<p>loslobos71 thanks, I am awful with the their and there, same with effect and affect, sorry .</p>
<p>
[quote]
Times are tough economically
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</p>
<p>How are times tough economically?</p>
<p>When I went to my state flagship (early 80s), the total budget for an in-state, on-campus student was $3600 for tuition, room, board and books. Spending money, phone bills, clothes, toiletries and bus tickets home were additional. My EFC was zero, and believe me, I got zero. Between my $2100 Pell grant and working 20 hours a week at minimum wage (which was $3.65 back then), I was able to pay my way. This was <em>very</em> unusual at the flagship I attended. </p>
<p>Our state flagship is now $20K. Making $8/hr. isn't going to put much of a dent in that bill.</p>
<p>southpasadena</p>
<p>When I went to a selective lac in 60's-70's, total costs were about $4,000 per year. I dropped out and attended flagship U and was able to save money on veteran's benefits I got because my Dad was a vet who had died the year before. With the money I saved and because Cornell considered me an emancipated adult even though I was only 21, I got great financial aid from them. I think things are tougher for kids now if their parents can't or won't help.</p>
<p>UVA has capped my loans for $19,500 but hopefully I'll pay some or most of it off while I'm at school with scholarships.</p>
<p>If things don't look up, I'll probably be about 50-60k in debt. All on me.</p>
<p>Just as bethievt, CountingDown, and others have stated on this board economically speaking it is more difficult now for an 18 year to put themselves through college. The cost of tuition, room and board, and books go up every year along with other items such as gas and food (the list can go on and on here). Wages have not kept up with the rising prices so if a student is working a $6 or $7 an hour job it will be hard for them to come up with the money without going into serious debt. Like my post said earlier, once out of school that person is trying to find the right job and get a decent place to live while paying for student loans. I have many friends in their 30's and 40's still trying to pay off student debt while managing a mortgage, car payment, and household bills....plus now many have children of their own. Debt is a vicious cycle that is difficult to get out of....kind of like quicksand.</p>
<p>I think that it is ridiculous that nearly 5% of the small, small sample that responded to the poll will be over 100k in debt for an undergraduate degree (hopefully people answered honestly, so that we can really see the debt being accumulated). I find this really pretty sad. I know that my H and I had about 30,000 in debt (incurred only from grad school, and that was our combined total), and that was a burdern to pay off. Neither of us had any debt from our undergraduate years.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, and I know for many other people the reason why their student loans are so high, is not just that cost of college, but the way the EFC is calculated. My parents assets/income prevent me from receiving financial aid, but they aren't the ones paying for my education. The only real problem I have with parents not contributing financially to college educations (when they can, but won't) is that it makes it next to impossible for the student to receive need based grants, etc. As a transfer student, I applied to 6 colleges, and there really was no variety in the financial package I was offerred. It's also really rare for schools to offer or have significant merit based scholarships to transfer students who don't also have a financial need (at least the schools I looked at).</p>
<p>the EFC is one of the most exact foumulas I have ever seen. i think it is pretty much perfect.</p>
<p>The fact that your parents can afford your college and wont pay for it is your problem and don't complain. The people who deserve the aid are the people whoes parents cant afford school.</p>
<p>I like the system as it is. It gives money to the people who need it, not the rich 50K+ a year households that could easily put aside 30K a year for an education.</p>
<p>50k+ is rich? Hardly. In many areas of America, with only 50k, the typical family (2 parents, 2 kids, and maybe a dog) might be on the streets if they had to pay out 30k a year for college tuition. </p>
<p>How are children from more fortunate families whose parents are unwilling to assist with college tuition less deserving of financial assistance?</p>
<p>The children should all receive a fair shake regardless of how much their parents earn. What you are saying is reminiscent of the Soviets (If your father was bourgeois, you must work in the gulag). </p>
<p>The EFC is clearly imperfect if you remotely understood the questions it asked. It does not factor in much. It ignores retirement funds, property, and many other factors that I feel that should be considered. For example, someone might have a 10 million dollar mansion in Beverly Hills and perhaps an income of perhaps 30k or 40k a year just off of interest and perhaps a rather leisurely part-time job.</p>
<p>In the eyes of the FAFSA, this person would be dirt poor, especially if he files with the 1040EZ.</p>
<p>I guess it's different for everyone, but 18 years old does not equal economic independence nor should it have to. I will provide- as much as i can afford- for my child's college education. Then I will send them out on their own.
A high school education can only get them so far. I think it is the parents responsibility to provide for the child as long as they cannot provide for themselves.
Of course there is some sort of age cutoff. I say after college cut them loose.</p>
<p>Speaking of other sources of college funding -- Bethievt's comment reminded me that I had roommates in college whose parents collected Social Security -- and in those days, if a student was in college at least half-time, he/she received benefits beyond age 18. This policy ended around 1981 and one of my friends had to drop out because the $149/mo. she received in benefits was the difference in affording her education or not. I was also able to become independent for FA purposes, which gave me a little bit of breathing room starting in my junior year. In addition to my Pell (which didn't change because family EFC was zero before I went independent), I qualified for a $750 Stafford loan. To me, that was breathing room. My DH attended an Ivy and the total cost when he entered in 1979 was on the order of $7500. He had a full tuition merit scholarship and worked for the rest. It was hard, but do-able. Then he went to grad school. We paid off our last student loan nine years ago. DS1 was in 2nd grade, DS2 in K. We were 37. Goat4d must not have had to pay rent, utilities, child care, health insurance, or live in the real world. Where we live, a $60K income foir a family of four qualifies one for Section 8 housing. The average price of an efficiency in our county is $931/mo. Almost 40% of the renters in our county pay in excess of 30% of their <em>gross</em> income on rent. But this is where the jobs are, so people either struggle mightily or commute horrendous distances in order to save money on housing. Sorry for the lack of paragraphs -- my keyboard is partially fried -- no enter, backspace or tab capabilities!</p>
<p>Less than 14k if i do not go abroad, abut 25k if i go abroad. I will most likely spend the year abraod though, one semester in Russia one in Hungary or Aboard the Scholar Ship</p>
<p>The fact that your parents can afford your college and wont pay for it is your problem and don't complain. The people who deserve the aid are the people whoes parents cant afford school.</p>
<p>I like the system as it is. It gives money to the people who need it, not the rich 50K+ a year households that could easily put aside 30K a year for an education.</p>
<p>Umm, since when does making 50k a year mean you can afford to pay 30k for school? It seems realy unrealistic to assume that in most areas of the country, the cost of living is low enough for a family to be supported on the 20k remainder. You say "Most of you will go debt free as your are overly spoiled", but for those of us who aren't "spoiled" and don't have parents to pay for everything, we shouldn't complain about outside factors, like the imperfect EFC (which is imperfect for the reasons fastMEd mentioned, in addition to others) that prohibit us from paying our own way? Maybe I'm the only one who doesn't think your logic makes sense though.</p>
<p>Malishka, aren't you going out of state. if so how did you manage so little debt.</p>
<p>Baruch?</p>
<p>I'll have to take out about $60,000 (but not more than that) in total.
but... I would've had to do the same if I went to my state school and lived on campus... which is a little depressing, but at least I get to go to my first choice school! </p>
<p>If I graduate early, I should be able alright. and of course those scholarships never hurt either</p>
<p>as for med school... ugh, I don't even want to think about it!</p>
<p>As of now, I'm not taking anything out for NYU (maybe a $1400 Perkins loan). My mother is covering $3500, and I'm making the rest ($3000) this summer. My total aid package (minus loans and including federal aid) for NYU came to over $40,000, which I will get every year because all my scholarships are renewable (except National Merit which I can easily substitute for something else later on). Plus I have $4000 in Work Study for expenses and stuff. I was a bit lucky.</p>
<p>None, due to a full tuition scholarship at Baylor, unless you count me owing my parents for things such as car insurance.</p>
<p>Of course, if I do something like change my major at the last minute or fail too many classes, that very well may change! (My scholarship is only for 4 years, and I need to keep a 3.5 GPA.)</p>
<p>Since I was financially wise enough to start at a community college, I so far have no debt and have been able to pay for everything pretty easily out-of-pocket, with the help of some merit scholarships along the way. When I transfer for my junior and senior year, I will not pay more than $20,000 (both years combined), whether that be out-of-pocket or through loans. I set that limit a while ago. There are plenty of colleges I can attend that are good schools and don't cost as much as some of my other choices. Hopefully, however, I will continue to receive good merit scholarships!</p>