<p>I've known since I began the college search years ago that I would be the only one paying for college. My parents make about 75k a year, but we are in a bit of debt and need to pay for my mom's college as well. The problem is, FAFSA seems to believe that they'll have no problem providing funds for my education. Which is wrong. I'm on my own for college.</p>
<p>I am going to be studying Computer Engineering at Colorado State University this fall. I have a 4.0 GPA and a 31 on the ACT. I make $3000 a year at my job. I'm applying for scholarships, but everything's based off financial need according to the FAFSA, and they'll say I'm well off.</p>
<p>Katie, all the FAFSA is saying to you is that you do not qualify for any federally funded grant money. Believe it or not, your family income is above the average by a bit. Your FAFSA EFC is likely in the $20,000 per year range…is that right?</p>
<p>The FAFSA does NOT consider consumer debt in the calculation.</p>
<p>You need to find an affordable college
option. If you are paying yourself the total cost, this might mean working and attending college part time. If you can live with your parents and complete your general education requirements at a community college, you can further save money.</p>
<p>The way the system works is that you get an EFC based on FAFSA, and that is based on your FAMILY income, including both parents if they are not separated. Debt isn’t recognized. It’s not a fair process in many ways, but not recognizing most debt is not one of the unfair points without some catastrophic issue in the past. FAFSA doesn’t believe anything. It’s just a formula. The schools are the ones who determine how much of your need to meet, and if CSU is your choice, it wouldn’t matter that much whether or not you have a bit more need because they don’t tend to meet it. They tend to gap. A lot. I don’t know what they have in the way of merit awards, but there are schools that do give out scholarships that do not take need into account, and you need to find lists of them. Your stats are good enough that you are a contender for such awards.</p>
<p>The way the college system works is that your parents are primarily responsible for paying for your college, just as they were for highschool. If they are truly low income, then there are some financial aid awards out there, just as there are other low income assistance programs available for other situations. It is not expected that someone right out of high school can pay for college, but it is expected that the parents do so according to income primarily. </p>
<p>Take a look at an old thread in the archives by Momfromtexas. She found full ride scholarships for her sons. This is the sort of search you need to do if your parents are not going to pay for your college. Also look at some commuting options. You will be able to borrow $5500 on your own freshman year which should cover much of Colorado state school tuition, and if you continue to work part time, it’ll give you some money for living expenses. Living at home is getting a $10K benefit from your parents. IT’s not something that tax payers and colleges are all that interested in doing–footing the food and lodgings for a kid to go to college, unless you are on the wish list of a school, which is where the merit awards come into play. I think you might find some nice awards if you look.</p>
<p>I just took a quick peek at what CSU has in terms of scholarships and there are some listed that do not have need as a component. If you do not get any or enough scholarshps from them, at this point, a local school might be the way to go.</p>
<p>Let the schools know your parents are not going to help you pay. They may require you to send them a written statement that they won’t pay for your college.</p>
<p>KAT2013…getting a letter that the parents won’t pay for college will do this student NO GOOD when it comes to calculating financial aid. If that were all that was necessary, every student would simply write a letter saying their parents didn’t plan to pay. Colleges do NOT consider whether the parents WANT to or WILL pay. Colleges look at whether the parents CAN contribute. If the parents choose not to, that is a family decision, but the college is NOT going to pick up the tab for a family they calculate CAN pay…but won’t.</p>
<p>I’m not sure where you got that information but it is not helpful advice.</p>
<p>Stars - If you cannot afford Colorado State, you might want to rethink your plan for the fall. There are schools that offer generous (full tuition and/or full free ride) scholarships based purely on merit, with no consideration of financial need whatsoever. You can find a list of the some of the most generous scholarships here:</p>
<p>These are automatic scholarships - meaning that if your GPA and ACT score meet the requirement, the scholarship award is automatic. I don’t have time at the moment to do the research for you, but take a look at the list and see what you might be eligible for. If one of these scholarships seems worth pursuing, you can inquire as to whether the school would allow you to submit a late application. If the answer is “no,” then it might be worth your while to take a gap year, and apply next year for the fall of 2014.</p>
<p>With your GPA and ACT score, you have options other than taking on a huge amount of debt . . . but you’ll need to plan accordingly.</p>
<p>If you had asked this question a few months ago, people probably could have given you a list of schools with good eng’g that would give you lots of merit for your stats. It’s a bit late now. Some have had deadlines that have passed. </p>
<p>However, if you apply to Miss St right away, you probably would get at least a full tuition scholarship. Have you looked at UArk as well? UAB would also give you lots of merit.</p>
<p>If you do decide to do a gap year and reapply, then do NOT take any classes this next year…not even at a CC. You need to protect your incoming frosh status. </p>
<p>You could work a lot next year and set aside money for future years.</p>
<p>OP, if you decide to take a gap year, you absolutely.possitively can NOT take any college coureses in that year. Many of these merit scholarships ONLY apply to freshman.</p>