<p>Alright I am in a financial problem.</p>
<p>I am a high school grad that will be attending college in the fall. I have 1 scholarship coming in and money for misc expenses. My college funds were based on the fact my father would pay for me, however recent events have caused a seperation with my mom and dad, and it seems like my dad does not want to pay for room and board, tutition etc. He would have been paying mostly out of loans.</p>
<p>Now that I have no source of current funds I know I can take out a large loan because of my moms credit history, and because I work and already got accepted to college.</p>
<p>I am worried however because my mom was a stay at home mom she has no job. In the past she has worked full time and earned a decent salary but gave up her job to raise my two sisters.</p>
<p>My question is will I have a decent chance of getting a loan? I would probably need +/- $70,000. Over four years.</p>
<p>I have the feeling it wont be hard but what else can I do to secure some funds and make sure I will not be the one that loeses. </p>
<p>I know I will reapply for FAFSA next year and will probably be getting more federal aid.</p>
<p>I am not willing to drop to attend a community college, I worked hard to get into a good university and got accepted to a great program as a freshmen.</p>
<p>Any tips or comments would be great.</p>
<p>Thanks guys.</p>
<p>I hate to say this, but just because your parents are divorced (or in the process of getting one) the school is not absolve your father of his financial responsibility toward your education.</p>
<p>I know that this must be a rough time for you and your family. However, your best bet is to sit down and talk to your father. While he may be divoricing your mother, explain that he is not divoricing you and you still need him; emotionally and financially.</p>
<p>You are going to need approximately 17,000 in loans each year over the next 4 years not counting the amount of loans at will already be in your name (stafford/perkins loans). As a parent, I would not want my child taking on this type of debt especially if they were looking to attend a graduate or professional program later.</p>
<p>Paying for a college education is a reality when it comes to attending college. You state your father does not want to pay for college and the net-net is your mom as a person with no income is not going to be able to borrow the money you need.</p>
<p>If the money is not there, you may be left with no other choice than to attend a community college with an automatic transfer policy in order to save some money. It is better to do this now than to attend for one term and having to drop out because you have no way to pay for it.</p>
<p>1) Contact the college you plan on attending and talk to them. Maybe they won't be able to change their financial aid offer but maybe they have some ideas for you. </p>
<p>2) Consider taking a gap year. Many colleges will allow you to defer enrollment. Call the admissions office and talk to them about this possibility.
3) For future years: colleges that use FAFSA only only look at your custodial parent's income. Next year's financial picture should be very different and since your parents are now separated, I believe FAFSA will only consider your custodial parent's income(your mom, I'm assuming), so your financial aid will look very different. You might want to use one of the financial aid calculators to do a guess-timate of what the situtation will look like for the 2007-2008 school year based on just your mom's income & assets. You might all feel better about loans, etc. </p>
<p>Good luck, this must be a very difficult time for you and your family. Take care.</p>