<p>If your total parent income does come to $130,000 a year, it is likely that colleges will compute a family contribution between $30,000 and $40,000 a year for your family. If you have siblings in college AT THE SAME TIME as you, this would just about be divided between you</p>
<p>Actually, because $90k is untaxed, that would suggest that the total EFC would be closer to $50k. The family income may be $126k per year, but normally a $90k income from a job would have a huge chunk going towards taxes and FICA, so the FAFSA formula will be tough on that large portion of the income. </p>
<p>The student needs to look for schools that will give huge merit for his stats…or consider BYU. BYU charges members in good standing very little because they are donating so much to their religion.</p>
<p>I live an hour from BYU. If OP does not share his parents’ religious beliefs, he might be extremely miserable there. It’s not the kind of miserable you just suck up, either. Even Mormons from out of state sometimes find the school a culture shock. I’m not putting it down. It just has to be a really good fit.</p>
<p>It has to be done while still on active duty and now incurs an additional service obligation.</p>
<p>Being on active duty is not a requirement; the person making the transfer of benefits only needs to still be in the Armed Forces. I know reservists (not on active duty) who have transferred GI Bill benefits to family members. Also, whether or not a transfer means an additional service obligation depends on the circumstances. OP’s father may be on the temporary disability retired list, which would mean that he has a chance to resume his service if his medical condition improves.</p>
<p>I don’t know enough about all the rules surrounding disability status, but until it’s known for certain that the GI Bill benefits can’t be transferred, it might be worth taking a look at the possibility.</p>
<p>Being on active duty is not a requirement; the person making the transfer of benefits only needs to still be in the Armed Forces??</p>
<p>True, I meant as in not retired or discharged. If his dad was medically retired with 100% disability, it is very unlikely he will be returning to service. </p>
<p>As of Aug 1, the Army and Navy (not sure about Air Force and Marines) require an additional four-year service commitment from the time of transfer. </p>
<p>And since he didn’t mention reserves, I assumed his dad was not reserves, which could be a wrong assumption.</p>
<p>It is unlikely a transfer is possible, but like you said, worth checking into.</p>
<p>The OP stated that the dad wanted to NOT transfer the GI benefit because if possible, he wanted to return to college himself.</p>
<p>May I offer an alternate idea. If a transfer is possible, do the transfer. Use the GI bill for the student now. Then bank a sum of money monthly so that when/if the dad recovers, he can take some classes.</p>
<p>If his dad was medically retired with 100% disability, it is very unlikely he will be returning to service.</p>
<p>I guess it depends on whether or not the disability retirement is permanent or temporary. I agree, a return to service sounds unlikely.</p>
<p>In a situation where an additional four year service commitment is not possible because of policy or statute, a service member who wants to transfer GI Bill benefits may still be able to do so if he/she agrees to serve for the maximum amount of time allowed by such policy or statute. Conceivably, the maximum amount of time allowed could be one day. This is what I meant by “depends on the circumstances.”</p>
<p>Just a thought, a student with 8 APs and scores of 5 on all of them is really beyond what most CC’s offer, unless going for a certificate program. Take a look at 4 year in-states you can commute to and less selective 4 year in-states that might give you merit. And study study study for your SATs!!! If you study 2 hours every day until the next test, the pay off may be that you get to go away to college with merit!! Now that is motivation!</p>
<p>How do you feel about the military, having grown up in a military family? You said you are much different. In that respect too? I ask because UVA has all ROTC branches and they give scholarships that are full tuition/fees/books plus annual stipend $5,000. But you have to enlist after graduation for 4 years and there are meetings and trainings while you are in school. Great way to get your education paid for if you are so inclined.</p>
<p>Take the ACT!!!. If you can get ‘5’ on AP tests but have trouble with SAT, that’s a pretty good indication that ACT might be your test.</p>
<p>Start looking at the threads on automatic and competitive large scholarships in financial aid forum. If you can get a decent ACT score you could apply for some of these. They may require you to broaden your idea of what sorts of colleges you might attend, but if your parents won’t pay for college, that could be your only way out.</p>
<p>Also, thank you to everyone who has replied to this thread! I talked with parents and they said the reason they cannot put forth any money is because my dad’s disability pay is currently in jeopardy. He was filed as having a temporary disability (in the military’s hopes he would return to work?) but he will not.</p>
<p>OP, you need to talk to your parents as to what they are willing to pay for your college. If the answer is that they have no money whatsoever, then you need to find local state options where you can commute and get the value of room and board at home. You can also look for schools where you are a top student in terms of test scores and grades and apply for merit money, and apply for scholarships like ROTC if you are ready to make that kind of a commitment. But awards, scholarships, are all up in the air–nothing guaranteed here, so you are buying lottery tickets in this regard. Make sure you have some affordable local options. Bear in mind that most students are part time, work full or part time and get their degrees over time. It’s a myth that most kids go away to sleep away college. Some kids I knew back when my oldest was looking at colleges, who ended up going to local schools and took their time getting their degrees, are now doing very well. Many were a bit older when they finally graduated and got degrees that helped them with getting good jobs, as they had a foot in the real world of work even as they were going to college.</p>