<p>Well, to start off, my parents are separated/divorced (I don't think they were technically ever "married") and my father doesn't pay child support. My mom doesn't even know where he lives anymore. We immigrated from Ukraine in 1997, and we didn't really have any savings when we got here. Right now my mom's income is about ~$40,000 but it has increased dramatically over the years because she decided to pursue a degree and get her doctorate (she's a psychologist now). My mom has about ~$100,000 in debt from student loans and she says she won't be able to co-sign my student loans. Normally someone would consider taking out their own student loans, right? Well... the thing is, I skipped a grade, so I'm a senior in high school right now but I'm only 17. I won't be 18 until September of my freshman year of college. I'm applying to a lot of selective schools that are out of state but have good financial aid (like USC - need blind and same price for IS/OOS). My mom doesn't think we'll be able to pay for college because of these circumstances... but I don't want to go to community college. She insists that I should just to get gen ed courses out of the way, but I already have a lot of credit from AP scores so this seems futile to me. I'm planning on majoring in film/communications which is already a really competitive field so I want to start working on that degree as soon as possible... am I being too optimistic? Will the FAFSA be generous to me? :/</p>
<p>Turning 18 in September of your freshman year isn’t “that” late, and even so being under age would only be a concern for your first year of school. You don’t need a cosigner to get federal loans, and many people on this site will discourage you from getting private loans. </p>
<p>Check out the FAFSA Forecaster here: [FAFSA4caster</a> - Federal Student Aid](<a href=“http://www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov/F4CApp/index/index.jsf]FAFSA4caster”>http://www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov/F4CApp/index/index.jsf). The FAFSA doesn’t take into account debt. The FAFSA doesn’t give students money but shows how much and which federal aid a student is eligible for. The FAFSA also gives the expected family contribution (EFC). </p>
<p>*by the way, some schools require the CSS profile as well. Info can be found on the college board website (<a href=“https://profileonline.collegeboard.com/prf/index.jsp[/url]”>https://profileonline.collegeboard.com/prf/index.jsp</a>). Each college’s financial aid web page will tell you if you need to complete the CSS or other documents. </p>
<p>However, there are exceptions to parents having to pay the EFC. Schools like Duke ([Duke</a> Expands Financial Aid For Lower- And Middle-Income Families](<a href=“http://news.duke.edu/2007/12/financialaid.html]Duke”>http://news.duke.edu/2007/12/financialaid.html)) and the ivies do not require any parental contribution if the family’s income is under a certain amount. The challenge, of course, is getting admitted to these schools. A good (but possibly slightly out dated) list of schools that are known to have good fin aid can be found here: [Project</a> on Student Debt: What’s the Bottom Line?](<a href=“http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org/ncoa_chart.php?sort=b.range_2]Project”>http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org/ncoa_chart.php?sort=b.range_2)) </p>
<p>Another option you may have are merit scholarships. Many deadlines have already passed, but you might want to check out these threads: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/148852-what-ive-learned-about-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/148852-what-ive-learned-about-full-ride-scholarships.html</a> and <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/211927-institutional-merit-based-scholarships-full-tuition.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/211927-institutional-merit-based-scholarships-full-tuition.html</a>. </p>
<p>Going to a community college could hurt you in the long run because it’s a lot harder to find need based financial aid and merit scholarships as a transfer student. Of course, a community college is a respectable way to start a college education and has the lowest tuition. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Wow, thank you for all of that information. Unfortunately it’s too late for me to apply to more schools but I made sure that all of the ones I applied to gave very good aid (like USC meeting 100% of USC-estimated need). Like you said, the hard part is now getting into these schools. My main concern with a community college is getting aid, so I think I’ve completely ruled that out. The only thing I’m really REALLY worried about is financing my first year of college… I guess scholarships will have to help me… thanks again!</p>
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<p>Have you calculated your EFC? Don’t forget what the schools estimate your need is and what you think your need is may be two very different things. Also, schools like USC may state they meet 100% of need, but are they meeting that need with loans? Not saying USC will end up giving you lots of loans, but don’t assume it will all be “free” money. Good luck.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’ve taken all of that into consideration. 
I made sure to look at schools that usually give out more grants than loans. I haven’t calculated my EFC yet but my mom and I are going to do it either tonight or tomorrow (she wants to finish tax stuff).</p>
<p>You can get a decent estimate of your EFC using last year’s tax information. You don’t have to wait until this year’s taxes are filed.</p>
<p>You are in-state for Illinois so you should be looking at Illinois public universities and community colleges as your financial safety schools. A quick search with CollegeMatchmaker at the College Board website should help you find which of these places would offer you good options. If you can’t find a financial safety school that you like, take some time to come up with a good plan for what you will do if you can’t get into any college/university that you can afford for next fall.</p>
<p>Wishing you all the best!</p>
<p>*Normally someone would consider taking out their own student loans, right? *</p>
<p>You have the same options as a 18 or 19 year old. You can take out Stafford loans. Your limits are the same as an 18 or 19 year old. They can’t take out big loans either. They would also need co-signers for bigger loans.</p>
<p>What are your stats? GPA? weighted and UW. ACT? SAT (including breakdown).</p>
<p>Are you a legal resident (green card)? </p>
<p>You need financial safety schools. You live in IL. Are there any good in-state publics that could be financial safety schools for you - just in case?</p>
<p>My weighted GPA is 3.8, but my school doesn’t tell us unweighted… I think it’s around 3.5. SAT is 2090, ACT is 31. My financial safety is the University of Illinois-Chicago and I am a legal resident of the state of Illinois.</p>
<p>Glad to hear that you have a financial safety. :)</p>
<p>However, with a 31 ACT, you should get some merit money from merit schools.</p>
<p>ARe you applying to any merit schools?</p>
<p>What’s a merit school? Like an Honors College at a state university? If that’s what you mean, I’m applying to the Honors College at UIC but I don’t think that’s what you’re referring to. XD</p>
<p>LOL…</p>
<p>I kind of used short-hand… My mistake. :)</p>
<p>What I meant was that there are schools (some private, some public) that want more kids with high stats, so they offer merit (academic) scholarships. </p>
<p>For instance, Loyola Chicago gives merit scholarships. </p>
<p>I looked at UIC’s website, and they do offer some merit scholarships. Their honors program also has some merit scholarships. :)</p>
<p>UIC Website:</p>
<p>Prospective Undergraduate Students
To be considered for most university scholarships and awards, incoming students need only complete the main UIC admission application; no additional steps are necessary. Your UIC application is then reviewed to determine which awards, if any, fit you. Students interested in applying to the Honors College, however, must complete an additional application for admission and consideration for their scholarships. </p>
<p>Here’s an Honors Scholarship you should apply for…</p>
<p>HONORS COLLEGE TUITION WAIVERS
Each semester, Honors College students who at least a 3.5 GPA are eligible to compete for a limited number of tuition waivers offered by the Honors College. Students are awarded these waivers based on a combination of merit and need. Applications are available at the beginning of fall and spring semesters online and in the Honors College lobby. <a href=“Honors College | University of Illinois Chicago”>Honors College | University of Illinois Chicago; for Spring 2010 are now available. </p>
<p>More info about UIC honors scholarships… [url=<a href=“Honors College | University of Illinois Chicago”>Honors College | University of Illinois Chicago]Scholarships[/url</a>]</p>
<p>BTW…are you a URM (a minority such as AA or Hispanic?) UIC has some other scholarhips for URMs.</p>
<p>How much is your house and other assets (stocks, savings account, etc) worth? Do you have any other children in your household? If your assets are not worth much, I think FAFSA will be generous. Also, make sure you fill out the CSS (most private schools require it). Also, you can use an aid calculator to give you an idea of what is available to you.</p>
<p>*I think FAFSA will be generous. *</p>
<p>FAFSA doesn’t give money, therefore it can’t be generous. FAFSA uses the financial information you provide to calculate a number called the EFC (Estimated Family Contribution). The EFC and a report called the Student Aid Report (SAR) is sent to the schools you have listed. Schools use your EFC along with their Cost of Attendance (COA) to determine if you have financial need and how much.</p>
<p>Update: FAFSA was incredibly generous. Using estimates, our EFC came out to be around ~$5000.</p>
<p>*Update: FAFSA was incredibly generous. Using estimates, our EFC came out to be around ~$5000. *</p>
<p>Please don’t misunderstand that. </p>
<p>That doesn’t mean that FAFSA is “generous.” FAFSA doesn’t give you anything.<br>
If you go to a school that has little institutional funds, you’ll still have to pay a lot more than $5,000. </p>
<p>Another issue is when a school (like USC) uses institutional methodology, not federal methodology.</p>
<p>What schools are you applying to?</p>
<p>As others have said, do not assume that because your EFC was 5K that all schools will only ask you to pay that much. Many schools will “gap” you and others will give you lots of loans instead of grants. You need to do your homework and apply to schools that have a history of meeting most of applicants need with grants.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Good advice.</p>
<p>But, also apply to some financial safety schools - schools that are cheap enough that your Pell and other aid will cover. For instance, state schools that you can commute to.</p>
<p>I understand that FAFSA doesn’t give you money. I’m saying I’m glad that the FAFSA formula computed a really low EFC as opposed to a really high EFC. I also understand that schools will often ask for more than the EFC. But that doesn’t change the fact that I am ecstatic that my EFC is so low.</p>
<p>The other schools I’m applying to and am financially concerned about are University of Wisconsin-Madison, UCLA, USC, NYU (I’m not sure why I applied because they have terrible finaid), Northwestern, and Carnegie Mellon.</p>
<p>UW-M and UCLA are OOS publics…they won’t give you any aid. </p>
<p>*My weighted GPA is 3.8, but my school doesn’t tell us unweighted… I think it’s around 3.5. SAT is 2090, ACT is 31. My financial safety is the University of Illinois-Chicago and I am a legal resident of the state of Illinois. *</p>
<p>Looks like you only have one financial safety school. How do you feel about going there?</p>
<p>With your stats, I’m surprised that you didn’t apply to any mid-tier schools that would give you a lot of merit.</p>
<p>You do understand UIC gives out very little merit aid. There are only about 30-50 pure merit scholarships per year given out to freshmen. UIC is the second most expensive public school in the state.</p>