<p>To BigKev – if you work so hard, get a job and pay your own way through college. Why do you think your parents should have to pay anything? After all, no one paid for their education, and they made it just fine without parental help.</p>
<p>^^^ Haha, thank you for the logical answer.</p>
<p>I realize that for me, personally, I am fine as far as college expenses are concerned. I just felt the need to draw attention to an issue that most people don’t realize. For whatever reason, most people can’t fathom to put themselves into another person’s perspective.</p>
<p>I like to think of it as a public service announcement.</p>
<p>@BigKev- </p>
<p>Honestly. You’re paying for your own education, right? I mean- no one deserves help. It’s your education, YOU pay for it. Not your parents.</p>
<p>Haha luckily my parents believe in supporting me through college. I believe it’s an ethnic thing, combined with that my family places a great deal of emphasis on education.</p>
<p>They in turn expect me to pay for the education for my children, something I will be glad to provide.</p>
<p>OP, When the time comes, you should encourage your dd to prepare herself for some testing. There are not specific books students have to have read for the AP English exams; they just need to know the material. So she could study on her own, take the tests and just send the scores to colleges IF they’re good enough to get her credit. Another set of exams that is not mentioned much here on CC is the CLEP. It is not uncommon for public colleges to accept them and they are not very hard. If she takes US history, for example, she may want to see if she can take a practice CLEP test near the end of the year and, if she doesn’t find it difficult, schedule the actual exam. </p>
<p>IB exams (the other ones listed) do require that the student have completed the actual course before taking the exam.</p>
<p>Here are links to the current testing policies of UMN-Twin Cities and UWisc. Note that Wisc is more generous with CLEP credit but this information can change and may vary between campuses of the same state system. </p>
<p>[University</a> of Minnesota CLEP Awards](<a href=“http://admissions.tc.umn.edu/academics/clep.html]University”>College-Level Examination Program Awards | Office of Admissions)</p>
<p>[Advanced</a> Credit - Office of Admissions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison](<a href=“http://www.admissions.wisc.edu/APIB.php]Advanced”>http://www.admissions.wisc.edu/APIB.php)</p>
<p>Apply to SMU, they give out a lot of merit aid.</p>
<p>Some of these replies are disgusting. </p>
<p>Frankly I believe that before you’re allowed to have children you should have a trust account that would pay for 4 years of college education at a private university. </p>
<p>The idea of parents not paying for their childs education is really disturbing.</p>
<p>
My point was simply that whether the designated EFC amount seems large to the family is seen in relation to the OTHER finances of the family. To someone who makes $1 a day, $1000 must seem like an immense amount.</p>
<p>Wow thanks for all the great advice. I just want to clear up a misunderstanding. My kids go to a private school that thank god is no where near what some are paying. Also our school have parents that are paying a lot less or nothing due to need. I am very happy when any of our students get into the college of their choice, especially after working hard on their studies and doing the community service required by all our students. Most of the families in this school will need and get FA in order to pay for college. What makes me a little sad is realizing that while I would love to send D1 to a private Catholic university and that this option will not be possible due to the high costs. I have always told all three of my kids that would have to pay for some of their college costs. I encourage all three to look at ROTC scholarships due to the fact I believe they should serve their country. I’ve also explained that you can serve your country outside the military; teacher, police, firefighters, red cross are just a few that come to mind.</p>
<p>
Not everyone can be a doctor or lawyer or other high paying job. Someone has to collect the garbage, do the janitorial work, be the bank tellers and cashiers. 50% of food stamp recipients are children. I guess you would prefer to repeal the child labor laws. Another 10% are over 60. Lazy old coots. Many are working at low paying jobs and don’t make ends meet without a little extra help.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I wouldn’t rule them out before looking at the Jesuit schools. S has received some nice merit money from two of them this past week.</p>
<p>
That depends on which private Catholic university you have in mind and how high your D1 stats are. DS has already had merit offers from 2 Catholic colleges, and will probably have offers from at least 4 more. We are hoping that with a good merit scholarship it will bring our COA down into the $25K range (our EFC is as high or higher than yours).</p>
<p>Some people must need to see chiropractors from all those contortions patting themselves on the back.</p>
<p>I disagree that BigKev has a totally whacked view of the world. I think he is spot-on.</p>
<p>It’s always the hard-working middle class that gets squeezed.</p>
<p>I do NOT begrudge ANY aid to the needy. I came frrom a working-class family; my father was a mailman. Been there, done that.</p>
<p>I work my tush off at my job, and we have saved over the years. Now, yes, it does seem as if we are getting penalized for working hard and saving. Again, I don’t begrudge anyone else need-based aid – in fact, I applaud it. </p>
<p>Last time I was at the dentist, he and I talked about this. He’s a saver, too (with a far bigger income than ours), and he is diligently saving for his kids’ college. Result: He’ll be punished with a huge EFC. </p>
<p>There must be a better way.</p>
<p>That’s why we’re looking toward merit aid. There seems to be no other way, alas.</p>
<p>“That being said, I understand why those programs are needed in this day and age, and that is because there is an abundance of lazy bums in this country who will not survive without help from others.”</p>
<p>OK, this I disagree with. I’m conservative, too, but I definitely believe the deck is stacked against some people, and it is not exactly easy to dig one’s way out of poverty. And I can definotely relate to the lady with the $50K HHI – been there, done that, too!</p>
<p>Even our conservative hero, Ronald Reagan, spoke of a safety net for the needy. I do not begrudge need-based aid to anyone. I just wish there could be a little bit more consideration for us middle-income folks, too. (Not talking about the wealthy who can afford to pay full freight…but just about those who have worked hard and saved all their lives and now face a possible wallop to their retirement nest-egg.)</p>
<p>Why shouldn’t a dentist with a substantial income and large college savings have a high EFC? He likely can afford it. That’s not punishment.</p>
<p>Newfaith, I have twins entering college in the fall. I started researching colleges in their sophmore year, looking at first, the quality of the college and second, how much merit aid could we expect. I used the princetonreview.com site as a source for links to colleges. You may have to do some hunting on the websites to find the scholarship info but there are many schools with generous merit awards for top students. There are also good private schools with lower costs to start with: Hillsdale College runs about 28K, Flagler College is around 16K. DD was accepted to a private school with a cost of 36K and given an immediate award of 14K. Another school with a cost of 40k is expected to cost us about 23K. The awards are there, you just need to look for them. Generally, a 3.8 GPA and a ACT of 31 will qualify you for a lot of them.</p>
<p>Don’t be afraid of AP classes, the schools we have talked to weight GPAs to take them into account.</p>
<p>I like post #64.</p>
<p>I have been in both situations.</p>
<p>5 kids in my family, very close in age, parents divorced, low income but VERY hard working. With Federal financial aid, work study, and small loans 4 of us graduated from state universities. One is an attorney. </p>
<p>I have 3 children. High middle class income. High EFC. My oldest attended a very expensive private school. He worked hard ALL of his life. My middle attended a state school. My youngest is looking at a wide variety of schools, public and private. </p>
<p>We used a different college savings plan. We saved for retirement like crazy, then stopped and paid for college. Before they started college we paid off loans and did any home improvements that couldnt wait 10 years. We live in a very modest house. We havent bought a new car in 17 years.</p>
<p>Which do I prefer? My current situation. </p>
<p>I dont feel sorry for myself or begrudge anyone financial aid. How much potential do we lose when someone cant attend any college due to finances?</p>
<p>I don’t understand why anyone thinks a high EFC is a “punishment”. For every other service or product we buy, we expect to pay full price, or whatever the best deal is we can negotiate. A college degree is just another service. Any aid comes from one of two sources:
- taxpayers
- charitable donations
In what other aspect of life do people think they are being punished if they don’t get the things they want to buy funded by taxpayers or charities?</p>
<p>I understand why people want a college education for themselves and their kids. I understand why they feel challenged by the high cost of paying for the one they want (at the elite private university) rather than the one that is more affordable, at the local CC and State U. I don’t understand why they think other people should buy it for them, or who they think these other people are that should pay for them to have it.</p>
<p>Newfaith, I noticed that you mentioned upthread that you were planning to have your daughter use dual enrollment credits. It’s great to increase the rigor of her coursework, but the vast majority of colleges do not accept dual enrollment courses for credit, so please don’t put your eggs in that basket if you are going to look further than the credit granting institution.</p>