<p>I've already taken out federal loans - the maximum is $6,500 which is no where near the cost of tuition. The Parent PLUS was denied which gave me another $4,000. Also the grants & school scholarships still leave me with needing to take out $10,000 for the year. I've tried several banks already and they all shut me down. My mom has bad credit and my dad is still paying off a student loan(or defaulted on it, I can't remember) so that disables ME from getting one. What happened to colleges saying, "there are plenty of ways to pay for college." That's not possible when everything requires credit checks on 18 year olds and judgments based upon mistakes their parents made.</p>
<p>What other options are there? Also if I were to call the financial aid office, how could I go about nonchalantly asking for more money? Please tell me there's something I can do. I really wanted to go to this school and I got this far! I'm not ready to accept the fact that I seriously cannot afford it. There has got to be some way. </p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>You can’t afford it unless the school will cough up more non-loan money for you. </p>
<p>Not what you want to hear, I know, but the numbers don’t lie. You need to find an educational option that you can afford.</p>
<p>What happened to colleges saying, “there are plenty of ways to pay for college.” That’s not possible when everything requires credit checks on 18 year olds and judgments based upon mistakes their parents made.</p>
<p>There are “many” ways to pay for college, but there are limits. And most colleges expect parents will contribute money from savings, loans and current earnings (all three sources, if necessary) to assist the student. And on top of that, the student also needs to contribute from savings, loans and current earnings. It is often from all 6 sources and perhaps even more, that many students need to draw upon in order to make college work. It is a rare college (that I have yet to meet) that would say that EVERYONE can “afford” their college.</p>
<p>And I don’t think banks are making any moral judgements against your parents. It is a business exchange–and your parents are not at this time good credit risks. Neither are you yet. Your parents can not co-sign a loan for you. You would need to find another relative or family friend. However, I would not advise you to go 20K in debt each year for college (10K Stanfords etc and 10K private loans)–80K is too much for an undergrad degree.</p>
<p>Can you attend a local college and live at home? Community college? You need to research much more affordable college situations.</p>