and they keep increasing the tuition and room/board every year. Its now 13K per large semester and 6.5K per small semester for tuition alone, and 4800$/2400$ for housing.

no i went to Dickinson College, allready have a degree

Ah, i incorrectly guessed from your Cambridge location. My apologizes.

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: Tiamat

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: Tiamat

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: archcommus
So my tuition for college is $7,892 per semester, so $15,784 a year. Some questions:

sigh

my college was ~ $18,287 a semester $36,575 a year
School now is about 18k a year 9k a sem

apply for all te hloand you can, state and federal, and do finincial aid as well, hopefully you will get something, unlike me who got sh!t

they are typically split by semester

some peopel cant budget money for shi!t thats why there are those plans

You going to MIT? Im a NU student and they keep increasing the tuition and room/board every year. Its now 13K per large semester and 6.5K per small semester for tuition alone, and 4800$/2400$ for housing.

no i went to Dickinson College, allready have a degree

Ah, i incorrectly guessed from your Cambridge location. My apologizes.

well im at NESOP now which is in boston so thats why im here