Student loan questions, newbie here.

Hello and please be gentle.
We are family of 3-mom, dad and one daughter. Income about 70,000. EFC is around 10,000. Why do they not figure out EFC with your income minus taxes,insurance, etc? I think a true “take home” amount would be more realistic in regards to EFC. We currently pay $600 month in health insurance with a $4,000 deductible. So, DD gets zero in grants or aid. We do not have anywhere near $10,000 to contribute.
So she went to the local CC for the first year and her gpa was 4.0. DH got transferred to another state and DD had to wait an entire semester to continue or she would have had to pay OOS tuition. So she went for her third semester and also finished with a 4.0. Again, no grants or merit $ from the CC. She has applied for scholarships nonstop and has gotten nothing. She is not a STEM student, etc…where all the $ seems to be. She is very frustrated at this point, as are we. So, going forward with her 4th semester, I am wondering if she should take all of the loans ($6500) that she can in case she needs the money when she transfers to the local 4 year college–does that make any sense? I mean she can’t decline some of the loans now and then ask for them retroactively, correct? The 4 year will be more, of course, She will take the max out THEN, but I am thinking of a cushion, money wise. Right now, she has enough to pay for this semester and will continue to live at home and commute, as that is the only way she can afford to go to school. I am thinking about next year, at the 4 year school…and once again, counting on zero grants or scholarships.
She is a LA major and has health issues, but pushes forward and usually maintains her 4.0 gpa. I know we are not the only family frustrated by the lack of grants/ scholarships, but I am looking for some guidance. We live MOSTLY paycheck to paycheck-one car payment, house payment, about 20,000 in a 401 but are in no way able to pay 10,000 or even 5000 per year towards her education.
Not looking for sympathy, we are glad to have jobs, but being married and working seems to be working against our daughter. If she were the child of divorced parents, had a parent in prison, was trans or gay, etc. there are many more scholarships for her…but she’s just the kid of two parents who are middle class and married. When did that become a detriment???

@kelsmom would know if undergrad loans have to be taken out before the end of the current school year. It doesn’t seem like it would be possible for a junior to apply for a soph loan. My son was offered a loan as a freshman but turned it down. It didn’t appear in his soph year portal.

If offered, she can take the subsidized loans out and bank them for later.

Does she have a summer job?

She could take the loan for this semester, but it will be for 1/2 the $6500, not the entire sophomore amount. Are you filing for the $2500 AOTC if you have uncovered tuition and book costs?

Does she belong to the honor society that gives scholarships for community college transfers? Has she been to the FA office at the CC or just relied on filing the FAFSA hoping for financial aid? She needs to go and ask. Squeaky wheel and all that. What state did you move to? Some schools do have transfer scholarships although they are often less than those given to entering freshmen. For example, my daughter’s school has them but they max out at $12k per year while freshmen can get $15k-25k. Still, worth hunting for since it is better to get less than to get nothing.

If FAFSA switched to a ‘take home pay’ calculation, all the figures would just be adjusted. Most people who make $70k pay about the same in FICA and other required deductions. The formula already adds back the retirement contributions. Everyone is in the same boat. You are just in the doughnut hole with the rest of us.

The FAFSA EFC formula does take into consideration household size, taxes paid (federal, state, soc sec) and the parents get an income protection amount and asset protection amount, student only income protection amount.

But we are in a similar situation, can’t easily pay our EFC.

Your D has a great GPA, the CC might not have the budget to give much merit. But she can ask the transfer advisor at the CC or the FA office at the schools she hopes to transfer to about transfer scholarships.

http://www.jkcf.org/scholarship-programs/undergraduate-transfer/financial-need-estimator/

Also check into the Jack Kent Cooke transfer scholarship, but it would be a long shot.

Are gay or trans students really getting special scholarships?

No, there aren’t loads of special scholarships out there for gays.

I’ve been considering this myself, and I think taking out at least the subsidized portion of the Stafford loan makes sense. You’d have it for next year when you need it and, if you don’t, you can pay it back upon graduation and only be out the fee.

Everyone has been really gentle.

But you really need to realize this is not a true statement:
“If she were the child of divorced parents, had a parent in prison, was trans or gay, etc. there are many more scholarships for her…but she’s just the kid of two parents who are middle class and married. When did that become a detriment???”

If these kids are getting scholarships it is because they have some sort of excellent activity/service/stats/scores and/or can demonstrate financial need. Kids whose parents are divorced might have more financial need (but not always of course!) and kids whose parents are in prison…heck if that kid can get a scholarship I say MORE power to him or her! That is a kid who deserves a leg up in the world for sure.

I hope you get some real answers here and good luck!

No summer job-in therapy for anxiety and doing well-
and volunteering full time at a museum.

Couldn’t she find a paying job rather than 40 hours/week museum volunteering since you can’t easily afford college?

Yes, it is nice to be a volunteer, but sometimes one doesn’t have the luxury to do that and has to take a paying job. You haven’t said if there is a 4 year college she can commute to from your new home. If there is, the loan and a summer job may be enough to cover tuition and transportation.

Yes, her 4 year college is within driving distance from our home.
She is volunteering because is hoping to get an internship there, which is directly related to her degree.
Also, as I have said, she is in therapy for anxiety. She has multiple health issues, as well.
She is in Phi Theta Kappa honor society, but alas, she has gotten nothing from that affiliation, as far as a scholarship. She is not a “leader”, and apparently, they are looking for that on most apps. She has been a member since semester one of college:(
And yes, you would be surprised at the number of scholarships for gay/trans students, I am not joking.
As far as prison, here’s my personal take on that. I have a brother who is a felon, but intellectually very smart. He decided to go to CC and he got $7,000 in grants…$7,000!!! He enrolled long enough to keep what money was left from books,etc. and then quit. That was money down the proverbial drain, that someone else could use…and that was my brother! He left with thousands of free money. Bitterness will get me nowhere, I understand.
I guess my thought is that we must be middle class at $70,000…and expected to pay $10,000 for tuition.
So…her awesome grades mean nothing because of the financial class we are in, and that’s hard for her to understand. She sees scholarships where you only need a 2.5 and she wants to bang her head on the desk!!

If your D is currently enrolled in school at least half-time when requesting a loan, she can get whatever she is eligible for … if she is only enrolled in one semester this year and is a sophomore, she can get up to the $6,500 annual loan limit but it is dependent on her one-semester cost of attendance … if the COA for a semester is not $6,500 she can borrow the COA. It will be all unsub, though, correct? You need to factor in the interest it will cost her (if you choose to do it this way, try to make payments toward the interest so it doesn’t end up capitalizing & thus making the loan more expensive).

You are in the same boat as MANY families. Federal aid is intended to benefit the very poor.

Surprise us with a list of the scholarships for gay/trans students. People may find that useful.

@speculator

How much is the tuition at the school she’ll be going to? If it is $7500 or less, I would not take the sophomore loan, just take the junior loan and pay for other expenses (commuting, meals, books) as they arise. If she isn’t going to work, parents have to make up the difference. It might be nice to have the ~$3000 cushion, but there will be interest and fees on that loan and if you don’t really need it, it’s rather expensive. Figure out how much from your budget you can afford, whether it be $20/wk for gas or $500/mo for part of the tuition.

Again, volunteering with the hope of getting an internship or permanent job is a luxury. Someone with health issues might do better working 10-15 hours than volunteering 30-40 hours per week, getting used to working and the responsibilities, dealing with employers and demands. It wasn’t clear if she’s transferring in January or taking another gap. If a gap period, maybe she could find a job at her new school and get to know some other students, get involved in a few activities. If going right to school, she could work a few hours in her department office or the library.

If you want other financial aid, have her start bugging the current school and the future school financial aid offices. They are going to be the ones who know the scholarships in your area for those schools. You might also look on the website of a local high school and see if they post scholarships. Most will be for current seniors, but every once in a while there will be one that anyone going to XXX college can apply for. Last week I saw one posted on my daughter’s college webpage for a scholarship by a women’s club for any year in school, but limited to just 5 colleges in the area.

@Madison85 Here’s a database - you need to search by state
http://www.hrc.org/resources/scholarship-database

As a point of fact, some kids of divorced parents pay MORE. The schools can include the income from step moms and step dads as well as bio parents. So possibly four working adults incomes added together. AND you have to deal with getting two families to meet the(ir) portion of the EFC regardless of how they get along.

This is complicated and I hope you get useful advice.

How do the scholarship people know that the applicant is actually gay/trans? What kind of “test” is there for that?