Hello, I’m wondering what the best course of action would be. I recently turned 23 and will be considered indpendent next year and got accepted to an out of state university where tuition costs will be 50k a year. I have had an under the table job for the past 3 years, so technically in the eyes of the government I make no money, but actually make around 16k a year. What kinda of financial aid could I expect if I put down I make no money? Or would it be better to say I have a small income? Help would be greatly appreciated.
Technically in the eyes of the government you make $16k per year you don’t report and should pay taxes on but don’t.
The FAFSA doesn’t ask what your income was that you paid taxes on, it asks what your income was.
Technically, you are cheating on your taxes regardless of how you want to rationalize or spin it. You aren’t paying into social security (which is for your own benefit), you have no recourse via workman’s compensation if you are injured on the job, you have no standing to sue your employer for violating the law by making you work hours which you don’t get paid for (which is illegal) or asking you to handle dangerous substances without protective clothing, etc.
So technically what exactly is your question- should you be paying taxes? Yes. If your employer is willing to break the law by not issuing you a W2 or 1099, what other laws is your employer willing to break and could they impact your health and safety?
Oh right, you want financial aid. Sorry, I got distracted.
Well, it itsnt illegal because I’m not paid by an employer, I’m paid for jobs I do such as babysitting and mowing lawns. I’m just a broke college student looking for help, you guys are treating me like I’m some Lou Costello.
You are going to CU boulder as an OOS spring admit and this FAFSA app is going to impact you in what way (even with zero income)? How are you paying for an OOS school?
I’m paying with the next 15 years of my life in loans and hard work. I understand the criticism, but these are my decisions and I don’t expect you to understand my motives. I was just asking to see what I could expect in terms of financial aid?
It isn’t illegal to do the jobs, but it is illegal not to declare income from any source and pay taxes on it. Currently, you are a dependent student for FAFSA and you have to declare your income unless your parent qualifies for auto zero or simplified assets.
It’s up to you to be honest. YOU sign the FAFSA stating you have answered all questions with the correct information. If you become independent for FAFSA when you turn 24, it would be only your income on the form. You asked what FA you could expect with $0 income. If you qualify for the maximum Pell grant, it would be about $6000.
Who is taking out the loans though? A 23 yr old who has never filed a tax return? I am not sure what role you are expecting FAFSA to play here. OOS at a public that won’t give you much of anything seems to indicate a misinterpretation of what FAFSA even is.
Well looks like I can’t afford college, I’m going to drop out. Thanks for the help everyone!
It isn’t going to matter at all. He’s trying to pay $50k per year on little or no income. He may get $6000 as a pell grant, another $5500-7500 as a direct loan. As an independent, he’d get another $5000 on the direct loan. That’s it. Doesn’t add up to $50k
If you earn 16K a year look at your instate uni, get a job, work your way through. What is your instate school and have you exhausted your CC options? What transfer level are you now?
If you are CCC what happened with your Californian options?
There are posters here who can help but you have to be open to ideas. Tossing out one expensive option, replying with sarcasm, and not attempting to problem solve will not serve you well in your college search or your career.
Did you check out WUE? What are your stats?
Please excuse my hostility, as it is a stressful time for me and I need to learn better control. I respect your opinions but my goal is to attend CU Boulder. I have yet to check out WUE. Also I have completed two associates degrees and have exhausted my options at CC.
You are close to 24, the magic age to be independent for FAFSA. For a lot of schools if you start as an OOS student you are stuck paying OOS tuition once you start that way. Is it possible to move to Boulder, get a job, establish residency, then re-apply as an in state student? It sounds like you need to be able to take care of yourself financially and that you won’t be able to rely on family to help. I had several friends move to Colorado - it is a busy season skiing coming up - so there should be plenty of jobs. They worked at a resort that had dorms. I know an amusement park near me is set up the same way. That can be an inexpensive way to try out a new area. They need hospitality staff, babysitters for kid camps, office workers, etc. Look up ski resorts. My friends had a blast doing it and several ended up settling out there.
Well my goal was to live out there and establish residency while only having to pay for one year out of state. I read it is required 12 months of residency before I’m considered instate. I will call their financial aid office and see their rules about changing status, as well as finding out if I can change to indpendent status after one semester.
But you are CCC, what happened to your UC options or CSU? CU Boulder isn’t exactly some stand out compared to your instate options where you have the most leverage and aid.
Even though I received two degrees I did not have all the required classes to transfer to a uc or cal state, due to the competitiveness of these schools they require you to take all prerequisite classss unlike most out of state schools. At least to the best of my knowledge. So I ended up only applying to out of state schools for spring and boulder accepted me. It is mostly my fault for applying late and changing my major so much in CC so I really messed up the timing.
So what real instate options do you have? Do you mean you have wasted CCC somewhat? does Cali then lock you out or can you do the rest of your pre reqs and apply to a Usc for next fall? You are a non trad student, working your way through is going to be your future as I see it. Utah has skiing and it is easy to qualify in state.
Have you looked at how your courses transfer? You should have your transcript evaluated by someone at CU Boulder for your intended major. The transfer credits varied quite a bit for my kids when they had their transcripts evaluated and so they chose schools that worked best with the classes they took at our local technical college.
You should know exactly which classes you will need to complete your degree, and map out how long it will take you to finish based on classes that may have prerequisites. You may find a transfer out of state adds one or two semesters (which can be expensive and you may run out of funded semesters through financial aid, so you might need a plan to pay out of pocket to finish).
Good luck!