<p>I have a friend whose parent don't support her to go to college, they want her to go to Community College but she wants to go to a 4 year SUNY Schools. The thing is that her parents are telling her that she is not going to college. Apparently her parent can't apply for financial aid. She really wants to go to college but she doesn't know what to do, I already told her to apply for scholarships, etc.
She is 17 with a job is there can she fill her own taxes and ask for financial aid with her taxes?
WHAT ELSE CAN SHE DO?</p>
<p>Have the parents run the “net price calculators”? How much can they afford? Or are they unwilling to pay for her college (another situation entirely)?
What do you mean “her parents can’t apply for financial aid”? Even if they’re not in the US legally, as long as <em>she</em> graduated from a NYS high school she can be considered a resident for tuition purposes, apply for . (I don’t know how that plays for FAFSA).
If she’s a lawful resident, she can apply for TAP. There’s also EOP, SEOG… in addition to institutional grants and scholarships.
If they mean they’re too rich, be aware that at public colleges you may qualify for financial aid up to $100,000 and at some private colleges it’s 150-180,000 (depending on various circumstances and colleges.) If it’s because she’s low-income and has excellent stats, 100% need schools may end up costing less than public schools, but she should hurry because most have deadlines either passed or ending tomorrow (1/15), like Wash U if she has top stats; or schools like Gettysburg, St Olaf, and the women’s colleges -those are the easiest to get into (all 100% schools meet 100% demonstrated need for all admitted applicants, all are very to highly selective so “easier to get into” is relative, we’re still talking minimim 3.7 GPA and/or SAT 1250-1300CR+M for instance). She’d have to be willing to leave NYS if admitted there - but she could compare financial aid packages with the SUNYs.
Finally, she can apply to the automatic scholarships for full tuition or full rides but once again she should hurry because most have deadlines that have passed or are coming up.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-20.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-20.html</a>
If she is National Merit Scholar there are many schools where she can go for free, too.
To be considered independent for financial aid purposes, you could be 24 or more, or married, or a veteran… But simply working and paying taxes doesn’t work.
What she needs to do is apply for scholarships at many SUNY schools, from Geneseo to Oswego to Westbury, those are merit-based as well as need-based.
Remind her that she should apply to those right away… and once she gets her financial aid packages, she will be able to make a decision without any regret. if all her admissio choices are too costly, it’ll be time in April to apply to community colleges, since they’re basically open-enrollment, and if she could qualify for SUNY’s she may be able to qualify for the community college’s honors program, so all in all she has lots of choices.</p>
<p>I think you’ve posted this before.</p>
<p>What do you mean by saying that her parents CAN’T apply for FA??? Are they illegally here? What?</p>
<p>She is not illegal, her parents just don’t want her to go to college because she thinks its not worth it. They think they are just going to waste money on her.</p>
<p>Contact the schools and ask to speak with their Financial Aid department. There are ways to assist this person, albeit not as easily as it would be if the parent’s assisted with filling out the form. Do so before February 1 as many schools want the FAFSA by the 15th and she will have to work things out with Financial Aid prior to that.</p>
<p>*She is not illegal, her parents just don’t want her to go to college because she thinks its not worth it. They think they are just going to waste money on her.
*</p>
<p>They think WHO is going to waste money on her? The school? The parents?</p>
<p>The parents don’t have to pay anything if they don’t want. Filling out FAFSA doesn’t obligate them to pay.</p>
<p>she needs to explain to them that FAFSA is for aid…it doesn’t require the parents to pay for college.</p>
<p>Are they low income? </p>
<p>Are they newish immigrants? </p>
<p>What do her parents do for a living?</p>