<p>Okay, so we have all but one financial aid package, the one that is missing, of course, is from the school that D has chosen, but I'm not going to panic about that, as I've been in communication with the FA office and they are processing her request. </p>
<p>But looking at the financial aid packages we have, and seeing what our contribution is supposed to be, I'm now curious and confused about the best source to find that money. We have extremely limited fluid assets, since we live in a very expensive part of the country and have a moderate income. We can make some lifestyle changes that will help, but not much - we only have one car, and it will be paid off in 3 months, we don't have much in the way of debt payments on credit cards. I can cancel the cable and cut the phone bill, I can put my education on hiatus (I've been taking 1 class per semester at the local CC for 3-4 years), and our food, water, and electric bills will likely decrease when D isn't at home anymore. But that's not going to add up to $12,000. </p>
<p>So what's the best way to pay our share? We have some equity in our home, since we bought at a great time, before prices went nuts. I have a big chunk of money in a 401(k), but everything I've read thus far leads me to believe I'd have to be certifiable to tap that.</p>
<p>So what's the best way to pay our share? We have some equity in our home, since we bought at a great time, before prices went nuts.</p>
<p>Thats what we did- and what the college seemed to expect
We actually * did* have to take money out of retirement as well, to pay for tuition until we could get our mortgage refinanced and take money out</p>
<p>Having a parent attend college, while a child is, at least allows the parent to have their EFC lowered by being able to claim dependents in college, even though it doesn't affect your childs EFC</p>
<p>See if the college participates in a payment plan, Tuition Mgmt Systems is one and there are others. It is much easier to come up with $1000 per month instead of $6000 twice per year.</p>
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Having a parent attend college, while a child is, at least allows the parent to have their EFC lowered by being able to claim dependents in college, even though it doesn't affect your childs EFC
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<p>Only if you can attend at least half-time, though, which I can't. I already have a full-time job, a part-time job, and my younger kid is still young enough that she wants to spend time with me. $1000 a month just seems impossible to me. That's more than 25% of what we bring home in our paychecks (it's slightly less than 25% of our pre-tax income).</p>
<p>I'm going to start making a list of costs we can cut and costs that we can't cut.</p>
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Thats what we did- and what the college seemed to expect
We actually did have to take money out of retirement as well, to pay for tuition until we could get our mortgage refinanced and take money out
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<p>How much equity did you take out? Did you take out just the costs for 1 year or for all 4 years? If that latter, where did you stash the money before ou spent it?</p>
<p>SallyK: every school, regardless of the sticker price of tuition and room & board, came in around $12,000 for our contribution. This is competitive with our state university system and less expensive than our flagship state university. D received merit scholarships from all but one of her schools, and that one was the least expensive school on her list, and a state school, so I assume they don't have as much to give on that front.</p>
<p>at the CC 6 credits is half time- or at least it used to be- I understand about time constraints though- but some Ccs are also offering on line or weekend classes-</p>
<p>We have refinanced twice-
both actually equity lines of credit- and we make a huge effort to pay it back down ( although we also ended up financing our car that way)</p>
<p>( trouble with lines of credit though- is that we seem to be charged interest on the whole thing- not just the money we have out- we did it that way, because we had some major home repairs to make ( furnace/roof) and weren't sure how much they would run- now we have to get a fixed loan)</p>
<p>We used Tuition Management services as well- the 10 month plan.
Start paying them in July I think.
D also earned money in her summer job, and contributed 98.9% of it toward the EFC.</p>
<p>We are also in the category of our EFC was roughly what an instate university would run- so finding a private college with need based aid, was a better buy, but still left us with the difficulty of coming up with the EFC</p>
<p>Okay, so I need to start taking action like a month ago on this subject. We just had the most hellaciously expensive April, so I need to make sure I have something lined up for a 10 month payment plan (which WPI offers).</p>
<p>One strategy may be to (1) take out a Plus loan; (2) quit the part time job; (3) INCREASE your time in school to a more financial-aid favorable position - say six to ten credit hours, if that'll do it - in theory, this should have the combined impact of (1) postpones the college expense in the immediate year; (2) increases your marketability for a higher-paying full time or part time job in a year or two; (3) lowers your EFC on the 2007 renewal FAFSA.</p>
<p>What can your daughter earn this summer toward that $12,000? I know one industrious family of modest means and the kids are able to knock down over $6,000 each summer. One takes a third shift factory job so gets double time and the other pieces two or three jobs together during the summer. One is at the state U and one's at a reasonably priced LAC. I have no knowledge if the kids are working during the school year or not and I've never asked, though they both probably got some work/study. Mostly depends on our driven your D is to attend the school of choice maybe.</p>
<p>You said your car will be paid off in 3 months. What is the payment? Monthly payments on a $12K PLUS loan would be about $150, and the first payment won't come due until next February or March. If I were you I'd plan to borrow half on the PLUS loan ($6000, about $75/monthly payment) and pay half out of pocket-- but get to work on raising money from other sources. Your D. should be applying for private, local scholarships as well as arranging summer employment. If your D. drives and is leaving the state for college, talk to your insurance agent about dropping her from the car insurance or getting reduced rates when she leaves.</p>
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You said your car will be paid off in 3 months. What is the payment? Monthly payments on a $12K PLUS loan would be about $150, and the first payment won't come due until next February or March. If I were you I'd plan to borrow half on the PLUS loan ($6000, about $75/monthly payment) and pay half out of pocket-- but get to work on raising money from other sources. Your D. should be applying for private, local scholarships as well as arranging summer employment. If your D. drives and is leaving the state for college, talk to your insurance agent about dropping her from the car insurance or getting reduced rates when she leaves.
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<p>That's definitely doable, calmom. (Our car payment is $150). D doesn't drive - yet, her test is scheduled for April 27 - but she will definitely not have a car in Worcester. D already has 2 jobs lined up for summer, she's applied for a bunch of local scholarships. If I could drop my husband from our insurance, I'd really save some money, but, alas, there is no public transportation to where he works. I have a part time job that would cover the PLUS loan payment you mention, but I only work 9 months a year, so I'd need something extra over the summer. </p>
<p>I'm definitely feeling more positive that this is actually possible, though!</p>
<p>I don't see the financial benefit of having the parent continue to attend CC. If the daughter's EFC is anywhere close to $12,000 then the parent's would also be around that number. Even divided by two in college -- I don't know any CC that costs $6,000 for a part-time student.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that some costs don't have to be as high as they project -- books especially! buy them used and sell them online. You can save a ton that way.</p>
<p>Is work-study already a part of her financial package? An on-campus job would give her monthly spending money and she will budget it better if it is her money she is spending. Studies have shown that students who work 10 hours a week get better grades than kids that don't work. If she isn't eligible for financial aid, there are usually tons of on-campus jobs that she could get.</p>