My parents CAN’T contribute even a PENNY for college....can I still attend?

Paying for College
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<p>For reasons I rather not get into, my parents can’t contribute any money for my college education.</p>

<p>They also can’t get any loans.</p>

<p>I’m 18 – male - citizen.</p>

<p>Is there anyway I can pay for a four year university, including room and board.</p>

<p>The cost of the school is about $12,000/year including personal expenses.</p>

<p>I will have maybe about $3000 by next fall.</p>

<p>I don’t mind student loans at all, but will I be able to qualify for them without using my parents as cosigners?</p>

<p>As for the FAFSA, I’m in the process of preparing it for January submission, but I don’t believe the EFC will be low at all.</p>

<p>What are recommendations in what I should do?</p>

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<p>Yes, you probably will get a some financial aid,but you will probably have some loans when you graduate. Consider your instate school which is considerably cheaper.</p>

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<p>yes it is my state school....yeah 12,000 is a lot for a state school....</p>

<p>so i will be able to cover the gap between the EFC and the balance of the tuition with using my parents??</p>

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<p>Do NOT assume that you will always get a better deal at a public college than a private college.</p>

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<p>the worse case scenario is that you wil get subsidized loans. Other options are to look into schools that offer merit aid, and schools that will meet 100% of your demonstrated need with large amounts of grant money</p>

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<p>You haven't given us a whole lot to go on. You said you are 18, therefore you will be able to sign for your own loans. There is a limit on some student loans (i.e. Stafford), but you may be able to take out others, that would be up to the lenders. You could talk to your bank about this. If you an excellent student, you may look into private schools that will offer merit aid, as Sheeprun implied. Schools meeting 100% of need won't necessarily help if your FAFSA/Profile calculated EFC is too high. Other options are taking a lighter courseload and working; either at your State school or a community college. "Working your way through school" as we used to call it..... In drastic circumstances, you may be able to get Independent Student status (is that the correct term?), in which case you may qualify for more need-based aid. But that's a tough one to prove, from what I read here. It would also be useful to you to go back to the "old" Financial Aid forum and read the relevant posts there; there's lots of good information.</p>

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<p>opps on my last post i meant "with*OUT*...using my parents"...</p>

<p>anyway...what are subsidized loans?</p>

<p>and yeah the last couple posts are right....i need to shop around for sure to find the best deal......I applied to about 6-7 schools.</p>

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<p>well my grades are not excellent and I dont see my self qualifying for merit awards. GPA: 3.32 and SAT of 1120.</p>

<p>the thing with my case is that my parents can no longer afford to support me. They are practically kicking me outta the house. My dad is almost 60 and owes a lot of money. He is trying save for his retirement.</p>

<p>and there's no way for me to afford car, car insurance, apartment, among all those other living expenses, just so I could get a job and be a part-time student.</p>

<p>thats why my plan is just to go full time and live on campus...regardless of how much debt I get into.</p>

<p>of course I will most certainly need a job on campus, but with only 10-15 hours a week, i'm looking at only paying personal expenses with that income.</p>

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<p>Have you run an EFC calculator? When you say it won't be low, what do you mean?
I think you should run it and show it to your parents. And they probably CAN get "PLUS" loans. BTW, why did they have kids if they want to kick them out of the house at age 18? Do they have any conception about how important a college education is today? Surely they can help a LITTLE.</p>

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<p>subisidized loans you don't pay interest until you leave school( govt pays interest).
I would first cut expenses, while looking for schools you can afford.
Attend a school in a town with good public transportation, you won't need a car.
Work your butt off summers, my daughter saves $3,500 ea summer to put toward tuition. It can be cheaper to share a house off campus than living on campus, actually, but I wouldn't advise it for freshmen.Working as an RA ( dorm advisor) can get you free board which can save lots of $$.
What state are you in? FOr many students instate schools are a great deal.</p>

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<p>what i meant by "kicking me outta the house" was that they litterally cant afford to support me.........if they could, they would be more than happy to allow me to live with them for another 18 years.</p>

<p>i could live with them, but I would have to pay for my car and car insurance.....and where i live (for an 18 year old) the insurance is about $350/month, plus car payments........</p>

<p>the case with my dad is that he's in temendous debts....we were once very wealthy and I never thought this would happen.....living in a $475k house, all personal expenses paid for me, golf club membership, ski trips, my own car at 16....then we lost everything</p>

<p>now my dad owes hundreds of thousands and has no money saved for retirement....he is nearly 60.....</p>

<p>yes my education is extremely important and my parents understand that....but i dont think their credit history will allow them to take out loans....</p>

<p>about the FAFSA estimator.......my dad is not in town at the moment....but he has been preparing the paper work at his hotel....(he's out of town 70% of the time).....there is a problem however....he only has his 2002 tax return....but should have the 2003 soon ina bout 2-3 weeks....</p>

<p>i have a question.....will the FAFSA take debts into consideration when computing the EFC?....if so, then I may indeed get a low EFC</p>

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<p>Hang in there, doral, I faced the same circumstances and made it by myself (even if it was a long time ago). Good for you for looking for a solution. The best of luck to you.</p>

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<p>Holy cow, what a sad story - and what a cautionary tale. If these were business losses, shame on your father for not setting up the business to protect himself from losing everything. If they were circumstances beyond his control...well, even excessive medical expenses etc. could have been covered by medical insurance, and income losses from disability insurance. Lots of people pay for ski trips etc. BEFORE they even THINK of protecting their families in case of catastrophic loss. We not only have business liability insurance, but medical, disability, and an umbrella policy to protect us from other losses. Let that be a lesson to other families!</p>

<p>(NOTE - no flames please about how not everyone can afford insurance. The OP said his parents had a half million dollar house, could afford to buy him a car, pay golf club memberships etc).</p>

<p>If what you say is true, that they actually cannot afford to support you, then the only thing to do would be for him to IMMEDIATELY file for bankruptcy to get out from under those debts. Normally I <em>very</em> strongly disapprove of filing for personal bankruptcy, as it just shifts one's debt onto other people, but in some cases it is a necessity. Since your parents have to pay for housing/utilities etc anyway, they should be able to put you up!</p>

<p>BTW I am not sure what "nearly" sixty has to do with anything at all. My mother kept her job - a job she GOT in her sixties! - til her early seventies. Many, many men retire at 65 and go on to another career.</p>

<p>Unless there is more you haven't told us, it sounds like your parents are giving you a bunch of excuses. Can't your mother work?</p>

<p>Be that as it may, you can still go to college. I volunteer at a regional state university where just about ALL the students also have jobs, many of them 40 hours a week! It may take them 5 or 6 years to graduate, but they are doing it! </p>

<p>Also, I agree with Sheeprun - don't assume that publics will do better for you than private schools. You never know.</p>

<p>I sincerely wish you well, and am deeply sorry that your parents did htis to you.</p>

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<p>Some further thoughts: Cars and car insurance are probably the most expensive items in your potential budget. You must find a way to eliminate the car, painful as that may be. Yes, living on campus may be the best way to go, at least as a freshman. From the additional info you posted, maybe you should pursue Independent Student status. I believe that the FAFSA website spells out exactly what you need for that. And if you are admitted (especially to a private school), you can talk to the Financial Aid office there, they may agree to help a little more, or at least assist you with jobs/loans. Good luck.</p>

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<p>Strangers, parents, and (least of all) students are not likely to approximate the amount of aid that will or will not be coming your way. Even if you think you have a clue about the amount of aid, you haven't the foggiest notion of how much of it will be met with grants/scholarships... and how much of it will need to be met out-of-pocket/loans. My point is: only the individual college knows for sure... and you will never find out for sure unless and until you apply and are accepted. A college's appraisal of a family's finances is often quite different than what you might think.</p>

<p>Going to college is nearly always possible. Some day you will be mailing in the final payment---hopefully before anyone is addressing you as "Grandpa"!</p>

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<p>however debts are not generally taken into account unless they are debts incurred by say, a heart transplant or an elderly parents medical expenses.
Equity is taken into account on the PROFILE but not on public universities so they may by far be your best deal.</p>

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<p>I'm new to this board. Talking about the "EFC"...........When I got my EFC result back after doing the FAFSA, it said that my EFC was 6,600 yet the school I'm going to go to is leaving me with a balance of 17,995 that I have to come up with. What is the point of a low EFC if this can happen? I still don't get it. (BTW, the school costs 29,000 total)</p>

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<p>EFC is your calculated Expected Family Contribution. HOWEVER, most colleges do not meet the difference between EFC and the cost of attendance, thus leaving you with what is referred to as a "gap". Schools who don't meet 100% on need based on the FAFSA and Profile are not obligated to provide you with all the money you may need beyond your EFC. That is something that ALL students and families should understand, and unfortunately many do not understand this.</p>

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<p>I didn't know this thread existed. I wonder what happened to the original poster though. I wonder if they found away to work everything out.</p>