<p>My parents adjusted gross Income is 285,000 but from there salaries they only make 39,000. The rest of the money(246,000) is from a partnership business which all of the money goes to into paying it off and paying off loans to business partners. So basically they dont get a penny of that. I received only loans from financial aid and that will be no help for me what so ever to get through college. In reality we make nothing and if anyone can provide some insight for me I would be grateful.</p>
<p>But then you’re asking the college to subsidize your parents’ business debts. In effect, helping them retire their debt, increasing the value to them of their business… doing this for them by covering more of your college costs.</p>
<p>It’s similar to people who say they have a huge mortgage and they can’t pay more of their kid’s college costs because they need that money to pay off their house. It’s not the college’s mission to help people increase the value of their assets, essentially.</p>
<p>I mean, I do understand it puts you in a difficult position, but shifting that burden from your parents (and their assets) and onto the college, is perhaps not a reasonable thing to expect.</p>
<p>You need to find out if your parents can pay anything, and if so just exactly how much. Then you need to find a place that you can afford with that, whatever you can make from your own job, and a small amount of loans (if you file the FAFSA, you will qualify for the Stafford loans each year).</p>
<p>The simple truth is that the single largest group of traditional-age college students is comprised of those who commute to their local community college. The second largest group is comprised of those who study at a home-state public university - many of whom also are commuters. If you accept your financial reality, you can find a way to get your education.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Not really because it is a partnership business and they dont relive any of it at all</p>
<p>Are you saying that your parents can’t help you at all with paying for your education? Can they at least feed you, house you, clothe you, and cover your health insurance while you commute to a local community college or four-year institution? </p>
<p>Yes, it isn’t as easy to work your way through college as it was back in the middle of the last century, but it can be done. You may have to study part time, and work full time in order to make it happen. You also could investigate enlisting in a branch of the military. When your enlistment period ends, you would qualify for educational benefits. Lastly, if you have good grades and good exam scores, and really don’t care where you go to college, there are places out there that might offer you a big enough merit-based scholarship so that you can afford to attend. There are several threads on that topic in this forum. Keep scrolling down until you find them.</p>
<p>Have you checked carefully on how whether you completed FAFSA correctly as your parents have their own business? I have no idea how this works, but I do know that it isn’t all that straightforward. </p>
<p>If indeed your parents are living on less than $40K a year and are not having any equity in the business, then it’s pretty clear that you cannot go anywhere expensive. Look for local state school to which you can commute. If you want to give this whole college thing another try next year, take a gap year, work, save some money and look at Momfromtexas’s thread on getting a full ride scholarship.</p>