<p>I just want to say to you that you are making your life much more difficult than you need to be making it, and it sounds as if you will spend four years in a state of high anxiety over money, work and school work, and whatever experience you believe, now, you are going to have at W, isn’t going to be what you are thinking.</p>
<p>For one thing, any experience any senior thinks they are going to have at a “dream school” isn’t going to turn out that way. When you have lost perspective to this degree, you are setting yourself up for disappointment, even if you take the money out of the equation. Add in the money worries you are going to have, and I seriously doubt you are going to have a very good time, at all.</p>
<p>consider the less expensive option since it will actually turn out to be a better experience in the long run. Barely anyone has heard of W., and it’s not going to add to your future in the way that you are going to sacrifice to get through it.</p>
<p>Ask yourself, realistically, what it is you are imagining that is making this sooooo attractive to you, and then answer, realistically, if you will even be able to have that experience under the true circumstances in which you are going to attend.</p>
<p>I’m truly sorry your parents are so useless. Stories like yours make me furious. OTOH, don’t lie to yourself about what this is going to be like, it is going to be hard. Imagine it as as hard as you can imagine it, and then triple it, and that is what you will face for four years. </p>
<p>Starbucks, what is your intended major? Why Wellesley? I graduated from Mount Holyoke, so I understand to some degree, but I did not put my parents or myself in financial distress when I attended school. Have you visited the campus? Why are you so very set on this one school?</p>
<p>Last time OP checked in to CC was her post yesterday morning. I wonder what she will write in response to the posts since then? She is setting herself up for disappointment if she insists on attending Wellesley by being unrealistic.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, WS is used as a catch-all phrase when assigning work study in a financial aid package. I doubt if OP is even eligible for FWS (probably a moot point since she said she was not going to take the WS).</p>
<p>OP, do either of your parents have a poor credit history? If you could get one of them to apply for and be rejected for a Plus loan, you would be eligible for an additional 4k in unsub staffords. If you could use that to help cover your EFC it might be do-able.</p>
<p>Also, in previous threads you stated that one or both parents may be able to contribute small amounts. Have you asked them about this?</p>
<p>I admire your spirit and courage in trying to do this alone, but I have to agree with the poster who said it won’t be any fun to be at Wellesley constantly worried about money and work while everyone else is partying and having their nails done!</p>
<p>There are 3 different types of work study and we do not know which one she has received.</p>
<p>The Federal Work-Study Program Participation in the program is determined by the student’s financial need and is awarded as part of the financial aid package. Part of the monies paid to the student on federal work study is subsidized by the government. Earnings are not applied directly to the tuition bill, but are used by the student to cover costs such as books, personal items, and transportation. FWSP funds may only be used on campus with on-campus employers or with approved off-campus community service employers.</p>
<p>Employment is an alternative form of funding for students who do not qualify for work-study funds, usually for citizenship reasons. Regulation of the Employment program mirrors the FWSP in that a student must show a financial need to be eligible for such funding. </p>
<p>Non Work-Study: A student DOES NOT have to be awarded FWSP or EMPLOYMENT funding in order to work.These could be other jobs on campus (dining services, campus book store, etc). Salaries for these jobs are paid directly by the school.</p>
<p>Just have to make a comment–glopop-- My d is at Smith College. While I do not pretend to know the culture at Wellesley, if it is anything like Smith (and being both highly competitive women’s colleges, I can fairly safely say this is the case), I HIGHLY doubt your description of Wellesley students as “everyone else is partying and having their nails done” while other students (inc. OP) are worried about money and work!</p>
<p>Maybe that is the culture where you or your son or daughter go, but not at Smith and probably not at Wellesley too!</p>
<p>That being said, I also think Starbucks is underestimating how hard her plan will be. My d does WS at Smith (I know OP says she changed WS for a loan, but she’s talking about working during the school year) and it is very hard to get in enough hours around all her classes and papers and projects, so that she has barely scratched her allotment of WS hours. There are plenty of students at Smith juggling like my d and probably at Wellesley, too</p>
<p>I apologize. It’s sounds worse than what I meant. I was trying to present the OP with an extreme opposite of her reality and in no way meant to insinuate that that is the culture of the school. With her plan of study, work and sleep there is no time at all for socializing, which I belive is also an important aspect of college.</p>
<p>glopop- Thank you, I do agree that socializing is an important part of college. I think we are all on the same page when it comes to trying to present the reality of college life to the OP. I have read some of her posts on the Smith forum in the past and my heart breaks for her situation.</p>
<p>Glo does make a good point. It is often harder for those who are struggling to cover gaps by working lots of hours to see classmates who either have parents paying or have enough FA to attend and work minimally. </p>
<p>the bloom can come off the rose quite quickly when a less-than-desirable grade is rec’d because the student is having to work so much, that she can’t give adequate attention to her studies. All work and no play isn’t something that can be maintained constantly.</p>
<p>Another consideration…jobs on campus tend to be much more accommodating with regard to scheduling during mid term and exam times. Also they usually do not expect you to work during school breaks when the dorms are closed.</p>
<p>Off campus jobs will likely not be flexible with regard to work schedules. In addition, they will require you to work during school breaks when the dorms are closed. Where will the OP live during times when the college dorms are closed?</p>
<p>She has a great list of colleges, although not a real financial safety among them
Because of that, I am wondering if her parents refusal to contribute was a relatively recent thing.</p>
<p>I posted a thread on the parents forum about students taking community college classes and transferring to much more expensive schools, you might want to consider that as an affordable option.
If your parents aren’t going to contribute, and you are living with the parent who makes the most,that will increase your EFC higher than you can manage by yourself. ( although if your dad & stepmother together earn over six figures, an EFC of $16,000 sounds low)</p>
<p>It might help to just brainstorm about how to reduce costs.
For example, you mention you aren’t planning on taking AP tests. I think you mentioned WSU offered you merit aid & it is instate? PTAs often have money to help students with AP testing if the high school doesn’t cover it, or perhaps your parents will be willing to help with the small cost ( as compared to tuition). Earning credit hours for AP tests can save you quite a bit of money in the long run.
[AP</a> Exam Credit - Requirements & Applying - Undergraduate Admission - WSU](<a href=“http://admission.wsu.edu/requirements/ap-credit.html]AP”>http://admission.wsu.edu/requirements/ap-credit.html)</p>
<p>And it’s not just about classwork or pure down time- it’s the value of being able to join a study group, finding time to meet your partner on a class project, being free to attend a guest lecture, participate in activities and work toward leadership. At some schools, these things matter less, but they are one of the benefits of a small, super reputation LAC.</p>
<p>I’d like to see her win this one. I wish the parents would come up with a contribution.</p>
<p>Just a note – my D does not get federal work-study funding, but her on-campus non-workstudy jobs do not require payment of Medicare or SS taxes. I’m not sure if it would be different if her jobs were not academic in nature (say, in food services) but so far her gross has equaled her net each time.</p>
<p>My son works for food service at his college and I was surprised to see that company also did not take out taxes. This was a job he found on his own and not work/study. It was great for him because he didn’t earn enough to file taxes…and he didn’t need to file to get the taxes returned since none were taken out.</p>
<p>That happened with one of my kids as well. The kid elected to have no taxes taken out. FICA was still taken. HOWEVER…that year, she worked full time over the summer and made well in excess of the amount where she was tax free. When she added the incomes together, she actually owed taxes…not much…but she did have to pay when she filed. </p>
<p>She never elected the no tax option after that!</p>
<p>This person seems determined. It would be really sad if they patch it together this year only to be able to not return for year two or three etc. because they can’t piece it together after the first year. That’s what concerns me when I see kids in love with a college that is really a financial reach and without parental support???</p>
<p>I don’t think there ever was an expectation that the parents would contribute their share or a share at all. I think SB thought that if she told schools that her parents wouldn’t be paying that they would give more. She has occasionally mentioned that her mom might be able to help out a little, but that has never sounded like something she can count on or any particular amount on a regular basis. </p>
<p>She’s always been aware that her mom struggles to provide for the younger sibs. And, she knows that her dad and stepmom don’t have extra money after paying their expenses. </p>
<p>As I mentioned above, I am very concerned that a year from now, she’s not going to be able to register for her fall 2013 classes because she’ll owe W money. She may even have a problem when she registers for second semester of frosh year. Money doesn’t fall from the sky.</p>
<p>A lot of kids, and parents too, believe that if the student is an excellent candidate for a school that the costs would be taken care of “somehow”. They believe that there is a chicken in every pot when it comes to colleges,but have not figured out who pays for that bird. My own brothers have been totally ignorant of the process, as we were all beneficiaries of great scholarships in our day, and our parents did not have to pay any or much college for any of us.</p>
<p>But those were the days when a $5K award could pretty much cover COA at a private school, and one could layer private money on top of financial aid. My financial aid was not at all integrated and I made money my freshman year. Not possible to do this this in most cases these days. Also National Merit awards pretty much covered full private tuition and schools even like Duke would continue the award for the next 4 years for those who got one. A lot of the same awards I got as a student are still around, but they have stayed in the same amounts which are now a drop in the bucket when it comes to covering school costs, particularly private school ones. </p>
<p>The OP is clearly a top student to be accepted to a school like Wellesley and IMO expected that a school of this calibre was going to pay for her. That money would not be an object or obstacle in going there . I don’t know how many parents/kids come out of the talks at colleges where the spiel is that the school will meet all 100%$need, guarantees to do so and will work with all parents and students to make it possible for all accepted kids to go to that school, thinking what the OP is. Yes, some schools will meet 100% of need, but the catch is that the school, not YOU or your family determines that need figure,and the way it is often “made possible” to afford a school is for the parents to take out loans for the difference. This is a fact of college financial aid life that is not being emphasized enough since schools want those applications and the tone is always so upbeat about getting money for school instead of somber as it should be.</p>