My oldest is setting off for college this fall after taking a gap year. He's going out of state as well. To a Big10 School. Forgive me, I failed him. (To be fair, he does cheer fo the Good Guys, when he chooses to watch. Doesn't really follow much sports ...yet.)
All that aside, I haven't had to deal with or jump through the financial circus in ...30-ish years. We've completed the FAFSA and are waiting to hear back. He's applying for scholarships.
I'm asking what else do I need to know? I feel I don't know what I don't know. Like, if I get a bank loan, do we take one out for his entire college career or on a year-by-year basis? Where else could we look into for financial assistance?
Anything I need to know will be highly appreciated!
Congrats. I've been through the financial aid process, our older daughter graduated ISU last May, our younger daughter is about to finish her first year at ISU.
Completing the FAFSA is the best first step, unfortunately you're catching it in a year of major changes and flux. Keep in mind you'll need to complete the FAFSA for each year your son is in college. It usually opens up for completion on October 1 of the year prior to the one you're filling it out for, this year was different because of all the changes, it didn't open until January.
Everything that follows here is from our experience, with an in-state public university. So I'd imagine with out-of-state, it's going to probably be doubled. Unless he's going to a school that offers in-state rates to students from contiguous states.
Not sure of your financial situation, but the income requirements to qualify for any need-based aid, which includes scholarships and grants (that don't need to be paid back) and work-study opportunities, are pretty rigid. Our family is anything but wealthy, but we didn't come close to qualifying for need-based aid. This is what can pose the biggest challenge to middle income families... they make too much for need-based aid and are left with a sizeable gap (Estimated Family Contribution or EFC) that they need to cover somehow.
Another thing to keep in mind is that federal Stafford loans are capped at $5,500 per year for first-year students. So that's $2,750 per semester. Both of our girls' total cost per semester was around $11,000 for tuition, room, board, fees, etc. So obviously that leaves >$8,000 per semester that needs to be covered. I'd say keep applying for as many scholarships as he can to help offset that.
The cap on federal Stafford loans increases to $6,500 for the sophomore year, and then $7,500 for the junior and senior years.
I don't have any experience with private loans in addition to federal Stafford loans, but I imagine you would secure those on a year-by-year basis and not one loan for all four years. But I could be wrong.
