im applying for colleges for 2016. im a high school senior now. my parents combined make close to 200k a year. they are not paying for my college. do i still use their income for when i apply or can i put my own income (which btw is 0 dollars. im unemployed) to get more financial aid?
You must include your parents’ income. With that level of income you will get little or no need based aid at any school.
There is usually a reason why higher income parents refuse to pay for their kids’ education. It may be too late for you to make amends with them. .
You include their income. The difference between “can’t pay” and “won’t pay” is a semantics game in which colleges will not get involved. Hopefully your parents informed you of their choice well before now.
Are you over 24 years old? Are you an orphan, veteran of the armed forces, married, supporting a dependent child? Are you or have you been in foster care or legal guardianship with someone other than your parents?
If not…you are depend for financial aid purposes regardless of what your parents say they will or won’t lay. You MUST list their in me and assets on your financial aid application forms.
Will they pay anything towards your college education at all?
ETA…if it’s any consolation…with $200,000 in family income, and one student in college, it’s not likely you would qualify for need based aid anyway.
You’re req’d to use their income. Their decision not to pay won’t change anything since parents could always say that.
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my parents combined make close to 200k a year. they are not paying for my college.
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What is going on? Are they saying that they won’t pay a dime no matter where you go? Or are they saying that they won’t pay for pricey schools?
What do they expect you to do after high school?
what are your stats?
You need to look at colleges where you might get merit aid. Or else you need to look at the local community college.
You also need to understand that your parents cannot be made to pay for their child’s college education.
They are under no obligation to pay; sad, but true.
As I mentioned above, there is usually a reason that parents will not pay for college that the OP has not divulged. .
What do your parents hope you will do when you graduate from HS?
Sounds like you need to have a conversation with your parents as to why they wont help with your college costs. If you are a dependent, their income mmust be reported. Look into merit money.
OP please take the comments above to heart. You will probably not be offered financial aid, and if you are, it will be in the form of loans. Apparently there are some issues between you and your parents, or there is a heck of a lot more going on that is not clear from your post. So we cannot help you until you clarify what is going on. It is also likely that you yourself are not entirely sure about the whole picture. If they won’t pay, is there a compromise you can find with them (thru dealing with your intrafamilial issues)? If they can’t pay, well, how much can’t they pay? Can they come up with anything at all, or will they be willing to cosign loans)? You need to know these things before you can even begin to develop a strategy.
I strongly suggest that you enlist the help of a person you and your parents trust. Do you have an aunt or uncle, a neighbor, a family friend, etc. that could help? Ask that person to join you for a conversation and set some ground rules. Know what you want to get out of the talk but be respectful and realistic. Choose a time and place that you all feel comfortable with. Good luck!
Short answer: even if your parents don’t want to pay, you MUST report all their income.
You can only disregard their income if you’re over 24, are a veteran, are married, or were placed in foster care. None of these apply to your situation, so you must report the truth. And don’t think about lying - I think that this year there’s a parent who’s been charged with fraud and faces 5 years in jail or something.