<p>My dad earns over 150k yearly. he doesn't contribute A DIME to my college expenditures. And i have to put his salary information on my fafsa application because for financial aid purposes i'm considered a dependent. I know i cant claim independency because i dont meet any of the 6/7 requirements. What should i do?</p>
<p>Apply to colleges that you can afford thorugh merit aid, work, loans or other family members' help.</p>
<p>I'm already in college. I'm a rising sophomore at Penn State. And i'm planning on transferring to stanford next year. I have no other family members who can help me out. They're all in Ghana(Africa).</p>
<p>i'm trying to avoid taking out loans as much as possible. I have a good g.p.a and i'm a minority. So i want to apply for scholarships. Give me the names of some good sites with lots of scholarships i can apply for(excluding fastweb).</p>
<p>Can you be claimed as an independent early? Just wondering. Do you live by yourself? And, do you work and stuff? Maybe you can speak to the finaid department head and really be honest and explain your situation.</p>
<p>the time for applying for most scholarships that will be awarded for the coming school year is over. Have you been accepted to Stanford for this coming school year? If so, have you received your financial aid package -- and what does it say?</p>
<p>If you have not been accepted at Stanford and you are talking about transferring the following year, take a good hard look at the costs and decide where you can pay for school. Stanford does not award merit scholarships -- and your financial aid package will be very little.</p>
<p>You can't be claimed as an independent unless you are married, 24 or meet some other critera that you can find in the archives.</p>
<p>There aren't those many merit scholarships for college students until they are juniors. Most merit college scholarships are awarded to freshmen and rising seniors . If there are any that you qualify for now, however, the most likely place that you'll find them is at your college. Unfortunately, since Stanford doesn't give merit aid, your best chance at merit aid is remaining where you are or transferring to a college that offers merit aid for transfers.</p>
<p>Most college students take out loans. The average is about $20,000 for 4 years of college. Unless one is fortunate enough to come from a well off home or is able to get full merit aid, it's unrealistic to expect to graduate from college without loans.</p>
<p>I took out loans my freshman year.I got a grant and a scholarship as well. Between 2004-2005,my dad changed his job and he now earns about 100,000 more than he used to earn. So i KNOW i wont be getting any grants this upcoming school year. And i'll probably lose my 2700 dollar scholarship that i got this past year(freshman year).And i cant take out-if i'm lucky- $15,000 dollars in loans yearly. Thats crazy. i'd have incurred way too much debt by the time i graduate. And i have plans of possibly pursuing further education.</p>
<p>I'm applying to stanford this fall as a sophomore. I want to matriculate into my junior year at stanford. I'm hoping the financial aid package is good(if i get accepted). If it isn't i probably wont be attending. And i'll make sure i explain my situation to them when i apply.I'll apply to a couple of other schools too but so far Stanford is at the top of my list.</p>
<p>But i'm worried about the 2006-2007 year(i'll still be at penn state). </p>
<p>merlinjones-i explained my situation to them and they could care less. They basically told me that unless i meet those criteria, i'm a dependent and whatever issues i have concerning financial support from my dad are between me and my dad. It's really frustrating because i support myself fully. I work during the school year as a math and chem tutor. I'm a chem E and mathematics dual major and with the rigorosity of both these curriculums, i probably wont be able to work much at all during the school year(especially during my junior and senior year).
It su cks coz i'm going to have to put his huge compensation on the rest of the fafsa applications i'll be filling out throughout college. And my application will be tossed into the trash when they see my dad's salary.
Anyone else have any suggestions?</p>
<p>honestly, I'd chew into your old man. What better does he have to spend $150K on than to invest in his son/daughter? It's not like its only $10K and he couldn't eat otherwise. Ask how you will ever become independent of him if you don't have a college education. Ask how you will ever be able to support a family. Mind you this is about the sell, not the truth.</p>
<p>If you feel up to it, pull the mother of all guilt trips on him.</p>
<p>Are you great at a Sport? Stanford has athletic scholarships for most of their varsity teams. Go Ghana Soccer!!!</p>
<p>Stanford does NOT give merit aid (so far as I know). Your aid would be need based only. With a family income in excess of $150,000 per year, it is unlikely you will qualify for need based aid especially if you are the only one who will be enrolled in college. Even with two in college, your aid will not be very high. Also, transfer student aid is sometimes not as good as that for entering freshmen. More significantly, look at the percentage of students Stanford accepts as transfers. It's not very high. From what you have posted, it sounds like you already have some debt accumulated for your first two years of college. Just a suggestion...why don't you complete your undergrad degree at Penn State, and apply to Stanford for grad school. Also, you don't mention your mom anywhere in your posts. Does she support you in college at all? Do she and your dad (and you) ever talk about this college expense issue? If your dad's income jumped $100,000 just last year...it is very possible that your family is doing some "catching up" on bill paying from when the family income was lower. It sounds like Stanford is a dream school for you...but it also sounds like you may need to be very aware of what this will cost YOU. Your parents' incomes must be included on your finaid applications. There is no choice about that.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>Ask how you will ever become independent of him if you don't have a college education. >></p> </blockquote>
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<p>Just a note....the OP IS getting a college education....it's just not where the OP really wants to get that education. Stanford is probably three times the expense of an instate education at Penn State. It sounds like THAT is the main issue.</p>
<p>Your dad should contribute towards your education, I mean what kind of Dad is he?.....also since you are a engineering major you can do a co-op or internship to offset some costs.</p>
<p>"I'm Screwed "</p>
<p>Probably you are. Colleges have no sympathy for students/parents whose parents are able to pay, but won't pay.</p>
<p>The merit scholarships others are talking about are usually not that large....They certainly can ease the burden, but will not be a big chunk of the total cost.</p>
<p>Also, as thumper says re-assess your finances by separating your needs and wants (i.e. in-state vs Stanford)</p>
<p>"and i'm a minority"</p>
<p>That does not entitle you to anything with your income.</p>
<p>You also might get more sympathetic responses if you changed the tone of your postings.</p>
<p>Stay at penn state for undergrad and then go somewhere prestigious for grad school.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>i explained my situation to them and they could care less. They basically told me that unless i meet those criteria, i'm a dependent and whatever issues i have concerning financial support from my dad are between me and my dad.>></p> </blockquote>
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<p>To say "they could care less" is really not true. They are following the rules of financial aid awarding. These are very well published and well known to ANYONE (parents and students) who are seeking financial aid. The bottom line is that what you WANT them to consider does not follow the guidelines. <em>I</em> will have two kids going to college next year. Whether or not I WANT to pay has absolutely NO BEARING on their financial aid applications...none. This is something you should have known before your freshman year in college. It certainly is something you know now. You are not "screwed"...you have options that just are not what you wish they could be.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the suggestions guys--</p>
<p>Mizo- lol GO GHANA!. They could've done a lot better though.I play football. I've actually thought about trying out. Dont know where to start though- as far as training. But that's an extremely good suggestion. I will find out about training programs.</p>
<p>thumper- that 50K income job that my dad took just lasted 6 months. Before that, he was getting over a 100k.
My mom hasn't talked to or seen my dad for 14 years. And telling my mom about my situation will only aggravate her condition( she has diabetes and BP) and tends to get very worried about the slightest things(especially when it regards her children 'struggling(thats not the case- but thats how she interprets it).' Furthermore, she probably makes a hundred dollars a month(she's in Africa-so she can live on this). I dont know- i think she has done enough- she raised all 4 of us till we were basically adults. And she didn't have an easy time. Money was always an issue.
And yeah- the % of applicants stanford admits is low. But i feel as though i have a good shot- good grades, ec's, several legit reasons for transferring, excellent recs,essays, and i'm pretty unique(life experiences, background,languages i speak,etc). I know its going to be really though and i'm definitely not getting my hopes up but I want to at least try-you know. I dont want to have any regrets. </p>
<p>boomer- i just dont understand it either. And i never will. I dont want to insult him on here but you understand how i feel about him. I guess some people are just like that.
And yes- i'm currently doing a chem E internship-I have about 4000 dollars-plus free housing.So that should defray the costs. And i'll look into co-ops.Thanks. </p>
<p>exrunner-grad school is not for me. I'm thinking of an MBA. But i want to start working after undergrad.</p>
<p>
[quote]
>>i explained my situation to them and they could care less. They basically told me that unless i meet those criteria, i'm a dependent and whatever issues i have concerning financial support from my dad are between me and my dad.>></p>
<p>To say "they could care less" is really not true. They are following the rules of financial aid awarding. These are very well published and well known to ANYONE (parents and students) who are seeking financial aid. The bottom line is that what you WANT them to consider does not follow the guidelines. <em>I</em> will have two kids going to college next year. Whether or not I WANT to pay has absolutely NO BEARING on their financial aid applications...none. This is something you should have known before your freshman year in college. It certainly is something you know now. You are not "screwed"...you have options that just are not what you wish they could be.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>With all due respect-the last person i want to hear this from is a parent.
It's VERY easy to defend them when you aren't in my circumstances. So unless you went through the same exact thing in college, i dont want to hear it from you. Everything you stated is true. But i just dont want to hear it from you.I dont need to be reprimanded- I'm not one of your children.Neither do i need anyones sympathy. I just need suggestions.Clearly its unreasonable to graduate with $60,000 debt(more if i attend stanford). Anyone with a dad who earns over 150k,contributes nothing to their kids college expenditures AND ruins their kids chances of getting any grants/aid would be frustrated. So please understand my frustration. Or at least pretend to. In fact, dont post in here if you-</p>
<p>1)are a parent
2)dont have helpful suggestions.</p>
<p>Any more suggestions? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Can you somehow get out of your dad's custody over you? </p>
<p>Also, 60K in debt I don't think would be unreasonable. If you went on to get a 60K salary after undergraduate, you could probably have it paid in 6 years or so.</p>
<p>
[quote]
In fact, dont post in here if you-</p>
<p>1)are a parent
2)dont have helpful suggestions.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I'm a parent so you might want to ignore this ... a couple comments ... first, parents are the most likely posters on CC to have dealt with and mitigated (start to finish) the issues you are facing now in their own lives so the input of some parents may be very helpful ... second, some input may have been offered as a helpful suggestion although it may not seem to be helpful to you at this time.</p>
<p>^ You beat me.</p>
<p>Yes I am a parent. thumper gave you a dose of reality. Your earlier posts came accross as a whinning boy who could not get his toy because the system was 'screwing' him.</p>
<p>Young man the reality is that you are not unique. I know many kids who are not going to their dream elite schools. Some families could not afford it, some families refused to pay. I also know kids who went to top elite privates but had to drop out because their family situation changed. They could not meet their EFC.</p>
<p>Set realistic targets.</p>