Ridiculous Fin Aid

<p>Well JayJohnson, I will have to disagree with you....$100,000 BEFORE taxes may Seem like a lot of money, but it really depends on the situation....For example, if you have a mortgage, other expenses, 4 kids, with 2 in college, then it's really not a lot of money.Especially if you are hoping and praying to get accepted into an IVY school.</p>

<p>Lets also keep in mind that there are some parents out there, that will refuse to pay for their kids education. I have a friend who's parents make well over $100K a year, and told her after high school she is on her own....I felt really sorry for her because she really wants to go to a great college, and she did VERY well in HS but she also realizes that her parents make way too much money and won't help finance her schooling. I told her that she would be better off going off on her own, making sure her parents DO not file for her on their taxes since they are cutting her off, and feeling out the FASA with JUST her info. The sucky part about this tho, is that they will have the right to claim her this year since they supported her in HS. So she might have to either take a year off, or go to community college while working to pay for that in the meantime.....</p>

<p>I feel really bad for her,,,and I hate that she's in this position. I am sure there are a lot of other kids that have experienced the same exact thing..</p>

<p>how am i gonna be able to pay 31,000 a year even with a 2 thousand dollar scholarship . my parents r gunna be busting there ass off and im gonna have debts up to my head. in addition i will be going to med school back in cali and thats gunna cost a gang as well.... woooo love out of state tuition and the world .money makes the world go round</p>

<p>
[quote]
Lets also keep in mind that there are some parents out there, that will refuse to pay for their kids education. I have a friend who's parents make well over $100K a year, and told her after high school she is on her own....I felt really sorry for her because she really wants to go to a great college, and she did VERY well in HS but she also realizes that her parents make way too much money and won't help finance her schooling. I told her that she would be better off going off on her own, making sure her parents DO not file for her on their taxes since they are cutting her off, and feeling out the FASA with JUST her info. The sucky part about this tho, is that they will have the right to claim her this year since they supported her in HS. So she might have to either take a year off, or go to community college while working to pay for that in the meantime.....

[/quote]

Does not matter whether they claim her on their taxes or not. Unless she is 24 (or married/a veteran/has a dependent she supports/doing a masters or doctorate) she is a dependent for FAFSA and cannot file with just her info.</p>

<p>Are you sure about that? My cousin was 20 when she moved out on her own, and went to college at 23 and don't think she had to include her parents on her FASA...It would seem silly for her to include her parents info on there since she lived in another state and have been supporting herself for three years......</p>

<p>Dable, that might be her family's case(with the 4 kids, mortgage, etc.) but we dont know. Bottom line is that college is expensive and it seem like the vast majority of families who make $100,000 can afford tuition. If families make investments in stock or whatever ahead of time when their kdis are young, then paying for college is alot easier.</p>

<p>wrestler, ....again, college is expensive. If money is such a concern you can just go to an in-state school or community college for a few years. Why is attending an out of state school your only option? Also, pretty much everyone who goes to med school will have huge debts to pay off....its just how things work. I also find it interesting that people are complaining about tuition costs at UofA. Tuition isnt cheap, but it is alot cheaper at UA than it is compared to other schools its size/quality.</p>

<p>hm point well taken but still im just paranoid that when i do graduate ill have a big amount of debt and that it will be difficult to pay off the debt once im out of med school but u of a is the college i want to attend its been the college i have wanted to attend since i was 12 i rejected every california college i have been accepted into thus far ( slo sdsu ucsc ucr ucsb uci pepperdine )</p>

<p>Hopefully, no actually I don't believe I received a letter.
I knew there was a cap of 50 on the national hispanic scholarships so I called the scholarship office and asked whether I'd be receiving it or not and when. The lady said they had taken the cap off, and as long as I got everything done by April I'd receive my award. :D</p>

<p>That's Great Serpentine.</p>

<p>I just received a scholarship in the mail today for UofA. I got a 9K OOS scholarship and a 5K in-state scholarship. I will still have to come up with a lot more $$ For tuition, and that doesn't include room and board, but I am still grateful for what they offered me thus far. I am hoping that after a year I can apply for residency, and will only have to focus on the instate tuition. That way they can apply the 9K scholarship to another OOS student in need.</p>

<p>You cannot become a resident for instate tuition by attending school for a year. There would be no OOS students if that was the case. Make sure you check the rules with the school if remaining OOS is going to make it impossible to stay at the school.

[quote]
Requirements for Resident Status:</p>

<p>The general rule is that in order to obtain resident status for tuition purposes, a student must</p>

<ol>
<li>Demonstrate US citizenship, Permanent Residency or legal immigration status;</li>
<li>Establish their legal domicile in Arizona for at least one year immediately proceeding the last day of registration for the semester for which the student proposes to attend the University.</li>
</ol>

<p>In general Arizona domicile occurs when a financially independent person has been physically present in Arizona for at least a year with the clear and convincing intention of making Arizona their permanent home beyond the circumstance of their being a student.</p>

<p>Please note that the Arizona Board of Regents Policy states:</p>

<ol>
<li>That the domicile of a minor is that of the minor’s parent.</li>
<li>That all evidence presented in support of in-state residency be weighted under the presumption that a non-resident student’s presence in Arizona is primarily for the purpose of education and not to establish domicile. Decisions regarding residency are to presume, barring clear evidence to the contrary, that no emancipated person has established a domicile in this state while attending any educational institution in this state as a full-time student.

[/quote]
</li>
</ol>

<p>Hmmmm...I think it's still possible. My husband is relocating out there with me while I am school, so he will be working in AZ full time...so when we file our taxes next year it will be in AZ. i.e. new driver's license, new permanent address,,,,and we will have absolutely NO TIES in my current state since we will both be giving up residency. If my entire life is in AZ now, I don't see why I can't get residency in AZ, or do you still think it's not possible? I didn't have to enter any info regarding my parents, and since I am married I am considered an independent student.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Are you sure about that? My cousin was 20 when she moved out on her own, and went to college at 23 and don't think she had to include her parents on her FASA...It would seem silly for her to include her parents info on there since she lived in another state and have been supporting herself for three years......

[/quote]
I am quite sure about it. If she was turning 24 that year she would not have had to include her parents info on FAFSA. The dependency questions can be found on FAFSA. We ran into this with my son who had been financially independent for several years (and we had not claimed him on our taxes )but we still had to provide our financial info when he returned to school. He was only 21 but his girlfriend was in the same situation at 23 and had to provide her Dads info though she had not lived at home for 5 years. She did not qualify for federal aid because of it. This year she turns 24 and is able to file as independent for the 2008-2009 school year and does not provide her Dad's info. If you read the FAFSA dependency questions instructions here
Completing</a> the FAFSA 08-09/The Application Questions(48-55)
it is very specific.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Hmmmm...I think it's still possible. My husband is relocating out there with me while I am school, so he will be working in AZ full time...so when we file our taxes next year it will be in AZ. i.e. new driver's license, new permanent address,,,,and we will have absolutely NO TIES in my current state since we will both be giving up residency. If my entire life is in AZ now, I don't see why I can't get residency in AZ, or do you still think it's not possible?

[/quote]
You should check with the school. Generally the residency you start with is what you stay with. (otherwise everyone would move to another state and change residency and there would be no OOS tuition).But as you are married and therefore considered independent there may be some different rules. But do check into it thoroughly if the being unable to qualify for instate residency would make it financially impossible for you to complete your education at UA. You don't want to find yourself in a situation where Arizona does not consider you a resident and your home State also does not consider you one any more based on you being married and your husband being now an Arizona resident.</p>

<p>Thanks!!! Yeah that would suck BIG time if I am no longer considered a resident in EITHER state! But ultimately my husband has been wanting to move to AZ for a while now....So I will not only be moving to AZ for residential purposes but I ultimately we are moving there to start a new life, new family and new home....</p>

<p>Thanks for the heads up and I hope we will be able to go through the process of becoming a resident smoothly.</p>

<p>It might be worth moving then waiting a year before you start school. Check with the school if that would make you a resident or not. And how it would affect your current acceptance and scholarships.</p>

<p>Yeah, that would be a good thing to do, but I can't imagine giving up the scholarship that they offered me, so I will have to take my chances on this one. I would be afraid that they might not offer me another one if I turn it down and re-apply. But I will check with the school after next year and see where we stand....If they say no, then I will just continue to use the 9K OOS scholarship they sent me with the 5K instate scholarship....</p>

<p>To be considered an AZ resident at the UofA, you need to file a residency petition. You need to live in the state for at least a year before applying (note: applying - not starting classes) In a lot of other states, you would be considered a state resident after a year of living there, meaning you would pay one year of out of state tuition and the rest in state. They are very strict about this. </p>

<p>I have found UofA to be extremely money-hungry. For instance, I get money from a federal grant that is housed at a different university. The UofA bills the other school for my tuition and my stipend. Then, they give me my stipend as one large check per semester. At the school I got my master's at, it was the same situation, but the other school was nice enough to pay me bi-monthly and withhold my taxes, but here, to save on accounting costs, they just give you a huge check with no money withheld. They do anything to save a buck. Parking permits are ridiculous, too. This is fairly irritating because this university is one of the best-funded public schools in the nation. A few years ago, they raised almost $4 BILLION from an alumni drive. On the bright side, they poured almost all of that money back into the campus, which is beautiful. The facilities and buildings (especially for the sciences and the med school) are top-notch. Also, as of this year, the entire campus is covered by Wi-Fi that is open to the public, which is nice. Unfortunately for me, I am in the college of education, which is like the red-headed stepchild because we dont bring in a lot of research money. If you are interested in Pharmacy, Astronomy, Optics or Medicine, this is an incredible school to go to. </p>

<p>If you really want to go here, move here a year and a half before you plan to begin school.</p>

<p>I am OOS so I can realistically expect to pay about 24k per year for tuition+dorm+food. But their fin aid is pretty generous cause I got 10k per year scholarship for 4 years and I only have to maintain a 3.25 GPA to keep it. So basically I will only have to pay about 14k/year to goto school which my parents can easily cover. Some schools like UT Austin offered 20k/year but require an impossible 3.5 GPA. UCSD gave a measly 2000/year for being a regent's scholar. And UA has pretty decent tuition costs to start with so stop complaining cause it could be worse.</p>

<p>And I agree, 100k/year income is nothing with 2 kids going to OOS college 100% out of pocket while they are trying to save for retirement in 15 years.</p>