<p>You know the tone has been more critical than that in some cases, and growing increasingly so as people defend their opinions. The OP will figure out what she wants to do. She has gotten some very helpful information from several very knowledgeable, long-time contributers to this forum who are consistently helpful in providing information, procedural context, etc. that can help her in considering her options.</p>
<p>I think the point of the employment discussion is to help the OP figure out how to pay for the GT tuition, not to be critical of her life choices.</p>
<p>Exactly. Iâm also concerned that no matter where the D ends up going to school, the mom is going to need more income⊠Anyone whoâs had a child go away to school (especially a school that requires plane travel) knows that there are some unexpected expenses. </p>
<p>Maybe Iâm assuming too much, but considering how close this mom and D are, I would imagine that mom will want to accompany D and help her with âmove inâ day, and perhaps come to Parents WeekendâŠand fly her home for Tâgiving, Christmas, and other times (or go visit her). All of those things cost money. </p>
<p>Any parent who has flown with a child for move in day knows that in addition to the airfare, thereâs hotel costs, car rental, restaurants, etc. Same goes for Parents Weekend. (And, boy, donât the local hotels know when these events occur and jack up the prices!!!)</p>
<p>I just think that if this mom is just getting by (with minimal housing heat!!), then she does need to earn some more money just to help out with the extra and unexpected costs associated with having a child in college. </p>
<p>BTWâŠone thing I donât really understand about all of this. Is the mom saying that she had a large sum of money, lent it out to businessmen, who now pay her back with interestâŠand thatâs her income (or maybe theyâre making interest-only payments and thatâs her income)?</p>
<p>If she has lent out all/most of her $300k, then does she still claim the $300k as an asset? Or does she only have to claim what sheâs receiving in interest as income. Iâm not sure how that all works. </p>
<p>Or, maybe she has other savings as well as being the âlending bankâ for these business people? Iâm just not sure if Iâm understanding all of this.</p>
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<p>Oh please, canât we get away from discussing what the OP did at the school and over-analyzing the impact of her trip to Italy. What would âweâ say if this trip had been part of her volunteering and she HAD to go on this trip as part of her âjob.â</p>
<p>For all of you who are throwing ideas of Plan B or C, have you considered what a rushed decision at the end of March might mean to this student. Should she pick a school just because they still happen to offer late scholarship through a variance of rolling admission? With all due respect for such schools, there is a reason why such late admission policies do exist, and that reason does not exactly corresponds with the ambition and expectation of competitive students. </p>
<p>The reality is that this person SHOULD NOT rush in doing anything, except for contacting Georgetown and speak to someone she trusts and IS trustworthy regarding her finances. Again, I believe she should retain a financial planner and an attormey to ascertain the value of those private loans. Fwiw, she probably should seek to restructure them if they are only interest only. Her contributions to the education of her daughter does not have to come solely from the interest; she can plan on the return of a portion of the capital that more or less follows the assessments of FAFSA. If the loans appear less solid that expected, she could use this information to help in future reviews. </p>
<p>For the overwhelming majority of parents, April will be the month when decision and financial aid hit the mailboxes and email accounts. Families will have to make hard decisions, and so will this person. The worst thing she should do is rush into hasty decision and abandon what the basis of a decision should be: an academic and financial fit. If that cannot be done this year, this student has the option to defer at Georgetown, spend her year reorganizing the family finances, and regroup for next year in case Georgetown has analyzed her real finances correctly. </p>
<p>In conclusion, she should be proactive with finding out where she really stands with Georgetown, evaluating the admissions that might come in ten days, but she should surely NOT start throwing Hail Mary passes at schools she did not consider with great attention, or might be familiar only by watching ESPN.</p>
<p>I believe if you have tendered a loanâŠthe money is still considered YOURS for financial aid purposes. She didnât GIVE the money away. It is still hers.</p>
<p>I hope that Gâtown and this family are able to sit down and clarify the financial aid situation as soon as possible. It will help the family to make a decision regarding the enrollment or not at this school.</p>
<p>I just read this whole thread, and found the advice given by the professionals at the beginning to be very helpful, and some of the comments made towards the end to be quite unkind. If thereâs any lesson that anyone could take away from this situation, itâs that if your finances are unusual or complicated, you should seek professional advice, preferably the year before your baseline year for financial aid.</p>
<p>Lots of advice on what the OP shoulda, coulda done. But we are at the here and now. Itâs the last part of March and the first choice schoolâs aid package is way off the estimated amount. It could be a harbinger of things to come if the actual aid calculation is so far off estimate and FAFSA, so the OP has reason to be anxious. Iâve laid out the alternatives open to her at this point. It is very possible that the financial movement in 2010 puts the OP in a situation of an higher contribution figure than the âset pointâ of her situation. Or there could be a mistake or misrepresentation. Whatever the reason, she needs to pinpoint the problem and be prepared that her Dâs other choices may do the same thing.</p>
<p>Very pertinent and interesting information, mazewanderer. Thanks.</p>
<p>I agree with you Xiggi and I did earlier in the thread. I donât think itâs a bad idea to start thinking about a Plan B however (Iâm a planner so I generally am a Plan B advocate) but there is no rush to commit to a Plan B or throw Hail Mary passes as you say until after a one-on-one conversation with someone actually in financial aid at GT.</p>
<p>One of the things that the OP asks is advice on her appeal letter, and I think that âtoo much informationâ is valid commentary.</p>
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<p>I think she got a $300K lump sum from her husbandâs life insurance, then gave that money to her husbandâs former business parters (my guess only as to the relationship) â in exchange for promissory notes reflecting that the money was loaned with 10% interest to be paid indefinitely. </p>
<p>With an arrangement like that, the $300K would still be considered an asset of hers, but there may not be anything on paper to show that beyond the promissory notes. </p>
<p>I think that if the people who took her money were truly her friends, looking out for her best interests, then they would have worked with her to set up an annuity or a trust to maximize the value of the investment. The earnings on the money might have been well below 10%, but the principal would have been safe and accounted for. The problem with the current arrangement â as I understand it â is that she has a paper asset of $300K but the cash itself may be long gone. </p>
<p>As far as the financial aid system is concerned, thatâs an asset-- but in terms of real world economics⊠itâs paper. Unless the terms of the written notes allow her the option of asking for her money back at any time (as with a âcallableâ note) â she may have no recourse but to wait for years to even get to the point where she could ask for the money, much less demand an accounting.</p>
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<p>No one is saying that the daughter should commit to attending a safety merit school by the end of the month. We are saying that if in fact the daughter applied to such schools and then formally turned down merit offers, she should try to revive her applications so that she has more options to consider during the month of April⊠</p>
<p>And she needs to make those phone calls ASAP, because a college that is willing to reopen a file and reinstate an aid offer on March 21 may not be willing to do the same on April 2. </p>
<p>âPlans B and Câ are to keep options open. Turning down those offers was the ârushedâ decision that they need to undo, if possible.</p>
<p>If in fact the d. never applied to any safeties â and the mom simply meant that they discarded the many unsolicited offers sent by schools that offer large NM awards â then it would make sense for the d. to submit applications if any of those are rolling admission schools. Same reason â keep the options open. </p>
<p>This parent has made it clear that come hell or high water, she intends to finance her daughterâs attendance at an elite college. But the reality is that â if she has been honest here about her finances â that may not be possible. If those promissory notes are not callable, then the parent will not have the cash on hand at the end of the summer to come up with the amount to pay the bill for the first semester-- and it hardly makes sense for her to turn around and borrow money at 8% interest (PLUS loan). Since sheâs unemployed, she wonât qualify for any other sort of loan. Maybe the nice businessmen friends will be willing to lend money to the daughter for college on very generous terms, secured by their own obligation to the mom ⊠but I, for one, would not be optimistic.</p>
<p>Again, I agree. My point was about avoiding making rash decisions by trying to find a school in a few days in an act of desperation. I did not spoke against having a plan B and a Plan Cm and I believe that many suggestions in this thread have been very sensible and on the money (no pun intended.) Rekindling prior contacts with generous schools is not an act of desperation. </p>
<p>Fwiw, since they say âIn Rome, do as the Romansâ the OP will discover the virtues of Festina Lente. I strongly believe that, in the next days, the OP will also find out what the real story is in Georgetown and find the time to speak with her daughter about the possibilities that match the family.</p>
<p>XiggiâŠI think you misunderstood my postâŠ</p>
<p>*Originally Posted by mom2collegekids
This is a lady who has spent the last 4 years volunteering full time at her childâs school. Sheâs also chaperoning a class of seniors on an Italy trip. She would have the stamina to work a job. </p>
<p>and </p>
<p>I agree. I think that waiting until after you hear back from GU is a mistake. Get Plan B and Plan C going now. </p>
<p>Xiggi response:</p>
<p>Oh please, canât we get away from discussing what the OP did at the school and over-analyzing the impact of her trip to Italy. What would âweâ say if this trip had been part of her volunteering and she HAD to go on this trip as part of her âjob.â</p>
<p>*</p>
<p>I was responding to another posterâs claim that this woman is too old to be able to work. I was just saying this is a very capable woman who could work if she had toâŠevidenced by her stamina exhibited by being a full-time school volunteer and chaperone for a school trip. </p>
<p>Whether the trip was related to a real job is totally irrelevant to what I wrote. </p>
<p>For all of you who are throwing ideas of Plan B or C, have you considered what a rushed decision at the end of March might mean to this student.</p>
<p>Again, please more carefully read what people have written. NO ONE is suggesting that she make a ârushed decisionâ at the end of March. People are suggesting that they get a Plan B or C going just in case Plan A doesnât work out. That means having other good offers in hand, while pursuing a change with Georgetown aid. </p>
<p>** HOW DOES THAT suggest making a ârushed decisionâ in ANY WAY???**</p>
<p>The reality is that this person SHOULD NOT rush in doing anything, except for contacting Georgetown</p>
<p>No. They should quickly get some other options going JUST IN CASE they cannot get their financial issues resolved with Gâtown. If they wait until they determine that Gâtown isnât affordable, those other doors may be closed.</p>
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<p>Do we need to discuss reading comprehension and semantics? Obviously, I consider sending late applications to schools that were NOT considered before to represent a rash decision for a family that is overwhelmed and ⊠already desperate. </p>
<p>Unless I am mistaken you suggested that applying to Alabama for the NNF scholarship was a good idea. I assume that you consider this is a part of Plan B, and that it should be done with URGENCY. Your post number 7 states âbut they need to apply soonâŠthey canât wait forever.â The question here is if this needs to be one of the highest priorities of the OP. And I believe that applying to NEW schools SHOULD NOT be something the OP needs to address immediately â meaning before she leaves for her (maligned) trip. </p>
<p>After all, based on your post of last year, this scholarship remains available until a later date:</p>
<p><a href=âhttp://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/918446-fyi-bamas-nmf-scholarship-still-available-fall.html[/url]â>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/918446-fyi-bamas-nmf-scholarship-still-available-fall.html</a></p>
<p>All in all, we simply disagree about what should be done âimmediatelyâ and âquickly.â I strongly believe that the worst that this person can do is compounding her problems by adding a pile of poorly researched options to her existing issues. And, again, there is a world of difference between checking on past options that might have been hastily discarded and embarking on a desperate wild goose chase for the few remaining elusive scholarships.</p>
<p>I donât care which NMF scholarship schools or other Plan B/C schools she applies to. I mentioned Bama in a very early post as an option because I knew itâs an option, but I certainly have not said that is the only option. I donât think I suggested Bama in any of my more recent posts to the OP since there are several options. The OP mentioned that there were several other NMF schools (and maybe others) that they were aware of. Since none of us know WHICH schools those are, we donât know when those deadlines are.</p>
<p>Frankly, I think they should get 2-3 other financial safeties going for a few reasons.</p>
<p>The main warning was that they should NOT wait until after they hear a decision from Gâtown. At that point it can be too late.</p>
<p>Putting any amount of this 300K into a retirement type account will count as âincomeâ to the colleges on either FAFSA or CSS PROFILE financial aid applications over the course of the next 3 years for OPâs daughter. </p>
<p>Assets put into retirement accounts BEFORE high school junior spring semester & high school senior fall semester year are sheltered from the financial aid application process. </p>
<p>However, by not putting some of these funds into retirement assets before this time frame, these funds are fair game under the financial aid formulas! Although the OP has this arrangement with these business friends, it is not the best arrangement for seeking financial aid for her only child. None of the 300k is sheltered from FA formulas. </p>
<p>It is a shame that the OP did not seek/research proper advice about FA policies.</p>
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<p>Forget everything else that has been said so far. Forget the advice, forget the suggestions, focus on what appears to be the issue and I think that the basic issue here is exactly what SLUMOM has said. Colleges do not think that $300,000 is protected and is fair game and hence has low or little demonstrated need. In OPâs mind, this is a retirement fund that she will use and hence should not be considered. In the colleges mind it is an asset that can be used for education, as it is an investment. Here is the FAFSA definition and I am sure profile uses similar definition. It may be unfair but this is based on the way the rules are defined</p>
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<p>To the OP: if my post a few pages back sounded at all snippy, I apologize.
Honestly, I was trying to be constructive, but it came out more as critical.</p>
<p>What I was (rather badly) trying to say was, I do understand wanting more than anything to give your D the best. But that giving a hard look at whatâs realistic financially will be the best thing you can do right now, for you and for your D.</p>
<p>She sounds very bright, and Iâm sure sheâll have the motivation to seek out opportunities and do well in another environment, one you (and she) can afford, without using up your only funds.</p>
<p>Good luck to you both.</p>
<p>Other than saying that she is approaching retirement age, nowhere did I see the OP say that she considered the $300K âretirementâ savings. Instead, it seems to be a lump sum insurance payment that sheâs invested with people she trusts in order to pay current expenses. Thatâs a very different investment strategy than a more typical retirement plan which would invest in a balanced class of assets with an eye towards minimizing current income and taxes, and maximizing future capital gains. </p>
<p>Without earned income, she canât invest in IRAs or other traditional retirement vehicles anyway, even prior to this base FAFSA year. Her only option to make this lump sum non-reportable for FAFSA would be to purchase an annuity. Locking the funds up in an annuity would give her a lower rate of return than sheâs seeing now and would remove her only income stream. That doesnât seem to be a feasible option at the moment.</p>
<p>We have no understanding of how that transaction was accomplished from a legal structure but what is important is what GT is considering or extrapolating from what they âknowâ from the Profile.</p>