Not sure what to do anymore...

Paying for College
1

Hey CC,

Financing my education has always been a struggle. Because of this, I opted to go to community college for two years. I’m now transferring to a four-year university, and I’m frustrated because no matter what school I go to, I’m falling short in terms of financial aid.

Here’s some background on me…
My dad, due to some kind of (undiagnosed) mental illness, goes through jobs like socks. My mom, who is also mentally ill (and diagnosed) goes to school and her entire cost gets covered, plus a refund check that’s always been a couple thousand dollars. My parents and I do not have a good relationship because their mental illnesses make our household a toxic environment. My mom even thought it would be a good idea, despite our dismal financial situation, to let a friend and her two children live with us (which has contributed greatly to the toxic environment). I have been seeing a psychiatrist for years and have started going to therapy to help me cope with the emotional abuse that I’ve endured for years now. When the chaos became too detrimental and my grades began to suffer, I made the choice to move in with my grandparents.

Now my parents don’t support me at all. When I lived at home, they contributed nothing to my school costs (because they simply couldn’t afford it) and I worked between 25-30 hours a week at a part time job to help them pay bills and to fund my own education. Because of that, my savings are alright (only a couple thousand) but nowhere near where they would be if I didn’t have to help my parents pay the mortgage and other bills.

My dad claimed me on his taxes last year, and when I imported the information from the IRS into my FAFSA, it said that his adjusted gross income (my mom doesn’t work) was about $70,000 but his earned income from wages was about $39,000. The $39,000 is far more accurate. We even received food stamps that year and have Medicaid now. My EFC went from about $3500 from the previous year to over $10,000 this year.

Because of this, I’m ineligible for a pell grant, and my state grant was slashed in half. The only bright side is that my parents both have bad credit, and because of this I can get the independent student loan amounts. I’m also ineligible for work study.

I’m falling short for every school I’ve applied to, so I opted to go to a school that is within commuting distance from my grandparents’ house. Even without housing and a meal plan, I still need more aid to cover my costs. I received a $2000 scholarship for my grades, and $646 a semester from the state.

I’m pretty sure I’ve looked into just about everything as far as financial aid. I’ve even considered asking the financial aid department for a dependency override, but I know those are rarely granted. The only other option that I think is left would be to attempt getting a private student loan for the small amount I still need (I have decent credit but no possible cosigners) or to defer for a year/semester until I’ve saved enough to be able to go. I’m a hard worker and am working 50-60 hours a week this summer, but I was hoping the hard work would pay off so I could go to school this Fall.

I’d also like to note that I’m not expecting to have my full cost covered (despite how nice that would be). I’m willing to pay out of pocket but I would like to do so without completely wiping my savings because I am solely responsible for any financial burdens that I have to take on - including emergencies, medical, you name it.

If anyone has any suggestions, I’d greatly appreciate it. Thank you for taking the time to read this long post. This wasn’t meant to be a “poor me” post, but rather a desperate student pleading for any and all advice.

Thank you.

2

Hugs to you @ANB1337 There will be others who can help you with the finances here but just wanted you to know that I am sorry you’ve been having to go through this for so many years and that you sound like a good person who will get through this .

3

Thank you @SouthernHope that was very sweet of you. I really appreciate it.

4

Where did the other income come from? $39,000 just a tad more than half of $70,000.

Did your dad take money out of a retirement account? What’s that extra income?

5

@thumper1 From what I understand (bear with me, because it’s hard for me to get this type of information from my parents) he cashed out some sort of plan like that for about $15,000. He also gets residual checks from a business he owned years ago. I’m not sure if my mom’s financial aid for school contributed to any of that either.

6

Your moms financial should not have mattered. The $15,000 he “cashed out” certainly WOULD matter if it’s from a retirement account.

Money from a business would also matter. But is that new this year?

@BelknapPoint could you explain to this student how taking money out of a retirement account affects income for financial aid purposes.

Money taken out of retirement accounts absolutely impacts your EFC and income…and in your case, need based aid.

7

@thumper1 He receives a certain amount every month from the business he once owned, but it is definitely not enough to constitute the extra $16,000 that’s unaccounted for. The reason he “cashed out” that plan was to help with bills while he was unemployed.

If his income is drastically different this year (significantly less), would I be able to file some kind of amendment? I think I’ve heard that if you have a sudden and drastic difference in your income that you can file that through FAFSA or with your school (I’m not 100% on the details).

Thank you, this is helping me think of things I wouldn’t have otherwise

8

how old are you?

maybe you should either wait until you’ll be turning 24 to finish college…or get a job at a place that helps with tuition?

how much can you earn/save this summer?

how much is the tuition at the school by your grandparents?

9

@mom2collegekids I’m 20 years old, and will be turning 21 in October. Not old enough to file as an independent student unfortunately…
I suppose I could do that. I would just be delaying my life getting “officially” started…which isn’t optimal, but if it’s my only option then I guess it is what it is.

10

@mom2collegekids the tuition is about $18,500. If I were to choose a different (less expensive) school, it would be more expensive because I would have to live there.

This summer I can probably save between $2000 and $3000. However, I’m running into an issue because there is a strong possibility that I will need to use that money to support myself for the school year (mostly for books, but also for gas and car insurance) because I’m ineligible for work study and my school schedule makes it impossible to hold a job that requires I work days. Most jobs that I’ve looked into require employees to work a combo of days, nights, and weekends.

Also, I applied for 11 on campus jobs recently and I’m waiting to hear back from them. They were separate from the work study jobs, but I have a hunch that whether or not I’m eligible for work study greatly impacts their hiring decisions.

11

You should definitely ask about a dependency override. FinAid administrators do have authority to make adjustments in cases like yours. You have nothing to lose except time and if your appeal is accepted you have a lot to gain, maybe thousands of dollars!

Make an appointment to sit down with a FinAid officer. I’d start by asking for an appointment with the Director of FinAid but I’d settle for whoever they suggest, at least for starters.

12

Have you been living with your grandparents full time?
We helped our mentee get a Dependency Override last year - they are difficult, but not impossible to get. What you will need is documentation - proof that the household is toxic (from an authority figure - be it from a police report, restraining order, psychologist letter etc). You’ll need multiple of these (I think it was 3). We wrote one, the therapist wrote one and so did a teacher. There is other stuff involved, but you can very likely do this. This would then count only your income, and you would become Pell eligible. Dependency Overrides are for people in your situation. If you want to talk more, feel free to message me. My husband is more expert at this than I am, but I’m certain he would help you.

13

@alooknac and @NJRoadie Thank you so much for your advice. This makes me feel a lot better.
And yes, I am living with them full time. I will be living wih them for now on until I finish my degree.

14

If you can’t get the dependency override, find out if your father’s financial issues would qualify you for a “Special Circumstances” re-evaluation of your aid. Discuss that with the financial aid office too.

15

<<<
the tuition is about $18,500.
<<<

that sounds like a private. How much is a cheaper state school’s tuition (not counting room and board)?

What is your major and career goal?

Is there a company that you can work for that will help with tuition costs? I think companies like Starbucks, Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart, AT&T and others have tuition assistance plans.

What is your home state?

16

Are your parents divorced?

17

I don’t think his parents are divorced…


[QUOTE=""]
My mom, who is also mentally ill (and diagnosed) goes to school and her entire cost gets covered,

[/QUOTE]

I think mom has been getting her costs covered by Pell because her FAFSA counts 2 in college, so her EFC has been probably much lower since it would be less than half of 3500 since the son’s income wouldn’t count on her FAFSA.

however with the dad’s increased income, her Pell may be cut or gone now.

@anb1337 has your mom been going to a CC or some low cost school?

18

Have you considered the military or ROTC?

19

I also suggest talking to your school about a dependency override. You will be able to get supporting documentation from your psychiatrist and your grandparents. I think this is a good route to pursue … get going now, so that you have things in place before fall semester. You may qualify for Pell, and you will qualify for the independent loan limits, if your override is approved.

20

@mom2collegekids It is a public, state-related school and is the only with within commuting distance from where I am living. If I were to live/eat at a state school, I would still end up paying more because of room and board, meals, etc (even if I didn’t go with a meal plan). I only know this because a less expensive (but far) state school was my original choice but because of room and board and food, it ended up being more expensive than the school I’m transferring to now. My major is Information Science and Technology, and I would also be earning a certification in Cyber Security/Digital Forensics. I would like to be an IT analyst, or a database manager. I also would like to do private security consultations. I live in PA.

@Madison85 No, they are not.