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<p>The option that I received does seem to be along those lines, with the school connecting me with private sources. Of course the ambiguity is in “private sources”, I would assume that this means alumni, but I am not certain.</p>
<p>I am uncomfortable with this option because I still believe that there may be a way for me to meet these costs without causing myself or my family undue hardship. My lack of comfort stems from my concern that not only will I be soliciting charity (which isn’t an uncomfortable thing by itself, but it is more uncomfortable when placed next to unsolicited charity) but I will be soliciting potentially unneeded charity. Of course, if I cannot meet these costs through any means then this charity would be needed.</p>
<p>To further muddle my feelings about this, the various calculators online have given us an estimated EFC of around 2k - 3k, which should theoretically cover most of these costs. However, I gave my parents an extra $10k in income for 2010 based on their pre-tax estimates (Whoops). So, I’m waiting on updated numbers from them based on their completed filing and I still need to file my own taxes (bigger whoops?). Once I get those numbers I’ll finish filling out the FAFSA (for another school) and then I’ll have a better idea of my actual EFC.</p>
<p>The process from there would involve me sending my Student Aid Report to my school. If our EFC is higher than the estimated costs I would also have to send an explanation of familial hardship that prevents us from meeting that suggested contribution.</p>
<p>Like many families, we would have problems meeting that contribution for a number of reasons. I don’t think there’s ever been a situation when my family could solidly put down several thousand dollars on something, but this summer in particular will see an impressive up-tick in costs unrelated to college. So, if we were to describe our hardship I would probably focus on those.</p>
<p>Certainly, I have options. Many of you have suggested a great deal which will help to keep costs low and potentially raise money. So, I’m pursuing these options because I feel uncomfortable pursuing the school’s option without exhausting my resources.</p>
<p>However, parent56 has definitely presented a good point for eschewing my lack of comfort with the school’s option. I may be more squeamish about charity than I should be.</p>
<p>Hmmm…choices, choices, choices.</p>