DEsPERATION

Paying for College
1

<p>HI.
I am going to be a freshman next year. I am planning to go to hopefully a top school, i have already been accepted into Cornell CALS and Duke.</p>

<p>This is the matter. my mom made $16716 this year. I live with her, my parents are divorced. My dad made 68 K.</p>

<p>My dad told me he is not going to contribute to my education in any way whatsoever. Sadly, my mother said she is not either because she simply cant.</p>

<p>Because FAFSA only considers my mom's status, my EFC is 0, but when the school's see my dad's taxes, they will make me pay.</p>

<p>i have contacted already 2 schools and they told me that if i wrote them a letter explaining my situation, they told me they couldnt do anything about my case and i would have to pay for my fathers part myself, that it was his fault if he didnt want me to go to college and i could not do anything about it.</p>

<p>do you think some good school will take my situation into account?
if not, can you tell me a quick estimate of how much id have to pay, PLEASE?</p>

<p>i was hoping to win the gates millenium scholarship but was rejected on the get go, to my incredible sad amusement.</p>

<p>Basically, we dont own a home, we came here a couple of years ago, my mom recently opened a business and this year it didnt make any gains but hopefully next year it will make some more, and my dad will make less.
in addition, my mom wants to start buying a house next year. how will this affect anything?</p>

<p>in the bank, they have nothing over 1000.</p>

<p>THANK YOU SO MUCH. i really need help, your input on this would be incredible. today i stayed until 3 in the morning awake thinking about the money. i think i will have to go into ROTC to be able to pay (please, do not criticize me on that).</p>

<p>thank you SO MUCH</p>

2

<p>You will have to see what the schools decide. Sadly, there are others in your situation. Profile schools that consider the non-custodial parent income don't really consider whether your dad WANTS to pay...it's CAN he pay. But see what you get for aid. You may find that it will be ok. Different schools consider non-custodial parent income and assets in different ways.</p>

<p>The financial aid application forms do NOT care if your mom buys a house. BUT I do have to ask...if she doesn't have the income to help you with college...WHERE is the money coming from to buy a house? On a $16,000 income, she isn't going to qualify for much of a mortgage. Also, once your mom's business takes off, that income WILL be considered by the colleges. </p>

<p>At this point, don't worry yourself sick. There is nothing you can do until the financial aid packages are sent to you.</p>

3

<p>that is the matter. the business went really well, but she had to pay a lot for it to start, so this year it came off exactly at $42 profit. next year she is planning to make a bigger amount, which as happy as it mightmake her, is killing me with fright. </p>

<p>all i can hope is that my dad's income decreases. so sad. </p>

<p>i seriously dont want to graduate in a lot of debt! from being poor to being poorer!</p>

4

<p>If colleges took a parent's refusal to pay into account, rather than the ability to pay, EVERY parent would say, "Nope. Not paying." It doesn't matter if the parents are married or divorced.</p>

<p>Your situation is not unusual, and is not likely to increase your aid. Sorry.</p>

5

<p>Don't give up hope until you see what your FA pkg looks like. You won't get a free ride, but you won't be expected to pay the full amount ($50,000). Your FA pkg will include the amount you (the student) is expected to pay, and the amount your family is expected to pay. </p>

<p>I doubt they will expect any money from your mom, but schools WILL expect you (the student) to contribute. Usually schools break down your contribution into an amount from summer earnings (about $2000), 20% of your savings (if you have any), an amount from a work-study job (up to $2500/yr) and an amount in federal loans (up to $5500 in subsidized loans or unsubsidized loans). Subsidized loans are loans where the gov't pays your interest while you are in college. Non-subsidized loans are loans where you are expected to pay the interest from day one. Even if you had an EFC of zero, most schools would expect you to contribute although some schools wouldn't expect you to take loans.</p>

<p>Your dad will probably be expected to chip in, increasing your family EFC. The amount depends on his assets, investments, etc. But, your EFC is also affected by any special circumstances so be sure to mention if he, your mom, or you have high medical expenses, received a one time bonus, etc. Some schools will lower your EFC in these cases. An increase in EFC caused by your dad's salary is the amount that you're being told you would have to pick up if your dad refuses. Wait to see how much this is. Duke's package spells it all out so you will understand. Perhaps your dad will change his mind when he sees it on the official form. Perhaps he thinks if he says he won't pay, that the school will offer more aid. It just doesn't work that way. </p>

<p>Next, contact Duke and Cornell and ask what happens if you win outside scholarships. See if they will allow you to reduce your student contribution with those scholarships. Some schools only use scholarships to reduce need, which in turn reduces your FA. You wind up paying the same EFC as if you never got the scholarsip. BUT some schools will make exceptions or simply accept your scholarships according to policy. This info may be posted on the school's FA website. My son was allowed to use his outside scholarships to reduce his summer contribution or his loan portion, but not both. This year, his school has changed its policy and allows students to reduce all their contribution with outside scholarships. Another thing he was allowed to do was to use outside scholarships to pay for his computer. So, apply for as many scholarships as possible and ask each school what their policy is.</p>

<p>BTW, how did you already get accepted to both Duke and Cornell? Did you get likely letters?</p>

6

<p>I don't know how you are already accepted to both Duke and Cornell unless you applied ED to them. If you did, you would have gotten some estimate of the aid they are likely to get from them. Both of those schools do use PROFILE, I believe.</p>

<p>Ignoring the ED issue, I think you will get financial aid from schools that meet full need. That, along with loans, and working will likely get you through the year. You will get the full PELL along with any other low EFC monies such schools have, and then you will get an amount that you have to pay based on your father's income. However, it may well be manageable. Look for outside scholarships too.</p>

7

<p>Hang in there. Beleive it or not, your dad doesnt make that much by NY standards. you may fall within the amount that cornell wont expect mcuh.</p>

8

<p>You have to fill out a Non-Custodial Profile Waiver for most schools. If they approve it, then you dont have to worry about including him for the next 4 years. If they dont then you have to include him. You should get a sense of how much you are expected to pay if you do include him based on Cornell's financial aid policy which you should try to look up.</p>

9

<p>Guys, you have no idea how much i thank you, you have definitely calmed me down quite a lot. I am still incredibly nervous, as though even though it says 85 k, i struggle every day to pay the dollar for the bus to go to school. my dad, though says its not his obligation to pay, manages his money ery badly and is not doing well.</p>

<p>well, thank you SO MUCH. any more comments will be appreciated, i thank you so much seriously.</p>

<p>as to Duke and Cornell</p>

<p>Cornell i applied to the college of agriculture and life sciences (enviro engineering and economics, im planning), and to Duke i got an invitation to the latino recruitment weekend, which means i am in.</p>

<p>THANK YOU. this website is actually good =D</p>

10

<p>In Illinois, I think there is a provision for divorced parents that forces the parents to assist in college education. You could look into suing your dad.</p>

11

<p>Good luck and don't be surprised if you see differences in the FA packages when you get all your acceptances. If your first choice school is offering a good deal less, you may ask them to reevaluate your situation based on your package from a comparable school (Duke and Cornell may be considered comparable). Sometimes it helps (it did for us).</p>

12

<p>When you say "We came here a few years ago", do you mean to the U.S.? If you are not a citizen that will make a difference in financial aid.</p>