<p>So my mom always said that she wouldn't pay for my college.</p>
<p>Now we're getting down to the end of my senior year and it's kind of expected that my parents are going to chip in for my education.</p>
<p>But how much should I expect them to put forth?</p>
<p>It looks like I'm probably going to be offered a financial aid/scholarship package of about $11000 in gift aid (not loans or work study)... which means I'll have to have another $9000 covered by either loans or work study and that's totally dependent on what the college offers me.</p>
<p>But as a kid who comes from a family with an EFC of 0... is it even fair of me to ask my parents to pay anything? I'm hoping they'll put in about $5000 and that I can work for about $4000 a year so that I don't have to get loans... but then I'm sitting here thinking... Should I just suck it up and take out $5000 a year in loans?</p>
<p>So confusing.</p>
<p>How are you parents going to deal with paying for college?</p>
<p>^that sucks. I’ve never really discussed it with my parents… I mean they’ve hinted that they’ll be paying for some/maybe even half of it. I honestly don’t know. My scores on various tests mean I could qualify for some scholarships, but a lot of them are restrictive [like I have to go in-state, which i don’t really plan on].</p>
<p>My mom won’t be paying for anything. She probably wants to but I don’t feel like I should let her, the money really just isn’t there. EFC of 0, thank god for full need school, only have to pay a few thousand a year. Have been saving up money babysitting, have a better job for the summer, and will hopefully get a job in Massachusetts as well.</p>
<p>Two of my schools expect us to pay more than my parent’s salary annually. Considering I have a full ride and three solid aid offers from three other schools, I’m thinking hell no.</p>
<p>As it is, it looks like my parents won’t pay anything. I have plenty of need-based aid, and the difference between cost of attendance and my aid award can probably be covered by my 529.</p>
<p>I was just thinking about this earlier today. </p>
<p>My mom and I talked it over before. We plan on sitting down with an accountant and crunching the numbers, but because I will be full pay, my parent’s will be putting up a lot. My mom has always kept the ground at half of whatever it costs. Realistically, I’m going to have to really examine this at the end of next year and weigh my options. I crave a good school in the environment I want, but don’t know if I should carry that much debt.</p>
<p>My parents are paying $0. They might give me a little help by paying for little things like my phone bill. But they are paying $0 towards college. </p>
<p>But my EFC is also $0. I am going to take out about $7000 in loans if I go to UCLA. So, that’s that.</p>
<p>My dad offered to pay full for an instate UC (which is about $30,000 a year) but, barring a school like Stanford, he would really rather not pay for a private school. Our EFC is superhigh, so financial aid is out of the question, and although we can afford my college education, I would rather go to a school that offers me a generous scholarship or even a free ride.</p>
<p>My parents (with the help of my grandparents) will pay everything for four years of private undergrad. Beyond that (grad school or graduating late), it’s up to me. I’m certainly lucky–my bf’s parents have an EFC well above $0 but require him to pay the $8,000/yr at our state public out-of-pocket and pay the $10,000/yr in loans back later.</p>