Dead end?

Parent Cafe
1

<p>I also posted this in the financial aid forum, but thought it might get a few more views in this area.</p>

<p>heres my situation. i was accepted to brown ED. my parents and i filled out the forms to get a read on where we might stand with financial aid, and the response was that we did not qualify for any aid. granted my parents combined income is a bit above $150,000 so i wasn't expecting to get any money. </p>

<p>my parents now inform me that they have about $15-20,000 to spend on college for the next four years. to most this may sound like a good amount but considering school will be about $40,000+ that only takes care of a just under half. we don't have any unnecessary expenditures and the reason there is not as much money for college as appears, is due to my dad who has a medical condition that makes him uninsurable, so any time he enters the hospital we pay for it out of pocket (~$15,000 each time, ~once a year).</p>

<p>now to the question. is there any way that we can qualify for financial aid under FAFSA or brown's financial aid program? on paper it may seem that we have plenty of money, but the forms do not seem to take into account the unknown expenditures similar to ours.</p>

<p>also, i know this may be a crazy idea, but i recently turned 18, so could I file as an independant with no income and possibly qualify for need based aid?</p>

<p>i am well aware of all the scholarships out there for essay writing and the such, but in reality it is unlikely i could win enough of them to cover teh difference in schooling over the next four years. loans of course would not be much of an issue to obtain, but i just want to check all of my options first.</p>

<p>Thank you so much for any help or insight you may have.</p>

2

<p>Have you filled out the CSS yet? There is a section at the end of it where you are suppoed to fill out any unusual circumstances, etc. Put it there, and call Brown's Financial Aid office and ask their advice on how to approach this. They'll be able to tell you what loans you qualify for, how much you can borrow, etc etc.</p>

<p>I'm very sorry about your father, and I'm sure this will all work out for you.</p>

<p>Getting in is a wonderful achievement, have some faith!</p>

3

<p>Call them and talk to them at Brown. </p>

<p>It is fairly routine to negotiate an ED aid package. At least see if the 15,000 was just missed. Check for misunderstandings.</p>

<p>That said, 150,000 less 15,000 is still 135,000. The EFC, all other things being equal, for a family income of 135,000 is still pretty high. It might still be over 40,000. </p>

<p>Get your other applications out there!</p>

<p>beprepn</p>

4

<p>2010-- Another angle- it may be that health insurance IS available with a premium cost less than the 15K annually your parents are spending for uninsured medical care. Many states now offer some kind of assistance such as a high risk insurance pools that allows the preiously uninsurable access to coverage. I don't know what state you are from but here is a website listing the state high risk insurance programs. If your state isn't listed, and they haven't already done so, encourage your parents to call their State Insurance Commissioner's office to find out what is available . In my line of work, I run into well educated folks every day who are unaware of the options.
<a href="http://www.healthinsurance.org/riskpoolinfo.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.healthinsurance.org/riskpoolinfo.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

5

<p>We had a similar situation with Brown a few years ago. We wrote a letter and they were very generous during our year of high medical expense which, of course, we were able to document. Call and talk to them at financial aid.</p>

6

<p>I am going back to school myself and I have found that speaking directly to the financial aid office works wonders.</p>

<p>The information contained in the FAFSA, Profile, etc are just starting points. You can accept the financial aid award or you can discuss the situation with them and work something else out.</p>

<p>Remember, though, to have your ducks in a row when you discuss the situation with them (your parents really may need to do this). DO NOT lie or embellish the situation!</p>

<p>When I was in the office discussing my situation, 2 other people were sitting in the other cubicles discussing their situations (and I could overhear what they were saying). They were saying somewhat unbelieveable things -- like "we made no money at all the first half of the year" then the fin ad officer would say "how did you support yourself?" and they would say "oh, well, I did work a temporary job on and off". and more lies like that! both of the fin aid officers that were helping them started off acting nice, but quickly changed that. They were told that the files were marked for validation and that every single fact needed proof, including things like birth and marriage certificates, 12 months of bank statements, etc, etc.</p>

<p>The best was some guy on the phone who called while I was there -- he claimed on his application that he was married, but listed his mothers name as both his wife and mother. When she called him at home, his mother answered the phone (he had claimed he was living on his own) and told them "no, he isn't married and he lives at home with me". what an idiot! She was calling to tell him that he was getting a big grant -- not after that, she pulled all of his aid including loans!</p>

<p>My fin aid person continued to be very helpful (i was being honest -- thank goodness) and my EFC was considerably lowered.</p>

<p>She told me that people lie and embellish all the time and that they have been in this business long enough that they have seen everything and can easily spot the lies. </p>

<p>Just a warning -- be up front, be prepared with facts and figures and be ready to document and you will find them to be helpful!</p>

7

<p>
[quote]
my parents now inform me that they have about $15-20,000 to spend on college for the next four years.

[/quote]

I assume you mean that amount for EACH of the next for years, right? Still, a definite problem, of course-just wanted to clarify.<br>
Also, Beprepn, with ED, s/he can't send out further aps.</p>

8

<p>right now using an online EFC calculator i got 59,000. </p>

<p>Donemom- you are correct $15-20,000 each of the next four years.</p>

<p>with the FAFSA form coming out we'll check that over and see what information needs to be added. the consensus seems to be that i need to call the financial aid office which i will try to do after getting all of the necessary information.</p>

<p>also i know this was kind of buried in my initial post, but is it at all possible to file as an independant?</p>

9

<p>If your parents are claiming you on their tax return, then as a general rule you can't file as an independent.</p>

10

<p>According to "The Student Guide," published by the Department of Education, you are an independent student if at least one of the following applies to you:</p>

<p>You are less than 24 years of age.
You are married
You are enrolled in a graduate or professional educational program (beyond a bachelor's degree)
You have legal dependents other than a spouse (children of your own)
You are an orphan or ward of the court (or were a ward of the court until age 18)
You are a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces ("veteran" includes a student who attended a U.S. military academy who was released under a condition other than dishonorable) </p>

<p>Regardless of whether or not your parents are giving you money, or you are accepting money from them, you are still a dependent student unless you meet one of the above requirements.</p>

<p>The Governments' "attitude" is that it is the parent's responsibility to provide for their children's education. Even if they don't give you any money, their ABILITY to pay is considered when deciding your eligibility for financial aid.</p>

<p>Another item to note -- if your parents do not claim you on their taxes and you claim that you did not receive any support for them -- they will want to know how you supported yourself and will want proof -- so if you didn't work and earn enough to pay to support yourself and you are not married with a spouse that supports you, they know that your parents gave you money and/or support. you have to really be independent and supporting yourself AND meet one of the above requirements in order to be independent.</p>

11

<h1>10, I think you mean 24 or older.</h1>

12

<p>yes -- 24 or older -- sorry!</p>

13

<p>as you probably expected i dont qualify under any of those areas, so i guess filing as an independant has been nixed. thanks for educating me.</p>

<p>i am not looking to get the full difference covered just a nice chunk. i was hoping in the range of $10-15,000. do you think this is possible with the current situation?</p>

14

<p>It makes very little sense to ask the same question on 2 forums and think that your answer is going to really be any different.</p>

<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=133895%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=133895&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>So here are my first 2 responses again</p>

<p>
[quote]
know this may be a crazy idea, but i recently turned 18, so could I file as an independant with no income and possibly qualify for need based aid?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Turning 18 does not make you an independent student in the college process.</p>

<p>In order to be considered an independent student you would have to answer yes to one of the following:</p>

<p>Were you born before January 1, 1983?</p>

<p>Will you be working on a degree beyond a bachelor's degree, such as a master's or doctorate, in school year 2006-2007?</p>

<p>As of the date you will be submitting the FAFSA, are you married? (Answer yes if you are separated, but not divorced.)</p>

<p>Do you have children who receive more than half of their support from you, or do you have dependents (other than your children or spouse) who live with you and receive more than half of their support from you, now and through June 30, 2007? </p>

<p>Are you an orphan or ward of the court or were you a ward of the court until age 18?</p>

<p>Are you a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces?</p>

<p>
[quote]
my parents combined income is a bit above $150,000 so i wasn't expecting to get any money.</p>

<p>my parents now inform me that they have about $15-20,000 to spend on college for the next four years.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Let this be a cautionary tale that you need to have the money talk ** before you sign the ED form.** If money is going to be any kind of factor (your looking for $35,000 in aid could be considered a factor) then you should not be applying ED a process which states if admitted you will attend, regardless of the amount of aid you are given.</p>

<p>
[quote]
my dad who has a medical condition that makes him uninsurable, so any time he enters the hospital we pay for it out of pocket (~$15,000 each time, ~once a year).

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Did you make the FA office aware of this? Are these monies a deduction that your parents can take on their taxes as unreimbursed medical expenses? You should have your parents contact the FA office at Brown and request a financial review. They will have to submit all of the supporting documentation to the school. You probably will still have to pay out a nice chunk of money as far as your EFC is concerned, but you just may get an adjustment.</p>

<p>Even if your parents make $150,000 the $15,000 that they have paid out in medical expenses probably will not radically change your FA package. </p>

<p>You may still end up close to being a full paying student because your EFC would probably still be over $33,000 just on your parents income alone. If they have a lot of home equity, savings, savings in your name, you this is also factored in to your receiving FA.</p>

15

<p>If your parents know that they have to spend a certain amount like 15,000 in healthcare, provided no other health issues arise, and know what they can spend on your education is far less than the cost of the school, then why did they sign the ED contract? </p>

<p>BTW, a family who has parents that are self employed, or work where there are no health benifits, can easily spend 15,000, give or take a few thousand (depending upon the plan and other factors) in premiums for healthcare anyway. Your parents are really not necessarily spending more on healthcare than somebody stuck with a premium bill in the Northeast. I just wanted you to be aware of how others can look at the situation. I am not trying to be mean. This is the reality of insurance and healthcare today, and it is very sad.</p>

16

<p>northeast mom is 100% correct on the health insurance costs -- what a pity!</p>

<p>my husband's job has terrible health insurance. The cost for a family is $800 per month with a $2000 per person deductible a year for all four of us. premiums plus deductibles plus co-pay can easily cost us $15000 in a bad year. (luckily, no bad years medical wise so far).</p>

<p>still, call the financial aid office and discuss the situation. Once all the cards are on the table and everyone is in the know about final costs and financial aid available, your family can make a better decision. Your parents may be able to come up with more money than they have told you and you may need to borrow and work to go through school.</p>

17

<p>
[quote]
right now using an online EFC calculator i got 59,000.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Even if the college reduced your EFC by the full $15,000 your father has in unreimbursed medical expenses(which I doubt because he is probably getting a tax deduction for a portion of the money), your EFC would still be $44,000. </p>

<p>This combined with your EFC (because Brown is a firm believer that students should be active participants in the financing of their education), you may still end up getting no aid other than parents loans.</p>

18

<p>i appreciate all of the honest advice, i in no way take any of your answers to be mean. </p>

<p>sybbie- as i stated at the top of my original post in this thread, i double posted because after originally posting in the financial aid forum, i realized i might get more views by posting in the parents forum, it turns out i was correct. once again thank you for the information.</p>

<p>to all the $15000 is not regular expenses, it is the cost for each time my dad makes a several day visit to the hospital. as some of you have pointed i am sure there are other costs from doctors visists, medication, etc. </p>

<p>northeast- i did ED, because i knew brown was where i wanted to go and offered the opportunity to combine my extracurriculars interests, with my academic interests. </p>

<p>i knew from the start loans would have to be taken out, and have no problem doing so because in my opinion it is very worthwhile. i am just looking for a way to take out a chunk from all the expenses.</p>

<p>on another note, my sister will enter college when i am a senior, how much will this impact my ability to get aid?</p>

19

<p>
[quote]
on another note, my sister will enter college when i am a senior, how much will this impact my ability to get aid?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>It probably won't, at least not for another 3 years. Does your little sister currently attend a private h.s. where your parents pay tuition? (I think paying for secondary education is considered on the FAFSA)</p>

20

<p>sorry i wasnt clear on that last point. i knew it wouldnt affect the EFC right now, i meant in three years. and to answer the question no she doesnt attend a private school, all public all the time.</p>