<p>I have two parents. One paid for my education. But that parent decided that the times are too hard to continue that and that it's time for the other parent to chip in. The other parent, however, can't afford it because of recent unexpected expenses, as well as a general inability to wisely manage income. The bill is due on 1/09, and I don't know where to get the money. What are my options? As far as I understand, it's too late to transfer to a public college that I could afford based on my modest savings, where tuition does not exceed 2k. Are there some kind of loans I can take out on such a short notice? Suggestions of any sort would be lovely.</p>
<p>This is a terrible situation and my sympathies go out to you. The first call to make would be to your college's financial aid office- perhaps they have loans available or can direct you to other sources, as well as work on campus. Call them tomorrow AM ASAP. </p>
<p>The next stop is your local bank to see what they might have to offer. </p>
<p>The cost of a full semester at a private school, however, is a significant loan amount, and it may not be possible for you to qualify for it on your own, especially in today's credit crunch. </p>
<p>As your parents duke this out, would it be possible for you to take a semester off if they cannot come to some arrangement before the deadline? You could work maybe full time and then return to school or investigate the possibilities of transfer if they cannot come up with a way to assist you.</p>
<p>Good luck.
If you can't come up with the funds for spring, it would be possible to go to community college in the spring.
It might be possible to go to a state college. Especially if there is one that is on quarters and you could go spring quarter, one that is close enough to commute from home.</p>
<p>A one-semester plus one summer leave of absence working and saving money and applying for scholarships might be good - if this is what you end up deciding to do, post some details and ask the wise cc folks for ideas for next fall.</p>
<p>My heart goes out to you. What a difficult situation for you.</p>
<p>How much is needed? If one of your parents or another adult will co-sign, there probably is time for you to take out a loan to cover next semester. The financial aid office can give you advice.</p>
<p>I'd talk with the school financial aid office as a start, and again with the parent that previously paid.</p>
<p>What I wouldn't do unless you're a last semester senior is take out huge loans for spring semester. If the problem continues, you'll simply be faced with the same situation next year, and this is not the kind of economy where you want to graduate owing a hunking big amount in debt. </p>
<p>It may be that you need to stop school for a semester and figure out options that do work for you - a much less expensive school, a co-op program, ROTC, ....</p>
<p>My parents were also very erratic about fulfilling their promises to pay for college, and I ended up finishing school seven years after I started. It sounds a bit gruesome, but it actually worked ok and let me graduate with under $5K in debt. (This was quite a while ago -- that probably equates to $20K today.)</p>
<p>It isn't fair, but a lot in life isn't. </p>
<p>I'll keep my fingers crossed that your parent with the financial resources comes through.</p>
<p>Although next semester is obviously the current concern, you really need to be looking longer term. If the status quo doesn't change then you'll be right back in the same boat again for future semesters. Although your parents may not have a moral responsibility to pay for your education, I think they do have a responsibility to get their own acts together and let you know where things stand for the future so you can make the necessary decisions.</p>
<p>Talk to the school immediately and see what they can help you with. Unfortunately, you may be hassled since they are concerned about people cheating and may make you go through hoops. Also start looking for loans, you may be able to get really low interest at this time -- but I don't know that for sure.</p>
<p>I second everyone who told you to talk to the school. Talk to financial aid people, but before doing so, meet with the dean of students to discuss this matter. I am sure the dean has dealt with this matter before and s/he might be able to help you work out a deal with the financial aid people. This might sound weird, but I also encourage you to look around for people who might be able to help with loans: grandparents, relatives, siblings, etc. Good luck!</p>
<p>It makes an enormous difference what amount of loans you are talking about. If you are at an expensive school where you may not be able to afford complete your education without parental help, then there is little point in taking out a very large loan for one semester if you will have to leave anyway.</p>
<p>Horrible timing to have this sprung on you with little time to figure your situation out. It is very important you talk to your school. Do not fall into the trap of going back to school and just assuming you will come up with the money to pay for it. You do not want to be in the situation of starting classes and passing the 'drop without paying' date then finding you absolutely cannot pay for it. Then you could end up in the situation of attempting to transfer but being unable to get a transcript from your current school because you owe them money. That can and does happen. Make sure you get this figured out before you proceed far into the semester.</p>
<p>I know, easier said than done giving the horrible timing.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>I'm sorry this has happened to you. Have you presented the third/third/third option to your parents? They share 2/3rds of the cost and you borrow 1/3 - that may sound much more doable to them.</p>
<p>Have the finances of the OP's parents suddenly changed? That's happening to a lot of folks these days, and if that could be the case, the OP should ask, since financial aid can be recalculated in view of a change in situation...</p>
<p>Did the parent who was paying simply "volunteer" to do this? Or was this part of any type of court-mandated custody/support agreement?</p>
<p>Most schools do have an emergency fund for this. I know I contributed to the fund at my DD college for this purpose. They will need up to date info. Like a CSS Profile with estimates. Lots of terrible things happened to good people this year and it does not reflect on a persons financial wisdom. Your college should be able to help. With new financial you may be able to qualify for work study right away, you may be able to increase your scholarship, you may be able to get a federal loan right away.
Part two, in the event of no emergency support net, start the process to transfer to a public college. Many good state colleges will accept your application on a rolling basis.
Get a plan B together in the event you get temporary emergency funding but nothing for next year.</p>
<p>With this historical economy please dont expect to graduate in 4 years. Just resign your self to persevere and do what ever it takes and if thats 5 years or 7 years you can do it. Lots of students will have interrupted schedules this year and next, how you handle adversity will be the mark of you character on your "job resume" and not how long it took you to finish college.</p>
<p>good luck!</p>
<p>Speak with Financial Aid, ASAP. One option would be to declare yourself independent of your folks; no longer a dependent of theirs for all purposes. That might help Federal Aid. But your Financial Aid office is there to help!</p>
<p>mizzou-mom, it is a misconception that students can just suddenly claim themselves independent of their parents. Federal financial aid programs do not allow students to claim themselves independent unless they are turning 24 years old by the end of the year, a military veteran, married, etc. It doesn't matter if the parents claim the student or do not claim the student on their taxes. New regulations make it very tough for a student under the age of 24 to claim themselves as independent. Think about it - most students would claim themselves independent so they would qualify for mountain of aid. If it were legal, I'd have my own kids do a gap year, become "independent" and have all financial aid, scholarships, school aid be based on their lousy part-time student job. Unfortunately, that is not how things are set up and the laws around this have only gotten tougher recently.</p>
<p>Sure, talk to the school. But I think the advice of taking some extra time to earn the money himself to finish college or even transfer to a cheaper college is a serious possibility with the OP's financial situation. It is a very tough break to have plans take such a drastic move in the middle of their college career, but there are many people looking at "plan B" these days. </p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>
<p>Annika</p>
<p>mizzou-mom, this would not be a situation that would justify a dependency override. We require documentation of extenuating circumstances (abuse, neglect, incarceration, etc). As annikasorrensen points out, <em>everyone</em> would claim they were independent if it were simply that the parent no longer is willing to pay.</p>
<p>I can appreciate how desperate OP is feeling. Some hard talks with both parents are required --- each parent needs to know that the financial aid office (not the student -- the aid officers) expect parents to contribute -- unless the parent is officially documented as abusive or neglectful (as in the teen is homeless) -- so, dear parent, what do you want me to tell the aid office?<br>
Alas, the parent(s) may want OP to go to a cheaper school. If this is the case, some tears and flexibility are in order. Where can you go for a semester or two that will transfer classes to your beloved school?</p>
<p>I hope you can fix the situation, but if all fails, I disagree that you should leave your current school now. If you stay you would be making progress and completing another semester and finishing up the school year. You could apply and conisder schools for the fall during the spring and over the summer. I hate to suggest it, but Sallie Mae should provide approval for just about any amount without a cosigner if you need for the upcoming deadline.</p>
<p>Thanks for the clarification; fortunately we are not in that boat, but I knew that for some state U purposes, one step to becoming an in state student is you have to be independent of your folks(D has several friends who have worked to be in state). Thanks for explaining! It's sad when parents put their kids in the middle of their wars...</p>
<p>Student35, the OP may be in a situation where he would need to borrow $20,000 or more to finish the school year. This would not be a good idea. If he needs to borrow $5,000 or less, I would agree that finishing out the year at his current school and applying for a transfer to a less expensive school would be a great idea, although he should double check that the classes he is taking this spring are all pretty "standard" and likely to transfer.</p>