I’m from a pretty typical middle-income family, and it feels like I’m stuck in a weird middle ground financially. My parents earn too much for me to qualify for a lot of need-based aid, but not enough to realistically cover tuition, housing, books, meal plans, and everything else.
At first, my financial aid package looked decent, but after really looking at the numbers, it doesn’t go very far. Even after grants and federal loans, there’s still a big $21K/year gap, and I’m trying to understand how people are covering it.
I’m aware of the usual suggestions; working part-time, applying for scholarships, commuting, etc., but even with some of that, it still feels like it wouldn’t fully solve the problem. For anyone who’s been in this “middle ground” situation, what did you actually do? Considering private loans but don't know if its the right decision.
Posted by lampnerd
11 Comments
Go to a cheaper school.
Before touching private loans, talk to financial aid again and ask for a professional judgment review or institutional aid appeal. If your family has any weird expenses, income drop, medical stuff, sibling in college, etc., bring receipts.
Hard truth –
People aren’t. They are either taking out more debt than is justified and ruining their lives – like you are considering – or they are making the decision to go to a school they can afford.
Don’t ruin your life.
You’re not in a “middle ground” situation because there is none. It’s either “my family is barely above the poverty line” or “my family is at least middle class enough.”
The unfortunate truth is that your parents have to be making like, a borderline *abysmal* household income in order to qualify for any significant financial aid.
Most people, after aid, pay in the $18k range.
That figure has been persistent for many years.
It doesn’t matter how much their school says tuition is that figure is pretty consistent for middle income families not going to elite schools.
All you can do is shop around to other schools and see if you get a better deal, cut spending (ie cheaper housing options or meal plans), or pay it.
There are a lot of variables here…
– Is this a reach school? That is… are your grades and test scores in the lower third of the admitted students?
– Is this school close to home? If so, housing is likely a redundant cost. You’re paying thousands to live on campus when you could commute?
– How unique is this opportunity? Is the program unique or do many other schools offer it?
– What are the career prospects?
Going to school during the summer was a cheaper option. You can attend part time and work. Also you can use the school library for textbooks and utilize the inter-library loan system.
A lot of people patch it together with a bunch of mid options, not one magic fix. Some family help, some federal loans, part-time work, summer money, cheaper housing, random departmental scholarships, and cutting every “college experience” extra. I’d only use private loans if you’ve already run the numbers on future payments and your major’s actual salary range, not the dream version.
Me, the parent, got a 2nd job and my kid has 2 jobs during the summer. We bridge the 20k gap mostly with my 2nd job, I bring in around12k, the kid brings in around 5k and we scrounge for the rest.
I was in the same “too broke to pay, too ‘rich’ for aid” bucket. What actually helped: living off campus w/ roommates, waiving meal plan, used books, campus job, and payment plan. It didn’t fix everything, but it cut the gap enough to avoid private loans for at least the first year. Also try your luck with scholarships. They’re work to apply but they’ll help ease your overall costs.
Is this for an in state school? Or are you planning on paying out of state prices?
I’m confused about your age because in a prior Karate post you talked about earning your brown belt when you turned 30. Seems like you are Karma – farming.