<p>My dad makes above 100K per year but has not saved for college. I will not qualify for financial aid, what should I do?</p>
<p>You should apply to FAFSA even if you do not think you will qualify.
Circumstances may change and at some schools if you have not applied freshman year, you will not be eligible in subsequent years.
The combination of income and deductions may bring your EFC to below costs, at $40,000 for tuition , rm and board for many private schools, many people qualify for at least some aid.
<a href="http://www.finaid.org%5B/url%5D">www.finaid.org</a> for EFC calculator</p>
<p>You should also consider targeting your college search at colleges that offer merit aid scholarships. You can also apply for outside local scholarships (check with your guidance counselor) or national scholarships via websites like FastWeb. Your parents can borrow money with PLUS loans. You can work during the summers and take a campus job. If you click the College Discussion Archive button at the bottom of the page, do a message search in the parents forum. The title is something like "Best Merit Awards from Where." You aren't alone. Lots of affluent parents haven't saved much for college.</p>
<p>It's a royal pain but fill out the FASFA and all the other excruciating paperwork anyway. Two things: we make over $100k and we got aid, including both merit scholarships and grants that were dependent upon the FASFA being filled out. (Part of it may be that D attends a high-cost school.) Secondly...God forbid...if your family circumstances change, such as a wage-earner dying or becoming unemployed, they can't do <em>anything</em> for you in terms of changing aid unless a FASFA and/or all the paperwork they require is on file.</p>