<p>Brownhopeful, I just want to acknowledge that you are working very hard to find a solution that works for you and for your family. You situation is really stressful, yet you’re hanging in and continuing to work toward a positive outcome. I don’t know too many high school seniors who would have called a financial aid office before applying ED to work through the numbers, and I’m sorry you ended up with a misleading response.</p>
<p>Schools that give need-based aid will all respond differently to your situation. When my first daughter was accepted to college, my husband had recently become unemployed. Among the need-based schools she was admitted to, one school was willing to adjust their financial aid offer right away, one said they could “look again over the summer,” one said they would reconsider second semester, and a couple said they would consider readjusting their offer in a year. All of these schools were tippy-top rated for their aid. It was really hard to know what to do, because the one school that adjusted right away still came in higher than the ones who insisted on waiting. We had to either pick the school we guessed was most likely to adjust in our favor later on, or go with the state school that we knew we could afford.
I think if you look back through the advice you’ve received, some (not all) is specifically responsive to the questions you’ve raised. You’ve got a couple of suggestions for other merit aid possibilities. A couple of people have opined that Vassar has probably given all that it’s going to give. Now – will other schools work with you as Vassar has? Some probably will, some will not. But no one can tell you whether or not any school will come up with 17,000 that Vassar would not. Based on my experience going through this process with ONE and only one kid, I doubt it. Cost of attendance varied by 5 - 8,000/year, not more. I do wish you luck, and will be back if if I can to talk about a couple of the schools mentioned above as possibilities for you.
I’m sure some of what I said reiterates what you already know. I hope some of it also helps a little. Please know that all of it is said with the intent to be supportive.</p>
<p>Cross-posted with Classic Rocker Dad. I do think SUNY Geneseo is a good suggestion. They come in at 30,000 a year, so with your 5,500 Stafford loan you would have to come up with a $4,500 summer job every year to swing it, but perhaps that’s a possibility? You would find other students there who were admitted to Vassar but decided that Geneseo was a smart choice for a liberal arts education.</p>
<p>Brownhopeful, I know HUNDREDS of people who are mentally ill the same way your parents are. It is NOT going to give your family a pass on what they should be paying for in terms of college costs. You can go ahead and give it a try at other schools, but I am pretty sure that most all of them will react exactly the same way in terms of financial aid. Merit, if you are what a college wants, it will pay for. Financial aid, nope. Your family does not quailfy mental illlness or not. The direct medical costs of mental illness as well as physical are taken into account but not paying your taxes and spending irresponsibly simply are not. Too many people in that boat to give it that kind of leeway.</p>
<p>So if the colleges you want do not give merit money, such as Vassar, no, you are out of luck unless you can strike a deal with financial aid to give your a professional judgement pass. I am telling you out and out, I wouldn’t give you one for that reason, and I’ve been in the position of giving passes for mental illness consequences in a lot more serious situations. The IRS has not given them a pass either. I’m trying to give you a realistic answer. ED is usually the best time to get some kind of lenient reading of the financial situation because colleges really want a 100% acceptance of their ED students they accept. And Vassar is a school that is way up there in terms of givng 100% of need and looking at the picture as generously as they can. So, it is highly unlikely that a school that gives no merit money will give you the financial aid you want by looking past the owed payments your parents have to make. Sure, give it a try, but that has been what I have seen in situations far more dire and heart wrenching than yours. </p>
<p>Your best chance is looking for those schools that have merit awards that you can snag. I would be looking at some where the deadline has not yet passed. But when you are talking a “name” school and/or a selective one, even gaining admissions is a tough go, and getting the very few merit awards that they offer is truly a low chance lottery ticket. Though I think you should give it a try, you should also be realistic about your chances. You’ve done a great job in having some low cost schools on your list so you will certainly find a spot in a school your family can afford. But schools in the same category as Vassar, uh uhn, no, I don’t think they will give your family a pass on financial aid eligibility. The ED try was your best shot and they declined.</p>
<p>I’d like to add a couple of things to consider. One, it appears that Vassar ED is not doable. So I assume you’ve let the ED offer go for FA reasons and will be making your decision based on regular admissions round?</p>
<p>You have some great options already. It can’t hurt to see what the other private colleges on your list will do in terms of FA - you’ve already applied and they will come back with what they come back with. You have time to decide if whatever they do is enough.</p>
<p>If as you say there is serious instability in your family, mentally and financially, consider the advantage of the free ride. You earned it with your academic credentials. If you keep your GPA up, presumably you get to keep it. It in no way depends on your parents’ situation financially or mentally. These are factors I would consider in making this decision when the time comes.</p>
<p>Best of luck to you as you move through the process.</p>
<p>The OP has some good options already. S/he has done a good job in making sure the list had affordable choices likely to accept her. She also chose an ED choice that had a maximum chance of giving leeway to the financial picture. It didn’t work but I couldn’t pick a school more likely to give it a pass. It just wasn’t a go. What the OP wants is a school similar to Vassar in name recognition, selectivity, rankings, etc as an option that will give enough money to make going there possible. I don’t see it happening unless she wins a merit award which has already happened ast some school, just not the ones that are in the category s/he wants. The schools of the type that s/he is seeking are highly competive in any merit awards they give, but certainly the OP should give them a go. Duke has a full ride, JHU has some great merit awards, Vanderbilt also has merit money. I don’t know the deadlines of those schools and of the awards. But they are incredibly hard to get. UChicago has some merit money too, and it is a possibility that the OP gets some. A lot of the awards are not announced till the end of the process in the spring. So let the apps for those begin, for the OP. But they are extremely competitive.</p>
<p>As for any financial aid offices of schools in the same category as Vassar that might give the OP’s family situation a pass, no, I know of none. OP can talk to every single one of them. Many fin aid folks will not give absolute no’s on the phone. Untill all the paperwork is in front of their faces, they are not going to commit to anything. But I don’t think it is going to be a go. ED is when there is the most pressure on Fin Aid to be generous even at the chintziest schools, and Vassar is not in that category, and they did not cough up the money during ED.</p>
<p>cptofthehouse, I agree with a lot of what you’re saying, but you’re completely misconstruing myself and my family and it’s actually pretty offensive. You really don’t know the situation other than there is mental illness involved. What “way” are my parents mentally ill in? (Apparently the same way “HUNDREDS” of other people are??) Also, thanks for letting me know that the IRS doesn’t give a “pass” for mental illness, because I didn’t know that clearly. It’s not like that’s been one of the defining life moments.
I just think it’s kind of silly to be on the internet bullying teenage girls about how their family is situation is not as “dire and heart wrenching” as other families because I live in a nice house and go to a nice school. As for how I am apparently choosing schools on “name recognition, selectivity, rankings, etc”…I don’t even know how to respond. All I want is to be happy, sir/ma’am. In my small city in Indiana, no one has an clue where Vassar is or if it’s even a good school. That name holds exactly NO bearing. I chose it because it is a small liberal arts school with an amazing English/writing program and an open curriculum, among other things. It’s where I would be happiest. I’m not applying to JHU or Vanderbilt because they don’t fit any of the factors I would like in a college. Seems like all of the other people who answered my questions got that, and you didn’t.
Now, to wrap this up, I understand your answers weren’t meant to personally hurt me, but they did. You ought to remember that I’m an actual teenage girl reading your messages, not some nameless face. I have a feeling that you’ll comprehend exactly none of my anger towards you, but that’s okay.</p>
<p>Assuming that your family would sell the house if not for the lien, the NFTL doesn’t make a sale impossible.</p>
<p>If the equity in the house is sufficient to pay off the lien, the lien gets paid off at the time of sale, as if it were a mortgage, and your parents get anything that’s left. There’s no issue whatsoever there. You do need the IRS to approve paperwork (<a href=“http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p783.pdf[/url]”>http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p783.pdf</a>) , but a full pay scenario gets processed quickly.</p>
<p>If the equity in the house isn’t sufficient to pay off the lien, you can request what’s called a “discharge of the specific property” when you’ve got the sale lined up. That’s also done on Form 783. The IRS will take all the equity, which might mean you could re-negotiate the installment agreement down to a lower monthly amount. Presumably the plan would also to be to move into housing with a lower monthly cash flow, which would also help.</p>
<p>Thanks, I think I misunderstood the situation. But it is basically impossible to sell the house in the condition its in and in the current housing market, anyway. Also, we’re upside down on the mortgage.</p>
<p>But it is basically impossible to sell the house in the condition its in and in the current housing market, anyway</p>
<p>This is another reason why you should take any free rides or near free rides that are offered. The idea that your family should spend twenty thousand per year on your college (eighty thousand over four years) is silly when that money needs to be put into the house to get it in better shape. </p>
<p>There are other schools with good writing programs. Maybe you need to make a new thread with a title such as: Need College with Strong Writing Programs and Huge Merit. In the body of the post, include your stats and your need for a full or near full ride. Someone probably knows of a LAC or similar that would work for you. </p>
<p>I need to mention: Cpt wasn’t bullying you. She was just trying to explain why things hadn’t worked out as you had hoped and that you have to move on. A family with that kind of income isn’t going to get $40k+ in aid. You got more from Vassar than likely most schools would ever give you for need based aid. </p>
<p>As for Cpt’s references about the type of mental illnesses…She may be guessing that your family members are suffering from Major Depression, Bi-Polar, or something along those lines since they are able to still be functional and earn so much money. If so, then many of us know many people who suffer from the same things. </p>
<p>It’s unfortunate that Vassar wasn’t more forthcoming before you applied ED, and it sounds like they may have misled you.</p>
<p>[University</a> of King’s College | Halifax, Nova Scotia | Interdisciplinary Undergraduate and Journalism Degrees](<a href=“http://www.ukings.ns.ca/]University”>http://www.ukings.ns.ca/) Small college with 1st year great books program ~26.5K, affiliation with larger college in Nova Scota</p>
<p>[Mount</a> Allison University :: Sackville, New Brunswick Canada](<a href=“http://www.mta.ca/index.shtml]Mount”>http://www.mta.ca/index.shtml) - Liberal Arts College in New Brunswick, Canada, ranked #1 by Macleans (FWIW) ~25K total cost. Also has scholarships you can apply for. </p>
<p>Not sure when the financial aid office will be back and open at Vassar for you to talk to them…BUT, I highly recommend you take everyone’s advice and have a financial safety in hand that will cost your parents $20,000 or less and you are willing to attend. I don’t think anyone is being offensive to you…sometimes young people come on this thread and they just convinced they will “find a way” and are less than willing to consider that their college choice just isn’t going to work. I’m NOT saying this is you…I’m just punctuating the thread with my comment. Mostly people here are “trying” to talk to you like an adult.</p>
<p>Also…will Indiana give you “free tuition” or a “free ride”? If it will give you a free ride (tuition, room, board, etc), then seriously consider that. IU is a lovely university. Yes, it’s large, but likely the bldgs are clustered by type (STEM classes in one section, Business in another, etc) so you won’t be criss-crossing the campus all day long. Also, if you look at bldg locations when you schedule your classes, you’ll also avoid excessive walking around.</p>
<p>Classic RD, I came up with $30,000 for King’s (including housing, required meal plan, health care fee, etc.), and have confirmed that cost with the registrar. I think you may have missed some of the costs for non-Canadian citizens, which is easy to do. OP, you might be granted a $2,500 travel scholarship at King’s, and you can apply for an Entrance Scholarship of up to $6,000. Still puts you a bit over budget.</p>
OP’s parents both suffer from “depression and bipolarity,” as stated in another thread. Gambling was involved (I’d wondered if that was the case), as, “…basically, one parent spent/gambled and controlled all the money.”</p>
<p>Brownhopeful, the suggestions you have been given really come down to the answer you already have. You will have a lot of college options, but not likely at schools with the name recognition and ranking of Vassar. Give some merit awards a try. Vanderbilt has some. U Chicago does too. But as you know, the more selective and popular the school, the more difficult to get a substantial merit award.</p>
<p>If there is a gambling addiction and other possible future financial problems, then that is an additional reason for this student to choose an option that doesn’t require much/any payment from the parents. </p>
<p>It’s too risky to accept a situation where the parents have to pay $20k or so each year. In a future year, this student can easily find herself in a situation where the parents won’t be able to pay the $20k. At that point, she’d have to come home and other schools’ scholarship offers will not be available anymore.</p>
<p>This is just too of an unstable situation…parents mentally ill, owing a LOT of money, home needs upkeep attention, and a gambling problem. This student should protect herself and enroll in a school that won’t require much from her parents.</p>
<p>You know, Brownhopeful, with this new piece of information, I sort of have to agree with mom2collegekids. </p>
<p>Unless you can get the $85,000 now ($20K with a 4% tuition inflation bump) and keep it safely protected in your own name, that free ride is the only situation where your future is totally within your total control. I’d still do the Pitt application because they have some nice free rides too, but you are taking a big risk in relying on your parents in their current predicament. </p>
<p>Count your blessings. You are in much better shape and have a future already guaranteed. I know that it’s hard, but you’re earned those free rides and financial independence. </p>
<p>If as you say there is serious instability in your family, mentally and financially, consider the advantage of the free ride. You earned it with your academic credentials. If you keep your GPA up, presumably you get to keep it. It in no way depends on your parents’ situation financially or mentally.</p>
<p>The OP has great options. S/he wants to know how to get consideration for aid at schools in the category of Vassar. My opinion is she gave it her best shot with ED. At this point it is through merit awards.</p>
<p>If as you say there is serious instability in your family, mentally and financially, consider the advantage of the free ride. You earned it with your academic credentials. If you keep your GPA up, presumably you get to keep it. It in no way depends on your parents’ situation financially or mentally.</p>
<p>I think many of us would give similar advice if the student had some other unstable situation…such as parents’ marriage likely ending in divorce soon, and future-NCP would likely not pay for college. When paying for college has to rely on unreliable people and unstable situations, you’re safest bet is to remove yourself from those variables. You’ll be able to sleep at night not worrying about next semester’s tuition getting paid (or worse, the current semester’s tuition being paid). </p>
<p>This student has written that the father only recently became aware of the severe financial problems that were caused by the mom. Who knows if all is yet known? There may be another shoe to drop?? What’s the likelihood that all bad news is now known? Heck, we can’t even be sure if the parents’ marriage will survive this. The kind of anger that can come from one spouse secretly causing a big financial disaster isn’t one that many marriages can survive.</p>