<p>It's a little complicated, let me know if I should clarify more.
I'm a first year at an expensive LAC, I got a ton in need based grant money. No renewable scholarships
Mom will be getting a 700,000 bonus next year, so I won't be getting financial aid. My parents aren't willing to pay for full tuition next year. They told me to start applying to other schools.<br>
When I left home, I told them I wanted to be a teacher, which is a huge let down for them. I'm not sure if that's still what I want to do, but it will probably be something related to philanthropy. They think that's nice, but they're not exactly psyched about paying for that.<br>
I said I'd apply to UCLA, at least that's half of full cost where I am, and my mom said, "Yeah, but that's $20,000." (?!?!) I'm still going to apply there, cuz I'm not leaving a place I love so much for some random school, but I'm also looking into Berea, tuition-free.<br>
I totally understand, because their whole lives they've lived in poverty or borderline poverty. I feel bad taking such a huge chunk of their money, but I love the school I'm at and I want to stay.<br>
I'll be looking for scholarships, and private loans, maybe? What else should I do?</p>
<p>Is that "700,000" a typo?</p>
<p>You can see if the school will let you take one class a semester and get a full time job to pay for it.</p>
<p>Or get a full time job now, support yourself for at least a year, and come back as an independant student; financial aid offices don't really like to believe this with younger students though.</p>
<p>Since you're interested in philanthropy, you might want to look into the Bonner Scholars program (bonner.org). This program has a presence at about two dozen colleges. You still apply to the college(s) you're interested in in the usual way, and you need to contact their Bonner Scholar coordinator to find out how to apply for the Bonner program at that campus. They are looking for students who are committed to community service and working for social justice while in college, both during the school year and over the summer. According to their web site, they provide generous funding to their students, up to full financial need. They might be able to deal with your situation. You might have to talk to the campus coordinators individually to find out. UCLA is one of the 27 colleges they work with.</p>
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Or get a full time job now, support yourself for at least a year, and come back as an independant student; financial aid offices don't really like to believe this with younger students though.
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<p>This is not as simple as it sounds. In order for OP to be considered an independent student, s/he must be one of the following:</p>
<p>24 years old
completed a first bachelors degree
married
Have a child of their own for whom they are supplying more than 1/2 support for
A veteran of the armed services
be a ward of the court before their 18th birthday.</p>
<p>Berea is for low-income students, not for students whose parents won't pay. If your parents won't pay, you may be out of luck.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>Mom will be getting a 700,000 bonus next year>></p> </blockquote>
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<p>I'd love to know her line of work so I can suggest it to one of my college student kids!</p>
<p>the problem you will have -- even with something like the Bonner program -- is that you won't show any financial need next year. It is also unlikely that you will show any financial need the following year -- unless your parents can spend all the bonus money without acquiring any assets.</p>
<p>your game plan has radically changed with this bonus -- and $700,000 is an incredible bonus. </p>
<p>You need to search out possibilities for merit aid -- you aren't going to qualify for any programs based on demonstrated need and you aren't going to qualify for independent student status when it comes to FA. Which counts out the Bonner program and Berea.</p>
<p>Any chance you could convince your parents you now want to be an attorney or doctor? Would that help to convince them to fund your education? Believe me -- there are plenty of non-profit/teaching/social and community work that would love a doctor or lawyer.</p>
<p>you need a good, long discussion with your parents about what they are willing to pay -- and they need to understand what limitations that will place on you. The best merit aid is available to freshmen and that type of aid is very limited for transfer students.</p>
<p>Thumper -- didn't Julia Robert's character in Erin Brockovich get a million dollar bonus?</p>
<p>The reason I mentioned Bonner is that I talked to them about another student who had an unusual situation that didn't show up in the FAFSA, and they said they'd might be willing to work with the student on it. There's no guarantee that an approach to them would work, but it could be worth asking.</p>
<p>Warning...I suspect this won't be a popular post. Maybe it's me....but I personally think if a family has 3/4 of a million dollars in assets for the year, financial aid should not be something their child needs. If the student is receiving merit aid, fine. BUT any need based aid should go to students with NEED. It's unfortunate that this family doesn't WANT to use these assets to contribute to this student's college education. BUT finaid isn't set up for those who don't WANT to pay, it's set up for those who do not have the resources to do so. I don't know anything at all about the Bonner program....but if need is truly one of their guiding missions, I would be appalled if they worked with a family with these kinds of assets. Just my humble opinion.</p>
<p>The college won't give him/her any aid. But I like his/her determination to be a teacher despite parents refusing to pay...maybe there is a private foundation that would sponsor him/her through college for a promise to teach in an underpriviledged area. Teach America is sort of like that but I don't think it is a full free ride. The refusal to pay often comes up with financial aid and divorced fathers refusing to pay but the college counting their income in anyway...kids often have to drop out of school.</p>
<p>It's a one time bonus, and I know my school calculates bonuses differently. It was the result of my mom's hard work for 11 years and the company was sold, so it's related to profit sharing, just to clarify. </p>
<p>Maybe I should make an appointment with someone in financial aid and see if I'll probably pay one year of full tuition+everything else then closer to what I'm paying this year, or if I'll be paying the comprehensive cost for the remaining 3 years... or whatever. </p>
<p>When I go home for winter break I'll talk more with my parents. I've considered telling them that I'd pay them back the money, but gosh, how long would that take considering what I want to go into? The other thing is that, I know it's not just about the money. I don't know how else to describe it. Even if we worked out that deal, years later when I'm ready to repay them, I know they're not going to want to take my money. Does that make any sense? I don't think they're entirely unwilling to pay, but just extremely reluctant. I want to help alleviate that burden, but I want to stay where I am too. </p>
<p>What are your thoughts about going to another school for a year then transferring back to my current school? Thanks again.</p>
<p>I think a long talk with the fa department might help. the problem with such a large bonus is that no matter what the policy regarding bonuses is in terms of awarding FA, a huge chunk of that bonus will show up in subsequent years as an asset. Unless you parents can use up all that money (which can be done -- but certainly isn't advisable) those assets will show as funds available to pay for college. So it isn't just this year that you won't show need -- I doubt that you will show need for the rest of your undergraduate years.</p>
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it's related to profit sharing
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<p>Ding. Sounds like it is a one-time, lump-sum distribution from a profit-sharing retirement plan. If so, it can be rolled over into an IRA and thus be invisible to financial aid. I think you better find out if it is a "bonus" or a retirement plan pay-out.</p>
<p>I realize this student is caught between a rock and a hard place....but what is she going to say to the finaid department? "My family has a one time $700,000 bonus for this tax year only. Please can you continue my need based aid?" Sorry...but in my opinion, this is just plain wrong. Most of the families getting need based aid wouldn't see this type of bonus, profit sharing (regardless of where it goes) in their lives, never mind in one year. The key is it "CAN" be rolled over into retirement, not that it MUST be. Sorry, but it seems to me that this should be viewed as a financial choice. Simply put, the family COULD choose to roll 3/4 of that "bonus" into retirement and use the rest to fund their child's next three years of college. They are mighty fortunate financially, and I would hate to think that some college out there is going to provide NEED based aid to a family in such a situation. I know this is not a popular opinion, but there it is.</p>
<p>If what you say is right, maybe they should voluntarily pay double this year to make up for the financial aid they got last year?</p>
<p>Or is it possible that this is the parents' retirement plan and it should be invisible to financial aid, like everyone else's?</p>
<p>I'm sorry, but I have to chime in with thumper. "Everyone else's" retirement plan is worth $700K? Sorry, dt, not around here - I'll never see that much in my lifetime. (Sounds like Nelson Rockefeller back in the 60's, discussing "the average American family that makes $100,000 per year.") And your "repayment of previous financial aid" is nonsensical. You get the aid during the year you need it. The student needed it then; he doesn't need it now.</p>
<p>My h got a $50,000 one-time contingency fee. The schools considered all of that to be available for college. And they considered that as income, which increased their estimate of this year's income. Why shouldn't colleges consider three-quarters of a million dollars as available, at least to the tune of 5.25%, for the student's college? Why should it be treated any differently than anyone else's income?</p>
<p>Must go to a real IRA not a Roth IRA to be "invisible", correct?</p>
<p>Unless the school uses only FAFSA, it's not "invisible" in any event. It may not "count" as available for college in the Profile, but it is used in the calculations. For example, if the parents are in their 50's, schools realize that retirement funds become an issue. They look to see how well-funded retirement is, and often will put in an "allowance" for current income to be put into retirement funds (no, I don't know if there is a specific number for that allowance). In the OP's case (assuming that the parents put the money this year into a qualified retirement plan, and we're talking about subsequent years when the $700K is no longer "income"), a school would see a $700,000 retirement fund and reasonably believe that the parents don't need any contribution from current income to their retirement account.</p>
<p>Responding to noct, I don't think you can rollover directly to a Roth. Technically, you can roll over into real IRA, then immediately opt to convert to a Roth, if for some reason that is what you want to do. If it were rolled over into a Roth this way, I believe that the entire amount would be taxable in the year of conversion, which would not be such a great thing all at once with the top marginal tax rate.</p>
<p>Responding briefly to Chedva, I don't want to go off-topic too much and hijack the thread, but $700K is not much of a retirement plan if that is all you have. You can safely take out only 4% a year, or $28,000, which will not support such a great lifestyle. If you are far short of that, at retirement age, then you better plan on working until you are in the grave. It takes a lot of dough to comfortably retire in the absence of social security or a government or company retirement plan. This is why everybody's retirement plans are invisible to FAFSA and visible to Profile for information only, and not in the formula. </p>
<p>If the OP's Mom's "bonus" is in fact a retirement plan distribution, then it can be protected from the FA bite by rolling it over under the current rules. I'm not running for Congress, so I don't care to debate the policy behind the rules.</p>
<p>even if it could be rolled over to an IRA, it would still count as income the year it is distributed if I understand correctly.</p>
<p>I totally agree with Thumper and others who think that giving FA to this family would be ridiculous -- but since it is the student posting and asking for help and not the parents, I was trying to offer some direction as to who they might talk to.</p>
<p>My thought is that if she talks with FA, she will know for certain how they will treat this income, what effect it will have on any future FA, what the requirements are for being independent, etc. That way, instead of wondering, she will know and can make some plans.</p>