Would you go this far to pay for college?

Pre-College Topics High School Life
1

<p>I just stumbled across this interesting article on yahoo in which this girl sued her father for not paying her last year of tuition. Personally, I think it's ridiculous! Yeah, there was a contract (which again is ridiculous in itself) but honestly I don't think I could ever sue family no matter how little connection there is. I understand where she's coming from but idk; it just seems wrong :/</p>

<p>Haha Idk how to do the quote thing, so I'll just post a part of the article:</p>

<p>"Grad Sues Father for College Tuition and Wins
by Joe Lynch
Friday, July 2, 2010</p>

<p>Arguing over money is nothing new for most families, especially when recent college graduates with massive student loans start looking to their parents for economic assistance in today's tough job market. And things can get tense when parents try to decide how much of that debt they're willing to help out with.</p>

<p>Most of the time, though, that decision isn't decreed in a court of law.</p>

<p>But that's exactly what happened when Dana Soderberg sued her father to force him to fulfill their agreement to pay for her education at Southern Connecticut State University.</p>

<p>Dana didn't take a lawsuit against her own father based on a mere promise, however—she had a legal document to back her up.</p>

<p>When Howard and Deborah Soderberg divorced in 2004, Howard—a property developer—agreed to pay for the education of their three children.</p>

<p>Apparently Dana foresaw that his word wouldn't be enough. In 2005, she convinced her father to sign a written contract that would require him to pay for her college tuition until she turned 25, as well as cover related expenses such as textbooks and car insurance. For her part, she agreed to apply for student loans that her father would cover if she received them.</p>

<p>But Howard stopped paying her tuition just before her senior year, forcing Dana to take out a $20,000 student loan (co-signed by her mother). After graduating as an art major, Dana filed a breach of contract lawsuit against her father with the aid of family attorney Renee C. Berman.</p>

<p>Representing himself in court, Howard contended that his daughter nullified their contract first when she—supposedly—didn't try hard enough to apply for student loans. He even filed a counterclaim alleging that she dropped a few classes and kept the money for herself. In Dana's defense, Berman pointed out that Dana was forced to drop some courses due to the continued tardiness of her father's tuition payments.</p>

<p>"They just don't have a relationship," Berman said about Dana and Howard. "It has to be weak to begin with if you enter into that agreement."</p>

<p>Berman also noted how unperturbed Dana's dad seemed throughout the trial. "Here his daughter's bringing him to court and there's no sadness, no remorse that his daughter was in this situation having to sue him."</p>

<p>After two-day trial, the judge ruled that Dana had indeed fulfilled her part of the contract and awarded her about $47,000 in damages, which covered the initial loan, interest and attorney fees."</p>

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<h1>skirttttt. gtf.</h1>

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<p>I’m pretty upset with my father about my college tuition situation, but my grandmother instilled in me a certain etiquette surrounding suits. I have pretty much no relationship with my father, which is his fault for very legitimate reasons. Most of his children don’t like him. It’s hardly teenage angst when your 30-something siblings agree with you. He’s not a nice guy. He’s messed up very badly and is hardly apologetic.</p>

<p>He and my mother pay my sister’s full tuition. They never broached the topic of needing to pay less with me and had no problems with the financial aid offers I received, beginning in December '09. When, around April 4th ‘10, I got an offer that significantly differed, I asked, point blank, if I would need to go to this college and received a “no.”
Fast forward to April 22nd. The college with the best offer’s visiting weekend is coming up. I was there 2 weeks before at a nearby college’s visiting weekend, and was shown around with a friend, but my parents figure I might as well go. I ask them if I’ll be needing to go this college so that I’ll have some time to accept this before I commit on May 1st. “No.”
I get back from visiting on April 26th. I’m now required to attend this college. If I go anywhere else, he won’t pay any more than this college has offered. Way to give me some warning. I bring up the issue that he pays for my sister’s tuition, and payed for my older siblings’ despite the fact that they took much, much longer than expected to graduate, that I’m aware that he has the means, that he’s always insisted on being fair, always stated that he would pay the same for my and my sister’s higher education. He refuses to discuss the issue. I ask him if he was planning on my being admitted to a university with a 7% acceptance rate, since he now says he “can’t afford” any offer different than the one it has offered, yet never encouraged me to consider in-state schools. He refuses to discuss the issue.</p>

<p>He went out of town. I committed elsewhere. If I end up in massive debt and my sister does not, I will be irate.</p>

4

<p>Ouch. Yeah, I can definitely see why you would be mad about that :confused: Did your siblings go to state schools or something where it was cheaper? Because if their tuition was about the same then yeah, I would definitely try reasoning with him again. The fact that he told you his unwillingness to pay so late also isn’t exactly fair.</p>

<p>But anyways I wish you luck! :slight_smile: I saw somewhere around here the schools you were accepted to and I was amazed! lol. Those were like all of my dream schools (especially MIT :slight_smile: where I assume you’re going due to your location). Maybe try pushing how amazing an opportunity it is to go to MIT and how you can’t afford to let is pass. Hopefully things will work out well for you!</p>

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<p>^My two eldest siblings, but that was also 10 years ago. My sister in college now goes to an out of state private that costs a bit over $50,000 a year. My school costs the same amount —> my parents refuse to pay just because I got into one school that was cheaper.</p>

<p>Would that it were negotiable :), but my father pretty much sucks at the whole reconsidering thing. But thanks.</p>

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<p>[college-grad-sues-dad-to-cover-student-debt:</a> Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance](<a href=“http://finance.yahoo.com/college-education/article/109991/college-grad-sues-dad-to-cover-student-debt?mod=edu-continuing_education]college-grad-sues-dad-to-cover-student-debt:”>http://finance.yahoo.com/college-education/article/109991/college-grad-sues-dad-to-cover-student-debt?mod=edu-continuing_education)</p>

<p>link for reference</p>

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<p>LOL My parents aren’t paying **** for my college. I’ll figure it out…</p>

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<p>As long as one is not a liberal arts (english, history, philosophy, women’s studies, etc.) or art major, paying off college loans shouldn’t be a problem with the decent salaries that come with mathematics and science-related professions which usually pay at least $45,000.</p>

9

<p>@siglio21 Thanks! Haha I tried to link it but I had no idea how to :)</p>

<p>@TRUFFLIEPUFF Yeah, but there’s a lot of colleges in this country (not only Ivies) where tuition and fees add up to $50,000+ a year and steadily rising. Even if with FA that say brought down your bill to $30,000/yr, that’s still a lot of debt accumulated over those 4 years. Even with a starting $100,000 salary upon graduation, it would still take a while to pay it all off considering the majority of your salary will most likely go to bills, taxes, and starting a whole new independent life.</p>