OMG, This can't be life!!!! FinAid as an independent student.

Paying for College
1

<p>Well, I just completed my FAFSA and it is saying that my EFC is 5694. This is based on last years AGI of $23,647. I am 29 yrs old, can't afford to live independently (I live with my mom), and have tons of expenses (health insurance alone is around $250-300). Where do they expect me to come up with my contribution for school? It says I'm only eligible for loans and work-study, no Pell, no FSEOG, none of the goodies I had back when I was a dependent student and it was based on my mom's income. It's not my fault. I got sick and had to put school on the backburner for a few years. To make matters worse, I'll have to take an additional loan to cover my EFC because I don't have it.</p>

<p>I am making less this year, only one job, so I used the forecaster and based it on this year's income of $20,916. Estimated EFC goes down to 5080, but that's still too high. I really need to earn more because I can't live off my current income, but the more I make, the higher my EFC, and the worst off I am. Now I see why girls strip, and guys sell drugs in college. America is corrupt!</p>

<p>This has seriously derailed all of my plans.... I wanted to attend a private 4 yr (and I was willing to compromise by attending CC then transferring), but simply attending my local state school each semester will put me in significant debt. I'm going to have to go to my local CC (which is crappy) and take out a loan for tuition each semester.</p>

<p>So this is how they do things? They stick it to the independent students and give them nothing but loans? And there are loopholes that enable those who don't deserve it to game the system. A 35-40 yr old loser could let his wealthy parents take care of him for a year and claim no income giving him a EFC of $0.</p>

<p>Either I work more...and make monthly payments on the loans while in school (I really don't want to go beyond the 30 hrs a week I work now), or I stop working, which is not feasible. I have no one to take care of me. My mom is on a fixed income so she can't help me. She pays rent each month, doesn't own a home. She even pays my car note because I have to pay my health insurance. I'm not married, and I don't have a kid (which would solve my financial dilemma, huh?) I'm being punished for doing all the right things.</p>

<p>I'm not a bad student...but my college experience is limited (one not so great year, and then one really great semester, about 22 credits total) so I'm not really eligible for any merit aid right now. Even if I get my grades up, and manage to get a transfer scholarship, any remaining need will covered by loans.</p>

<p>I'm really worried now. I was trying to save the bulk of my debt for grad school...but now thanks to this undergrad situation, I may have to put my dreams of a JD/MBA on hold indefinitely. I was also considering medicine, but at my age, I really can't afford to be in school forever....</p>

<p>I'm sitting here in tears. Why do I have to sacrifice everything that I want in life? I've already lost a significant amount of time and opportunities. Life just doesn't seem worth it anymore. Any words of advice?</p>

2

<p>Oh, and BTW - I need to get my own place when I go back to school. The current living situation isn’t going to work.</p>

3

<p>What are your “tons of expenses” comprised of? Anything you can pay off/reduce this year will free up money. It sounds like you’ll have to go part time to a CC and keep your job until you can reduce your expenses. Most undergrads, even those with full Pell, have to take Stafford loans. Taking one to pay for your coursework (but not living expenses) doesn’t seem unreasonable and should cover your CC costs. Does your employer offer any educational assistance benefits?</p>

4

<p>*This is based on last years AGI of $23,647. I am 29 yrs old, can’t afford to live independently (I live with my mom), and have tons of expenses (health insurance alone is around $250-300). </p>

<p>so I used the forecaster and based it on this year’s income of $20,916. Estimated EFC goes down to 5080,
*</p>

<p>If you’re living at home, why do you have “tons of expenses”? Usually when kids live at home and are making what you’re earning, they can save a bunch of money because they’re not paying big rent/utilities elsewhere.</p>

<p>Many kids earn a lot less than you do, yet they have built up nice savings accts. What are you doing with your money?</p>

<p>Even if your insurance is $250-300 per month, that’s about $3000 per year - that’s not a big chunk of income… That may go down while you’re in college if the school offers some kind of plan. </p>

<p>Where is the rest of your money going? Many kids live on their own with that income. </p>

<p>It is NOT unreasonable to expect you to pay about $5k per year towards your OWN education when you’re earning $20k+ per year. </p>

<p>BTW…that may go down once you’re a full time student and earning less, **but even if it stays the same, you’re a single person with that much income to spend on yourself…and only yourself. **</p>

<p>Are you suggesting that others should sacrifice and pay for your education so that you can spend your $20k per year only on yourself? Try telling that to a family of 4 that has NO EXTRA money to spend. </p>

<p>Why do I have to sacrifice everything that I want in life?</p>

<p>Because this is the USA…why should others have to sacrifice to provide you money for school?</p>

5

<p>If you area full time worker and you then attend school full time, so your income goes from $20-30k to say, $5k for part time work, you can request a special circumstances adjustment based on not having that income any longer. DD is independent & in grad school, but worked full time the prior year and it was standard practice for the school to offer that form as kids cannot work whilst in med school.</p>

6

<p>Live on my own!? I wish I could!</p>

<p>I am in Atlanta, GA which is cheaper than my home state of MD (DC area). But the costs are rising…if you want to live decently (safely). I don’t know how $1380 a month is a lot of money to you all. That’s my monthly income after taxes. My mom’s is $1800 (and this varies depending on how much she works in addition to her monthly check). She really doesn’t have much left at the end of the month and usually finds creative and conniving ways to tap into my funds.</p>

<p>I got trapped by my mom who promised to help me if I lived with her. She convinced me that it would be cheaper than renting my own place, but it’s coming out the same since I buy food for both of us, pay utilities, and need to have $$$ available when she decides not to work much (we both work from home). I hate this situation. I have no social life and can’t tend to my own needs… I’d love to date, get married…It would help, but I’m married to this crappy situation.</p>

<p>So $200 in food for both of us, $281 in utilities, $200 reserve to avert crises as they inevitably come… that’s $681. Leaves $699. Health insurance is higher than normal since I have health problems…$250ish and rising. Credit card bills…$90 a month. Cell (in my mom’s name for the Senior Plan - $67) Medical bills…I’ll be paying forever…but I pay only $40. Gym $10 (locked this in), personal care - I opt for vitamins and sups instead of meds - variable $65ish every other month or so…Other costs associated with being female… Do need something for clothing/wardrobe (I’ve gained weight…and I’m trying to lose - will need to replace most items)… Also need a cushion for various expenses (car repairs, doctors visits, emergencies, transportation…)…May have to assume the car note ($169), plus high insurance.</p>

<p>Basically as a 29 yr old ADULT student, I have adult expenses. Days of being a broke t-shirt/jean wearing, ramen noodle eating student would literally kill me, and trust me - I’m not trying to live extravagantly, just modestly, all while remaining solvent.</p>

<p>And again, I will need to move out and get my own place - I will flunk out of classes if I stay with my mom (working 30+ hours a week, plus having to cook for two each night, entertain her, etc.) it’s not going to work. Renting below $600 a month puts me in danger of living in bad neighborhoods. What used to be the cheapest place here (all utilities included) is up to $680-$780 a month… Even the student apt. complexes here run about $700-$800+ a month for just a bedroom (ex. [The</a> Flats in Atlanta, GA | Lane Company](<a href=“http://apartments.lanecompany.com/apartment/the-flats-atlanta-ga-4p0710273690]The”>http://apartments.lanecompany.com/apartment/the-flats-atlanta-ga-4p0710273690)). Can’t live out of a room, do need at least a studio BY MYSELF.</p>

<p>I know I’m rambling but I am stressed. <em>sigh</em> I’m currently on track to make $20,916 this year, but am about to take on another job in addition because obviously I need more money.</p>

<p>So again…either I work even more…or stop working, which I can’t do.</p>

7

<p>Employer provides nothing - no benefits, no health, no tuition reimbursement, NADA. Just PTO and 30 hours of drudgery weekly. America is wonderful.</p>

8

<p>Thanks somemom. I know I can request “professional judgment” on my aid offer, but the real issue is can I really afford to stop working.</p>

<p>I haven’t even mentioned all of the old debts that I have that are placed with collection agencies. I’d like to pay them off to improve my credit. I’m a great position to settle them all one-by-one, but I still need about $100-$300 a month to do so, and it will take some time.</p>

9

<p>Okay… with a cooler head, I will say this.</p>

<p>While working…I AM pulling some of my own weight. I would be paying my own living/other expenses, but just wish that I did not have to take on so many loans for tuition. My local 4 yr university would put me $7500 in debt each year. Should I just take the loans and pay on them monthly as I go? Isn’t there a tax benefit to this???</p>

<p>If I downgrade and go to the super crappy community college here, I have to take about $1600 a semester in loans. I just hope I don’t get stuck there (due to its reputation). I hope I can transfer elsewhere for the remaining two yrs.</p>

10

<p>

I see this as a key issue here. You want to be a student without the financial suffering that entails. You can’t have it both ways. There is plenty of housing in Atlanta that isn’t this expensive. You probably have to get some housemates. Maybe you sell the car and take a bus or ride a bike, so you don’t have to pay a car payment or car insurance. There is probably cheaper medical insurance through the student plans. You want to be a student, and you work from home. You don’t need a “wardrobe”.</p>

11

<ol>
<li><p>You have no social life an you are paying 67 dollars a month for a cell phone plan? Are you kidding me? You get a cell phone plan for 10 dollars a year from t-mobile.</p></li>
<li><p>With all your expenses (dubious as the may be) except for your car and insane cell phone plan you can contribute 5k a year.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>3.You are spending too much money on non essentials to be complaining.</p>

12

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<p>Those complexes that cater to students are always more expensive. They usually have amenities, often including transportation, that are meant to substitute for on campus living. College kids are attracted to shiny things like pools and tanning beds that no one really needs. Look at housing that’s near campus, within walking distance or near public transport…or look on the off-campus housing section of the school’s website as they often have postings for rooms/roommates in privately owned housing.</p>

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<p>I know this isn’t what you might prefer…but what about renting just a room somewhere (in a house or apartment) or renting with a group of roommates? If you did this, your rent expense might be reduced.</p>

<p>Please don’t view community college as a “crappy” option. You need to look at your GOAL…and your goal is to get a bachelors degree. If saving money taking general education requirement is a way to do this…be grateful that option might exist for you. </p>

<p>Many students in your shoes work part time and go to school part time…or work full time and go to school part time. Yes…it would be wonderful if someone picked up the tab for your college expenses but that might not happen. Even IF your EFC was a bit lower, you still might not garner more than the entitled federally funded monies and that would not pay all of your tuition/room/board/expenses at most schools.</p>

<p>Please consider any and all options that will enable you to get your college degree. Don’t put down schools that you view as less attractive if they are a means to your end.</p>

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<p>It sounds like you’re partly supporting your mom.</p>

<p>If you were going away to college, that wouldn’t be the case. Your income would be your own.</p>

<p>You’ve filed FAFSA as if you’re one person with that income. That income would normally be considered “good” if you were living at home for free (which it sounds like you’re not.)</p>

<p>What would happen if you lived elsewhere and went to college? What would your mom do? </p>

<p>The bottom line is that I don’t think you’ll get more FA just because you’re helping out your mom - unless you could show that you provide more than 50% of her support (which is doubtful).</p>

<p>If you were to have a part-time job, get a cheap apt with another person who can split costs, go to a state school (do you qualify for HOPE?), and perhaps borrow a student loan, you’d have enough money for college.</p>

<p>Your mom is going to have accept that you can’t subsidize her household anymore.</p>

<p>Why is your cell phone bill so high?</p>

<p>why is your car insurance so high? Your a female over 25. Your rates should be lowish? Have you had accidents/tickets? If not, shop around for a better deal.</p>

15

<p>It sounds like you’re partly supporting your mom.</p>

<p>Yes…and this wasn’t supposed to be the plan.</p>

<p>If you were going away to college, that wouldn’t be the case. Your income would be your own.</p>

<p>You’ve filed FAFSA as if you’re one person with that income. That income would normally be considered “good” if you were living at home for free (which it sounds like you’re not.)</p>

<p>What would happen if you lived elsewhere and went to college? What would your mom do? </p>

<p>She’d be fine. She actually has the nerve to think I am costing HER money. It is her desire to control my life and keep track of everything I’m doing that keeps us both trapped. I relocated here on my own in '03 to get away from a bad family situation. Apparently I was living life and having too much fun so she came down here to put a stop to that.</p>

<p>The bottom line is that I don’t think you’ll get more FA just because you’re helping out your mom - unless you could show that you provide more than 50% of her support (which is doubtful).</p>

<p>True.</p>

<p>If you were to have a part-time job, get a cheap apt with another person who can split costs, go to a state school (do you qualify for HOPE?), and perhaps borrow a student loan, you’d have enough money for college.</p>

<p>I didn’t graduate in GA, so no HOPE. I want to return to GA State but it’s too expensive right now. Will have to go to a local CC here, and then hopefully I can transfer to GA Tech. Roommate situations are ideal, but I have special circumstances and can’t do roommates. Roommates are partially responsible for me ending up out of school the first go 'round. For sanity’s sake, I need some alone time.</p>

<p>Your mom is going to have accept that you can’t subsidize her household anymore.</p>

<p>Bingo! I’m just looking for a way out now. I feel scared doing it on my current income though… What would I do if I lost a job, or had hours cut… I need an additional job…but then again, that will raise my EFC…but then again…if I only get loans I guess it doesn’t matter.</p>

<p>Why is your cell phone bill so high?</p>

<p>I work from home in addition to trying to start a business (a retail website). It’s primarily for biz/work/email and data, but I was forced to add a voice plan (iPhone). I don’t even use the voice plan. All I want is the $35 data plan.</p>

<p>why is your car insurance so high? Your a female over 25. Your rates should be lowish? Have you had accidents/tickets? If not, shop around for a better deal. </p>

<p>Actually, I don’t drive (never got my license). We got the car so I could learn and go ahead and get my license. I’d be a new driver, so I’m certain the rates will be high. She can easily afford the car note (it’s only $169), and I’d be happy to pay for my half of the insurance since it will increase when she adds me. It just wouldn’t be mine…we’d be sharing…and she could trap me again. I kind of need to cut the ties.</p>

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<p>Thumper1, I don’t want to look down on CCs, but it’s just that other people do. I’ve had a lot of people tell me that it’s probably going to cost me admission to a T14 law school later on. Even for undergrad, not many people can xfer from CCs to Ivy League schools. So it’s just kind of limiting…</p>

17

<p>What is being withheld from your paycheck for taxes?</p>

<p>At your income level, if your withholding is correct you should be taking home closer to $1700/month, if I did the numbers right.</p>

<p>Did you get a big tax refund last year?</p>

18

<p>I’m pretty sure you can still qualify for HOPE as a GA resident even if you didn’t graduate there…it looks like they just require you to complete a certain number of credit hours with a 3.0 gpa and then award it retroactively:</p>

<p><a href=“https://secure.gacollege41.org/Financial_Aid_Planning/HOPE_Program/Georgia_s_HOPE_Scholarship_Program_Overview.asp[/url]”>https://secure.gacollege41.org/Financial_Aid_Planning/HOPE_Program/Georgia_s_HOPE_Scholarship_Program_Overview.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

19

<p>Anything that is not tied to food, shelter and medical insurance isn’t an essential. Toss it. I get the picture with your mother, move out, you’ll feel better. Maybe you should get a job where you don’t work from home. It will get you out and then you won’t care quite as much if your living situation isn’t what you would ultimately like it to be. If you’re not earning enough money then work harder.</p>

<p>You see your situation as you don’t have any help. I see it as you don’t have any constraints. Wait until you have kids, then you’ll really know what it feels like to be tied down. You have a ton of freedom right now, you can do anything, so work hard and get yourself in a better financial place.</p>

20

<p>Sk8ermom, thanks for the info. The HOPE scholarship would help a lot. Hopefully they won’t take it away. Every other year, they seem to claim it’s in jeopardy.</p>

<p>Notrichenough - according to my records…taxes withheld are correct. I’ll double check though. I filed for an extension, but just did an estimate on my taxes so I could complete the FAFSA. I’m due a refund of a whopping $67 bucks :)</p>

<p>Pea - I see what you’re saying. I just really don’t want to give up my current job because it is flexible - an outside job probably wouldn’t offer me the same flexibility. I work 6 hours a day and there are no set hours for working.</p>