<p>I went to Korea last week (I'm back now) and as a result my parents have told me that they will no longer pay for my college. In addition they will not cosign any loans for me. My dilemma is that when applying to finaid and such I'm a dependent and their income is over $300K, so I got $0 . </p>
<p>My question is with this change in my circumstances (parents willing to pay to unwilling to support) be able to warrant financial aid? Or am I going to have to get a private loan and someone to cosign? </p>
<p>Thanks :)</p>
<p>Oh and I'll be attending a public WA state school.</p>
<p>
No not at all. School’s care about parents’ ability to pay based on their income/assets, not their willingness to pay.</p>
<p>Are you a US student and an incoming freshman? Why are your parents just telling you this NOW?! Do you have merit scholarships that, coupled with Stafford loans, could make this possible on your own? If not, do you have a lower cost alternative such as CC? I hope you have a job because, as swimcatsmom said, willingness to pay is not a factor for any college’s FA decisions!</p>
<p>Did you go to Korea against your parent’s wishes? Did they tell you they would not pay for your college if you should go? Do your parents realize that if they have the ability to pay, as defined by the financial aid system, you will not be eligible for financial aid other than the Stafford loans? As a student with little or no credit, getting a loan without a cosigner is going to be difficult?</p>
<p>Do your parents perhaps think that if they refuse to pay, “the system” will take over? You may want to have a talk with them about how financial aid works here. Until you turn 24 or have certain events occur, you cannot be considered independent of your parents. Their refusal to pay is not reason enough to get that designation.</p>
<p>Are they going to permit you to live at home? Do you have any money to pay for college? Do you have a job for the summer? How are you going to pay for the semester? If your parents won’t pay, you should ask for a gap year, look for a job, and take some classes at a local state college. If things change next year, and your parents realize that you are not going to get a windfall this way, and agree to help out, you may then be able to go to your selected college. Otherwise, it’s a local school that you can afford.</p>
<p>The school won’t care that your parents now won’t pay. Otherwise, all affluent parents could just say “we’re not paying.”</p>
<p>What’s the deal? </p>
<p>Were they going to pay at one point, but then you disobeyed them about something?</p>
<p>Do they understand that you now cannot afford college? If so, what do they expect you to do next year?</p>
<p>Was there always an expectation for you to go to college…or what? If so, what would cause them to suddenly change their mind?</p>
<p>If your parents won’t budge, you’ll have no choice but start at a CC, get an unsub Federal loan for up to $5500, set aside as much as you can. Get a job, save, save, save. Repeat for soph year. </p>
<p>Hopefully, at that point you’ll have enough set aside that with fed loans for junior and senor year, you’ll have enough to commute to a nearby state school.</p>
<p>BTW…will you be allowed to live at home?</p>
<p>Wait!! Did you already go to a CC? Were you transferring to UW?</p>
<p>The reason why I ask is that my parents were approved for that loan even though they make over $300K…</p>
<p>OK…something is weird here. Why would parents who make over $300k need to borrow for a state school? Are your parents very over-extended and now they don’t want to add to the situation?</p>
<p>Good gravy…on that income, I sure hope that’s not the case! I can never fathom what some parents are thinking…even if the kid’s in hot water, one has to make the punishment fit the crime! Imo, “We’re mad so you’ll have to struggle for years on your own and maybe not graduate at all” is not a legitimate response from mature adults. But I could have retired years ago if I’d employed that reasoning with my kids, lol!</p>
<p>Ah crap I was afraid that this might be the case 
</p>
<p>I’m a US student and incoming sophomore, I completed my first year at WSU. I got approved and took out the $5500 (frosh year) because my parents wanted me to start my credit. </p>
<p>In regards to the post about the loan (for them) it was just something that came with the financial aid “package” they never actually themselves applied for it. </p>
<p>I don’t think my parents realize all the implications that their unwillingness to pay will have on me. As it stands I do have a place to live, rent free. However, that is contingent on me going to school. If I don’t go to school then I have to pay for medical, dental, car insurance, rent, phone bill, etc… Yet how can I pay to go to school? Ugh it’s frustrating.</p>
<p>Yes I disobeyed them. I went to South Korea (because that’s the culture and place I want to live) for 1 week. When I was leaving they said if I went then this would be the consequence. That was about 1 hour before I was suppose to leave. </p>
<p>They know that unless I find a cosigner I cannot afford to go to college. Me going to college has always been something that will happen, it was never a choice. </p>
<p>No I have no money to pay, my parents have always paid for everything… I’ve worked since I was 16 but that was so I could have my own money to do things with. With them having guaranteed my college, I didn’t worry about trying to pay for it myself. Again, up until a week and a half ago I was still under the assumption they would pay. </p>
<p>Thank you everyone for your answers 
This has helped so much! I really appreciate it.</p>
<p>I think this is salvageable. Your parents feel betrayed because you disobeyed them. For whatever reason, you made your choice. My guess is that they wil calm down. In the interim, you need to –</p>
<p>apologize to them, if you understand why they are upset and want to try to smooth things over;</p>
<p>plan to enroll in a community college for Fall, which will accept a late applicant;</p>
<p>find a job.</p>
<p>IF your parents decide to forgive you AND pay tuition, then you might be able to go to the other school, but if not, you have an option in community college. </p>
<p>It seems to me that there is more to this than we here on CC might understand, but I assure you that many, many people work and go to college and manage to do quite well for themselves!</p>
<p>Who paid for the trip to Korea? Perhaps that money should have been saved and used to pay for college.</p>
<p>At this point, I would have a serious discussion with your parents about your future. Find out what they DO think should be in your plans if it’s not college. </p>
<p>If their income really is in the $300K range, the schools will not award you need based aid. If your parents really won’t pay…then perhaps you will need to consider taking a leave of absence from school, getting a full time job…and earning the money to pay for college yourself. </p>
<p>Perhaps it’s time to make amends with your parents…if that is possible.</p>
<p>I’m guessing that the student used his earnings to pay for the trip. I doubt the parents gave him money for it since they didn’t want him to go.</p>
<p>I know that I may be reading tooooo much between the lines, but it looks to me that the parents were looking for reasons not to pay. I don’t know why…maybe they’re control freaks or maybe they’re having money troubles and were upset that you were spending your savings on the trip. The fact that they warned you at the last minute is why I’m thinking something else is going on.</p>
<p>When they warned you, did they say anything about money…such as…that money could be used for college or something like that. The weird thing is that the flight (a big expense) could not have been refunded at that point, so I’m not sure what their issue is.</p>
<p>Are you a boy or a girl?</p>
<p>(I don’t know why some parents do things like this…Don’t they know that they are permanently injuring their relationship with their child?)</p>
<p>And, as a lesson to us all, when you plan a trip pay the money for the “cancel for any reason” travel insurance. That way the OP could have bailed on the trip at the very last minute had he/she indeed been willing to do so.</p>
<p>I know that at this point it might be hard to accept but you made a conscious choice to go against your parents’ wishes who up to this point have completely supported you financially. It is unfortunate that this has happened particularly with very little time to make other arrangements for college.</p>
<p>More important than anything is attempting to repair your relationship with your parents. College choices and attendance will still be waiting for you. There is certainly more to this story than is being presented or is probably anyone’s business.</p>
<p>Work on your relationship with your parents. That is priority #1. Accept that you engaged in an action that could have severe consequences and penalty. Step up to individual responsibility and move forward. </p>
<p>If you are geniunely concered with repairing your relationship with your parents and present an alternative plan placing most of the responsibility for college on yourself, ie a gap year with full-time job, community college with work etc; then perhaps your parents will have a change of heart and pay for your expenses.</p>
<p>A terribly expensive lesson to take away from this though is that when you are being financially supported by others; then decisions you make are not always entirely your own. That is just the way it is.</p>
<p>Good luck with sorting out your dilemma!</p>
<p>I won the roundtrip ticket at my school at the Korean Night event. All I had to pay for was $240 in taxes. I know a professor in Korea so I stayed with him and his family at no additional expense. All of this which my parents knew. </p>
<p>My parents said nothing about the money used for this trip. </p>
<p>Oh and I’m a boy :p</p>
<p>The thing is the relationship between me and my parents at this stage seems fine. My mom even said, “we’re no longer mad at you, we’re over it. But we are still not paying for college.” What’s weird is that my parents paid for a summer class for me, and when I went to Korea I told them I would withdraw from the class so they could have their $1200 back, but my mom said “no stay in the class.” </p>
<p>I can get a private loan I think. I have a few family [other] family members that I think will cosign for me.</p>
<p>A private loan for the WHOLE cost of attending college? I would seriously advise against doing that. Your outstanding debt will be huge when you do this for the remaining three years. To be honest, maybe this “other family” member will be willing to do this for ONE year…but you have THREE. That is a huge debt burden for them to assume…and yes…as cosigners of a loan, THEY are also assuming this debt burden.</p>
<p>Work on repairing your relationship with your parents. Ask them what they hope you will be doing…since you won’t have the money to return to college. See what they view as your plans for the upcoming year. BUT be nice about it.</p>
<p>I would love to hear the parents side of this story. There had to be much more to this than the OP is letting on…</p>
<p>My parents side? Well I told them an hour before I had to leave on Friday. My mom had same-day surgery (which she recovered from, otherwise I would not have gone) the Monday prior to my leaving. So that’s their side Iron Maiden. Does that help? Oh and when I won the ticket in April they told me I couldn’t go.</p>
<p>Now I understand. Pulling college support is a bit drastic, but I can understand why your parents are furious. </p>
<p>You basically ran away half way across the world. Sounds to me like they don’t trust you any more. You need to regain their trust. It will take time.</p>
<p>You know, if one of my kids pulled one of those things on me, I think I would tell them they could sit out the year and think about courtesy and parental respect before I would support their education. Though you may legally be an adult, as my foolish sons often reminded me, they still needed my money, which I just as often reminded them. Why should I break the bank to pay for insolence?</p>
<p>^^^ The more I think about this the more I think I agree with the OP’s parents. If my kid totally disobeyed when we told then they could not do something as drastic as going half way around the world I’d pull the college support too.</p>
<p>Want to make decisions on your own and go against our wishes? Fine. You are on your own.</p>