FAFSA and Parents Income

Paying for College
21

<p>mom2collegekids, the similarities between your neighbor and myself are eerie. I thought you WERE my neighbor! With the exception of your friend’s daughter having her cell phone cut off, and borrowing money from people (I’ve never done that; I’m just too ashamed), the scenario is basically the same. My d, despite all that is going on, is a saint. She never complains, and she has done some unique things up until this current progression of lyme. She loves journalism, and she had the opportunity to work as the only under age 18 reporter at both the summer and winter Youth Olympic Games in Singapore and Innsbruck (2010 and 2012 right before she got so ill - she hung in despite the cold weather).Because she doesn’t have the strength to exercise and there’s a fear of her pressure dropping very low (it fluctuates between 70/49 and 90/60 on a good day) and fainting (from POTS), she has kept a blog on global issues and won a Future Global Leader award from the World Affairs Forum, and she was selected to do a journalism program at Yale (for free). From that program, she was offered a job as a writer for the Huff Post teen section (which she can do from home), so that is why the school and her therapist were hoping for some kind of scholarship. I don’t know, but at least despite all her illnesses, she is keeps going and never gives up. She’s like the little engine that could.</p>

<p>Her father is exactly like your neighbor’s ex (angry/blaming/and hails from the land of depression and alcoholism). My d summed it up perfectly the day he got arrested. She looked at him while she was in so much pain and just said “I don’t care what happens to you at this point. You never participated in my life.” I thought how prudent and concise - he’s a non-participant.</p>

<p>There are some nice art colleges out there, and many creative ones, that do have journalism and photography, both of which she loves, and if we can find one that suits all her needs, including musical theater (which she did from age 4 until sophomore year when she was on the decline), a capella and perhaps a band, she would be happy. Hopefully, it will be the least moldy of all the colleges, and in one of the tic-free zones (well, there’s really no safe region in the US anymore), she’ll be happy. </p>

<p>She’s doing well in school, and so her only issues are the SAT’s…she can’t focus for long periods of time. She just finishes her off reading long passages about boring topics. She took 3 AP classes last year (APUSH, AP Eng Lang, and AP Eng Lit) and got 5’s, which surprised both of us, because those tests were long (but a lot of writing so it suited her). She’ll have taken 7 AP’s when this year is done, and she really does put in herculean efforts. Hopefully, she will find a college that is perfect for her and financially a fit. </p>

<p>I appreciate everyone’s comments. It means a lot. Thank you!</p>

22

<p>*mom2collegekids, the similarities between your neighbor and myself are eerie. I thought you WERE my neighbor! With the exception of your friend’s daughter having her cell phone cut off, and borrowing money from people (I’ve never done that; I’m just too ashamed), the scenario is basically the same. </p>

<p>Her father is exactly like your neighbor’s ex (angry/blaming/and hails from the land of depression and alcoholism). My d summed it up perfectly the day he got arrested. She looked at him while she was in so much pain and just said “I don’t care what happens to you at this point. You never participated in my life.” I thought how prudent and concise - he’s a non-participant.*</p>

<p>Makes me wonder if this type (angry, depressed, and I forgot to also mention drinking problem) just breeds this kind of result when the wife is a SAHM. The H knows he can “cut her off at the knees” by changing the money access.</p>

<p>Also, I wonder if different states have different rules during separation. My SIL was the sole breadwinner and when she was divorcing her H, she had to keep her paycheck in a joint acct.</p>

23

<p>momof2collegekids, I think you could be right about different state laws. I know in our state, automatic orders are issued, and you cannot move or change anything. But my h is defiant, and he doesn’t listen to anyone…defies everyone. Last year when I filed in June, literally every month was postponed, bec he wouldn’t fill out a fin affadavit until Dec when the judge said he had to come to court or face sanctions. He begged me to drop the divorce so he would have more money to give us (I got the free collections lawyer from DV, and he got an $8000 lawyer). So I dropped it like a fool, believing he would do this, and then I harped on him to pay for my d’s school and he ignored me. I finally threatened to shame and embarrass him with his company if he didn’t pay. He also has something set up where I could never go in and withdraw money without them calling him or I couldn’t ask for a cashier’s check, nothing. It’s the control, and I told the account manager, that I had the right to the money since my name was on the account, but they would say “hold on while we call him.” It infuriated me. After he was shamed into paying the tuition for 3 months, and then never called the school back, that’s when money mysteriously stopped showing up in the account. I thought I’d have a breakdown when the head of the school emailed me at 8pm the night before school. I wanted to drive over to his apt but I didn’t want to get myself arrested for this maniacal lunatic. The Lord must have been with me that there was $1900 in the account, so I had the school take it. They think he’s pulling a fast one, but someone from the company said that his client is definitely not buying, so there’s no commission. </p>

<p>The abuse is getting worse by text/email, and I just save it. I worked hard taking care of my parents, and this was while I had cancer, and people think if you are not working and getting paid, that you are not working. I kill myself trying to do it all, being mother, father and repairman, medical diagnostician, and doing this horrific commute daily with a kid not feeling so great. He puts more value on the “escorts” lives that he paid all those years, than mine demeaning me for not bringing in a paycheck and only taking care of sick people and having “diseases.” A horrible wretched soul.</p>