<p>Hi, new guy here. I'm 47 and a returning college undergrad finding it IMPOSSIBLE to qualify for anything out there. In my state, the governor just issued a 7 year rule (if you've been out of high school longer than 7 years, you're out of luck) so I can't get the HOPE. And I can't get Pell because of my retirement fund. When I report it in my applications, they think I'm sitting on a big chunk of cheese and bypass me for everything.</p>
<p>I mean, c'mon guys. What 47 year old hasn't started saving for retirement yet? Of course I have retirement funds. It's not fair that I have to now spend my retirement to return to school at almost 50 years of age.</p>
<p>It's MY generation that suffered a 50% loss in our pensions due to 9/11 and the economy and now we're having to also pay for all our education??? C'mon...something really stinks here. I've written letters till my hand cramped, but nobody cares. It's so easy to just turn away when it doesn't impact YOU directly.</p>
<p>What REALLY gets me is that I really want to be there, sitting on the front row, taking notes, making good grades. These younger students getting a freeride sit in class surfing the web or texting their friends. I'm hungry for it and they couldn't care less.</p>
<p>I'm considering switching my investments to someone else's name so that I can qualify for something and I won't have to spend all my retirement on trying to better my future with education.</p>
<p>Thoughts, anyone?</p>
<p>Re retirement
FAFSA does not look at dedicated retirement funds- 401K, IRA- is your money in a retirement acct?
It does consider what you have been able to spend ( in the previous year) before taxes for retirement- but it doesn’t take your overall savings as available.</p>
<p>There ARE programs for displaced workers to attend school.
[url=<a href=“http://federalstudentaid.ed.gov/opportunity/index.html]Opportunity.gov[/url”>http://federalstudentaid.ed.gov/opportunity/index.html]Opportunity.gov[/url</a>]</p>
<p>Many adult students also find that their employers may be subsidizing continuing their education or are a source of scholarships.</p>
<p>If you are working, you may admittedly need to attend school part time, most people can’t afford to go full time when they have mortgage & other bills.</p>
<p>Agreed…federal student aid does not have age restrictions and does not look at protected retirement savings or the primary home as assets. It’s more likely your income that is driving your EFC. You can get a better idea of how much by working through the EFC Formula Guide.</p>
<p>If you reported protected retirement assets, such as 401K/403B/IRA, you should not have. It is really important to read the instructions carefully. If your investments are intended for retirement but are not in protected accounts, the FAFSA formula will expect that a portion be liquidated to pay for school. If you are a single student or married with no dependents other than a spouse, a very large portion of your income will be expected to be used for school.</p>
<p>and now we’re having to also pay for all our education???</p>
<p>Oh good heavens…Whose fault is it that you took so long to go to college?</p>
<p>*These younger students getting a freeride sit in class surfing the web or texting their friends. I’m hungry for it and they couldn’t care less.
*</p>
<p>If you’re talking about HOPE…it’s not a “free ride”. It’s free tuition for those who had the necessary stats from high school to qualify. Those who “couldn’t care less,” probably don’t have the stats to get HOPE or would soon flunk out if they just surfed and texted. </p>
<p>And, yes, most families (no matter WHAT their ages are) have to pay for their OWN college costs. The primary responsibility to pay for college rests with the person/family…not the gov’t and not the school. </p>
<p>That said, if you have money in a protected retirement acct, that doesn’t count for FAFSA, but your annual contributions will count. </p>
<p>Chances are, your income may be too high for Pell Grants anyway. What is your family income?</p>
<p>
You can use my name. PM me. :)</p>
<p>Rules, regulations, and formulas for federal and state aid are not fair. Know that, and you may be able to move on.
Many 47-year-olds have not started saving for retirement yet.</p>
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<p>This may come as a huge surprise to some of the CC regulars, but there are many people who did not grow up with silver spoons in their mouths and did not have the opportunity that others have had. You don’t know the OP’s circumstances and your criticism of his or her situation is completely off-base. People of any age who take the initiative to improve their life circumstances should be commended and encouraged, not criticized with nasty, snide comments. </p>
<p>Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using CC App</p>
<p>Annasdad…keep my response within context.</p>
<p>The OP wrote:
It’s MY generation that suffered a 50% loss in our pensions due to 9/11 and the economy and now we’re having to also pay for all our education??? C’mon…something really stinks here.</p>
<p>an entitlement attitude isn’t warranted. And, there should be an assumption that one has to pay for one’s higher education…no matter when you go to school.</p>
<p>That said, the state of Georgia (which I’m guessing is the Hope he’s talking about) has done the math and has had to put a limit on how long the Hope benefit can last (which makes sense). It can’t afford to have a system when in any given year, too many are on the HOPE scholarship. </p>
<p>If he is talking about HOPE- Georgia, then the program and the funding (lottery) wasn’t in place when he was in high school…so it was never funded for him and his peers. </p>
<p>And, no one here is assuming that everyone is born with a silver spoon in their mouths…certainly not me who had to work my way thru college and grad degrees. My parents didn’t pay for any of it.</p>
<p>I think mom2 is right here. While “decision” would have been a better word than “fault”, I don’t think she was trying to be nasty or snide. She’s trying to let the OP know the reality of some, if not most, situations of the actual individual having to pay for college.</p>
<p>The OP did open up the assumption of entitlement when they made the comment about having to actually pay for their education - JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE. Granted some get a lot of help, this is usually in the form of merit aid because they work hard in school for a long time before, anticipating the fact they they may some day need to qualify for merit programs because they knew they wouldn’t have enough money otherwise to pay for college.</p>
<p>I can’t imagine how hard it would be to start any kind of college degree program as an older student. I hope that there are resources for nontraditional students like the OP, and I think the decision to go back to school in one’s 40s is laudable. And really brave. But I bristle when people use words like “punished” to characterize financial aid decisions, because it always seems that word goes with some kind of screed about how other people get more than their fair share, or whatever. It was my understanding that none of us is “punished” for having retirement savings, certainly not via FAFSA. But leaving aside what one has to report on one form or another, let’s just say that many of us have slowed down on contributions to our own retirement funds so we could put aside more money to fund our kid’s education. Many of us? Okay, all I know for sure is that I have. I’m about to turn 53. I don’t like having done that, but I made a choice. I don’t think my EFC is “punishment”; I feel it is a reasonable estimate of the amount I can afford to contribute to my child’s education based on the amount of money I earn and the assets I’ve accumulated.</p>
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<p>Is that really something that most people get to ‘choose’, outside of extreme circumstances? :D</p>