We are officially on our fifth of six kids applying to and going to college. The oldest three have already earned their bachelor’s degrees (two of them debt-free, the oldest with $10,000 in Stafford Loans. The fourth left college for the workforce and got his own apartment when his small liberal arts school closed. Now our fifth is deciding where to enroll. We have been paying for college since 2016 except this year, when we had no one enrolled. Right now, we barely have enough money saved to be able to pay for a semester or two at an affordable college.
Even worse, we cannot afford to cash flow more than a thousand dollars a month toward college, plus we still have a ninth grader at home, not to mention my husband turns 60 this year.
This is our reality. But it isn’t hopeless. Here’s where we are now.
Our Admission Stats
Our high school senior applied to three reach schools, three target, and ten safety schools. He was deferred, denied, and waitlisted at the reach schools respectively, but accepted at the three target schools, one with a gigantic gap between what we could afford and what it would cost, two within the realm of affordability, but not doable without a Stafford Loan and wiping out our savings. He got in at all the safety schools, one with a full ride, one with an almost full-ride scholarship, and the rest out of the realm of possibility without him and us going into crippling debt.
So what did we do? The one full ride has a 3.5 GPA requirement and only offers a minor in my child’s area of passion. The other full-ish ride is a commuter school, but we would have to pay for meals, books, fees, etc.
How Playing the Waiting Game Can Pay Off
We decided to play the waiting game.
We appealed for more aid at my senior’s top choice, the seemingly best-fit college. We’re still waiting for the final aid packages from most schools, but Net Price Calculators only look good at one of them. We wanted to see which colleges will offer a bigger discount if we commit.
Surprise! The top choice came back with a dollar amount we could easily afford, especially if they accept our health insurance and waive the requirement for school insurance.
3 Takeaway Points:
- Waiting to commit can add up to more aid at schools that want to ensure enrollment numbers are high.
- Appeals for more aid can work. An extra $5,000 matters to many of us.
- Appeals to waive the school health insurance and just use your own can be worth another $2.500.
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