<p>AFT</a> - Teachers - Just for Teachers - Loan Forgiveness and Teacher Scholarship Programs
American</a> Education Services - Federal Teacher Loan Forgiveness
Not to mention but public school teachers can make a pretty good wage starting out compared to some fields with just a BA or a BA +1, especially when you consider benefits.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your helpful responses. As a matter of fact, I was thrilled to see the question about teaching on the FAFSA and I will be sure to check out the DOE website concerning loan forgiveness for teachers. You are so right, my daughter has a good head on her shoulders and knows that she has no need for a 200k education in order to teach. She is thrilled to be accepted EA at UMA. BU was really just a pipe dream. Now, if they offer a free ride..:-D
Thanks again</p>
<p>Beniben, there are districts here in NJ that offer salaries of nearly $90K for math and science teachers with a few years' experience. I would guess that starting salaries in those distircts is quite respectable.
In fact, I'm trying to nudge my older D to teach English literature (she's currently a vet tech, grad of Rutgers in '07) through NJ's second pathway- she loves English lit, loves discussing it, writes well, and wants to make a better living (she pulls double-shifts just to meet her loan payments!!). And then her fedferal loans might go away as well.
Thanks EK4 for posting the info</p>
<p>The fireman's EFC will go down for the next year, when the drop is reflected in pay.</p>
<p>Beniben- nobody wants to be burdened with a lot of loans (parents included.) However FA officers know a couple of things, all things being equal:</p>
<p>People with lots of assets (paid up house which appreciated rapidly over the last decade, investments, etc.) are in a better position to borrow than those without;
Students with a lifetime of earning ahead of them are in a better position to borrow for an education than a 62 year old breadwinner about to retire;
Someone anticipating a low income profession needs to assess their financial options up-front-- many people turn to teaching as a second career; find school districts to fund their master's degrees; opt to teach an "in demand" subject which pays a premium, etc.</p>
<p>Net-- although you read many parents on CC kvetching about how they don't want to take out loans, don't want their kids to have loans, don't expect much sympathy from an FA officer about borrowing money for college. It is one of the primary tools used for financing an education-- it is absolutely your prerogative to decline an FA offer which is loan based, but "not wanting to take out loans" is typically not going to get you a heartfelt review of your file at most schools.</p>
<p>And by the way, although I try to avoid a lot of snarky comments both in real life as well as on CC (how am I doing? not so great I guess.....) it is apparent to me at my advanced age that many people just don't get the fact that if they had deferred a lot of optional consumption for the last 18 years of their kids life, they'd have accumulated the assets to pay their EFC. Frequently (but obviously not always) borrowing is the penalty one pays for poor consumption choices over the long haul. If you take your annual bonus every year and spend it on a ski trip with the kids at Vail, the college is probably being rational when they look at your income and gap your kids package with loans. You either saved it up over the last few decades or you'll pay it off over the next decade.... but believe me, saving is a cheaper way to go than borrowing.</p>
<p>FA officers talk to people all the time who are happy to finance a brand new car every couple of years but are horrified at the notion of carrying an educational loan. Go figure.</p>
<p>beniben-that's great that your D knows she can get the degree she wants at UMass-my daughter wants to teach too and visited UMass; unfortunately we're not in-state. I bet the high paying school districts in Mass all hire UMass grads!</p>
<p>"it is apparent to me at my advanced age that many people just don't get the fact that if they had deferred a lot of optional consumption for the last 18 years of their kids life, they'd have accumulated the assets to pay their EFC."</p>
<p>Define "optional consumption" I think in an age when pensions are becoming a thing of the past, college tuition increasing at twice, or in some years three time the rate of inflation, an education, even at a four year in state public, for instance UConn, now exceeds 20K. Believe it or not there are people who did not take the expensive vacations, buy the European sedans, or purchase a McMansion and are still floored by the costs. From what I've read on this site regarding the FAFSA and PROFILE most people feel they are being taken to the cleaners. We're told by Finaid types "Use your home equity, stop contributing to that 401k," So.. when you're 65 you owe a second mortgage and failed to save enough to retire. Is buying a house "a poor consumption choice" how about paying car insurance, fixing a roof, or living in the northeast or midwest.. with all those expensive heating costs. 20 years ago even the best financial planners didn't see these incredibly expensive rates coming.
So I disagree with your high handed comment that frequently "borrowing is the penalty one pays for poor consumption choices over the long haul." I think borrowing is done A MAJORITY of of folks who did thier best, made good consumption choices, and want to continue to do the best for thier kids providing it doesn't mean living in a four story walk-up ten years from now..</p>
<p>Well said, nightingale.</p>
<p>To add to Nightingale's comments: Many of us who have been frugal are finding our reserves being rapidly drawn down due to rising copays, rising insurance costs, no pay increases (or, as in my case, pay CUTS) --- while all other costs continue to rise. These things are in addition to the pension changes that were made after 30 years of believing the pension would be something it no longer will be (not to mention the retirement health care no longer being what we were led to believe it would be). As my H & I work harder, our AGI slips ever lower each year. I'm not complaining (MUCH), because I am not poor. However, it's the reality in which many of us live. While we thought we were planning properly, the world has changed too quickly for us to regroup & recover in time.</p>
<p>^^^amen.</p>
<p>10 char</p>
<p>No millionaire left behind :)</p>
<p>:D</p>
<p>too funny</p>
<p>I think that blossom's comment is harkening back to the "150,000 and can't make the EFC" -type characterized earlier. That indeed would be someone who, living frugally, should, absent McMansions et al, be able to handle an EFC of whatever. After all, the great majority of the country gets by on a fraction of that. Obviously, she wasn't talking about someone at a much lower level of income. As well, my family freely allowed S to do ED at a lower income than that (now significantly lower), because of an extreme frugality streak we are cursed by (while living in a reportedly high-cost area.) And yes, even people with much lower incomes live in houses, repair their roofs, and pay car insurance. It takes a pretty big house and some dang fancy cars to eat up a six figure income.</p>
<p>"It takes a pretty big house and some dang fancy cars to eat up a six figure income."</p>
<p>Probably not on Long Island or in northern NJ.. or even within 20 miles of Boston. The single biggest expenditure for most folks is thier home and a home in Kansas or Illinois is a lot cheaper than in many places on the east or west coast. This is the problem I have with folks who live in low cost of living areas. They seem to look to a family in say, North Jersey, and say "Geez what are they doing with thier money" Employers including the Fed Govt. recognize high cost of living areas and grant COLA's to offset those costs. Does PROFILE? I know FAFSA is the Fed. Govt. .. but are provisions made and differentials allowed based on the cost of living in the area the applicant lives. 100k in some places probably only equates to 60K in others bout some folks here seem to think people making 60K are frugal and deserve a break whereas people making the 100K, in high cost of living areas deserve no help as they've made "bad consumer choices" Gimme a break!</p>
<p>Thank you Nightingale. I am in 100% agreement. We lived in a responsible way, and NJ is not a "choice" for us, unless we give up our family livelihood. </p>
<p>Nightingale, I seem to have read that there is some allowance for a higher cost area, but if this is the case, the allowance is not much, IMO.</p>
<p>
[quote]
From what I've read on this site regarding the FAFSA and PROFILE most people feel they are being taken to the cleaners. We're told by Finaid types "Use your home equity, stop contributing to that 401k," So.. when you're 65 you owe a second mortgage and failed to save enough to retire. Is buying a house "a poor consumption choice" how about paying car insurance, fixing a roof, or living in the northeast or midwest.. with all those expensive heating costs. 20 years ago even the best financial planners didn't see these incredibly expensive rates coming.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This is just so well said by Nightingale! This is just going to really bite us and our children, and our children's children when we are seniors don't have funds to live. Why do colleges see modest savings in a retirement account as available $$ for them? If one is self employed and this is the only nest egg for golden years other than possible social security (yeah, right), why can't one fund retirement and not have it added back as income available for today? Believe it or not, some people will have nothing else to live on.</p>
<p>"It takes a pretty big house and some dang fancy cars to eat up a six figure income."</p>
<p>Well, there is a big difference between $100,000 a year before taxes and $999.999 a year before taxes.</p>
<p>;)
This reminds me of a big article in the local paper the other day about my H's employer.
It stated that _____% made over $30 an hour.
Well yes, that is technically true- if my H is any indication.
He makes $1.00 over $30 an hour & that is after twenty years at the company in roughly the same position.-
Neither $30 an hour or $100,000 a year is what they were twenty years ago.
I think some figures should be updated- minimum wage has been increasing, but the top pay scale in his job title doesn't.</p>
<p>I'm still laughing about the post on the last page about 'annual bonuses' and 'ski vacations'.</p>
<p>I got a $50 bill one year for a bonus. I also got a misc-1099 form reporting it as income.</p>
<p>There are SO many things that aren't 'fair' wrt Fafsa, CSS we could moan all day. Cost of living in one area vs another, retirement contributions added back in as income, less asset protection for single parent (do I have 1/2 a house?), income was low for 10+ years and only spiked the past few years (enough to boost the EFC but not the savings account).</p>
<p>I couldn't have squeezed any more mileage out of my money if I tried. I have spent below my means my ENTIRE life. That goes for when I was making $20K in 1993, or 40K in 1999 or 65K in 2007. My food budget is 1/3 of what my son's meal plan costs on a weekly basis. Now who is eating the ramen noodles in the family?? </p>
<p>I'm very fortunate to have a job that I won't be losing any time in the future, and I just pray the roof over my head doesn't leak and the 17 yo car in my driveway still rides.</p>
<p>I anticipate spending nearly every penny in my savings to pay my EFC for the next 4 years. I'll stop putting $$ in the retirement plan if I need more take home $</p>
<p>Nightingale--I'm pretty conversant with the living expenses in North Jersey. I've lived here for 25 years. It really depends on which town you choose to live in.</p>
<p>Ek--I was refering to the 150ish kind of six figures, not the lots of nines type.</p>
<p>We don't have that kind of income, and until this year, living in North Jersey, we were full-pay at one of the 45K schools. But I will agree that our idea of frugal and saving is not everyone's.</p>
<p>
[quote]
This is the problem I have with folks who live in low cost of living areas.
[/quote]
I live in one of the highest COL areas of the country - SF Bay area - and earn around $50K. Garland is in a high cost area. </p>
<p>All you have to do is pull up median income figures for any part of the country to get a sense of what is needed to get by. In high COL areas that figure is around $75K annually. </p>
<p>I'm really tired of the "high cost of living" excuse. Yes, it costs more to live in New Jersey than it does to live in Arkansas. No, it does not require $150K/annually just to get by.</p>
<p>How many of the people griping about the high cost of living have been sending their kids to private schools all along?</p>
<p>Well, no private school, no private summer camp, no private music/art/karate etc. lessons here. My children attended the YMCA programs during the summer. Music lessons were only those provided through the public schools. We also do not have a BMW, Lexus, etc. I try to never buy anything in at a regular retail price, and I don't own any designer outfits/handbags/perfumes, and never have. We have spent money on home some home repair, but our home is over 60 years old. Believe me, there is no McMansion here. It is a very small 3 bedroom, 2 bath home without tennis courts or a pool, LOL! Oh, and any home repair that was done was necessary.</p>