sound similar to inhaling sharply through clenched teeth
Do not construe any of this as me stomping on the dream of flying airplanes, but I think you should stop and have a think, and some informed discussions. Perhaps not with other pilots; it is axiomatic that you should not take financial advice from pilots.
Anyway, allow me to proceed to give you financial and academic advice:
I would strongly recommend that you sit down with someone counseling-wise who is fluent in the modern student aid system, such that it is, in the United States. And I would strongly recommend, based on the very limited facts you presented here, having a hard look at state schools because it sounds like affording Riddle may be a bit of a stretch. I say this as someone who was ready to go to Riddle for undergrad and wound up taking a cheaper/better and more fun/but a bit longer way.
For those following along at home (I had to look this one up; this is a new way of doing things but it's the same old federal aid goat rope where they bin a student based on their family income), -1500 is as low as you can get and indicates that a student is likely to need the maximum financial assistance an institution and the government can offer nervous laugh.
The good (?) news is that at that score you should be eligible for the maximum in federal Pell grants. You don't have to pay back a Pell grant (that's why it's called a 'grant') and you should exhaust that money and any other scholarship or grant money that may be available to you prior to drawing on a student loan. There is a surprising amount of money to be had out there, but you have to be somewhat aggressive in hunting it down and applying for it. A good counselor and a good financial aid person knows knows you, and knows where those things are, and can match them up for you. The problem is finding a good one; Student Affairs is rarely a haven of administrative competence but the good people in that end of the world tend to be worth their weight in gold.
Serious question: are your parents well-heeled enough to make such a statement? Based on your SAI I would guess not, though if I remember correctly that's much more based on your parents' income. If they are, then fine. Borrow or just accept outright grants from the Bank of Mom and Dad. If they aren't, then that's a problem.
That's difficult to say. If you have such a low SAI score I'd expect you'd qualify for a subsidized loan, which keeps the great evil of capitalized interest away (this is the thing that balloons someone's loan amounts well beyond that which they originally borrowed). An unsubsidized loan, on the other hand, is issued on a no-financial-need basis and interest is capitalized. Whether the subsidized loan will cover the entire cost is beyond the scope of this post.
It depends on how much you borrow and heavily on the terms of the loan. Financing it all through loans could be terrifically expensive, hence the comments about other money sources above. I have met people with loan payments that are the size and shape of rent payments, for example. That is a boatload of money in the early-career days.
Like I said, I'd sit down with someone who understands this system (and, preferably, who works for you and your parents, and not Embry-Riddle) really well before signing for loans.
My SAI Index DOES imply we are low income but even then my parents still can only put in so much. They are willing to support all the way. My backup plan was to go to ISU (my other in state college choice) and do engineering. Thanks for the tips with the spreadsheets.
