<p>I've been avoiding working on this problem but now that I've been admitted to a college I have to get this straightened out.</p>
<p>I'm very poor, sort of. My mother worked a job for about 6 months and was let go/quit so she is getting unemployment. She had saved about $5000 and we have a join bank account. I've not really been able to find stable work and have only added $163 to it.</p>
<p>On top of this I wanted to file as independent because we are staying with friends and don't have a home of our own. I am not 24 and am going to an out of state school.</p>
<p>I know the joint bank account might be a problem but how bad is this situation?</p>
<p>It’s terrible. Even if you were to be declared independent how will you afford OOS rates? You’ll still only be eligible for federal FA like Pell Grants and Stafford Loans. How much will the school cost? I see from another thread you got into Col State. What is your home state?</p>
<p>If the institution uses the FAFSA, you can’t easily make yourself independent. Your school is unaffordable for you. You need to find a less expensive place to study. Sorry.</p>
<p>The $5000 in the joint account is not really the problem. If your mom is low income, you might end up with an automatic 0 EFC which ignores your assets. Even if your mom doesn’t qualify for auto 0, you only have to report your half of the $5000 so it shouldn’t hurt you much. The problem is, you most likely will not receive enough aid to pay for the school. You would have to get a private loan (if you CAN), which is not a good idea.</p>
<p>I agree … try to find a less expensive school.</p>
<p>I could see if I can get some other types of aid on top of the FAFSA plus student loans. I really don’t have the option of choosing another school in a decent amount of time.</p>
<p>How am I supposed to report my half of the 5000. I was thinking that I may not be able to file as independent though she hasn’t claimed my on her taxes in many years.</p>
<p>Being claimed on someones taxes is irrelevant for financial aid purpose.</p>
<p>If your Mom’s income is very low, your EFC is probably going to be very low anyway.</p>
<p>Federal aid is very limited and is nowhere near enough to cover the cost of even a 4 year state school. Most State universities do not promise to meet the full need of even their own instate students, especially those who have high need. It is very unlikely they will meet your full need.</p>
<p>It sounds like you cannot afford this school.</p>
<p>If you haven’t done so already please apply to a public college or colleges in your HOME STATE. You cannot afford an OOS school (unless there is information you have not shared with us).</p>
<p>Which OOS school are you talking about? I agree with those who say that even if you qualified for all possible federal aid it wouldn’t cover you for most out of state colleges. However, you might get merit aid for some schools. How are your grades, SAT and ACT scores?</p>
<p>GPA is 3.00 or 3.1*
ACT 24 and 24 again
SAT subject test US history 620, Biology M 620.</p>
<p>Colorado state university is where I’m going, but I live in Ohio. I’m looking to take biochemistry in the cell study area plus some other computer related stuff as a minor. </p>
<p>If I can’t get a zero filing as dependent than there’s going to be a problem because
most of the 5000 isn’t mine and I don’t want to take her money. I’m not just trying to file independent based on situation but out of the desire to separate my self.</p>
<p>FA does not care that you want to seperate yourself.</p>
<p>Even if you were independent for FA (which you are not) and your EFC was 0, your need will not be met. The maximum federal grant you can get with a 0 EFC is $5550. The maximum Stafford loan you can get as a freshman is $5500. So that is just $11,000. That leaves you with $20,000 to come up with. Even if you get a small Perkins loan or a SEOG grant (which are not guaranteed as each school has very limited Perkins/SEOG funds) you will still have a huge gap. Your stats are not good enough for merit aid. Where are you going to get the rest of the money from? </p>
<p>It looks like you expected people to argue that you couldn’t claim to be independent. I haven’t heard anyone say that, what I have heard people say is that even with an EFC = 0 it is unclear how you will afford the tuition at Colorado State.</p>
<p>Pea, yeah I did because that’s what’s been going on else where. </p>
<p>If 11,000 were covered loans and working could at least help.</p>
<p>There are not to many instate school options, the main state school may not accept me with an <em>ahem</em> with a few required classes missing. As for other schools I am looking for a school that is big on science or at least decent academically there are plenty of small schools in my state.</p>
<p>Taliban, this must be very difficult. Everyone here is really trying to help. Where will you borrow $20,000 or anything close to that? You would need a cosigner with strong income and good credit.</p>
<p>And if you did that for 4 years, including your federal loans, you would graduate over $100,000 in debt. Almost no one with just a 4 year degree makes anywhere near enough to make monthly payments on that.</p>
<p>Work study will already be built into your financial aid package as will be an expectation that summer earnings go towards tuition, so knocking down the loan by working will not likely be an option.</p>
<p>The unfortunate truth is most can not afford to go out of state to
college. It’s a near impossibility with a zero EFC unless you have the high stats to get into a generous aid school.</p>
<p>2 years at a community college has become the reality for many. It will allow you to get good grades and transfer to a good state school and graduate with reasonable debt that won’t impact your adult life.</p>
<p>At 23 I should have been in college. I’m willing to take the debt for a good education.
I don’t know about fooling around with the CC option, it kinda would be redundant because I could have skipped high school to get a GED and got to a CC years ago. :/</p>
<p>I thought you did not need to co-sign for student loans only for regular loans.</p>
<p>let me ask an unrelated question. is it smart to transfer from one college to another like more than once. Is switching around a lot a good idea.</p>
<p>You don’t need a cosigner for federal student loans such as the Stafford loan. But they are very limited. For a dependent freshman the limit is $5500. An independent student (once you are 24) has a $4000 higher limit. Private student loans will probably require a cosigner with a good credit rating, if you can find someone willing to take the risk of being a cosigner. It is a big risk for the cosigner and impacts their credit rating. I personally would never cosign a loan for anyone, not even my own kids. If I had the finances to take the risk I would take a loan in my own name, but i would not cosign. </p>
<p>Switching around a lot is probably not a fantastic idea. But starting off at a cheaper school then transferring once you have done your basics does not hurt. Doing it the other way round (starting at a more expensive school then having to transfer to a cheaper one because you can’t afford it) is a huge mistake to make.</p>
This is categorically wrong. You are from Ohio. One example is Wright State which has an excellent engineering program (particularly Aero) and your scores and grades would put you near the top of their admits. It also would allow you the chance to get some in-state aid. An entire year at Wright State would be $16K for COA (tuition, room, board, books, etc).</p>
<p>talibah did you mean in your post above that you are 23? If so, why don’t you see if you can deferr your acceptance for a year, ask if you move to Ft. Collins if the college will consider you in-state as well as independent when you are 24? Work for a year in Ft. Collins then start school or work and take some classes at one of the Colorado JCs…</p>
<p>sounds like a good idea but I really don’t even need to wait a year.
however I need to get in school before I start to forget some of the stuff i learned. they want me to take a test first anyway.</p>