daughtersrus says : We didn't even fill out the FAFSA forms the first two years because we knew that she wouldn't qualify for anything. We did fill them out when she transferred and her EFC was $17,000.
We didn't get any grants either via FAFSA. But we were told to fill out the form anyway, because the schools use it to determine grants/loans/work study etc. So, even though we knew we wouldn't qualify for much of anything, we went through the motions and sent it. Here, it let us know whether we'd qualify for a subsidized or unsubsidized Stafford loan.
Amy Epcot says : I'm sure I'll get flamed for this but this is the analogy I always come back to; you want to buy a BMW but you can't afford it. Do you go to the dealership and demand that they give you one? Do you complain to your friends about the "audacity" of the dealership to deny your request? No, you investigate cars that are more affordable and that fit into your budget. Same thing with a college, there are plenty that are affordable (especially community colleges) and they may not be your child's first choice but in the end, they'll do the trick and you child will not graduate with $85,000 in debt nor will you be re-paying a PLUS loan well into your 80's.
Well, I certainly wouldn't flame you, but I do respectfully disagree. Driving a BMW vs a Ford (or whatever), hasn't much to do witha quality education and a positive college experience. My dd worked her tush off in school and it has landed her the top 10% of her class out of 1,100+ students in her senior class.
Her major---Marine Biology---did dictate where she would go. She was accepted at two PA state schools she had applied at (both to the Honors program). But, Marine Biology is not a great major to have in a landlocked campus which is essentially a frozen tundra 80% of the school year. Her field work, would have had to be done over the summer and it would have required her traveling to VA and living there to do it. Also, at both Open House presentations, the Marine Bio profs, while laying a strong case that these schools had good programs, also mentioned it being tough to get a job in senior year because not many companies/agencies dealing with this major would recruit at these PA schools. PA is just not known for marine bilogy.
That said, we headed down to FL for a much better program with tons of hands on field work which also has many recruiters for this major. When you are in certain fields, sometimes it does pay to go for a school that is known for it's specific programs. The private university we chose in FL is such a school. So we did opt (and will sacrifice) to have dd in a more premiere school for her program of study (the BMW so to say), vs the school that had a decent program but not as promising in the way of field work and job offers. Is this school really what I'd call affordable to us ? No. There are other schools that we could pay for with much more ease, but what dd gets out of it in the end is more beneficial than going to the cheaper school. So it's not all black and white.
phragmipedium----great post and information. Thank you for taking the time.
Vijoge says : Yes, there are limits. The max DS could borrow his freshman year was $2700.
It's $3,500 for freshmen and higher for the uppper years.
ExPirateShopGirl says : I see a couple who mentioned they did, but otherwise I see a LOT of parents upset about the amount of money the schools expect them to contribute. I am disheartened by the number of people who don't or haven't saved a penny when, in fact, you've known this day was coming since the stick turned blue! This is where sacrifice comes in; things like not taking a vacation every year, even though you feel you deserve one, choosing Pop over GF even if your credit card limit allows a stay at the GF, buying a Honda instead of an Escalade, even if the salesman says you qualify. These are the choices we make throughout our adult lives that can help or hurt our kids in the long run, when it comes time to pay for the thing that really matters... the education!
Crisi echoed my sentiments exactly. Kids do grow up very fast. Looking back, it seems like a blink of an eye.
Yes, alot of us are upset at the high/exhorbitant cost of tuition. There are other parts of the world that offer education and healthcare to their citizens for free or nominal amounts. We were fairly frugal over the years, but still weren't able to save much for college (about $10,000). This was tough during hard times in our early marriage (i.e.frequent layoffs for dh, going on unpaid leave to care for ill family members, loss of health insurance etc). About 8 years ago, when the kids were 8, 10 & 12, my dh (seeing our measely savings), applied for a job at a large university that offers scholarships/grants to children of the employees. It may not have been his choice of a career, but he did it knowing it would help pay for college. The grant our dd will get from dh's employer benefit, plus the grants/scholarships provided by the private school my dd has been accepted at (academic based on her GPA and SAT scores), are making the cost of her education at the private school only about $4,000/year. The state schools in PA offered no grants/scholarships to dd. Someone else on this thread said it----the private schools have the most money to play around with. The private university in FL where dd is going in August helped me greatly with financial aid planning. They said "we'll make this happen". Believe me......a year ago I never would have thought my dd attending this school was possible. If grades are strong, alot of private institutions will do what they can to get your child to attend.
Crisi says : To be fair "they grow up so fast" and "you'll never have kids if you wait until you can afford them." Its easy to have kids when you are fairly young and money is tight....you'll start a college fund when you aren't searching up change from the couch for diapers. You start making a little more money, and rather than putting that money towards college - you'll do that tomorrow - you decide to reward yourself for the hard work that got you that promotion with a new car. Life happens, another baby arrives, and you manage to put off starting that college fund another year. Your kid is now ten and you know you NEED to start saving - but he really wants to play travelling baseball - and he's pretty good - and that's expensive.
I hear ya Crisi.........life truly does happen..........you spelled it out well. I don't regret the money (BIG $$$ over the years), that we put out for soccer, baseball, football, karate, guitar lessons etc. Also, our vacation memories will last a lifetime and I wouldn't give them back for anything in the world.
mamalle says : Im really starting with the kids early to get good grades so they will qualify for Fla's Bright Future Scholarship so everything is covered 100% either private or public schools. It just shocks me at what it takes for kids to go to college now and I dont seeing it getting any cheeper either.. I hope you all can figure something out..
I must say, the state of FL's Bright Future program is wonderful ! I'm hearing alot about it being that my dd will be going to a university in FL (we're from PA). Makes me REALLY wish I was a FL resident ! (not that we didn't want to live in FL anyway......but the program just makes it that much better).
To the OP....and others struggling with the high costs of college.....hope something works for you. My dd has applied for at least a dozen scholarships, but so far nothing. She's been doing Fastweb.com since last summer. It's hard. The trick is planning early. Good luck to all.
....with that said, if you have a responsible child, they will take care of everything. If you don't (can you tell which one I have 
) make sure you are constantly on their behinds, but make sure they take care of their stuff....don't do it for them.
