<p>In my small rural town, few children go to college - largely due to decisions their parent make. </p>
<p>Three satellite dishes on the roof. Everyone has cell phones. Daddy has an ATV, snow mobile, compound bow and top of the line hunting gear. There's an RV in the driveway (paid for by an equity loan on the house) and a yard full of toys. Add that up year in and year out and you've got college tuition.</p>
<p>Or, one parent is a political activist and the other is a potter. Self-actualization for the parents - but no money for their children's college. </p>
<p>Spare me the pity party; shortfalls in college money can usually be traced to decisions their parents make all through grade school.</p>
<p>Also the current emphasis on lavish financial aid is actually a disincentive to saving for college. The poorer you are, the more money people give you. College is not an entitlement.</p>
<p>*The poorer you are, the more money people give you. *</p>
<p>However- before the internets- there were those of us who had no idea financial aid even existed.</p>
<p>My father died when I was 17 & while I didn't graduate from high school, I did take the GED exam after prompting from my live in boyfriend, & started taking community college classes after we broke up. However, while I was getting a small SS survivor check while I was in college ( which I don't think they give to those past high school age any longer), I had no idea, about Stafford loans or Pell grants. While I did take a course called " Survival" in high school, where we learned to make a household budget, chart grocery expenses, change a tire & plan a wedding :rolleyes:, we didn't hear anything about college expenses or planning. ( I have a feeling those kids who were going to college- were taking an AP class that period)</p>
<p>Not to mention that if you don't have the background to know about and be accepted to a school that give generous aid, you are likely to attend a college that doesn't give aid, not even to meet need. Many states are in deep financial doo-doo and can't run a deficit, so that means increased costs for state schools.
ouch.</p>
<p>
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shortfalls in college money can usually be traced to decisions their parents make all through grade school.
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<p>Yeah, shortfalls in college money certainly couldn't be because the cost of college has risen over 400% in the past 25 years while median family income has increased only 147% in the same time period. </p>
<p>:: snort ::</p>
<p>I agree that the cost of education has gone up disproportionately to income, HOWEVER, Alot of parents DON"T start thinking about saving until it's too late. How many times do people come on these boards and say while their parents make 6 figure incomes, they can't pay anymore than 10K for school. I bet if you went back and did an audit of where the money went, you'd find a whole lot of money went to stuff they could have lived without if they were serious about saving.</p>
<p>and this isn't just about college costs, this is about money in general. </p>
<p>I realize there are MANY people who make 30-40K and can barely hang on (been there, done that at half that salary). Yet in the past 10 years my salary went from 25K to 65K and I managed to buy a house (that I can afford) and save enough to pay my entire EFC for 4 years out of savings (over 50K total). Most people won't live like I do in order to accomplish this. </p>
<p>I will take my 18 year old car in for inspection tomorrow and hope to heavens that I get a sticker w/o a big bill. Then I will come home and cook a $5 piece of meat in my crockpot that will make enough meat for at least 6 servings.</p>
<p>What about student loans to pay for college?</p>
<p>What about them, DocT? It's not a good idea to graduate with $50K, $60K or more in debt. Loans limit what new college graduates can do; they have to find a job that will allow them to pay back their loans. They can't take a low-paying job for a non-profit if they have a huge debt, for example, even if that's where they prefer to be. </p>
<p>sueinphilly, there are many who might make what appears to be a good salary, but because of other factors, including being on the old side and having to save for retirement, paying beaucoup bucks to provide educational/therapeutic services the public school is supposed to provide but doesn't, and so on, they might have saved enough for a low EFC, but not enough to pay the financial aid gap that occurs with many schools.</p>
<p>I live pretty frugally, but still will have trouble meeting the cost of college.</p>
<p>There are many with circumstances beyond control--supporting aging loved ones--expensive health issues poorly covered by insurance--under/unemployment--expensive COL (rentals & housing keep rising in HI--among highest in nation while salaries are relatively quite low). Also what one NEEDS & WANTS can be quite a gap at times.</p>
<p>The costs of college are far beyond what I had ever imagined when we decided to start our family. I am grateful that we are able to cobble things together to give our kids college options. We have always lived significantly below our means and have been able to absorb rising expenses as they were incurred. Hubby has been fortunate in having continuous, steady employment that he mostly enjoys.</p>
<p>I too am sad that it is so tough for many very bright and motivated young people to get the education that they would really benefit from. It will be a huge loss to society if means can't be found so they can get the education to help lead our next generation (even if their parents made choices we may not have made). Many are choosing the service to help finance their educations, which has benefitted those programs.</p>
<p>I appreciate the people who on here who know the reality. I get sick of hearing others on this site rag on people who they ASSUME have made poor financial decisions and blaming the parents. My parents and I will have a very hard time paying what my supposed EFC will be. They've always worked and been really frugal - and when I was younger, I just thought they were being cheap and didn't care about my embarrassment! ha Education is very important to them and they are really sad that I'm not going to be able to do what I had hoped.</p>
<p>Don't sit here and judge people just because you had the good fortune to have things work out for you while you were "scrimping". We never had the new cars (our newest car now is 1996), the $$$ cable and movie channels. My parents both work and my dad actually has two jobs now. Our first house was a $15000 fixer upper that they worked on, and when we moved to be closer to their work the house they bought was barely over 100,000. We eat non-name brand foods and I pack my lunch for school. There have been medical costs due to a chronic disease. My parents have had to help my two grandmothers who have health issues including financially because the government says they can work - although I'd like to know what type of work they can find for someone who is completely bedridden with MS and cannot speak or move her limbs (no, I'm not exaggerating. We've yet to get an answer.). </p>
<p>They always warned me that the price of college was rising so fast that they knew things would be tight and I would have to work hard in school to earn some aid. And that was before this economy went in the toilet. And I'll barely get any aid. My mom still has her tuition bill from her first semester at a large state U - $700 a semester. She was able to work as cashier at a grocery store for minimum wage and pay that and go full-time. I could never do that at that U now, even with two jobs.</p>
<p>So before you sit back and judge while your kid trots off to whatever $$ Univ., you'd better remember there may be more to the story.</p>
<p>One of the reasons that students cannot afford college is because our leadership has elected to make very poor decisions regarding resources. In today's "Chronicle" there is yet another article/expose about massive over billings of the USDOE by corporate lending institutions. This time to an amount estimated to be beyond 1 billion dollars. </p>
<p>Looking at that amount of 1 billion dollars; if we assume a semester tuition of 4,000 per term (for example at a CC, and that would be a higher estimate at some smaller schools) that over billing alone would have fully paid the tuition for about 62,500 students. And since the actual numbers of the over billings are likely to be much, much higher how many families or students did lose a priceless chance for education as a result of such rampant corruption? </p>
<p>Student loans, as they currently exist are mainly beneficial to corporate lenders (the same people who've over billed that little matter of 1,000,000,000) and certainly not students. And definitely not the students from lower classes who rarely make enough to pay back the inflated costs of tuition, compounded interests, fees and etc levied by our current morally and financially implausible system. </p>
<p>To state that students cannot afford college because of parental lack of savings, or other allusions of irresponsibility is a bit of a red herring. College costs as noted have increased well beyond average incomes. For example per year since the turn of the century college costs have increased 6%, whilst non debt based student aid has not increased in any notable matter for almost a generation. </p>
<p>As so many have noted, including the esteemed Elizabeth Warren, what has happened is the middle classes have lost earning power, but have been exposed to an increased debt load (including education)...so its not a matter of excesses or irresponsibility insofar as rabid acquisition of DVD's, latte's or whatever but a very real condition of a whole class losing economic ground. </p>
<p>But hey as long as a billion or so doesn't go to those who actually need it...it's all the free market at work? If of course one's definition of free market or ethical responsibility manages to closely coincide with William Marcy Tweed and Al Capone...</p>
<p>fried:
Not sure of your particular circumstances, but I empathize with you. Everyone I knew, when I was in high school and college, had a car -- I rode a bike or took the bus. I had no money for extras. My family contributed what they could. The good news is that I managed and you will, too. I suggest checking out community colleges and getting a part-time job. You sound as though you have a very good head on your shoulders.</p>
<p>It's true that community colleges are generally quite inexpensive & often offer on-line options that make scheduling much more flexible to work with competing demands and also allow the flexibility of going part-time and nights. My D has been attending CC for 3 semesters & it has generally been under $1000/semester, including books. That is less than the cost of one course at the flagship U, excluding books! The good news is that most Us do accept most courses completed at CCs and it has the added benefit of less stress in choosing your preferred field & some options that aren't available in other settings. Many of the certificates offered in community college are in high demand--Emergency Medical Technicians, Respiratory Therapists, and others. Some of them also have an agreement where you can get a 4-year degree in connection with the vocational training so you get readily marketable skill with your college diploma.</p>
<p>However- before the internets- there were those of us who had no idea financial aid even existed.</p>
<p>And there are still people who have no idea, even with the internet. My state provides one of the MOST generous offers to a college bound hs student: graduate with a 2.5 and you're in. Maintain the 2.5 and you get tuition paid for 8 semesters (lottery scholarship). Have a higher GPA and good test scores? You get tuition and fees paid for from the first semester plus stipend options. Yet we still have kids (and parents) who can't seem to figure things out. There are workshops, senior, and FA nights galore and few show up. Parents are notified through phone calls, teacherease, emails, etc. and the kids are reminded at school with posters, school TV, etc. and still the turnouts are poor. What do you do to reach people like these?</p>
<p>csleslie51 - are there alot of eligible students not taking advantage of this great opportunity from your state. What I'm saying is, just because they don't show up for a workshop, does that translate into the kids not utilizing the benefit (I never went to a FA workshop because I had done all my own research and didn't need someone to spoon feed me the info)</p>
<p>sueinphilly, they don't show up AND they don't go on to college. I have talked to parents who think it would be cheaper for their kids to go to the CC instead first (in our case, if you qualify for the lottery scholarship, it is far cheaper to go to the university!) even though their kids qualify for some of the "right off the bat" scholarships. No, this isn't a case of parents and kids doing it on their own. Believe me, they DO need to be spoon fed, with the easiest digestible info to boot. I give workshops at each of our public hs each year and am continually amazed at what people don't know. Most kids in our state stay in state and even they miss the deadlines for applications and other scholarships. The schools' websites are pretty clear, so that isn't the issue. The biggest hurdle is many parents here just have it in their mind that college is not affordable and don't bother to find out if that is true for them or not. So many of our kids would qualify for the Pell on top of the "free" tuition. They also live at home. If that doesn't make college affordable, I don't know what does.</p>
<p>If the HS teachers know about these options & would let the relevant kids know, that would probably be the most effective way to get the message out (to the extent there is communication between teachers & students in the HS). It's great that your state has these options available & I predict that more kids will learn about them & use them. Keep trying to spread the word!</p>
<p>Could the info be printed on or attached to the HS report cards--FREE SCHOLARSHIP to ALL QUALIFYING STUDENTS WITH 2.5 or above?</p>
<p>Wow, that is sad that the kids and parents don't know/care/want to bother.</p>
<p>Some people just don't want to deal with anything that takes a little time and some paperwork. </p>
<p>I can't believe they are so apathetic! </p>
<p>Most people don't even graduate from high school...how can you expect them to show up to a college night? I'm with csleslie51 those people don't go to high school nor college. I think it should be mandatory to go to community college for two years. A lot of kids are going to college that shouldn't be going and getting into major debt or using a spot another kid could have used that actually would have succeeded in college. It will save the parents and students money too and allow the student to see if college is for them, choose a major, etc.</p>