@mamag2855 - that story of the friend whose boss supposedly “agreed to report a lower income” just does not ring true.
Are you saying the boss agreed to say they received less income in 2014 or 2015 (or whenever) than they actually received? So, this boss was perfectly happy to report less employee expense, and thereby increase his/her own income taxes? That’s quite a gift to give your employee.
Maybe your friends were just embarrassed to admit that they really don’t make that much money and qualified for FA. HOW DO YOU REALLY KNOW what happened? This is the problem with these hearsay stories. I’m not naive enough to believe that fraud, lying, cheating never happens, but there are plenty of checks and balances in place to catch it most of the time.
I don’t like these supposed stories of cheating, etc. on CC because I think they just give people ideas as to how they can try to cheat the system. DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME…MANY OF THESE STORIES ARE JUST NOT TRUE AND YOU CAN/WILL BE CAUGHT.
I was stunned to hear my friends even talk about their cheating as a perfectly acceptable way for their daughter to be able to attend a school which offers only need based aid. They said " we are so lucky won’t report all of our actual income". I said they should be concerned if they get chosen for verification, but they are not worried as the friend they work for is very wealthy and the paperwork would back up their claim. I was so shocked at the time, I couldn’t think of anything else to say. Now I Am uncomfortable saying anything since my kids are close with their kids, so not just my own friendship is affected. So I hope that Karma kicks in …
And it has not been really demonstrated that the charity was a “fake.” The OP said they were distributing clothing to those less fortunate but it was combined with a family vacation. Does that make the charity “fake?” I am not sure it does.
@prospect1 that is exactly what they are doing, their extremely wealthy employer/friend is reporting a lower than actual income amount for our friends, which they have used on their tax return, completely true!!!
Op my only question is how were you betrayed? Did they do something wrong to you during the application process? I will use a quote from a great song… What you eat don’t make me poop…
@mamag2855, sorry, not buying it. So now their “extremely wealthy employer/friend” is willing to commit fraud for them. And expose himself/herself to penalties. And take the tax hit. Again, quite a gift to expose oneself in this way just for a friend.
Someone that extremely wealthy could have just given the kid the money for college and saved a potential fraud charge. This really makes no sense.
I think it is far more likely that your friends do not make as much money as they want people to think, and would rather concoct a wild story to hide that fact. Sad but true, some people would rather you think they are crafty and wily cheaters who know how to game the system than poor.
I went to lunch with a friend, she said the women in her office were talking about “emancipating” their kids so they would be independent for financial aid purposes. These were are all well off families. To each his own, but karma is a #$%%!
@mamag2855 Are you hoping bad karma happens to the child at Georgetown? I’m confused… This time of year brings out the worst in people. It’s really sad
@IxnayBob you are correct about being emancipation. I needed to become emancipated while in college and it was a long arduous procedure. I lived with a grandparent and they passed away while I was in college. I was 21, and they still made it hard.
@itsgettingreal17 You all are taking this way too seriously. I am certainly not gullible, and my friend had no reason to lie. As mentioned up thread, many people go to great lengths to game the system, so yes, it is believable.
My friend went into detail about how these women go separate insurance for the kids, etc, so yes, some folks are just cheats.
What were the parents doing @partyof5 ? Marrying the kids off? Drafting them into the military? Forcing them to have kids? Faking their own deaths? Institutionalizing themselves? Committing crimes so they can go to prison?
@partyof5 , yes, some people are cheats, but financial aid officers weren’t all born yesterday. I’m sure a few get through. I’m sure many more jumped through hoops for no benefit.
In my state you cannot get emancipated without Child Services being involved.
I find it hard to believe that a rational human being wants a social worker making unannounced home visits to check on allegations of abuse and neglect to save money on their tuition. Oh- and potentially having parental rights for younger children being terminated and your kid living in foster care.
People say stuff all the time. Doesn’t make it true.
Having gone through the whole admissions process with my oldest son a year ago and now with my second son, I’ve seen enough of what other parents and their kids do to raise the blood pressures of everyone around them. I’ve always held firm, however, that we just focus on what we need to do without looking over other people’s fences. I’m a strong believer, and this is what I’ve always inculcated in my sons’ minds, that there’s a just reward for hard work. If anyone wants to take a short cut, that’s their business. Yes, life’s not fair, but my advice to OP is to just focus on your own hard work as chances are great that your hard work will yield great results in the end.