re: student loan

quote:

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10 years

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Mine are 20.

he does have multiple offers but he is not in a position to pick one just yet. still waiting on an admission decision from a couple of schools. I believe he could very well try to negotiate with a couple of schools. I was thinking of telling them to try a second tier school first just to gain the experience of what these school are thinking.

at the end of the day, how do you determine the amount to ask for. for example. if private school A costs $52,000 per year and has offered $35,000 in grants and scholarship, would you ask for another $5,000 or a bigger no. like $9,000 and let them whittle it down to what they want to offer.

example 2, public instate college school costs $23,000 and offers grant/scholarships of $8,000. what is reasonable to ask for ($3-4,000) without making it appear you want to get in for free.

also, is it better to negotiate early like now with a month left until 5/1 deadline or wait a couple of weeks until schools see they are behind their target levels of students. don't want to lose your desired school in all this but NEED more money

thanks

1. publics will have little room to negotiate. if you don't accept, they can find plenty just like you to fill the gap. you can ask, but don't expect to see those awards go up at all.
2. privates may adjust awards to be competitive. you don't ask for a specific number, that's way too mercenary. you tell your preferred school that School X offered you $$ more than preferred school did, and ask if they can match it because you really want to go to X. if your favorite school did indeed make the highest offer, you can still contact them and honestly say that you'd love to attend, but the aid award was insufficient. remember, the school doesn't know why you reject their award: if you give them a chance to convert your maybe into a yes, you never know what's going to come of it.
ETA: this needs to be initiated by the STUDENT, not by a parent or third party. Email or phone call to the admissions counselor.

3. don't wait until the last minute, as your first choice will not see you as an eager attendee trying to make your dream happen but rather as a manipulative negotiator. this only works if the school truly believes you are going to accept the offer--if you've never visited, didn't interview, etc. they will be less likely to up the award. this needs to be a school you've seriously considered & one you've made a favorable impression on.

I'm a bit concerned because the prospective collegian doesn't seem to have much preference on which school he/she attends. It shouldn't be a decision completely predicated on a financial aid package: should be also considering the quality of the academic department of his potential major, amount of research/teaching in the potential major field, the variety/quality of support services, desire to go away vs staying near enough to home for visits, urban (great potential for jobs & internships) vs rural (more classic college town experience, may have lower cost of living), etc

also remember that there are 2,600+ institutions of higher education in the US. in some ways, a degree functions as a "brand" you will carry through life, not just as an education. the multi LSU degrees on my resume gave me excellent preparation for life, but the private school MA is the one that lands me interviews. Sad, but a true reflection of standing out in a crowded field.

28/29 will not get a free ride at a top 60 school (I'm referencing the US News rankings). He'd have to be 32+ to receive any sort of big time finAid. At a second tier school, he'll get a decent aid package, but again, those sort of numbers don't generally guarantee a free ride. At LSU, for example, those scores would get him about $1,500/year (separate from a TOPS award).

Relative value to cost is so hard to judge in higher education. Sure, he could pick the place with the lowest tuition and biggest award package, but if it's a bad fit (socially, culturally, programmatically), he will not be as engaged or productive as if the fit were better. Unless he's 100% convinced about his program of study/major, he needs to make sure he's at a school with enough program diversity and size to allow him to change his mind.

High quality means different things to different people. Is high quality the place with the newest, fanciest dorms & campus facilities? Is is the place with the largest variety of majors & programs? Is the place with the lowest student to teacher ratio and fewest number of adjuncts? Is the the smallest in size & most nurturing? Is quality measured by the number of students who go on to graduate education, or by the number who go on to immediate employment?

For example, Texas A&M @ Galveston has fantastic marine transportation programs....a stellar place to go, if (for example) he was in the Naval Reserves and fully committed to a marine industry career. But it's a lousy place to go if you don't know what you want & need to be exposed to lots of choices to help you make up your mind.

Some real key things to look into

-Graduating a semester early
Taking some easy local JUCO classes can get you through cruddy core classes for the cheap. You can easily graduate a semester early for about 1-2k in classes taken during hte summers

-Working at a place that gives tuition reimbursement

There are some legit companies that are willing to give tuition help to their employees. Oftentimes it is only a copule thousand$s but the combined wages + subsidy can amount to a lot

RA program for dorms after year 1

Most RA programs will give you Room&Board waivers for the school. This will drastically cut down on your cost of attendance (for instate students could be almost identical to tuition)

Does that take into account a PT job? Because even occasional work, plus summers, should pay for 1/2 of that $40K.

southeastern

If he's in business, there is no reason to transfer to LSU.

so, a la. resident could pay about $7000 (room and board) plus $1500 in books and fees. that's a good deal. if you get federal money then that drops to about $5000. that's an awesome deal. tuition, room and board at LSU is cheaper than tuition only at a private hs.

28+ on her ACT or 1250 SAT.