Financial Aid

YESSS!

The long awaited day is finally here... my financial aid award letter came!

The university played a little trick on me, or perhaps the community college I previously went to didn't show me all my options. On the university award letter, loan amounts are added into your total aid amount while at the community college you have to ask for loan amounts (after waiting in the financial aid office for 3-4 hours).

So, needless to say, I got pretty excited when $9,000 per semester came up as my total award amount (this is what I get for being a "scanner" reader).

This whole state-budget-financial-limbo-fiasco crap really sucks because tuition rates for the upcoming academic year still have not been posted yet. This past year's tuition rate at USF was like $192 per credit hour, so I'm expecting it to be upwards of $210 per credit hour in the fall.

The letter I receive estimates tuition and fees to be $5,800 for the year (2 semesters).. so each semester will cost roughly $2,900 in tuition, and probably another $300 in fees (lab fees, technology fees, green fees, etc.). I was awarded the Pell Grant's full amount of $5,550 (split between 2 semesters) plus an institutional need-based scholarship of $1,200 (split between 2 semesters). That puts me at $3,375 of financial aid money per semester.

Thank GOODNESS I have enough to cover tuition.. I will have to fork over $$ for textbooks (I'm a science major so not only do my textbooks cost more than liberal arts majors, but I also have lab fees for materials in classes like chemistry, biology, and botany) but I am happy to pay it. I have been really worried about paying for tuition at the university level because it costs so much more than the community college.

I feel so extraordinarily lucky to have been allowed to pursue higher education with little costs. THANK YOU, GOVERNMENT!  Your investment will not be wasted.

I know the further I go the more I will have to pay... and if medical school really happens then I will definitely be on my own then. But at least I will have a bachelor's degree to be able to work within the medical field to not only make money, but gain first-hand experience and give back to the community all at once.

MOST STUDENTS' MISTAKE: Do everything you can to avoid loans! Exhaust every last option before you even think about taking one out. Don't let subsidized loans entice you, because even though they are "the lesser evil" than an unsubsidized/private loan there are tons of stipulations attached with them (just like any loan).
For instance, (take a subsidized loan which usually defers interest AND payments until you graduate) if you decide that your course load is too much and you drop down to part-time status, you have to pay... If you decide to take a semester off for a family emergency, you have to pay.

MY ADVICE: Work your butt off and save money! That way when the time comes to pay more, or federal aid decreases you have an option before loans come into the picture.*One thing I do (which is probably more of a mental trick on myself) is over-estimate on everything, even if I am shopping.. that way when I don't spend as much and have some left over it's like, "hey look I didn't spend as much as I thought I would!" ... then I take the extra few bucks and put them in my savings account.
=)