Kids headed to College Fall 2012 Check-in

[tar heel]

I have to say that there are plenty of kids who don't pay for their own educations and nevertheless take college seriously and do just fine. We expected our kids to come up with their own recreation money, but they knew tuition was taken care of.

 

[ctinct]

You know what stinks about that....and this is just something that occurred to me as we go through the FAFSA process.... When you apply for financial aid, it is the PARENTS' income that is taken into consideration, whether the parents intend to pay or not. That's a real bummer for students whose parents don't plan to help. Perhaps the parents make plenty and are not eligible for aid. The student, on the other hand, probably makes very little and would (should) indeed be eligible for aid.

I'm not giving you a hard time. Your plan was the same as we basically had for our son. But it seems like there is a gap there that makes the financial aid eligibility requirements really unfair for kids whose parents can pay (kind of) but won't.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong on any of that, I don't profess to be an expert on this at ALL!

The reason they take the parents' income into consideration is simple: if fiancial aid was based just on the student's income, very few kids would be able to afford school. Schools do not have enough money to fund kids based on their incomes alone. Even if some schools could do that, it would lead to parents just saying, "Well, then, I'm not helping", whether they could afford to or not.

It does stink for those students whose parents truly refuse to help, though. Thank goodness community colleges are relatively affordable.

I understand, though, that the feds and colleges have to draw the line somewhere. Hey, I don't think it is fair that FAFSA considers a step-parent's income, either. Someone can marry a new spouse and BOOM---they are suddenly responsible for a non-biological child's college education.

Another thing that stinks---most CSS Profile schools expect the non-custodial parent in a divorced family to contribute. (FAFSA-only schools do not. FAFSA only schools are great for when a non-custodial parent wants to willingly contribute. That income is not considered in the aid calculation ) Profile is ok for those that will pitch in, but in our case, my ex will not give a dime, so my dd had to concentrate on schools that use FAFSA only.

And to reiterate what a pp has said----students are very limited in the amounts of loans thay can take. The first year, I believe the Stafford loan limit is $5500. Subsequent years, the limit increases---I think the cap is about $7500 or so per year. The student may be eligible for a small Perkins loan, but I think that is dependent on the family having a lower income (not certain on that, though). Think about it---who is going to loan a kid with no job the equivalent of a small mortgage? And, would you even want your child graduating from college with that much debt to weigh them down?

 

[Buckalew11]

I see all the different sides of all this money crap. I think there is a lot unfair about the whole process.

My DH is also going to school, paying tuition, and on the FASFA, that doesn't matter, only siblings. Anyway, it seems like there's a lot about paying for college that gets my dander up.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

My oldest was accepted into Univ. of North Texas late last year and since that was his dream school, he didn't apply elsewhere. He auditioned for acceptance in College of Music in February and was accepted!! Dorm deposit in and now just waiting for scholarship information...FAFSA completed almost 2 months ago. His worries are over now and mine have just begun ($$$).

Go Mean Green!

 

[mvazul]

I see all the different sides of all this money crap. I think there is a lot unfair about the whole process.

My DH is also going to school, paying tuition, and on the FASFA, that doesn't matter, only siblings. Anyway, it seems like there's a lot about paying for college that gets my dander up.

Agreed

 

[KDIPIAZZ]

My son applied and was accepted at Va Tech, Penn State, WVU and the South Dakota School of Mines. Other options were the Colorado School of Mines (WAY too much $$) and NM School of Mines (he didn't think he'd enjoy the climate) After campus visits, he decided on SDSMT and we just finished the housing and orientation applications. I'm still not quite sure how I am going to handle him being 1400 miles away, but i'm sure he's going to love it.

 

[Kim♥DISNEY]

Son graduated in '11, but just decided on college for this coming fall. Decided a grocery store was not his career of choice. He wasn't the greatest student, so I'm glad he took the time to find something he really is passionate about. Will be going to a technical college (Penn Tech) for aviation maintenance and is very excited. It's a division of Penn State, so we have some money scraping to do, to say the least.

Our friend's son is going to this school next fall. It is a great school!

Our son got accepted to 6 out of the 9 school he applied to. He got accepted to UVA, Case Western, Cornell, University of Rochester, Pitt and Penn State. We are planning on helping him out for school, however, he has known the set amount of money we are planning to pay for him. This amount along with the scholarships/loans he can take out does not cover all the costs for him to attend Cornell (which is where he wants to go ). He was admitted to PSU's Honor's college and is capable of attending and graduating with a very small amount of loans. So, we have some big decisions to make in the next few weeks. We are going to see PSU's Honor's college on Friday and hoping they convince him that this is the place for him ... wish us luck!!!

 

[Patience]

Our daughter will be attending an in- state university in the fall. We submitted a FAFSA but are not expecting to receive anything other than the unsubsidized Stafford loan which we do not intend to accept. We really only submitted the FAFSA "just in case". The cost to attend is pretty reasonable in my opinion since it will be in-state tuition. The university is about two and a half hours away from where we live. I am excited for her and think the school is a great fit. They have a really good undergraduate program for what she wants to study and then she will need a masters degree.

Edited to add that we are waiting to hear from three scholarships she has applied for.

 

[Granny square]

My oldest is heading into the engineering school he hoped to. We homeschooled also. He received a scholarship that covers all but books and fees so we are thrilled.

 

[goofy4tink]

I'm sure that your aware that he will only be able to secure about $5500 in loans by himself and everything else will be co-signed by you or some other adult in his life.

My oldest went this route. It was definitely nerve wracking to take on so much in loans. She is getting ready to graduate and find a job but the loan looms much larger in her eye now then it did 3 years ago.

Good luck to your son.

My son applied to 6 schools total. 4 audition schools (theater), one long shot (ivy league but it would have been free due to our EFC) and one academic/financial safety.

He got into all for audition schools and now we are just comparing FA packets...

We're in that same boat. Dd did get the $5500 in Direct loans..and will continue to get those at the highest limit for the next four years. And she did get some scholarship money, but it's a drop in the bucket. If she can get her gpa up higher in college, then the scholarship money increases.....so, that's up to her.
We are prepared to put a set amount (basically our tax refund) in each year. After that, it's going to be dd that gets all the loan money...that will leave her with huge student loan debt when she gets out of school!!! Her uncle is going to cosign for her. Then, hopefully, when we finally sell our house, in a few years, we'll have money to put against that loan debt for her. As well as taking over a good chunk of it when she graduates. But we just don't have the ability to completely fund each years costs...that comes to about $30,000 a year!!

Yes, she could have gone to a state school, and she would have had much less debt, but it just didn't feel 'right' to her. So, we bit the bullet and we'll figure out a way to make it all happen. But, like I said before....my WDW trips are on hold for the foreseeable future. I'll be renting out DVC points all over the place!!!! Sure will make that next trip so much nicer I guess. But, the kid's college has to come first. We had our fun over the years. Now, it's payback time......

 

[JBurke]

My DD is going off to college in the fall.
She was excepted into all the schools she applied to and has chosen Illinois State where she was accepted into the nursing program as a freshman.

Unfornately, didnt get much help through FAFSA, just the student loans and she got one scholarship from the university. Waiting on news from a few other scholarships she applied to.

Even though its a state school, Illinois state school prices are high! Its going to be a stretch to pay for it.

 

[JBurke]

My DD is going off to college in the fall.
She was excepted into all the schools she applied to and has chosen Illinois State where she was accepted into the nursing program as a freshman.

Unfornately, didnt get much help through FAFSA, just the student loans and she got one scholarship from the university. Waiting on news from a few other scholarships she applied to.

Even though its a state school, Illinois state school prices are high! Its going to be a stretch to pay for it.

 

[jbcheerchick93]

I will be going to college this fall I have a few schools to choose from still, and I honestly am still very confused. It's between University of Delaware and Clemson University, both for environmental engineering.

 

[StephMK]

I will be going to college this fall I have a few schools to choose from still, and I honestly am still very confused. It's between University of Delaware and Clemson University, both for environmental engineering.

I'm old enough to be your mom (my DD is going to college in the fall too) but I'm a Clemson grad and LOVED my years there. I know my experience there is outdated but let me know if you have any questions I could help answer. I do know they have an excellent engineering program though I don't know anything about DE. Good luck with your decision!

 

[MrsPete]

So, I have a son headed to college in the Fall. We have gotten all of our acceptance and now we are in decision mode. Waiting for the last FA offer.

How is your decision making going?

We have a daughter heading out to college in the fall. She's not going to the school I thought she'd choose, but we're very pleased with her decisions. The school she'll be attending is an ideal fit for her.

We have our financial aid "offer". I knew we wouldn't get anything real, but I was hoping for work study. Nope. Our EFC says we should be able to pay 2Xs the cost of a year's worth of college!

I have to say that there are plenty of kids who don't pay for their own educations and nevertheless take college seriously and do just fine. We expected our kids to come up with their own recreation money, but they knew tuition was taken care of.

Yeah, I don't buy into the "if you pay for it, they won't appreciate it" concept either. You've been living with this kid for 18 years. You already know whether he's appreciative of what he's given or not. If he's a spoiled brat, he probably does need to put in some serious work hours, but if you have a kid who generally knows the value of a dollar and who has worked hard in high school, he's not likely to blow off college just because it doesn't cost him anything financially.

We've set up some rules with our oldest about what we'll pay /what we expect her to pay, but we're taking care of the lion's share of it.

The reason they take the parents' income into consideration is simple: if fiancial aid was based just on the student's income, very few kids would be able to afford school. Schools do not have enough money to fund kids based on their incomes alone. Even if some schools could do that, it would lead to parents just saying, "Well, then, I'm not helping", whether they could afford to or not.

I was the kid whose parents wouldn't do anything to help me -- not even fill out the FAFSA in a timely manner. At one point I went to the Financial Aid office and explained that my parents weren't willing to help me at all, and I asked them what I could do to help with my horrible financial aid situation . . . they looked over my information and came to the conclusion that I was lying. They told me that I couldn't possibly be living on the money I was earning. But I was.

Still, even having been the person on the short end of that particular stick, I don't have a better idea about how to manage financial aid more fairly. As you said, people will lie about their willingness to pay. I agree that a better answer is needed, but I wouldn't even know where to start in making it genuinely fair for everyone.

 

[kellydizfan]

My DD will probably be going to Hofstra in the fall. This was her 1st choice and the best fit. She is going into Music Ed with a minor in Music Theater. Then she wants to do her Masters in Music Therapy. We received our financial aid pack which really stinks. We requested that they review her package and they sent us back an email stating that we will be pleased with the outcome. Well $2,000 more than original - yes it is more but still only $2,000.00. We were hoping for $8,000-$10,000 more but it doesn't look like it. She will be taking the loans out that she can and we will try to help but can't help much. We will see. I have to do the Deposits $800 due. I think my DH will ck once more with them regarding the aid.

 

[mvazul]

I find it very insulting that there are some who think we are lying just to get out of paying for our son's college education. As I have stated, we have spent a ton of money on attorneys fees over the last 14 years. And the ex won't pay a dime to help. He's not remarried, no other kids and makes over $6,000 a month.

If it works for your family to pay, great. But don't look down your noses and judge me, because we are doing it different. And, yes, I have seen MANY kids throw away Mommy and Daddy's money just because they could.

This will be my son's INVESTMENT - not a debt. It is HIS life. We don't expect him to pay us his salary once he finds a job after graduation. Why in the world would we pay for his schooling?

 

[Boston Tea Party]

No work study here either. Just found out today as well that if she gets a job with health insurance that her insurance through my husband will terminate. There is no provision for her being a full time student. Ugh. Now it's not a question of her getting a job, but a question of getting one WITHOUT insurance. (Are they easy to find?)

 

[zurgswife]

I find it very insulting that there are some who think we are lying just to get out of paying for our son's college education. As I have stated, we have spent a ton of money on attorneys fees over the last 14 years. And the ex won't pay a dime to help. He's not remarried, no other kids and makes over $6,000 a month.

If it works for your family to pay, great. But don't look down your noses and judge me, because we are doing it different. And, yes, I have seen MANY kids throw away Mommy and Daddy's money just because they could.

This will be my son's INVESTMENT - not a debt. It is HIS life. We don't expect him to pay us his salary once he finds a job after graduation. Why in the world would we pay for his schooling?

I don't think anybody was looking down their noses at you just pointing out that kids that have college paid for aren't necessarily going to lose their money by partying kids.

If you choose not to pay for schooling that is fine but don't be defensive about it. My dd has had to pay for her schooling at NYU because she was training in a specific program. My husband and I were not able to help her due to our own financial problems but that's not to say that if I couldn't I wouldn't have...just like if you could have your expressing that you wouldn't have...that is your own prerogative.

 

[DVCLiz]

I find it very insulting that there are some who think we are lying just to get out of paying for our son's college education. As I have stated, we have spent a ton of money on attorneys fees over the last 14 years. And the ex won't pay a dime to help. He's not remarried, no other kids and makes over $6,000 a month.

If it works for your family to pay, great. But don't look down your noses and judge me, because we are doing it different. And, yes, I have seen MANY kids throw away Mommy and Daddy's money just because they could.

This will be my son's INVESTMENT - not a debt. It is HIS life. We don't expect him to pay us his salary once he finds a job after graduation. Why in the world would we pay for his schooling?

I'm not questioning your choice at all. But you should be aware that there are many people who consider it a part of their parental responsibility to provide a college education for their children. Just because you don't agree with that view doesn't mean it's not valid.

Graduating debt free was the most tremendous asset for my daughter. She was able to work and save so that she had a nice nest egg at graduation and that, combined with choosing to live in an area with a lower cost of living, has allowed her to have a nice life on an entry level salary. I will certainly do the same for my younger daughter.

Again, I'm not questioning or judging but your opinion is not the only one as far as paying for college is concerned.