<p>But we all complain here about how unrealistic the EFC usually is, in terms of being “affordable”, and how measly the FA package often is. If an extra $1000- $1800 helps to close that gap a bit, and makes it a little easier for the students (or possibly parents) to make ends meet, or maybe decreases the amount of high-(let’s face it)interest loans that need to be signed for, is that really a bad thing?</p>
<p>Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and many of us parents were in school, college costs were maybe 10-15% of what they are today (median income sure hasn’t increased 7-10 fold!), the minimum wage was at least <em>closer</em> to being a living wage, and student loans were at about 3% interest rate.</p>
<p>My daughter doesn’t qualify for food stamps because she is attending school in-state & doesn’t qualify for work study because the EFC is close to COA.
( & because of the economy & lack of public transportation , she has been unable to find a job to employ her 20 hrs a week)</p>
<p>Ironically, our daughter who attended an expensive private college * would have* qualified for food stamps because she was on work study.</p>
<p>Momcat–you would never see me here, or anywhere else, complaining about EFC. I don’t think that, if I or anyone has trouble paying it (especially for an expensive college), it should be leavened by a program designed for the truly needy. If my EFC is high, but my kid still qualifies for w/s, that means we have a decent income and assets, but chose a school high enough in tuition to create an FA need. </p>
<p>There are people in far worse straits than that, and not enough help to go around. To me, it is wrong that the law allows that.</p>
<p>“Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and many of us parents were in school, college costs were maybe 10-15% of what they are today (median income sure hasn’t increased 7-10 fold!), the minimum wage was at least <em>closer</em> to being a living wage, and student loans were at about 3% interest rate.”</p>
<p>But did we aspire to "expensive " (could not afford) schools?</p>
<p>CaliforniaDancer - in terms of the “Catch-22” situation you mention in your post #14, about how hard it is to find a job, especially non work-study –
Yep, the rules are pretty strange in some ways - if not work-study, you have to be working 20 hrs/week. But as the economy worsens, such jobs with so many hours are harder and harder to find, so money gets tighter, for students and everyone else, but the food stamp eligibility for the student disappears.
In this economy the “summer earnings contribution” that Profile schools expect is also unrealistic in many parts of the country.</p>
<p>At least in my case, my parents justify it because they let me live in their house and (kind of) pay for my groceries and EXTREME emergencies during the summer and over Christmas break. But while I was at school I was entirely on my own. No food, no medication, nothing. Anything I need I have to get for myself. For part of the year my boyfriend was feeding both of us with his EBT because I had nothing and couldn’t get anything. </p>
<p>Personally, I’ve always thought that the way financial aid is determined has some pretty serious flaws-- because of students who end up in situations like mine, I know there are good reasons for why it’s done the way it is but it’s just really unfortunate how it works out for kids like me. It was the first glimmer of SANITY I had ever seen when I found out that, if I could have gotten my school to let me off the meal plan I couldn’t use, I could have gotten help feeding myself without my parents income they aren’t sharing getting in the way. The expectation that all parents are going to continue to financially support their 18+ year olds just because they’re students is just grossly unrealistic, that just doesn’t happen in a lot of families and if our parents make money we are SCREWED because we don’t qualify for any aid no matter how poor we are. Tell me that I can’t go to college, fine, I see now that I’m buried in debt that the system is just not made for students like me-- but I need to be able to get food.</p>
<p>Now I am in a situation where I am no longer a student and am living at home and am entirely financially dependent on my parents-- I have NOTHING and am still trying to get a job, any job-- but my parents aren’t paying for my food, I have food allergies and need to buy different food than what they eat. What am I supposed to do? I can’t very well tell my parents not to claim me as a dependent when I’m living in their house and driving their car, but I can’t afford to buy the food that they aren’t providing. “Dependency” status is really not as much of a black and white thing as the college financial aid system takes it to be, and I for one don’t think it’s a terrible thing that other aid programs aren’t like that.</p>
<p>Hah, unbelievable. I make $10/mo too much to qualify for food stamps as an independent graduate student. That’s my whole life. Screw you, US government.</p>
<p>*If my EFC is high, but my kid still qualifies for w/s, that means we have a decent income and assets, but chose a school high enough in tuition to create an FA need. *</p>
<p>that’s a very good point.</p>
<p>Someone with a high EFC who is attending a school with a very high COA will qualify for work-study…so it’s crazy that such a person would get food stamps. Imagine that a family with a high income who has an EFC of $40k…for that student to get food stamps is just nuts.</p>
<p>For a state to expand rules so that a person qualifies for FEDERAL aid, that is nutty. States aren’t allowed to change rules so more of their residents qualify for Pell, right? Imagine if states were allowed to do that.</p>
<p>If a state wants to use its own money for food stamps for more of its residents, that’s fine.</p>
<p>Look at it this way - not just any lazy rich college kid can get this. You have to be on work-study , which is NEED-BASED,</p>
<p>Any kid from an affluent family who may have 2 or more kids in college, could end up with an EFC of - say $40k - and go to a school with an EFC of $50k+ and get work-study </p>
<p>Think about it…if such a kid had a sibling in college, that means the family’s total EFC would be $80k…which would be an income of about $250k per year. And, their 2 college kids would be getting food stamps???</p>
<p>I just told my daughter about this and even though we are in desperate need, she is kinda embarrassed and not too excited about this. I think she will ultimately apply for food stamps, but I do not think you have to worry about kids who do not REALLY need them applying. I just can not see students who do not have a serious need following through on this.</p>
<p>if you have work study but you also have a school meal plan that you have to get do you still qualify for it? is work study dependent on if you have pell grant or can you get it if you dont get pell?</p>
<p>But we all complain here about how unrealistic the EFC usually is, in terms of being “affordable”, and how measly the FA package often is. If an extra $1000- $1800 helps to close that gap a bit, and makes it a little easier for the students (or possibly parents) to make ends meet, or maybe decreases the amount of high-(let’s face it)interest loans that need to be signed for, is that really a bad thing?</p>
<p>It’s maybe not a bad thing if the parents are low income. But, if the parents aren’t, then it’s ridiculous. We can’t forget that this money isn’t falling from the trees…it’s coming from tax-payers…some who can’t afford to send THEIR kids away to school…yet these kids are going away to school WHICH IS A LUXURY.</p>
<p>The biggest point I can make is that parents with GOOD incomes can’t have it both ways…claiming their college kids on their taxes and having their kids college food stamps.</p>
<p>Either they shouldn’t be able to claim their child on taxes…OR…they should have to claim the value of the food stamps on their taxes AS INCOME.</p>
<p>I’m not talking about low income families…such as those who earn -say under $35k per year.</p>