College Financial Aid questions....

[barkley]

You don't have to decide on one college, but you have to indicate which schools you want the FAFSA information sent to (all the schools she is applying to) so you will need to have it narrowed down by that point

I don't know how many colleges the fafsa lets you list these days but I would list all that your dd is remotely considering. all listing a school does is generate a report to their financial aid office so it's not like you HAVE to apply to every school she lists (and since the date for the fafsa is changing some schools who don't do early admission approvals won't even be taking applications yet).

 

[tzolkin]

I don't know how many colleges the fafsa lets you list these days but I would list all that your dd is remotely considering. all listing a school does is generate a report to their financial aid office so it's not like you HAVE to apply to every school she lists (and since the date for the fafsa is changing some schools who don't do early admission approvals won't even be taking applications yet).

It's 10.

So, yes, if she's considering 10 or fewer schools, list them all on the FAFSA whether or not she actually winds up applying.

Even if she winds up applying to additional schools, you can go online and add them later after her Student Aid Report has been generated.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Everyone counts on filling out the FAFSA and getting financial aid thinking it's going to be free money. Very few people actually qualify for anything other than loans. It's very eye opening the first time you fill one out

Our FAFSA, with two kids in college, said I could contribute double what I make a year.

Do you mean you personally, or your household income?

This could easily happen if you work PT making $30k/year and your dh makes $150k/yr.

Also, income and cost of living vary throughout the country. Someone making $90k/yr in Arkansas is not the same as someone making $90k/yr in the NYC area.

 

[crisi]

She was thinking of going to technical school, but recently is considering regular college. All would be in-state (Wisconsin). She has a couple in mind that we hope to visit this summer. They all have a summer open house. She has taken the ACT once already and takes it again next weekend.

She sounds like a great candidate for a year or two at community college, if there is one within commuting distance. That way you don't spend a ton of money while she decides if college is for her or not.

Also, be aware that Wisconsin's state colleges are in crisis - I have two friends who are professors there, and they say all of their colleges are looking for new jobs - especially the schools that aren't Madison. Consider exercising reciprocity to go to school in a nearby state - North Dakota State University is a bargain compared to other four year schools.

 

[traces7]

She sounds like a great candidate for a year or two at community college, if there is one within commuting distance. That way you don't spend a ton of money while she decides if college is for her or not.

Also, be aware that Wisconsin's state colleges are in crisis - I have two friends who are professors there, and they say all of their colleges are looking for new jobs - especially the schools that aren't Madison. Consider exercising reciprocity to go to school in a nearby state - North Dakota State University is a bargain compared to other four year schools.

She is definitely thinking about going to technical college for this very reason! She was considering 2 state 4 year colleges and 1 private 4 year college also. It's all up in the air yet. (I know we're late on that part).

 

[MKCP5]

She is definitely thinking about going to technical college for this very reason! She was considering 2 state 4 year colleges and 1 private 4 year college also. It's all up in the air yet. (I know we're late on that part).

OP. Just wanted to say don't let the "you should have been planning all along" and " she should have been taking AP courses" posters get you down. Life is rarely a straight path. You are not too late to help her figure all of this out. Fill out your forms, apply for as many scholarships as you can (there are thousands and it takes time!) and see how it all works out. We earn a good living but live in a very expensive area of the country so by local standards we are lower income. My kids are both in college right now and get loans as well as grants. We pay their health insurance, car insurance, cell phones and incidentals. College is on them to work to pay for and take loans. DH and I both paid our own way through college. It can be done. Even in this day and age. You will figure it out together. Good luck!

 

[traces7]

OP. Just wanted to say don't let the "you should have been planning all along" and " she should have been taking AP courses" posters get you down. Life is rarely a straight path. You are not too late to help her figure all of this out. Fill out your forms, apply for as many scholarships as you can (there are thousands and it takes time!) and see how it all works out. We earn a good living but live in a very expensive area of the country so by local standards we are lower income. My kids are both in college right now and get loans as well as grants. We pay their health insurance, car insurance, cell phones and incidentals. College is on them to work to pay for and take loans. DH and I both paid our own way through college. It can be done. Even in this day and age. You will figure it out together. Good luck!

Thanks! I really appreciate this!

 

[QueenIsabella]

OP. Just wanted to say don't let the "you should have been planning all along" and " she should have been taking AP courses" posters get you down. Life is rarely a straight path. You are not too late to help her figure all of this out. Fill out your forms, apply for as many scholarships as you can (there are thousands and it takes time!) and see how it all works out. We earn a good living but live in a very expensive area of the country so by local standards we are lower income. My kids are both in college right now and get loans as well as grants. We pay their health insurance, car insurance, cell phones and incidentals. College is on them to work to pay for and take loans. DH and I both paid our own way through college. It can be done. Even in this day and age. You will figure it out together. Good luck!

The only thing I would add to this is, the path that's right for your child might not make sense to other people. That doesn't make it wrong--just different. My oldest is a senior in college--smart kid, graduated 20-something in her class of 400, now makes Dean's List. But, in HS, she got a lot of crap because she "only" took a couple of AP classes. She bypassed them to take vo-tech classes in Early Childhood Education, because she wanted to be a teacher. Instead of a couple extra AP credits, she had a portfolio of lesson plans and classroom teaching experience. Similarly, she got into the honors program at several colleges, but opted not to go that route. Sure, graduating with honors would have been nice, but it was more work that wouldn't take her to her goal of being a teacher. So she takes regular classes, devotes a lot of time to volunteering (prison literacy and working with immigrants are two of her passions)...and she keeps making Dean's List!

I don't mean this a shameless brag (honest!), but to point out that everyone needs to evaluate the choices in front of them, and find the fit that makes sense FOR THAT PERSON. My daughter was born to be a teacher, and she's going to be an amazing one. It's not the path I would have foreseen 25 years ago, but here we are.

Good luck to you and your family.

 

[supersnoop]

My oldest is a senior in college--smart kid, graduated 20-something in her class of 400, now makes Dean's List. But, in HS, she got a lot of crap because she "only" took a couple of AP classes.

Wow! That's really uncommon around here. The 15% of our classes have GPA's over 4.0, which can only be accomplished by taking lots of AP classes.

 

[crisi]

Wow! That's really uncommon around here. The 15% of our classes have GPA's over 4.0, which can only be accomplished by taking lots of AP classes.

Our school calculates it twice - one your unadjusted GPA - an AP A is worth 4.0 - and once adjusted - an AP A is worth 5.0. And you are ranked twice. So you can graduate in the top 10% of your class with no AP courses on the unadjusted list. And the AP courses are enough harder that the vast majority of AP students aren't adding a lot of adjusted 5 point grades to their score.

 

[hippiechicken]

Don't rule out private schools because they are more expensive. My daughter got amazing grant aid offers from private schools based on need calculated by EFC on FAFSA. The state school would have cost us more than the private schools.
Also, FAFSA adds all income a parent receives, like rental properties, as well as assets, like retirement funds, when calculating need. I think that has been the most shocking for my friends.

 

[WDWNY]

If you go on Fafsa's website and click on thinking about college? they have a fafsa estimator where you can put your info in. Obviously schools also give financial aid but it's highly unlikely if you're near the 100k mark and over for in state public schools.
I know when I was applying for college there were some schools that only gave scholarships to students who applied early action (non binding) and do not consider students who applied regular admission students for scholarships. She should look into that as well. I know I got anxious waiting for decisions and wish I applied early action for all my schools so I could have received my decision sooner.

 

[amylevan]

OP. Just wanted to say don't let the "you should have been planning all along" and " she should have been taking AP courses" posters get you down. Life is rarely a straight path.

The AP courses comments make me roll my eyes. I was an all AP student in high school, really overloaded myself in extra work. It didn't negatively affect me because I was still able to keep my grades up, BUT I majored in engineering, and quite a few of those AP credits were wasted. I essentially wasted a lot of time and stress on credits that were useless to me in college. Between the mandatory classes for my major and the limited general education classes required, I had AP credits that transferred to college that did not count towards graduation or help in shortening my course load at all.

In short, not taking any AP classes is not the end of the world.

 

[havaneselover]

The AP courses comments make me roll my eyes. I was an all AP student in high school, really overloaded myself in extra work. It didn't negatively affect me because I was still able to keep my grades up, BUT I majored in engineering, and quite a few of those AP credits were wasted. I essentially wasted a lot of time and stress on credits that were useless to me in college. Between the mandatory classes for my major and the limited general education classes required, I had AP credits that transferred to college that did not count towards graduation or help in shortening my course load at all.

In short, not taking any AP classes is not the end of the world.

I graduated in three years because of mine and I have a co-worker who did the same--both from top state schools. And our summer intern last year entered a good state school as a Junior because of her AP courses so her academic scholarship will cover her undergrad and Master's degree.

 

[crisi]

The AP courses comments make me roll my eyes. I was an all AP student in high school, really overloaded myself in extra work. It didn't negatively affect me because I was still able to keep my grades up, BUT I majored in engineering, and quite a few of those AP credits were wasted. I essentially wasted a lot of time and stress on credits that were useless to me in college. Between the mandatory classes for my major and the limited general education classes required, I had AP credits that transferred to college that did not count towards graduation or help in shortening my course load at all.

In short, not taking any AP classes is not the end of the world.

And plenty of schools still don't even offer them. Or an IB program. Or post secondary enrollment, or college in the schools.

Colleges are aware they get applications from all sorts of kids who went to all sorts of high schools. And while highly selective schools will be highly selective, there are PLENTY of colleges out there - some that are open enrollment. My brother in law - who didn't graduate from high school, was working on his masters when he passed away. I have a friend without a high school degree who has a PhD in Sociology and is a college professor.

The bigger concern is just now thinking about how to pay for it. I'm afraid the OP is in for some major sticker shock and and unpleasant discoveries about how little "free" money is available. That isn't impossible to overcome, but if her daughter was an indifferent student, private schools aren't likely to throw money at her to get her to go, and scholarships will be difficult to get.

 

[MariMama]

The AP courses comments make me roll my eyes. I was an all AP student in high school, really overloaded myself in extra work. It didn't negatively affect me because I was still able to keep my grades up, BUT I majored in engineering, and quite a few of those AP credits were wasted. I essentially wasted a lot of time and stress on credits that were useless to me in college. Between the mandatory classes for my major and the limited general education classes required, I had AP credits that transferred to college that did not count towards graduation or help in shortening my course load at all.

In short, not taking any AP classes is not the end of the world.

No, it isn't the end of the world. My oldest didn't take any AP classes in high school because our school only offers a few courses and finished Freshman year of college with a 3.3. I am so glad AP wasn't a thing when I was in high school. I was the type of kid that would have taken every AP class I could and stressed myself out, all for nothing. Employers don't care if you made Dean's List all four years or what your GPA was during college. They care you got a degree in your field and you have relevant experience via an internship or other means.

 

[amylevan]

I graduated in three years because of mine and I have a co-worker who did the same--both from top state schools. And our summer intern last year entered a good state school as a Junior because of her AP courses so her academic scholarship will cover her undergrad and Master's degree.

I didn't say that they weren't ever useful, I said there was no guarantee they would be useful. At my college in my major, there is an 8 semester engineering clinic required. So you are there for 8 semesters, no matter what. There are also so many level 300 and 400 classes required - things you can't get AP credits for. So you may enter college as a "Junior" but that doesn't mean you'll complete the coursework required for graduating with your major in 2 years.

Again, you "may". But saying that someone is not preparing for college if they don't take AP classes is hogwash.

 

[havaneselover]

I didn't say that they weren't ever useful, I said there was no guarantee they would be useful. At my college in my major, there is an 8 semester engineering clinic required. So you are there for 8 semesters, no matter what. There are also so many level 300 and 400 classes required - things you can't get AP credits for. So you may enter college as a "Junior" but that doesn't mean you'll complete the coursework required for graduating with your major in 2 years.

Again, you "may". But saying that someone is not preparing for college if they don't take AP classes is hogwash.

I never said you said that. I just gave examples of situations where they have been useful. I live in a very highly educated, competitive area. It's just a given that most student will take AP courses. And in my mind they are good preparation for college.

 

[crisi]

Also, not all colleges accept AP credits - and those that do don't necessarily accept all AP credits. My daughter got a tidy 4 on her AP Human Geography test - but her target college doesn't take the AP Human Geography credit - they'll take the American History and World History credits - if she does as well on those tests.

Post Secondary Enrollment options (taking college classes at an accredited college) and CIS (College in the schools - accredited college courses taught in high schools in partnership with colleges) are better bets for college credit.

College coursework - be it PSEO or CIS or AP courses - tends to have a lot more homework as well. Some kids can handle becoming well rounded kids maxing out their college credit options in high school. Others can't - if you want to hold a job, participate in activities/sports, and graduate high school with enough credits to be a Junior, you'll be VERY busy.

 

[mistysue]

I didn't say that they weren't ever useful, I said there was no guarantee they would be useful. At my college in my major, there is an 8 semester engineering clinic required. So you are there for 8 semesters, no matter what. There are also so many level 300 and 400 classes required - things you can't get AP credits for. So you may enter college as a "Junior" but that doesn't mean you'll complete the coursework required for graduating with your major in 2 years.

Again, you "may". But saying that someone is not preparing for college if they don't take AP classes is hogwash.

I love how they have people enter as a Junior then the credits are non-specific in some way, meaning you still have to take more classes and maybe graduate with a bunch of extra credits. That "Junior" status at many schools means they get to charge you more per credit you take... so you take the same class as your peers and it costs you an extra $200 because you are a "junior" and not a "sophomore." I'm sure they love handing out those credits that aren't toward a specific class.