<p>Hokie4Shokie</p>
<p>I think you missed my point… I in no way equate a luxury car to a college education. That is why we have sacrified many luxuries to pay for the college educations of our children. My point is that it is our choice as parents how we spend our hard earned money and savings. </p>
<p>Also, if you think that you deserve an education at a high priced university because you have worked hard than you do have a sense of “entitlement”.</p>
<p>FAFSA and CSS are not all about what you make - a big factor is your parents’ (and your) assets. My gross is about 60k. My take home is 40k. MY EFC for BOTH kids is $36k. Obviously I am not expected to pay for college out of my salary - I am expected to pay for it out of my assets. And I am good with that - have planned and expected to do it. Do I think my kids are entitled to a 50k education? Well, I am giving them alot toward it - butthey may need to take on a little of the burden too if that is really what they want. I will be scrimping to do what I can for them. In fact, I will probably look to downsize my house - both for practical reasons and for economic reasons. My kids do not view me as selfish in any way shape or form. They understand why I won’t take money out of my IRA to fund their college - and they believe that the money I have set aside is MORE than generous. They understand that if they want that dream school, they may have to make some sacrifices too. </p>
<p>Sometimes the glass isn’t half empty - its half full. </p>
<p>So schools are obscenely overpriced. Get over it. Deal with it. What can YOU do to help your personal situation with your parents - are you willing tomake some sacrifices too???</p>
<p>I think all of theses tories are really encouraginf beacuse it shows the reality many of the middle/lower calss people live. People who didn’t have many opportunities in l;ife make the best out of them so they can be someone in a future. On the other side there are tthe rick kids who can practricly attend to whichever university they want but don’t make a profit out of it. I’m a ltin guy who got accepted into American and bentley, like many of you my parents can’t afford 40/50 Ks a year, based on the rpices of these tow institutions. I not even an american but want to study there. Meet new culutures and expand my knowledge so I can extend and practice my ambitions thorught the world. My dreams were cruched like many of yours, but if you keep on going and never stop trust me karma will pay up.</p>
<p>It’s completely unnecessary for either a student, their parents or (god forbid) both of them to incur huge amounts of debt to go to prestige univ. I’m now on kid no. 3 (waiting for finaid pkg ltrs that STILL haven’t arrived, grrrr), and kid no. 1 just got accepted into the no. 3 ranked grad program in her field with a very nice scholarship, and NO DEBT from ug 'cause we forced her to choose the state school that gave her full tuition scholarship. Not only did that school’s honors college do her just fine, one of her friends is off to Harvard Medical School, and another is off to Harvard Law, and both of them are leaving ug debt free. </p>
<p>Part of the reason we’re having this ridiculous housing mtge/foreclosure mess is too many people (of all ages) feeling entitled to so many things. Either they bought a house they couldn’t afford, tapped into inflation driven home equity to finance a college they couldn’t afford, or in some cases they just plain bought a house instead of renting (my Navy cousin is still renting and watches his mates lose money every time they’re transferred and sell their house/condo at a loss).</p>
<p>To the OP, if the school you’re “stuck” with has a good pre med rep, then if you work your butt off at that school you can go to a “name” med school, take out your student loans then, and trust me, the rep of your med school will impact your future a whole lot more than your ug, which will be forgotten by the time your residency is over if not before.</p>
<p>I’m very sympathetic to all the high school seniors who can’t afford their first choice college. My own kids will most likely be limited in their college choices for this reason. </p>
<p>But I am amazed that many applicants seem to never consider the possibility until the moment they open the financial aid offer, that cost might be an issue. If a college costs $50,000.00 a year and an applicant’s family cannot afford $50,000.00 a year then the applicant always, ALWAYS, has to keep in mind that they may receive a meaningless acceptance and try to be optimistic about options they CAN afford.</p>
<p>Kids today are so spoiled! You can read it all over the CC site - “I worked hard in HS so I’m entitled to go to a $50k per year school. Fin aid is so unfair and my parents won’t sacrifice their retirement to pay the extra $30k per year to go to school X”.</p>
<p>Guess what kids? You were SUPPOSSED to work hard in HS! Just like college and when you get a real job. You don’t get extra for doing what you are supposed to do. Life is not like that. Talk to the people that work hard every day to make ends meet only to be downsized. That is unfair, not this. </p>
<p>If you don’t like the college your family can afford you have choices. Join the military - they will give you $ for school. Take a gap year or two and get a real job. You’ll find out how hard it is to save $50k while paying your bills. Or go I school AND work a full-time job. Plenty of people have done it. </p>
<p>You have options. But they require real hard work rather than sticking your hand out to parents or the government and whining. </p>
<p>There are some kids on CC that know this and don’t have this attitude. For the rest: welcome to the real world. It’s a bumpy ride.</p>
<p>wow… financial aid is a killer…so many kids are so preoccupied with getting in the school rather than paying for the school. wish somebody warned me sooner</p>
<p>A lot of parents want to send their kids to great private elementary or high schools instead of public. Either they (1) can afford it and all they have to do is apply (2) they apply anyway and HOPE financial aid will be available or (3) they don’t apply at all because of the expense and settle for what they can afford. College should really be approached in the same way; hope for the expensive college, but plan for the affordable option.</p>
<p>On EVERY tour D and I have been on this spring, EVERY financial aid officer has started their schpiel with “now one should NEVER make the decision not to consider this or any school because they think they will not be able to pay”…EVERY one. Now we are seeing all these examples of students that heeded that advice, only to find hope shattered, even cases of schools not offering anything regardless of what the EFC is saying. I really feel for all these students, and am afraid we may be in the same position a year from now…</p>
<p>First, I am in the financially smart/dream school limbo, too. My family makes a decent amount of money but it was only recently that they got this salary. In fact, just 6 months ago, my mom didn’t even work. Traditional bills coupled with my brother’s college loans (for his dream school) hindered us for saving for my education. I don’t blame my family for that.
Some people regret not realizing the issue of finance sooner, but I think that’s a little silly. A 14 year old should not start working to pay for their future college. High school is also a very important time in one’s life and should be enjoyed. Even just looking for scholarships a little bit sooner may not have helped much. How many significant (1000+) scholarships are available to high school freshman and how likely is it that a freshman (with a less immediate need) wins it? Starting sooner with a job and scholarships would have perhaps earned you, at most, $10,000 (doubtful that it would be that much). That’s $2500 for each year of college, not much (but something, yes) from that $50,000 bill.
It’s also silly to say that students have this feeling of entitlement that they don’t deserve. If I worked 50 hours a week (the typical time spent in school/doing homework) for 9 months a year (the typical length of a school year) for four years I would be deserving of something in return. For a job, that reward would be my paycheck. For high school students, it should be a “paycheck” in the form of financial aid. But I think that is more the fault of FAFSA than anything. They assume that someone making a certain salary can legitimately pay a certain percentage or they are willing to pay that much. If my parents make the decision to buy a Mercedes, it is detracted from my “paycheck” and I get less in return.
At the same time, don’t blame your parents for not wanting to pay any amount of money (whether it is $50000 or $5000) for your education. They have already given you life, food, a home, and loved you, and that should be enough. They can spend their paycheck however they wish and that is something you just have to deal with. So I disagree with most posters by saying “Don’t blame your parents, OP, blame the financial institution.”
What I have worked out with my family is my mom is willing to pay a set amount for whatever school I choose (mind you, this set amount is under $5000 per year ((and that might put them into some more debt)), so stop complaining that your parents will only pay 18,000 per year) and I can choose to do whatever I please. I can choose the dream school with the nightmare loans or the state school with the close to nothing loans. It puts the weight of the decision and consequences on my shoulder, something that happens in the real world quite often, I’ve heard.</p>
<p>We are definitely is the same situation, however fortunately I have never heard my youngest D complain or blame us in any way. Children #1 & 2 (twins)did 2 years at CC, & transferred to state colleges and moved away from home. #1 graduated and then did a credential/masters program at the more expensive private school, but moved back home to save money. She is now working full time but still staying home to try to save money. She would love to move out but in southern california it is just too expensive. #2 goes to school and works (2 jobs) and is almost done. He already has a paying summer internship in construction mangement set up for the summer. We payed their tuition and helped elsewhere when we could but they got thru with no loans. They have both told us that they are so thankful we did not let them take out loans. My D says she is the only one of her friends who does not have student loans. As a result her friends cannot afford housing or save any money (you have to remember that you cannot get even the smallest house here for less than $400K- rents for a cruddy 2 bedroom apt. start at $1200.)</p>
<p>D #3 is a bit different- she has a remarkable talent for singing and has been accepted to all of the MT programs she applied to (incl. BoCo and Emerson). She has dreamed about these schools forever and feels that she needs to go to the east coast to be competetive in the business. Emerson gave her almost nothing because we have so much equity. They do not take into account that home prices here doubled in a very short time and we could never afford to buy this house now. While our house is now valued at $700,000, it is a modest, older tract home with 2300sf. and in need of many repairs. We drive older cars ('03 honda and '88- yes I said 1988- toyota.) Our vacations consist of local camping and much of my furniture comes from garage sales. We absolutely cannot afford to take out $40,000 X 4 in loans. Kolom notes that $80 K is not middle class being twice the national average, but in our area because housing is so expensive, it is VERY middle class!!! (our friend here got divorced, split the proceeds of her 1975, 1500 sf tract house ($575,000) with her ex, moved to Indianna and bought a 2800sf house outright.) I guess we could move to Indianna but our elderly parents are here.</p>
<p>So we probably cannot send our really talented D to any of the schools she wants to go to and she feels the programs here are not adequate given her specialty. She understands our circumstances, is thankful for what she has and says she will take a few classes at a CC, audition locally and save money. I still feel so badly as I know this is her dream, but if we were to take out loans, we will never get out of debt and it would come back to haunt our children in our old age when they would have to support us. And we still have one more child to go. </p>
<p>So many of the kids on this thread seem to think their parents owe them this- get real. Most of us would do anything in our power to help our children, but I don’t know of any financially responsible adult who would go into debt for $200,00 to put a child thru college. There is no guarantee that the child will suceed or ever earn anything close enough to break even. Taking out 2nd mortgages on homes is why our country is in the financial shambles it is right now- people wanting what they can’t afford!!!</p>
<p>We have had our 4 children in private schools since the beginning, planning that they would be well educated and would receive scholarships to pay for college. Our dd this year, a National Merit Finalist, chose to go to OU and I think some wondered why not apply to an Ivy league. She will leave college with a great education and no loans, and if she wants to go Ivy League to get a Master’s etc, great. She was also given the opportunity to take 40 college hours dual credit for literally nothing because of the local school taxes we pay. After reading about the crummy financial aid packets at some of the schools, I am thankful she ended up at OU, which btw has the most national merit finalists per capita of any public university. Go Sooners. Muffy 333 is correct about private elementary and high schools. We vacuumed the carpets every night at my son’s kindergarten, me with 3 little ones in tow, and pregnant with my now senior dd. You do what you have to and later we would receive 50% discount for volunteering hours. The last two years we have paid full price for my graduating daughter and its $585 a month. I actually just wrote my last tuition check after 18 years. Of course next year all 4 will be in college and it goes on and on…</p>
<p>@ i<em>am</em>jam</p>
<p>“It’s also silly to say that students have this feeling of entitlement that they don’t deserve. If I worked 50 hours a week (the typical time spent in school/doing homework) for 9 months a year (the typical length of a school year) for four years I would be deserving of something in return. For a job, that reward would be my paycheck. For high school students, it should be a “paycheck” in the form of financial aid”</p>
<p>I wanted to point out that this is wrong. Value is not something objective. It is a subjective measure of things. So, you might’ve studied for school 5000 hours, but if nobody values your work, you’re not getting a penny for it. Similarly, you might have spent $1000 and 1000 hours making a taco out of sterilized rat feces but nobody is going to reward you for that. Value is not based on how much labor you put into something, but rather how much others perceive it to be worth.</p>
<p>So, the worker is getting paid because the employer values his/her work that much. OTOH, colleges don’t value your work enough to pay you.</p>
<p>Correct:
[Subjective</a> theory of value - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subjective_theory_of_value]Subjective”>Subjective theory of value - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>Incorrect:
[Labor</a> theory of value - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_theory_of_value]Labor”>Labor theory of value - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>We realized early on that we couldn’t afford full price at most colleges, even though my sons “work hard” in high school. We told then we could send them to the local state college if they commuted from home. At the time, we were not aware of need based or merit based financial aid.</p>
<p>In hindsight, I guess this was good because my kids never felt that we “owed” them anything beyond the local state school. They are hard-working, appreciative kids; even if we just take them to a fast food place after church, one of them will usually remember to say “thanks for lunch.”</p>
<p>The kids know that financial aid is a gift. If it is offered to us, we gratefully receive it. If it is not offered, we grieve and then re-examine our options.</p>
<p>Most of you are so young. You are hurting right now to see a dream slip through your fingers, but us old timers know that “crushed dreams” are a reality of life. It is what you do from here on out that matters…</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yes, and you got what you worked so hard for: an education. That IS the point of going to school, after all!</p>
<p>Have any of you heard of College Consultant Group? This is a company that helps with finding scholarships and prepares students for their SAT’S…etc. I just got an invitation to check out their company, and was wondering if any of you have heard of them as well?</p>
<p>I am a mother of 1 who is still in H.S., but we got an invite to check out a company called College Consultant Group. You might want to inquire about them as well. I joined this forum, hoping to find out more about them, before I make any decisions about this company. It’s tough not knowing much about the help that is out there and it would sure be great knowing someone (or company) who does know the ins and outs of colleges, acceptances, do’s, don’ts…so our kids can get the best advantage and in to the schools they would really like to go to.</p>
<p>good reminder Kay</p>
<p>THE COLLEGE ADVANTAGE, INC.,
also doing business as College Funding
Center, & College Consultant Group
<a href=“http://www.stockbrokerfraudblog.com/2007/10/former_intersecurities_brokers_1.html[/url]”>http://www.stockbrokerfraudblog.com/2007/10/former_intersecurities_brokers_1.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“Ripoff Report | url] complaints, reviews, scams, lawsuits and frauds reported, 0 results”>http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/296/RipOff0296911.htm</a></p>
<p>in court for fraud in Texas</p>
<p>this information is better and free
<a href=“Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid”>Your Guide for College Financial Aid - Finaid;
<p>i<em>am</em>jam - You said, “If I worked 50 hours a week (the typical time spent in school/doing homework) for 9 months a year (the typical length of a school year) for four years I would be deserving of something in return. For a job, that reward would be my paycheck. For high school students, it should be a “paycheck” in the form of financial aid.”
Financial aid is need based… you are not entitled to financial aid. However, do not discount all your efforts; working hard as a student will probably get you some great scholarships and merit awards but more importantly it will set you in the right direction and you will see the benefits throughout your entire life. </p>
<p>Rachacha - You bring up a very good point about the information received during college visits regarding FA when they state “one should NEVER make the decision not to consider this or any school because they think they will not be able to pay”. Perhaps college admissions should rethink that message and set some realistic expectations.</p>
<p>Don’t ever pay an organization to find scholarships for you!!! Any kid bright enough to go to college can google scholarship information. Or as post #58 said, finaid.org has great info for free.</p>