TromboneAl
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2006
- Messages
- 12,880
Some of you may recall that I was feeling some regret at sending DD to a $41,000 per year college instead of a cheaper state school. We paid almost the entire tab for freshman year, getting a $2,100 scholarship from the college plus a few thousand in independent one-year merit-based scholarships.
We had saved for college, and about $23K of this savings was in my daughter's name (UTMA Account). Most of you know that money in the child's name greatly reduces chances for financial aid.
A financial aid rep told me that for sophomore year, the aid could increase to cover increases in tution, but you could appeal that if your situation changed.
We spent the UTMA money, and my income went down as part of semi-retirement. Our aid was increased to $3,500 to cover the tuition increase.
I sent in the appeal and they increased the scholarship to $10,000, and added work study and a Perkins loan. Along with a Stafford loan, this brings the total aid to about $20,000! So now, the cost is more comparable to a state school.
The moral of the story is:
1. Don't save money in an UTMA
2. Talk to the financial aid reps so that you understand how things work.
We had saved for college, and about $23K of this savings was in my daughter's name (UTMA Account). Most of you know that money in the child's name greatly reduces chances for financial aid.
A financial aid rep told me that for sophomore year, the aid could increase to cover increases in tution, but you could appeal that if your situation changed.
We spent the UTMA money, and my income went down as part of semi-retirement. Our aid was increased to $3,500 to cover the tuition increase.
I sent in the appeal and they increased the scholarship to $10,000, and added work study and a Perkins loan. Along with a Stafford loan, this brings the total aid to about $20,000! So now, the cost is more comparable to a state school.
The moral of the story is:
1. Don't save money in an UTMA
2. Talk to the financial aid reps so that you understand how things work.