Here’s the situation:
I’m not 18 yet (I will be turning 18 around the time college starts in the fall)
My parents make quite a bit, enough for me to be ineligible for financial aid, which was due earlier this year in the spring.
Basically, because of my parents, I didn’t qualify.
At the same time, my parents refuse to pay for my college education, since I will turn 18 soon and they have no legal obligation to pay for my college.
So now, I could potentially be stuck with no aid and no parents to pay for college because of my parent’s bad intent.
Is there any kind of legal action I can take against them? Or would I have to put off college for a year and reapply for financial aid and make do for a year?
You’re not required to go to college, and they are not required to pay for it. Legal action sounds like a non-starter to my untrained ear.
Can you get a job and go to community college?
What are your grades and standardized test scores like? You may qualify for merit scholarships at other schools
You’re going to have to provide your parents’ financial info for finaid applications until you turn 24 or get married or have a child and support it over 50% or serve in the military. Waiting a year won’t change anything in that regard.
Reapplying for financial aid in a year likely won’t make any difference. Your aid will still be based on your family income.
Merit aid and cheap community college are usually the only possible options for someone with no parental support for college expenses (and even those may not work).
Provide your home state, stats, and intended major and members of the forum may be able to suggest workable options.
Get a job. Attend the local Community College.
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Or would I have to put off college for a year and reapply for financial aid and make do for a year?
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Won’t make a difference.
What are your stats?
Where did you apply?
Do you have a job this summer? How much are you earning?
Is there a CC that you can commute to?
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So I was accepted into my two top choice schools UCLA and UC Berkeley and I was wondering which one I should go to.
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Ok…what’s up? You must have good stats if you got into BOTH schools.
What are your stats?
WHY did you find out SO LATE that your parents won’t pay for college???
You’re going to have to take a GAP YEAR (don’t take ANY classes!!! not even at a CC)…then reapply to schools that will give you LOTS of aid.
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Well Off, Asian Male Bay Area
Test Scores:
710 R 800 M 710 W 9 Essay
34 ACT
800 Math 2
800 Chinese
780 Physics
5 AP Calc BC
5 AP English Lang
5 AP Chinese
4 AP Chem
4 AP USH
4 AP Phys B
4 AP Euro
3 AP French
GPA:
Total GPA: 4.16/3.61
Academic GPA: 4.18/3.55
10-12 GPA: 4.23/3.42
(Basically H=high rigor but a bunch of B’s)
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Currently taking 5 AP’s Senior year,
National Merit Finalist
Other:
Family troubles including domestic violence, etc which involved some court cases, police, and took place around the time of my junior year.
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Oh good heavens. You are a NMF!!!
Is the domestic violence the reason that your parents won’t pay?
(Someone please tell me why students on CC will post many times about chances and “which school should I choose,” etc, but don’t find out if their schools are affordable??)
If the stats listed above are correct, and you have a safe place to live for the next year, then get a job and live at that safe place, and apply to places that will give you significant merit money for your stats. Start by reading through the links in this thread. Some of the scholarships are competitive and you might or might not get them, but others are automatic, and you will get them. Period. As long as you aren’t overly picky about where you go to college, you can find affordable options. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1678964-links-to-popular-threads-on-scholarships-and-lower-cost-colleges.html#latest
Move out, get a job to support yourself, do not attend any college including community college to preserve your frosh status, and reapply to a full ride merit seeking list. Start with these lists (but GPA is usually unweighted GPA for these purposes):
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
http://nmfscholarships.yolasite.com/
If you attend any college after high school graduation, then you will likely be required to apply as a transfer to most colleges, which eliminates almost all of the possible big merit scholarships. In this case, you will have to wait until you are 24, married, or a military veteran in order to be able to afford college without your parents’ income and wealth disqualifying you from financial aid.
The other realistic option leading to college, but only if you are interested in it, is to enlist in military service. You will be independent of your parents for financial aid purposes after your enlistment is done, and you will have GI Bill benefits to help pay for college.
If the family is that dysfunctional, any money that exists is probably going to lawyers in civil (divorce, etc.) and criminal cases.
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mom2collegekids wrote:
Is the domestic violence the reason that your parents won't pay?
If the family is that dysfunctional, any money that exists is probably going to lawyers in civil (divorce, etc.) and criminal cases.
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@ucbalumnus Those were my thoughts as well, but that raises the question as to why the student wasn’t worried about paying for college last fall when applying.
Because the student was not concerned about paying, I’m guessing that there are no divorce proceedings. If there are any criminal proceedings, then again, why wasn’t the student concerned about paying for college?? And certainly the parents knew that their high stats senior was applying to college, so were they saying NOTHING about cost? This is very strange.
However, now that I look at posting history, there was a recent gap of about 2 months. I suspect that something has recently happened.
I feel VERY bad that this student has missed the opportunity to use his NMF status to get the biggest awards at many schools. 
Given that every April brings the posts of heartbreak from students or parents who only then realize that all of their college acceptances are too expensive, it is not rare for students to be either unaware of or in denial about family financial limits, and/or parents to be misleading (not necessarily intentionally) their kids that everything is fine for college funding while the kids were making their application lists.
Yes, domestic violence incidents involving the police should have been a big clue – but not all high school students are aware of the implications of such.
No parent can be forced to pay for a child’s college, except in a very few states where divorced parents must contribute to their children’s college fund/tuition bill.
They owe you NOTHING.
If you become 18 and they are no longer supporting you, you can look into your options then. Frankly, consider working until you are old enough to not be their dependent (24) then go to college.
But picking one of the two colleges and taking a gap year might be a good idea.
Have you thought of seeking counseling regarding the domestic violence issue and how it can impact your life (even if you were not a victim)?
You really think you have the right to file legal action against your parents to pay for YOUR school? Get over yourself and get a job or join the military so you can pay for it yourself.
Sorry if I sound harsh… But you really want to sue your own parents for something so insignificant?
While suing his parents is obviously not the answer, the issue is not insignificant. You have to remember this is a 17 -year old that we are talking about- the majority of 17 year olds are not very financially savvy and don’t understand the money side of college. My youngest was totally overwhelmed with the college application process and his HS classes- I can’t imagine how he would have coped if he had also had to learn all about the financial end of things at the same time. This is VERY significant while it is happening to the OP. Most of the parents who post on CC are pretty involved in their kid’s college admissions process and have helped kids understand how financial aid works and what is affordable. It sounds like this kid comes from a family with domestic issues and he most likely has not received a lot of support in his search for colleges. Who knows why he found out his parents won’t pay so late in the game- maybe they told him they would and have backed off? In any event, it is very sad that this is happening to him so late in the game… I’m sure he feels devastated.
To the OP, there is some good advice here. If you can’t pay for UCB/UCLA, take a year off to work and save some money. Don’t take any college courses during that time and start looking for schools that will award full tuition scholarships for your stats. Best of luck!
@takeitallin, I have to agree with you. It is very sad. But holding off college 2- 3 years isn’t going to kill you (in fact, working for those years will actually help him get a better job when he graduates.) Not to mention the fact he gets to say he did it all himself 
OP, if your willing to serve, I suggest joining the Navy or Air Force on a 4 year enlistment with a job related to the major you want to take and/or one that gives you a security clearance (preferably top secret) and you will have a very high paying job after you graduate college with the GI bill.
Good Luck.
This student has the stats that he doesnt’ have to wait for a few years.
I wish he’d come back and explain more. Sometimes we get these drama posts, only to later find out that the parents will pay “something,” just not full freight at some school. His schooling currently costs about $32k per year. Maybe his parents will pay $10k. If so, then that and a student loan and a full tuition award will have his costs covered.
However, with such family drama that apparently involved being surprised about parent non contribution this late, the student cannot rely on any parent promises over four years, so a full merit ride without needing parent contribution is preferable.
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yes, but finding an “acceptable” free ride after missing the NMF opps would be more difficult. Sure there are some directionals, commuting schools, and other low/non-ranked schools, but I doubt this student would bite. He’s high stats and had his heart set on UCLA or Berkeley. Going to Podunk Directional where everyone commutes would not be appealing.