The college decision and resulting chaos
Ahhh, May, the month when the lawn comes back to life, the sound of bats hitting baseballs fills the suburban air, the days get longer and for parents of seniors in high school, general chaos erupts. All was calm until our son finally spoke the words we've been waiting for, "I've made a decision."
He's going to the state university.
Financially speaking, this is the choice that costs more than attending the university where we get the tuition benefit. But overall-experience speaking, this is also the choice that gets him farther away from home, allows him some autonomy as he blends into a huge university community and gives him a chance to handle all the little details that Mom and Dad will no longer be on hand to address. It will be a good thing - Mom and Dad are happy with the choice, student is excited, and even his little brother looks forward to visiting such a fun college town.
So why chaos? Because as soon as college is for real we are also in the midst of all the final senior year activities and graduation planning; and I have to stop procrastinating. So to start the month, the acceptance form was sent to the university and I tackled the pile of information that has been growing on the dining room table. After I had four files made of housing, academics, financials, and other, I wrote out a list of questions and dialed the number for financial aid. Our first questions were about the federal Stafford Loan. We had the form in hand, but I didn't know if we needed to secure or confirm it. Answer is yes. My husband took care of this quickly on-line, and good thing, as word on the street is the web site and phone number have been down for over a week as other friends try to access this as well.
My next question was about student loans. Another parent told me there was a limit on how much a student is allowed to loan out in his/her name per academic year. The FA officer busted that myth and said that loans can be obtained for the entire college cost minus any other award. She added that most student loans will need a co-signer, but that we can get those alternative loans wherever we choose. The second question was if a student can only get loans for the amount of tuition, room and board - expenses paid directly to a college or university. See the first answer, as the FA officer ensured that loans can also be sought and secured for the TOTAL, including living expenses. This was an important point for us, as we want to direct our portion of the costs to the college so we can predict the amount. That living expense line is more comfortable in our son's hands.
Finally, I was hoping to get the actual payment plan with real 08/09 numbers, but this is not available until later in the summer. This is a little frustrating, as being a very organized planner, I would like to map out each check to be written, on what date, and determine how we are going to join our portion with our son's to stay in line with our original chart of expenses. Moving into June, we are too busy to mow the spring lawn, sports are scheduled every night, the final finals are already over and I have to stop buying everything I see with the school’s mascot on it.
Comments