someone please help me figure this out!!

Paying for College
1

<p>I'm trying to get into the nursing program at my community college. Right now, I work full time and go to school at night and have been paying for school on my own. I live with my dad but he does not support me. Car payment, phone bill, credit card bill, food, gas, necessities etc are all paid for by me. My dad does not help me out with college at ALL due to his bills, child support he pays every month, paying for his fiance's bills etc. (all of this on his 50k a year salary)</p>

<p>If I get accepted into this nursing program I will no longer be able to work full time (MAYBE being able to work 4 full days a week and that's pushing it do to the amount of schoolwork I will have) Which, in turn, means I won't be able to pay for all of my bills along with school. Due to this issue, I filled out the FASFA and it said my EFC is 9500 which would seem accurate for my financial situation right now but what about my financial situation if I get accepted into the program? Will the financial aid I get be enough to cover my tuition along with a few bills I have to pay? </p>

<p>Just trying to figure this all out.</p>

2

<p>The salary you earned in 2013 is what your need based aid will be based on for the upcoming year. If you worked full time, that is likely why your EFC is what you got. How old are you? If you are under 24, and you live with your dad, you are required to put HIS income and assets on that FAFSA as well.</p>

3

<p>Also, you need to keep in mind that your EFC will not be the sticker price for the school. The school does not have to meet your financial need. If tuition is 25K, for example they can still charge you that amount.</p>

4

<p>Since this is a CC, the tuition shouldn’t be too high.</p>

<p>Can you live at home and commute? If so, that will save you a lot of money.</p>

<p>You also can work over the summer. </p>

<p>You’re working now, right? Save as much as you can!!!</p>

<p>You can borrow $5500 towards your college costs. If you work over the summer and borrow $5500, that should be about enough to cover your CC costs if your dad will let you live at home. Can you work only on weekends during the school year? If so, that can pay for gas and incidentals.</p>

5

<p>Many nursing homes, etc. are happy to hire nursing students. It is a way to get a little bit of experience that can make your studies more useful. Maybe you could get a full-time job there over breaks and the summer. Many places like to hire nursing students to fill in for nursing aides who are on vacation during those periods.</p>

<p>However, some full-time nursing programs tell their students they shouldn’t try to work during the school year once clinicals start because they will be too busy. </p>

<p>That is an interesting question - how does financial aid handle a situation where you currently work full-time but will become a full time student? Your college’s financial aid office may have some suggestions.</p>

<p>It is possible that you may not be eligible for grants this year, but may be eligible for grants in your second year of college. That may mean relying upon loans to a greater extent your first year. </p>

<p>Also, check out the availability of college need-based grants from your state. In my state, the state makes college grants to many middle income students who are not eligible for federal pell grants.</p>

6

<p>Are you under age 24? If so unless you have some other situation going, like being a veteran, having a dependent, married, you are dependent even if your dad or any parent has not provided any support for you. That you are living with the parent, is automatically means you are getting some support. Why are you living there unless there is a benefit, probably financial to you? Like some subsidy of what rents would cost otherwise, the cost to move somewhere else, the utilities, all the little extras that add up. When you have your own place and truly have to pay every penny of your living expenses, your realize that just living in a parent’s home is support. Are you on his health insurarance? If it’s costing you more to live with him than to move out, I suggest that. Otherwise you are getting some support.</p>

<p>So, if you are dependent by FAFSA standards (which has NOTHING to do with support by the way), you need your dad to fill out the parent’s part of the form or get his tax info and a list of assets the day you fill out his part of the form. </p>

<p>Charlie, the way it works when you work full time, but quit or take half time work to become a full time student, and you are an independent student, is that you let the financial aid office know when your job hours are cut or you quit, and you ask for professional judgement. You have no job then just as a parent who loses a job. If you are dependent. that’s just tough beans from what I have seen (yes, I’ve had some personal experience in this) though you can try to get the same PJ. So you take the hit to get the money rolling, maybe go on a payment plan, and hope that you get a PJ for dislocated worker as an independent, which could give you a zero EFC and full PELL. Some schools and programs are inclined to do this very quickly, as they rely on getting as many students PELL eligible. They have that mouth to the federal teat and they know how to milk it efficietly. THey aren’t giving up any of their own school money, so what the hey? </p>

<p>For independent students, or any students, I believe the formla is like half the income over $6K and no asset protection (?) with a 20% at least, asset hit, so if the OP or any student is saving money, it would be wise to pay Dad for expenses of living with him, and have him stash it in a joint account with his name and ssn primarily.</p>