This is my first post ever. I have a child in junior year and am researching this whole “college admission/selection/financing” thing…books…websites. For the last three months. I must say from what I have learned so far I am thinking that this whole system is as screwed up as health care /environment/congress/ and anything else you might want to name…I wonder why I am surprised…its par for the course these days. I want to list what I find inconceivable and wonder what everyone thinks about it only just to vent. Maybe it will make me feel better but I doubt it.
- FAFSA does not take into account cost of living or where you live. $127,000 a year in LA is $70,000 a year in Iowa. Ridiculous.
- It does not take into account credit card debt. Lets say after the big crash you got into debt, and you are working now but all of your money needs to address that debt. But the FAFSA just assumes you will and should use that money for college. What about the debt.
- The app takes into account Home equity. Why does that matter. We are all trying to pay off our houses so why would we want to add 100K of college debt to that? We can't pay off the balance we have now.
- The FAFSA is based on a certain "tax year" like 2 years ago. In my case, I was not working the year before(and looks like the year after) the tax year I will need to use. I will have to use the tax year my family made the most money, yet the year my child will be starting college our financial situation is much worse. The FAFSA should be based on some average up to the current status.
I do realize a lot of my issues(all?) are do to some bad timing luck, and mistakes on my part like putting money into a 519 account.
I realize now…just like my Dad says who is retired. It’s better not to have any money. Then the gov or whomever will give you much more…
We don’t have much money now after paying all the bills anyway. But FAFSA does not take that into account.
My child is an NHS member. Very studios/hardworking and talent in music and art as well as academics. She has a friend who lives with her grandmother and mother, who does not work. If you see the two of them walking together they look pretty much the same. Same clothes, same school.
In fact I often drive that girl around to events as the grandmother/mom seem to be too lazy.
Bottom line. My child will most likely have to go to a state school. The other girl can go anywhere she wants in the nation. To me it seems rigged and unfair but that’s the reality.
I am not surprised.
I am not one who believes that education should be “free for all” or whatever but the rules that aid are based on should at least make sense…what a joke.
Eaglerock- how in the world can that other girl go anywhere she wants in the nation? Most colleges in America do NOT meet need. That means they charge what they charge; you either come up with the dough or you can’t enroll. Will she get a Pell grant? Yes, if they are eligible. It’s a federal entitlement which doesn’t come ANYWHERE close to paying tuition at “anywhere she wants in the nation”. It will likely pay for community college. It might pay for a local state college if she continues to live at home.
Your education about financial aid is only 1/3 done. You still need a LOT of information to be able to make informed choices.
And anyone who thinks it’s better not to have money at retirement, has never visited an aunt or uncle in a retirement facility which is affordable for indigent elderly people. I wouldn’t want to live there; my guess is you wouldn’t either. The government won’t let you die on the sidewalk (in most cases) but that doesn’t mean they are putting you up at the Ritz Carlton for 10 years with three meals a day and spa treatments. Most of the facilities that someone with no private funds can afford are HORRIBLE. I’ve volunteered in a few… we used to put Vap-o-rub under our noses before walking in, the odors were so disgusting.
- Yes they do. But not your discretionary choices.
- Credit card debt is considered discretionary. You may have felt you had no other choice, but they can't bandaid what led you to needing to use the card (no other reserves.)
- Unfortunately, home equity is an asset.
"why would we want to add 100K of college debt to that?" You don't want to.
- Pick colleges that meet full need and explain the yoyo.
What’s wrong with an affordable college? Don’t compare your family to one that’s wealthier or just spends as if they are. Or don’t follow them into debt financing a ridiculously overpriced college.
Run the NPCs.
I wouldn’t make any assumptions about that other girl or worry about what she is doing. Plenty of families consider the state flagship the high end school and can’t afford it. Getting into a meets need school as someone with high need is a bit of a lottery Check the average family incomes at the vast majority of them.
My high stat kid is going to a flagship honors program. It takes a certain level of privilege to get that. I get needing to grieve that not every school is a choice for your kid when you feeling like you’ve been responsible with your finances and saving. It wasn’t for mine. College pricing has far outpaced inflation. But really there are MANY great choices out there.
And yes the FAFSA/CSS is ridiculous for many families including ours. I can see why they don’t consider debt because some families take on ill advised debt. It doesn’t account for age to retirement, yearly income shifting (my husband gets a bonus some years and some years not), number of kids, cost of living. Home equity on the CSS is ridiculous to include when your pretty basic house is in a high COL area. I still have to live somewhere and my spouse is approaching 60 and we have a younger kid. It’s cute you think we can do home equity, but no actually we can’t
Public assist retirement facilities have 3 year waiting lists in my city. If poverty is so great, take it on for a year and have your kid apply next year and see how well that goes. You kid still has a level of privilege many do not enjoy.
My kid’s final college prices ranged from 20K-60K+. I was grateful he was in a position to get generous merit at some options. He did not apply to full need schools (well, he did throw out a last hour app to one but he knew that wasn’t realistic).
Ummmm. Get rid of your job and money and give your DD the same economic advantage her friend has. You can do that rather quickly. Her friend’s family can’t jump into your shoes as easily.
I agree the FAFSA is not fair. Nothing is. But there are things you can do to level the playing field. You can move to Idaho. Yes, there are people who move to take advantage of favorable college scenarios. You can live in a rental vs a house, though FAFSA dies not take into account primary home equity—some schools will ask about that and take it into account, however. No, it does not take debt into account, because having to figure out what is unavoidable debt and not is a time consuming job. You can ask for professional judgement on your income if that one year is truly not reflective of your finances. Or wait another year when it is.
If I understand your post, you are saying that your daughter’s friend’s family is low-income and therefore she will be able to get tons of aid and go wherever she wants. I think you are way off in your interpretation. The amount of need-based aid has almost completely dried up…regardless of FAFSA and your EFC. Chances are her family is still going to have to pay a decent amount for her college education, just like your family will. And by the way, my daughter will no doubt be going to a public state university in 2020…and I have no problem with that. It’s what we can afford, and I’m confident she will get a good education there.
That said, I agree with you that the higher education system is broken and is becoming out of reach for many low-and-middle class families. It is horrifying that going to your in-state public university can now cost $100,000 or more.
OP…the FAFSA actually doesn’t look at home equity and if your circumstances have changed you are able to submit appeals to the schools. I’m sorry you don’t think this is fair. ETA…it’s a 529 account, not a 519.
@eaglerockdude - I feel your pain. It’s shared by everyone in high cost of living areas and it truly does suck. The calculation for FAFSA provides a basic living “allowance” for a family - about 40-50K last I checked - and it is an amount that makes sense in some parts of the country but makes zero sense others.
A few suggestions once you’ve gotten over the EFC sticker shock (and it takes a while). There are schools who will offer merit scholarships without need. They aren’t the creme de la creme but they are good schools who don’t always get top students. My D received scholarships at several of her schools just based upon her ACTs and grades. There are also other scholarships - both private and through the schools - for merit, talent and citizenship. Start now with your D thinking about what kind of school she wants to attend and keep an open mind. Then look at what schools will offer assistance. In our case some in-state public schools would have cost us more than some out of state options - again, with no “demonstrated need”. So feel free to get mad and resentful - it’s a huge shock for many middle class parents in high cost of living areas that they are considered too “wealthy” for any aid - but get over it and get creative. There are opportunities out there, you just need to find them.
OP I understand your pain and I understand you are just venting.
I came on CC once just to vent my feelings and everyone felt it was their place to bash and invalidate my feelings. Not a welcoming place in my opinion.
Your feelings are valid if for no other reason then that’s how you feel at the moment. I’m sure it will all come together.
Good luck to you and your daughter.
Don’t worry about other people and where they can afford to go to school, what scholarships they are getting, how much they are borrowing. You can’t control that.
I have two kids, identical FAFSAs, and one could afford a much more expensive school because she had merit and athletic scholarships. They both got to go to college. There are a lot of ways to make it work that don’t rely on FAFSA based aid.
People living in Iowa often don’t make as much as those living in LA, and still have to pay for a gallon of milk. My daughter is working in Wyoming and minimum wage there is still $7.25, the federal rate. Those working in LA are making $15/hr. Her student loan interest rate is the same whether she’s earning the $7.25 or the $15. And that gallon of milk is still $4.
If the tax year income on FAFSA is much higher than the current year, you can appeal the award at the school she decides to attend. It’s not guaranteed to increase aid, but the schools will consider individual circumstances.
@dj1028 Need based aid at schools that meet need is most certainly not dried up. The school my son will be attending gives excellent FA.
@bhs1978 CC tends to be an honest reality check for people, whether students or parents. It is not a place to hold a pity party.
Your fortunate to have a high achieving daughter. She will certainly qualify for merit aid at a number of different schools.
Figure out your budget now, run the NPCs, and be very clear with your daughter about what you can afford. There is nothing worse than a kid thinking they can go somewhere and then being blindsided in the spring.
Don’t discount your state schools. My daughter is in a state flagship honors program that ended up being her first choice over lots of privates, and not because of finances. For certain majors, especially in STEM, the state flagships often have better resources, facilities, and programs.
I also echo not worrying about your daughter’s friend. As noted in reply #1, most low income students end up at a commuter school because even with full tuition, R&B costs are too high. There are very few that are getting full FA from a T20.
I was not looking for a “pity party” when I have vented here before. Nor does an “honest reality check” equate to welcoming.
The OP’s feelings are valid and I just feel their are ways to address the concerns and offer your “honest reality check” without being judge mental.
Just my own opinion.
I’m not sure that coming here with a post that slams kids who get FA as being “welcoming” either.
I think there is a difference between venting and acting like those in poverty/lower income are living the high life when it comes to college admissions. You can do one without the other. I am sympathetic to the difficulty of that end of it as a middle to upper middle class family of a high stat kid in a higher COL area.
That said some of the best education we’ve received as a family is having my kid dual enroll at a community college where 60% of the students are pell eligible. For MANY of these families matriculating to a 4 year state school after the AA is the DREAM and they struggle to get to class with bus passes or if the single family vehicle breaks down or their waitress mom needs to switch shifts suddenly. These are some of the hardest working kids that have more grit than my own high stat kid. Some are English language learners and are working twice as hard.
If the girl the OP refers to in the top doesn’t have a parent driving her around, they probably also don’t have the money for ACT tutors or travel expenses to far flung colleges. They may not have the band width to help with an extremely involved college admissions process. There’s just no reason to pull these people into the process as “the enemy”. The FA process is ridiculous and many public options are increasingly underfunded. And schools love to market how “welcoming” they are to all.
There are options.
Pity party, vent, or rant, the better results come from looking at the glass half full. Do what you CAN, to educate yourself and find those options.
1: Don’t give a damn about the financial benefits someone else may receive. It’s part of having an abundance mentality. And it’s just a healthy way to be. Try that serenity prayer thing.
2: Try to understand why a system works the way it does, instead of complaining about it. (In the case of the FAFSA year selection, that’s because we used to all do it for the most recent year as soon as January rolled around; then we’d all have to submit revisions once the taxes were finalized by April. Going back a full year gets rid of that rollercoaster that just messed up parents, admin offices, etc during high stress selection times.)
3: Count your blessings. It is ALWAYS better to have income and pay taxes on it - you have options, control, and a tool called cash to use - than it is to be dependent on the cash other people make available through handouts. Most of the kids who get need-based funds and later drop out do so because they can’t come up with a fee of under $1000 - for a car repair, books, travel, etc. They would gladly trade places with someone who didn’t need to take the money. Even if it ended up completely even financially somehow you would have had control of your situation the whole time and the other person would have been sweating under the sword of Damocles the whole time.