<p>I will have two kids in college in September. Neither of my kids excel enough to get signficant merit scholarships. One of my children is ADHD and although bright really, really struggles with mid terms and finals which brings her GPA down. She received services in the public school but was made to feel so insecure and bullied that we moved her to a small catholic school that we really couldn't afford and where she received no services. My husband is 63 and retired (small pension) and I'm 53 and working with a decent salary. We live in the northeast where costs are extremely high and can't afford basic repairs on our house. Both my husband and my parents have passed and we received a moderate inheritance. In the end, although we are struggling financially, we qualify for only minimal financial aid (so far only the 5,500 loan that everyone gets) and minimal merit scholarships (2,500). I'm by no means crying a sob story I'm just wondering if anyone has any ideas. We are being hurt for the money from our parents that really needs to be used for our retirement. We aren't looking for a free ride, just something that will help get my kids the education they want and the opportunity to live away. I had to live at home for finanical reasons and my husband didn't go to college. I just don't want them to graduate with significant loans.</p>
<p>Is the inheritance you received in a qualified retirement account? The year you actually received it (not sure if that was 2010 or not) it would show up as income, but after that it would be a protected asset if it’s in a retirement account.</p>
<p>In any case, with your husband’s age you should have a decent level of protected assets anyway.</p>
<p>It’s just hard to really answer your question without specifics. Like when you say you have a “decent salary” it’s impossible to tell if --even the inheritance money aside-- your EFC would be fairly high based on income alone.</p>
<p>Income is by far the biggest driver of the EFC.</p>
<p>If the inheritance is the issue, though, and you received it in 2010, you can get it into a retirement account, have your child/children do one year at a CC or a commutable public, and then they could transfer after that to an away-from-home college if the change in next year’s income was significant enough to then qualify you for more aid next year. Of course, you’d need to factor the possibility of losing that $2500 merit scholarship (not sure where it came for or what it may depend on in terms of enrollment, etc.)</p>
<p>In any case, federal aid is very limited (a maximum of approx. $5000 in Pell grants and $5500 in subsidized loans and maybe some work-study for the lowest income students – but we’re talking pretty low income for that). Whether there might be other need-based aid available from the particular college or from your state would be something to check out.</p>
<p>Unfortunately the ADHD, the private high school costs, the needed home repairs… that stuff doesn’t really have any impact on the FAFSA. If either or both of your students are going to a school that uses the CSS Profile or their own additional FA application, then there might be some consideration of those costs by the college itself with regard to allocating its own FA funds.</p>
<p>*that will help get my kids the education they want and the opportunity to live away. *</p>
<p>The reality is that “going away to school” is largely a luxury that many families cannot afford. That is why most kids do NOT go away to school. Most kids commute to either a CC or nearby state school. There really isn’t a money fairy out there that will pay for kids room and board at college just like there isn’t a money fairy to pay for them to live under your own roof. If there were, we’d all have the money fairy pay for the first 18 years of their lives… ;)</p>
<p>Sometimes, in cases like yours where the parents really want their kids to have the “go away” experience, then parents work more to fund it…either by taking second jobs or by having retired parents return to work.</p>
<p>thanks senior member for the information. I take it from your information that federal grants really wouldn’t be available for us but I will pursue financial aid with the individual schools. You did give me some information to think about. The inheritance was in prior years, not sure if there is anything we can do now. My salary is about 100,000. Although for most people that would be a great salary, when living in the NY area, it doesn’t really go too far with housing costs as high as they are.
Thanks again.</p>
<p>I agree with your comments though my husband is retired for a disability and it’s not all that easy for 63 year old people to find jobs, at least not in the area I’m in. I’m already working about 60 hours a week at the non profit job (not an hourly pay) I’m at so taking on a second job is next to impossible.</p>
<p>There are a number of SUNY campuses in NY state. You are fortunate to have these options available to you. Do either of your children attend a SUNY school? The other option (and I know you want your kids to live away from home…but ) would be for them to go to one of the community colleges for the first two years and then transfer to one of the SUNY four year schools to get the bachelors degree.</p>
<p>If the inheritance was in previous years…what kind of account was it left in? If it’s in a regular savings than 5.6% of it will be assessed (after the asset protection allowance). If it has been placed in retirement accounts then the balance IN those accounts would not be considered an asset for financial aid purposes.</p>
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<p>Are these funds invested outside of qualified retirement plans? The asset protection allowance with a 63 year old parent is $70K, so any reportable assets in excess of that number are being assessed at 5.6% for EFC purposes. Assuming that your salary is higher than average due to your location, it’s likely that your income is playing a large part in the lack of need-based aid…you can determine that by looking at the worksheets/tables in the EFC formula guide here, if you’re not comfortable posting actual figures:
<a href=“http://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/101310EFCFormulaGuide1112.pdf[/url]”>http://ifap.ed.gov/efcformulaguide/attachments/101310EFCFormulaGuide1112.pdf</a></p>
<p>Has your DD applied to your instate publics and other schools that are within commuting distance? Starting at a CC is often a good way to save on the total costs and keep loans to reasonable levels. And, please don’t take offense, but are you in more of a house than you really need? I know property taxes in some areas are outrageous and if you’re unable to maintain your home it may cost you in the long run. If so, you might consider downsizing before it erodes your retirement savings.</p>
<p>*I take it from your information that **federal grants really wouldn’t be available for us **but I will pursue financial aid with the individual schools. You did give me some information to think about. The inheritance was in prior years, not sure if there is anything we can do now. My salary is about 100,000. *</p>
<p>No, federal grants would NOT be available to you. Fed grants are for low income/low EFC families…EFCs have to be low…approx 0 - 4000 in order to get federal grants. Your child’s EFC will probably be at least $20,000…maybe more with savings included, and your H’s pension. Even when you have more than one child in school your EFC will be way too high for federal grants.</p>
<p>The way colleges operate is this…the primary responsibility to pay for college lies with the family. Many/most families can afford to pay for a CC and a local state school. For those whose incomes are too low, there are grants to help with that. For more than that (such as going away to school), that is pretty much a luxury that families can choose to fund or not. </p>
<p>It really isn’t reasonable to be given federal grants (other people’s tax money) to pay for room and board when those dollars are coming from families who are likely having a hard time paying for their own food and shelter (and may be earning a lot less).</p>
<p>Your kids can borrow the following amounts</p>
<p>frosh 5500
soph 6500
jr 7500
sr 7500</p>
<p>So, about $27k total for undergrad.</p>
<p>You need to determine how much you can contribute each year. That amount added to a small student loan and maybe a small merit scholarship (if the merit is for all four years) and determine where your child can afford to go to college.</p>
<p>If you’ll have two in school at the same time, you may find yourself having to split whatever you can contribute between two kids. That can worsen the situation.</p>