<p>my mother (I am 42 years old) also thinks that kids should "work" their way through college. She is adamantely opposed to student loans and continually talks about how her father put himself through Law school while supporting 3 kids and a wife. Of course, this was 1930.</p>
<p>I have tried to explain that it just isn't possible -- unless you are talking about working full-time while attending community college part-time -- but she just won't be realistic.</p>
<p>Your parents need to know some facts.</p>
<p>Colleges and the gov't expect your parents will pay a portion of your schooling.They devise their financial aid calculations on how much tuition you will pay based on their pay level.</p>
<p>Colleges and the gov't do not care if your parents won't pay. </p>
<p>Princeton Univ. has an aid calculator that is very close to fafsa (I believe someone will correct me if i am wrong). Run the financial numbers with them making $60,000 vs. $ 400,000. Make a copy of both and show it to them.</p>
<p>The difference in financial aid is the extra money you have to pay based on their success but unwillingness to pay.</p>
<p>You cannot claim yourself as an independent. Copy these rules from the fafsa website and show them to your parents.</p>
<p>The average college student leaves college about $20,000 in debt. These numbers are available on the internet. This is after earning money through the year and summer. Show them that number.
Get on the internet.
Show them the cost of tuition when they attended college and the costs now. Using $5 an hour wage then and $10 an hour wage now (or even better look up minimum wage <a href="http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/blminwage.htm%5B/url%5D">http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/blminwage.htm</a> and also <a href="http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm</a>) as general guide lines show them how long it would take to pay those previous tuitions off.</p>
<p>They need to realize how much extra debt they will cause you to be in based on their income. Maybe then they will agree to kick in some money to at least make it equal in todays numbers to what they had to pay as students.</p>
<p>Good luck. heres college boards report on tuition <a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/press/cost06/trends_aid_06.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/press/cost06/trends_aid_06.pdf</a></p>
<p>lots of great advice about preparing and talking to your parents about facts and data. It appears they want you to "earn your college education" without realizing the limitations they are putting on your options. I'd also suggest you devlop and share your plan for college that show you "earning your college education" as well as the help you still need to make it work. </p>
<p>How do you show them you will "earn" your education. Show them a plan to go to college that shows
* you will work each summer full-time
* you will work over winter break
* you will work part-time during school (8-10 hours a week is reasaonbale to do without hurting your grades)
* you will take out student loans ... $10,000-$20,000 total for school.
This will be as much or more than the people in the stories from yesteryear have done ... and hopefully your parents can see you are doing your part ... what has changed is that school costs a boatload more.</p>
<p>Add your contributions all up and the gap is the help you need to attend school "X". Then hopefully your parents will see the consequences of their choice and perhaps change their mind.</p>
<p>This is crazy. My husband and I make under 70,000 and will have two Ds attending college this Fall. We pay a portion and they have the Stafford loans and some work study. I really feel that people that can afford it should help their children. Because the rich wont pay the middle and poor suffer.</p>
<p>Wow your parents are weird. My friend's parents make under 50,000 and they are paying 10,000 a year.</p>
<p>debbym-we are paying full price and more---$45,000 plus! And, we are taking care of roommates who borrow money from son $20 here, $60 there. Not to mention snacks and food that I send on a regular basis, as well as supplying some furnishings for dorm room. I would like to know why these roommates' parents are not doing more along these lines! And, believe me, I do not consider myself rich--just started planning and saving when son was born. I could live in a very nice house and take wonderful trips, but hubby and I elected to save for college. This was a choice WE made. I really do not think that the middle and poor are suffering because we ARE paying!! As far as financial aid--yes, son completed the apps for it, but of course was only offered minimal loans. You will NOT receive fin aid if you do not qualify. And no, son did not take the loans or work/study program. Therefore, when you are paying the full ride plus, I think you can imagine my thoughts. We do not regret for one minute that we have sacrificed in using the money for education, either. I applaud the original poster for being concerned about how to pay for college, but at the same time, I think some more posters have offered some very good suggestions as to how to go about financing college. Hubby and I have come to the conclusion that our generation has not done a very good job of preparing for children's college, not to mention that I don't think any of us thought that a college education might cost $45,000 plus when our kids arrived at college. ( And yes, child could have attended a less expensive school, but we wanted to give him the choice and consequently made the sacrifices thru the years!) To the original poster, keep your chin up and keep talking to your parents, etc. Things will work out!</p>
<p>No. My dad makes $500K+ (which is in the same ballpark as you) and they practically laughed us out of the financial aid office, albeit in a nice way. I think if you make much more than $100K you're pretty much screwed unless there are extenuating circumstances.</p>
<p>It sucks, though, because it's still a TON of money to pay for college.</p>
<p>Also, see if they'll cover some of it with the understanding that you will pay them back later. This way you can avoid actually taking out loans/dealing with interest/etc. but they still feel like you are not shying away from responsibility.</p>
<p>It is never a good idea to assume that there is a certain income level at which you will not qualify for aid. It depends on so many factors. The family financial situation for 5 different families making the same amount in income will yield 5 different EFCs. And the financial aid packages from 5 different schools might all be different for the same student. Running your family's numbers through a financial aid calculator, using the methodology a particular school uses (federal or institutional) will give you a rough idea of EFC ... then you need to look at each school to see how they award aid. For example, our package from Vanderbilt included far more grant money than our package from Denison. Vandy meets 100% of need, and their calculations are based on COA, which includes personal & travel expenses. If you asked people which school would cost less, I bet most would say Denison. The moral of the story is, don't assume anything.</p>
<p>Get a job and start saving until you are old enough for their income not to be considered. Hopefully they will realize (before too long) how unreasonable they are being and accept their responsibility as your parents to help you pay for college. They are doing you a major disservice. Also, have they considered that if they were still where they were when they started out (i.e. quite poor), the task they are presenting you with (paying for college without their help) would be a hundrend times easier for you? They seem like the most unrealistic and (sorry) idiotic parents I've heard about in a long time.</p>
<p>This is to notre dame AL: Do no let your son's roomates take advantage of him. When I was in college many years ago, I knew of people who would rather get help from schoolmates instead of their parents. Their parents thought that they were doing great in saving money but in fact they were taking advantage of other's generousity. Do not blame their parents, it is your son's roomates that are the problem.</p>
<p>So using #'s from college board site from my above post I came up with these #'s</p>
<p>In 1976-77 avg. private school tuition was $2534 per year.
Minimum wage was $2.30 an hour.
It would take 1101 hrs of work (prior to taxes) to pay off that tuition.</p>
<p>In 2006 avg. private school tuition is $22,218.
Minimum wage is $6.25 (Pa. anyway)
It would take 3554 hrs. of work (before taxes)to pay off tuition.</p>
<p>So for every hour your parents worked to pay for their college you have to work an additional 2 hours to pay for yours. Three times harder.</p>
<p>Over 4 yrs your parents worked 4404 hrs. each to pay for their tuitions
Over 4 years you work 14,216 hrs to pay for your tuition.</p>
<p>Feel free to check my math...it's not my strong point.</p>
<p>leungpy1--Thanks! Son is a nice kid, and has been repaid over time, but it still irks me that this is happening. We don't mind the loans and I think he has just about had enough of being the nice loan guy! I am trying to keep my nerve about everything else and trying to remember that packages from home and furnishings for a dorm room are small potatoes in the long run. I know that at least my son is hopefully recognizing what it means to be a good samaritan. Sorry to float off topic!!</p>
<p>I'm sorry but that is kind of on the evil side of your parents... I mean look at tution prices especially if you are going to an ivy! When my uncle put himself through college it was only $1000 a semester and he just recycled aluminum blocks for almost all the money.
Especially considering that now you don't qualify for any aid because your parents are so rich.. I'm sorry!</p>
<p>@sax</p>
<p>Nice numbers. I'm guessing that in the 70's, having a college degree was rarer than it is now. Thus, the median income right out of college would probably be relatively higher than it is now, adding another negative to financing your own education.</p>
<p>To the OP: You have several choices.</p>
<p>1) Loans, but they are at pretty high rates now (Around 7.5-8% for some)
2) Work and Save, but it would waste valuable years.
3) ROTC, but is that the type of thing that you would be comfortable doing?
4) State University w/ Merit Aid, but that means no Ivies.</p>
<p>Even so, I still can't believe that your parents won't pay for anything. Afterall, what is the point of working so hard just to stiff your kid? Isn't that just evolutionarily unfit?</p>
<p>Essentially, the options you have are as Lucaskhan, though I will add that there are a number of private universities with merit aid as well. You need to be up there in terms of stat compared to the rest of the students there to get substantial aid.</p>
<p>You are not alone in this. I know a number of parents who are of the same mind. Their kids have gone to local colleges parttime, worked, took loans to get through or applied to schools or programs that paid most of the expenses. If you want a full ride and get away from home, there is a thread regarding schools that offer full rides on the parents' section.</p>
<p>Gosh, I'm sorry :-(</p>
<p>This whole system where your ability to pay is based on a third party's finances is pretty sketchy. Generally speaking, a parent's legal obligations to his or her child end at age 18. Until the government passes a law requiring all parents to pay for their childrens' college, it is unethical for colleges to impute the parents' income to the child.</p>
<p>JMHO.</p>
<p>"This whole system where your ability to pay is based on a third party's finances is pretty sketchy."</p>
<p>every kid would then qualify for need based aid. Such a system does exist. Ask your kid to stay home and go to CC. They can pay for it.</p>