I am a high school senior about to enter college next fall. I have been going through a rough patch because of our EFC from FAFSA and I feel like it’s my fault. The colleges I want to attend have offered me $0 and I just wanted to know what I could do to afford college. My parents are both 59 years old, and during about my 3rd year into college, my younger brother will also start college so they have at least 7 years of back to back college financing, at full price at this rate. They started increasing their 401k contributions last year from their income, and now have at least something saved up for retirement. My mother would tell me not to worry about college, but now it’s all I can do as I don’t know how I am going to afford it. I’m reconsidering college in general, and that maybe it just isn’t for me. As their 401k contributions increase as they approach retirement, the less they have to send me off to college and live off of for themselves until then. I had an argument with my mother the other day about how she wanted me to order a pizza for my brother and I to eat for dinner while she was at work, but she asked that I find a way to pay for it; I have no money. I yelled at her saying that if we couldn’t afford a pizza, what made her think we could afford college, if I “didn’t have to worry.” She nearly had a heart attack from the stress and I can’t bring up college again without feeling guilty. Can anyone shine a light on the subject? Thank you.
Are you sure your mom wasn’t asking you and your brother do dig through your pocket change to pay for that pizza?
You need to have a nice long chat with your parents and find out how much they can chip in for your education. Get a dollar figure. Then you need to eliminate everything from your list that won’t be affordable with whatever it is your parents can commit to, a federal student loan ($5,500 freshman year), any savings you already have, and what you can reasonably expect to earn during the summer and during the school year.
If you only applied to unaffordable places for this fall, then take another look around for more affordable options (for example, some of the public universities in your state may have rolling admissions, or maybe you’ve got a decent community college that you could commute to for the first two years) and/or consider taking a gap year while you re-think your application list.
This isn’t family counselling forum, but you can apologize for petty snipes/arguing, then you don’t have to feel guilty to bring anything up. You need to have a college meeting. Then you ask why you shouldn’t worry about college, ask to be filled in on why that isn’t a worry so you can stop worrying if that is the case.
What is the EFC? Financial considerations are likely the number one reason to pick colleges. That is true for most people. So you do need to discuss what the annual contribution of your parents will be, considering whatever they have saved for you and what they can and will contribute from current income. Then you know you can take your student loan, which is 5,500 freshman year. From that you can develop a college list. Use the NPC on colleges you are interested in so you can see what they will expect your family to pay. The next kid college costs aren’t a consideration for financial aid until they are actually in college.
If college isn’t for you that is a decision some people make, and that’s find if you want the associated reduced income that can bring. Or perhaps your parents can pay for some vocational training, that is something to discuss in your college meeting. But if you want to go to college, you can always start at a CC and work your way through. It seems like you need a job yourself, so look for one for upcoming summer.