Hey guys,
So today I was just informed by my parents that they refuse to pay my tuition for whatever college I get into/plan to attend. I was going to apply ED and EA to a school but is there anyway for me to tell them about my situation that would enable me to qualify for financial age(as a dependent I don’t qualify for any, my parents make enough to comfortably pay 50k> a year). Also, I looked into becoming an independent and short of getting married, my chances of being one are very slim. Does anyone know if I legally emancipated myself from my parents would help me get FA(sorry for the bad wording)? Also, does anyone have any experience in this situation? Thanks!
Look at your in-state schools, including starting at a CC while living at home, and transferring for your last 2 years. Based on your previous posts, you will not qualify for financial aid due to your parents’ high income.
Be glad they sat down with you and told you this now, and not in April. You can still adjust your list to apply to schools that would either award you merit for your stats, or that you could afford on your own, especially if you worked for a few years before enrolling.
Good luck - there is lots of wisdom on CC because your exact situation comes up regularly.
Nothing short of marriage, deceased parents, or court-documented CRIMINAL abuse/neglect by your parents will make u independent in the eyes of college before age 24.
Is there a reason now that your parents won’t pay? In a previous post you said, “My mom is really pushing for a California schools(Berkeley and LA), but I don’t like how big the student bodies are at the public universities. Money isn’t an issue.”
You need to find some schools that will give you aid for your stats.
What changed between August, when your mom was pushing for CA schools, and now? Did they say why they won’t pay? Will they not pay for anything or just not expensive OOS schools?
Check the threads on pinned to the top of the financial aid forum for schools with guaranteed merit aid and run the net price calculator on each school website to see if it’s affordable.
@suzy100 @austinmshauri My mom doesn’t feel I contribute as a daughter and she doesn’t see the point in investing in a person who will ultimately not accomplish anything. I am under the impression that they won’t pay for any school, be it in state or out of state. What I was told by my father is that I have my savings and I can take out loans and get scholarships and that’s it. Do either of you two know of any schools that give good merit age?
Do your parents know you can only borrow ~$5500/year on your own? It’s unfortunate that they don’t want to help, but better to know that now.
Go to the top of the financial aid forum and find the guaranteed merit thread. Search for schools that give merit aid. Would they let you live at home if all you can afford is to commute to a local university?
Use the following lists to target full ride merit scholarships if you family is not poor enough to get large grants at UCs and CSUs:
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
http://competitivefulltuition.yolasite.com/
Some have fairly early deadlines, so apply soon.
It is not easy to become emancipated. You can’t just you want it, you need to have a reason like your parents aren’t supporting you (now, as a high school student), and you have to have a plan on how you will support yourself. I don’t think that is your current situation as you live at home and receive support.
Parents don’t have to pay for college. What state do you live in? If California, you have a lot of CC choices that you will be able to afford with working, student loans, and living at home (is that allowed?). There are the schools pinned above that give a good deal of merit. What savings is your father talking about? If it is a few thousand from working or gifts, it is not going to go far. If it is a 529 plan, that may give you more options.
@austinmshauri thanks for the tip! I’m looking at the thread right now so I’ll hopefully find something.
@ucbalumnus I’ll check out those links, thanks!
@twoinanddone I live in California, and I most likely could live at home, however, it’s not an environment I’d necessarily would want to be in for another 2-4 years. The savings are just a few thousand from working so it probably won’t be much help.
I know of some parents who can afford college but don’t want to pay for it who actually agree to give their child an interest-free loan. Aim for as much scholarship money as you can get, but if you come up short see if your parents would be willing to give you a loan for the difference.
<<<
My mom doesn’t feel I contribute as a daughter and she doesn’t see the point in investing in a person who will ultimately not accomplish anything.
[QUOTE=""]
[/QUOTE]
What the heck?
Are your parents foreign?
What does she mean by saying that you don’t contribute “as a daughter” and that you won’t “accomplish anything”?
Does she think you’ll flunk out?
Or does she think that daughters don’t support parents in their old age?
Why this sudden news? Was there a falling out?
When your mom was wanting you to go to a UC, how did she think that would get paid for? And what did she think you’d major in there??
this sounds like your parents are suddenly mad at you…what happened?
Do you have brothers that your parents will put thru college??? If so, why the difference???
[QUOTE=""]
I am under the impression that they won't pay for any school, be it in state or out of state. What I was told by my father is that I have my savings and I can take out loans and get scholarships and that's it. Do either of you two know of any schools that give good merit age?
[/QUOTE]
What do you have in savings???
You need to tell your parents that you can only borrow:
frosh 5500
soph 6500
jr 7500
sr 7500
@mom2collegekids My mom is Asian(and I’m half) and so she has some of the stereotypical views about college. She believes without good grades I won’t get into a good college, without a good college I won’t get a good job, etc. They are all valid concerns but my view in the matter is that going to a good college doesn’t necessarily mean good jobs and such(I rarely voice these opinions though). She fears me not succeeding in life and she likes to point to my freshman and sophomore grades as proof of such. What she means by contribute is that I don’t do chores(which is true) or be a good daughter(going to be honest, I do get in a fair bit of trouble with my parents for family, not school reasons). Last night my mom was upset I wasn’t showing her all my essays( I show her only the ones I finish, not the ones I don’t use or I decide to go a different way on) and I guess from there it snowballed. I have a little bit under $5,000 in savings but I am making around $50 a week from my part-time job.
Previously(up until today), and I assume both my parents assumed this too, my college was assumed to be paid by my parents. There are no requirements on what major or which UC/College I would have to go for this to happen.
How much have you saved?
Would you consider an HBCU full ride?
You need to appeal to your dad. Certainly he knows people with “good jobs” that didn’t go to a top school.
What sort of jobs do your parents have?
Where did they go to school?
What is your major and career goal?
Ya know, as much as I disagree with your parents limited attitudes, doing chores and being a good, cooperative daughter is a lot easier than trying to live or go to school on $50/wk.
<<<
means by contribute is that I don’t do chores(which is true) or be a good daughter(going to be honest, I do get in a fair bit of trouble with my parents for family, not school reasons)
[QUOTE=""]
[/QUOTE]
Long time to shape up…otherwise you’ll be living at home for the next four years.
follow house rules, do your chores (without being told), and do some extra stuff w/o being told.
as for the essays, just show her essays even if you’ve discarded them…and you can even put on top of the essay, “no using, don’t like”.
@Madison85 a bit under 5k. I’ve never looked into one before, but if it means that I can go to a college then I’m certainly open to the idea.
@mom2collegekids Both my parents are accountants and my mom went to a private school in the Midwest while my dad went to a state school. I’ll probably end up sharing my college folders with my parents and hopefully that might alleviate some of the issues.
@JustOneDad Yeah a lot of this issue, was caused by my lack of contribution and communication on my part. Obviously there are a lot of things I did wrong, and so
Well, if your dad went to a “state school” and still managed to get a good job/career, then you need to appeal to him.
Frankly, I wonder what your own parents’ GPAs were when they were in high school. Back then, grade inflation was less, and GPAs were more modest.
either way…mind your p’s and q’s…keep your nose clean…be a daughter that they can be proud of.
how are your grades this year?
In the meantime…apply to a few schools where your stats will get HUGE merit. That may impress your parents enough to “back off” with the criticisms.
@mom2collegekids My grades aren’t bad. I currently have 1 B in calc BC and a super boderline A in physics one, but all my other classes are solid A’s