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Well, maybe not today, but soon. He’ll be starting to look at schools in a year, and needs to know that unless he can qualify for a hefty merit award (or your H decides to take a higher paying job), he will have to find an in-state public to “fall in love” with. You dropped the ball with your D by letting her get her heart set on an unaffordable option; you can do better with him.</p>
<p>I agree with all you’ve said, and no… we won’t sell the farm so she can go to UT Austin… she’s a young woman with a dream, saw the school last summer, and SOLD.</p>
<p>However, I will say that if she either doesn’t get accepted into UT Austin, or they give her NOTHING in scholarship, acceptable aid etc… She will go to Texas A& M… which is by no means settling. </p>
<p>I think it’s a great college town with huge opportunity educational wise, so she would be great there, esp if she can get that Dean’s scholarship.
Only a semi-finalist… which could mean thousands of others are also “semi-finalists”, but it’s a little hope for her now. lol</p>
<p>*She will go to Texas A& M… which is by no means settling. *</p>
<p>I’m still thinking that you’ve miscalculated how much TAMU costs as an OOS student w/o merit. </p>
<p>Did you see the TAMU numbers above??? it would cost you/her nearly $40k per year. Are you saying that you’re going to allow her to have over $150k in debt for undergrad??? Are you going to co-sign that much???</p>
<p>TAMU OOS</p>
<p>Tuition and fees $25,126<br>
Room and board $8,450
Books and supplies $1,246
Estimated personal expenses $2,349 </p>
<h2>Transportation expenses $500 </h2>
<p>Estimated Total $37,671 for an OOS student</p>
<p>…and why do you think TAMU is cheaper than Colorado???</p>
<p>
That is sad - that rather than speaking frankly to your daughter and setting up additional options (which in no way would diminish her current “chances” at her unaffordable choices), you are willing to see her without options in the Fall. Perhaps that is easier than having the strength to simply say, “No” to your child. Time to be the parent.</p>
<p>Hug and understanding accepted. lol
You’re right about not cosigning for loans, and you’re also right about who gets stuck paying it.
You’re right about a lot, and if we don’t co-sign, $5500 per year will basically do nothing for her, so we sit tight and wait till Marc 1st for UT to inform her of acceptance or denial.
In the end she’ll make the choice, I can’t make it for her.
Her degree plan is not at very many schools, only the big universities, barely at A & M, she may have to change her major just to go there.
International/global studies isn’t everywhere, or at least countries she’s interested/safe to travel to.
I can read these posts all day and get all worked up… but… at the end of the day…my daughter has to accept her choices and move forward.</p>
<p>What do you mean by FAFSA is first come, first served?</p>
<p>What is the $8,000 in non-wage income from 2012?</p>
<p>Are you saying you have $10,000 saved for each child? Or that you can pay $10,000 per year for each child?</p>
<p>How much is the Dean’s Scholarship and is it per each of the four years or just the first year of college?</p>
<p>Do you own other real estate (‘the farm’) or was that a figure of speech?</p>
<p>
You are more likely to find that, given your current debt, you will not qualify as a cosigner. Very sad for your daughter.</p>
<p>FAFSA is NOT first come, first serve. Any federal aid that you’d be eligible for (which is what filling out the FAFSA determines) is available to you whenever you file. Some SCHOOL-based federal aid might be first-come, first-serve but it is generally for very low income students who might be eligible for grants like SEOG (sp?) and loans like Perkins.</p>
<p>Has she applied for the WUE? Is it available at Austin? It’s actually pretty limited at the popular schools and goes to the most qualified students (with a 26 on the ACT, I don’t think she’ll be ‘most qualified’ because there will be others who have 4.0 plus a 34 ACT)</p>
<p>Colorado in-state is expensive because Colorado real estate taxes are low, and many Colorado students go to OOS schools because they are cheaper than Boulder. Texas isn’t cheaper. Wyoming, NM, and Utah would all be cheaper as they give merit aid and have low OOS tuition. Room and board is also much cheaper than in Boulder. Boulder is wonderful. I graduated from there and loved every minute (and it’s not that cold), but it’s not for everyone.</p>
<p>Has she checked the weather in Texas lately? It’s not all sunny days there. Has she thought about other Colorado schools like Mesa, or Pueblo? Much warmer.</p>
<p>It does sound like she’s decided that only UT-Austin will do. She should go to Texas, work for a year, then apply as a Texas resident. She’ll still have to pay a lot, and there is no guarantee that she’ll get need aid after a year, but if she wants to get loans and work study, then she can. It’s still going to be YOUR income that decides the EFC, and at over $90,000/yr, she’s not going to get much need based aid from a state school.</p>
<p>Sadly, your job is to be her mother and tell her that you just can’t afford $30k per year for her to go to school at Texas. She needs to figure out a way, go somewhere else, or take a gap year. It is a hard discussion to have, but you can’t change the EFC rules. </p>
<p>I don’t understand why you used your 2012 income when filling out the FAFSA. If you have final paystubs, that is more accurate. The $68k in income is meaningless because as soon as you do your taxes they are going to see that your true income was $90k.</p>
<p>vetham, you might also want to check and see if Parent Plus loans are even possible for your family, given the student loans that already exist. </p>
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</p>
<p>There are many, many schools that offer similar majors, or where a student can essentially get an international studies curriculum via other departments such as Political Science or Econ or by creating your own major. For this kind of career/major, she’s not going to want debt because it’s going to limit her. No unpaid internships during the summer/school year, no options to take on lower-paying jobs after graduation. Her study abroad/travel options are going to be limited. And I say this as a parent of one kid who started off freshman year intending to be an IR major. Your kid’s dream isn’t just about the next four years–it’s about the decade(s) after that.</p>
<p>* are more likely to find that, given your current debt, you will not qualify as a cosigner. Very sad for your daughter.*</p>
<p>I agree.
With an income of $68,000 and student loan debt of $250,000 its unlikely you would be eligible to co-sign, especially with another college education to pay for on the horizon.</p>
<p>Schools determine who is eligible for Perkins loans. My oldest had one each year & we weren’t low income. They are small loans however and unlikely to make much dent.
It was to our advantage to filing FAFSA asap, imo.</p>
<p>While FAFSA does not allocate money, schools will not finalize offer until it is submitted and D received a much better package from a school that was need aware but met 100% of need than some of her classmates. I attribute that to filing FAFSA by Jan 3rd. ( PROFILE was due the previous November)</p>
<p>We always filed/file in mid-to-late January after ALL bills had been paid but before end-of-month paychecks arrived (per advice in the wonderful book, Paying for College Without Going Broke). Good results.</p>
<p>I’m glad you stayed, Vetham. You’ve got a lot coming at you right now, so it’s fine to take a little time and sift through it all. I hope you find you FAFSA error soon, too. </p>
<p>I just want to put out there for you that I work for a TRIO program, so I specialize in first generation, low income students. I realize neither of those situations apply to your d, but I’m pretty familiar with the financial struggles of students. Unfortunately, I see too many who start here and then realize after after first semester that they cannot continue to pay the bills. Some leave at semester, more leave at the end of the year. Many transfer to their in-state publics or to community colleges. I hate to see any kid’s dreams dashed, but a dream school quickly becomes a nightmare when the bills can’t be paid. </p>
<p>Once you get yourself sorted out, try to have an honest discussion with your D about finances. It won’t be easy. She may not want to hear what you are saying at first, but say it, give it some time to sink in, and then restart the dialogue. You don’t want her future crippled by debt and you certainly don’t want to have to be making payments on her loans if that first job barely provides enough for her to live on.</p>
<p>I just checked. Texas is not part of WICHE or the WUE.</p>
<p>That’s an excellent statement to keep in mind: “A dream school quickly becomes a nightmare when the bills can’t be paid”.</p>
<p>The Wiche/wue schools are the ones i linked to in post #39.</p>
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<p>Surely one of those states has a school she would like with weather to match!
Maybe not North or South Dakota, but what about California, Hawaii or Arizona?</p>
<p>Please note that not all schools in a state are part of WICHE or the WUE exchange. For example, a few California State schools are, but I think there is only one UC.</p>
<p>My niece and nephew, from Colorado, went to school in Hawaii on WUE.</p>
<p>It’s too late to apply to Calif publics.</p>
<p>New Mexico has some good scholarships and should be looked at. It has more generous scholarships for residents of states that border…and Colorado does border NM. </p>
<p>I would not…I repeat…would not let my child borrow a lot for a particular major at a particular school BECAUSE most students end up changing their majors…and then the student has borrowed a LOT for a major that could have been had for cheaper elsewhere.</p>
<p>global studies/international studies, communications</p>
<p>This area of study isn’t really that rare. Sometimes it’s found in the Business dept/business school…sometimes it’s found elsewhere. It’s not that unusual.</p>
<p>I would strongly suggest applying to Truman State. good merit is likely AND…major in Communications and minor in Global Studies…which they have.</p>
<p>U New Mexico has an International Studies major and minor.</p>
<p>It also also instate rates to Colorado residents. The early app is past, but your D can still be considered and with her stats she’d likely get selected. </p>
<p>or…She’d also qualify for the Amigos scholarship, which is over $16k per year.</p>
<p>PLEASE submit apps for both of the above schools as back-ups.</p>