<p>Hopefully you have or will soon have a part-time job? Finaid will help but no matter what you are going to need cash for transportation to wherever you end up in the fall, home and back at the holidays and again most likely in the spring. Dorms generally do close for the breaks.</p>
<p>What happens if you cannot pay the deposit? It depends on the college. We are Pell Grant recipients. One of my kids applied to a bunch of top lacs (the kind that meet full need) and almost all of them reduced what we needed to pay for our deposit. (One didn’t reduce it and one waived the entire deposit.) Another of my kids applied to big, state universities and none reduced the deposit. </p>
<p>Transportation: You will likely have to figure out how to get there with your suitcases in August. That said, if you attend one of the very top schools, I wouldn’t be surprised if they would help you out if you called-- after all, they fly poorer kids in for visits-- but those colleges are not the norm. In general, you should plan on paying your way there. </p>
<p>Once you get there, transportation might be part of your estimated annual costs. However, it’s not unusual for kids who attend far away schools and have big financial aid packages to stay in school through breaks. The school may close for winter break (so the kids may have to go somewhere) but it’s not unusual for them to stay through Thanksgiving and Spring break and maybe even to go home with a local friend for Christmas break-- all because they can’t afford the cross-country flight home.</p>
<p>I’m talking about the transportation there–the one time journey from New York City to wherever, because I am never coming back to my parents’ house, even for summers and winter breaks.</p>
<p>Can you get financial aid for that?
Also, I am trying really hard (but apparently not hard enough) to find a part time job now.</p>
<p>My searches have proved fruitless and even if my fortunes change in the immediate future (think next 2 weeks), I doubt I’d have the 800 dollar deposit in time for the May 1 deadline.</p>
<p>You need to ask the colleges. In general, you are expected to get yourself there. See, it’s not that your financial aid doesn’t cover it. It’s that you won’t have your financial aid yet. If you are awarded financial aid in excess of what you owe the college (tuition, fees, room & board), you get that via a refund after several weeks at school. That may be 2 weeks or 6 weeks, but, generally speaking, it’s going to be after the semester started, add/drop period ended and the appropriate office has time to process the checks. Now, if you are able to get a work/study right away, you may get paid before that 6 weeks comes up but that’s it. So generally speaking, students need enough cash or credit to get themselves to college, pay for their first few weeks of expenses (laundry, detergent, etc) and somehow cover their books. On top of that, students are expected to work the summer before they attend-- so the college will expect you to have some earnings. So that’s the way it is generally but siglio is right, why don’t you call your college and see what they say? If you haven’t been admitted yet, you don’t have to tell them your name.</p>
<p>I’m talking about the transportation there–the one time journey from New York City to wherever, because I am never coming back to my parents’ house, even for summers and winter breaks.</p>
<p>Antonio…I know from your other threads that your relationship with your parents is quite strained. It sounds like once you’re in college, you plan on cutting them out of your life. That may not be a good idea since you’ll need their help to fill out FAFSA next year and the years after that. If you have no contact with them after you go to college, how helpful will they be with that in the future??? Do you realize that you won’t be able to get aid for years #2, 3, & 4 if they won’t help you file later FAFSA’s?</p>
<p>You need to ask the colleges. In general, you are expected to get yourself there. See, it’s not that your financial aid doesn’t cover it. It’s that you won’t have your financial aid yet.</p>
<p>True. I don’t remember what Antonio’s top choices are, but if they don’t meet need, then they won’t cover transportation…or they may get covered by loans or w/s.</p>
<p>I agree with mom2collegekids that you should not cut your nose to spite your face. You will need to maintain some sembalance of a relationship with your parents because you will need them to complete the fa forms (at minimum the FAFSA) each year. </p>
<p>Remember that the overwhelming majority of the colleges in the country, if you start school as a dependent student, you finish as a dependent student. Even if you do something that makes you dependent for federal aid purposes (get married, have a child for whom you provide at least 50% support) the college will most likely still consider you dependent when it comes to institutional aid.</p>
<p>Even if you plan on a one way ticket, where do you plan on going for breaks? You may be able to stay with classmates/friends over thanksgiving because it may cost too much to fly home and fly back a about 2 weeks later? But what about winter break, spring break and the end of the year. Most colleges will not give you access to your dorms during the time when college is not in session (some exceptions are made for international students). That being said, where are you going to live when school is not in session? Even if you should find a summer job on campus, you will have to pay to have somewhere to live, which will cut into to the money you need to start the year.</p>
<p>The cost of getting back and forth to school should be real factors in hwere you ultimately end up. Hopefully you have some financial safeties in the mix.</p>
<p>There are many schools that are requiring large deposits to prevent multiple deposits at different schools. If this school has had a history of having students deposit and then pull out, it is most likely they will not reduce or waive the deposit or the deposit becomes non-refundable.</p>
<p>think long and hard whether you can financially make your situation worse, because you are not in a position to be throwing away money.</p>
<p>Antonio…I have little to add to the good advice others have given you. BUT I will add one thing. If you do not plan to go back to your parents’ home once you enroll in college, you will also need to have a “financial plan” for how you will cover your costs during school vacations (when often dorms and dining halls are closed) and during the summer (when you will still need a place to live and food…financial aid probably won’t cover that either although this varies by college…but you WOULD have to be taking classes). Your financial aid will not cover any of your incidental expenses like clothing, toiletries, school supplies, etc. </p>
<p>I’m not saying you can’t do this…I’m saying you need a plan to do so. Living on your own isn’t free…and the college financial aid only covers time when you are actually TAKING classes.</p>
<p>You say you are never going home ever again but you should know that many schools close their dorms/housing during breaks and summers. You may not be allowed to stay there during those times.</p>
<p>^^ Yes, the two most important take-aways from this thread are that you must not alienate yourself from your family…you will need to file financial aid paperwork each and every year. Secondly, you will need some cash of your own. You may even find that is expected in your financial aid. Double your efforts for work, fast food, factory work, restaurant dishwashers…put the same effort into locating a spring/summer job as your have into your high school work. When you select your college, work with them pronto on your deposit issues. Have you applied for any local scholarships? In our area those are awarded in the spring and it might be possible to get one of those organizations to release your check early to cover your deposit. You will need to be very pro-active about your situation and it will take effort, but it isn’t totally insurmountable.</p>
<p>Antonio…also consider this…strained family relationships sometimes (not always) improve once the child is away at school. Some of the parent/child issues tend to resolve themselves once the child is away. I don’t know the source/cause of the family friction in your home, but if it’s often opinion based (one person not respecting/listening to another or one person being a hot-head), then that can be minimized once you’re away.</p>
<p>Well as I said before, my plan was going to be something like this:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Fill out the FAFSA using rough estimates because my parents’ financial situation won’t change that much.</p></li>
<li><p>Same for CSS Profile.</p></li>
<li><p>If colleges ask for tax forms, I could fill them out on the behalf of my parents. Someone suggested that I do the tax forms for my parents, but did I misinterpret?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>As for my other financial plan for breaks and whatnot, yea I’d have to find a job, or 2, or 3:(</p>
<p>Even if you fill out the FAFSA with rough estimates, it is not complete until your parents file their taxes.</p>
<p>You will not receive FA until what you put on the fafsa is verified with your parents signed tax forms</p>
<p>The fafsa soon going to be to the point that when you put in your ss number, you can pull your IRS infomation.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yes you did misinterpret this as you must turn in the forms that your parents submitted tothe IRS. Your sending in different forms can have you charged with fraud.</p>
<p>It’s fine if you do your parents’ taxes, but your parents still need to be involved, give you all the information, sign with their pin the FAFSA, etc. etc. You cannot do this in a vacuum or in a less than honest manner or you will be SOL somewhere down the line. You are asking institutions to pay for your college education. almost every penny of it. You need to play by the rules. Nothing is life is totally free. I hope you are joking abit. And yes, you will need to work this summer and most likely work/study in college. It’s not that difficult many, many, many kids work for some of their expenses and college education.</p>
<p>Well I do know my parents’ social security numbers</p>
<p>and a financial aid counselor @ NYU told me that schools, even private ones, don’t always ask for tax forms. The government selects 40%-50% of FAFSAs that may require further inspection, and will subsequently notify the schools to demand tax forms.</p>
<p>I would think that my parents’ relatively static financial situations would not arouse government attention especially because I did my FAFSA this year with the actual numbers.</p>
<p>As a side note, I’m on speaking terms with my mother, who turns out to be my custodial parent–the only one that is needed by the FAFSA.</p>
<p>My father is unemployed (or as he likes to call himself, “self-employed”) so CSS profile information would probably stay the same.</p>
<p>Also, I’ve heard of fellow students who were unable to get in contact with one of their parents–usually the noncustodial–and they wrote letters to financial aid offices detailing their extraordinary circumstances.</p>
<p>Well considering that NYU has a well known reputation of giving bad financial aid and they do not come any where near meeting full financial need with the exception of HEOP students (which you will have to submit tax forms), I can understand why they would tell you this. </p>
<p>For the many other schools, especially those that meet 100% demonstrated need giving large amounts of insitutional aid, NYS/NYC -HEOP, EOP, Seek and College Discovery programs they will ask for your tax information each year.</p>
<p>Once again, there are sweeping changes coming down the pike as to the way students file for financial aid. This includes linking the financial aid information, directly to the IRS, Social security administration and homeland security. While now there is a percentage of financial aid forms going to the schools, soon all financial aid information will be directly linked and compared to information submitted to the IRS.</p>
<p>regarding filing a non-custodial waiver. you just stated that you live with your parents. this situation in an of it self would not make you eligible for a non-custodial waiver. </p>
<p>If you believe that you have extenuating circumstances that have not been covered by submitting the FAFSA (the css profile does allow you to write about your extenuating circumstances), then you will have the opportunity to request a financial review. </p>
<p>You do know that the only thing that the FAFSA does is determine your eligiblity for federal aid (PELL, SEOG, Stafford loans, Federal Work Study, ACG, TEACH/SMART grants, etc.). Most FAFSA only schools do not come close to meeting 100% of your demonstrated need. There will be a gap where you will have to figure out how you are going to fill it.</p>
<p>However, your parents unwillingness to pay will not be grounds for a financial review. Even if you do not get along with your parents, unless there is long running documentation by a thrid party (in this case your GC, ACS) stating that the relation ship was abusive, it will be hard being deemed independent and having your parent information discounted.</p>