How the heck can my older son get financial aid for college??

[bclover]

lol,
What states are you guys from where state schools are cheap? lol. I went to the University of Pittsburgh which is a state school, so is Penn state. yeah tuition there is floating around 30K a year.

We do have smaller state university's Edinboro University comes to mind that are definitely cheaper but "state" school does not mean cheap, it just means the school receives financial assistance from that state.

My niece is at Penn state, AFTER her aid she is still looking at a 21K bill.

 

[RunningBum]

lol,
What states are you guys from where state schools are cheap? lol. I went to the University of Pittsburgh which is a state school, so is Penn state. yeah tuition there is floating around 30K a year.

Not for in-state, which is what we are all talking about.
https://oafa.pitt.edu/financialaid/costs/

In-state Out-of-state Tuition
$18,130 $31,102

 

[albireo13]

Good to hear he has chosen a major that should become a career path, either in the private sector or government.

I would disagree with lumping living expenses into college cost. Take that out and you are under 100k at a very good school.

I lump it in to college cost because they are somewhat linked. To pursue his degree fulltime he has left his full time job. He still needs to pay for living expenses (room+board, food, car, gas, health insurance, etc...).
While he still does part-time work, his income has dropped considerably.

He is turning 27 this month and wants to get his degree as a full time student. At his age he doesn't want to string it out over many years by going part-time. He wants to get a career going. His previous work has been with landscaping and pest control companies, neither of which offered and type of college aid/perks or great paths for advancement.

 

[DFDubb]

lol,
What states are you guys from where state schools are cheap? lol. I went to the University of Pittsburgh which is a state school, so is Penn state. yeah tuition there is floating around 30K a year.

We do have smaller state university's Edinboro University comes to mind that are definitely cheaper but "state" school does not mean cheap, it just means the school receives financial assistance from that state.

My niece is at Penn state, AFTER her aid she is still looking at a 21K bill.

My school, Univ of TX, is about $5,500 a semester or 11k a year for a full load. I don't think anyone would argue that it is anything but an excellent school. At 30+k a year, I'd have never even bothered with college, what an absolute joke.

 

[retiredunder50]

My 26yo son has gone back to state university, to pursue a bachelors degree. He has been on his own for years now, holding jobs and renting.
He has virtually no savings ... maybe $1K.

Still, he has gotten very little true aid from the University. In-state he is paying ~$32K/yr. He has gotten $2500 grant and $17K in Fed loans.

I don't get it. His total income last year was < $40K. Being 26 and independent, our income and assets should not be factored in.
He didn't land any scholarships this year. Hopefully next year he will have better luck. He will be applying to as many scholarships as he possibly can.
He is also doing some work-study to help out but that is not big money.





What does he have to do to get some amount of need-based aid
This sucks.
Any good suggestions/advice??

From what I know about FAFSA, the student's income is what is probably affecting the aid amount. After the first $6,600 of income, his aid will be reduced by 50 cents for every dollar earned thereafter. If his income is $40K, the EFC is increased by nearly $17K.


Another possible factor to consider is that the numbers to compute the EFC for Sep 2018 classes was based on tax returns from the 2016 tax year. Was he independent then? By the way, if he made $40K last year, that number will be used to determine his aid for the Fall 2019/Spring 2020 school year.

 

[AprM]

He is turning 27 this month and wants to get his degree as a full time student. At his age he doesn't want to string it out over many years by going part-time. He wants to get a career going. His previous work has been with landscaping and pest control companies, neither of which offered and type of college aid/perks or great paths for advancement.

I'm not sure if I'd call starting a new career with $100k in debt a great path for advancement. If military is not an option then community college is much more affordable for the basics. You're on this site because you're interested in savings and money challenges. You know that he is not being wise with this decision or else you wouldn't have asked for advice. If you're planning on helping him out but don't like the thought of giving him money then maybe offer him his old bedroom back so at least he's not paying room and board.

 

[kgtest]

A former law school classmate sent me a screenshot of her payment notice from the loan service contractor. The first thing that caught my eye was the CAPITAL BOLD STATEMENT that said, "WELCOME TO REPAYMENT" (uh? What? How about welcome to HELL!?!?!) but that was soon forgotten when I saw her monthly payment is $1572.00. Oh. My. God. Thanks to the GI bill, I have no such monthly statement.

Right. I spent maybe less than 3k on my education, never really got the degree but plenty of credits.I think my 40 yr old sister just paid her last master's bill this month. Ouch!

I plan to pay 500k for up to 3 kids. Anymore and they need to get creative. Any less and they use it for a wedding or home.

 

[albireo13]

we have no funds saved for our son for college. If we decide to help him it is out of our retirement savings so I don't want to hear any criticism about us trying to get "free money" for our son for college.
If scholarships are a use of other people's money you better cancel all scholarships.
Good luck on that mission.

 

[Walt34]

He is pursuing a BS in Environmental Engineering.

What kind of work is he doing right now? I'm thinking of if he gets a job with a university, will he be able to take classes for free or heavily discounted? That may be a path that would allow him to emerge debt free, although it would certainly take longer.

 

[albireo13]

getting a job for a school is great but, you have to be employed (1 yr) before ycan get that benefit. then you have to to school part time while you still work.

 

[albireo13]

+1. If I elaborate it might close the thread, so I won’t.

This is awesome. How about you start with kids who carry a football for a scholarship using "other people's money"?
If you object to the concept of scholarships, then let's get rid of all of them.

Besides, this "other people's money" is abjectly false. It is money endowed to the schools for them to do with as they see fit. Once you donate money, it's not yours anymore. What a concept

 

[njhowie]

I understand that most schools consider loans as aid.
I don't. It's just a form of debt.
he could go to a bank and get a loan no problem.

No, he can't go to a bank and get a loan no problem.

1. You say he has (maybe) $1K in savings.
2. What other assets does he have of value? Can't be much.
3. What collateral would he be able to pledge to secure the loan?
4. What interest rate do you suppose a bank would charge, if they even would agree to offer an unsecured loan to a student with no/minimal assets? Why don't you call around and see? What you'll learn is that nobody is going to offer him the rate and terms of what the student loan program does.

 

[Philliefan33]

This is awesome. How about you start with kids who carry a football for a scholarship using "other people's money"?

If you object to the concept of scholarships, then let's get rid of all of them.



Besides, this "other people's money" is abjectly false. It is money endowed to the schools for them to do with as they see fit. Once you donate money, it's not yours anymore. What a concept

Some financial aid is based on need, some is based on merit. Most (if not all) Federal financial aid is allotted based on need, and there is just not enough to go around. And that Federal aid, whether grants, work/study jobs, or subsidized loans is funded by tax payers. I’m not complaining that this isn’t a good use of tax money, just pointing out that it is truly other people’s money.

Some colleges will be able to supplement Federal need-based aid. Still not out of the student’s or parents’ pocket, so still someone else paying for it.

Some scholarships are given based on merit. Schools offer scholarships to students they want for one reason or another. Maybe because the student is an awesome athlete that will make the football team stronger. Maybe because the student has higher academic scores than the average applicant and will thus help raise the stats of the incoming class. Either way, it is still other people’s money.

College is expensive. Some lucky students have parents who are able and willing to foot the entire bill. Some are super talented or super smart and will get scholarships. Most have to find other ways to get it done and that usually involves some loans. Unfortunately there is just not enough free money to meet all of the need.

 

[Just_Steve]

Just have him relocate to NY. Free tuition.

https://www.ny.gov/programs/tuition-free-degree-program-excelsior-scholarship

"We've made college tuition-free for middle class New Yorkers."

Today, college is what high school was—it should always be an option even if you can’t afford it.

With the passage of the FY 2018 State Budget, New York is now home to the nation's first accessible college program - The Excelsior Scholarship.

Under this groundbreaking program, more than 940,000 middle-class families and individuals making up to $125,000 per year will qualify to attend college tuition-free at all CUNY and SUNY two- and four-year colleges in New York State. The new program begins in the fall of 2017 and will be phased in over three years.

In order to apply, students must:

- Be residents of New York State
- Attend a SUNY or CUNY two- or four-year degree program
- Take 30 credits per calendar year (including January and Summer sessions)
- Plan to live and work in New York following graduation for the length of time they participate in the scholarship program

In New York State, every child will have the opportunity that education provides.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Ivy's have athletic scholarships now? They didn't when I was accepted to Brown.

They still don’t: halfway down this Harvard site, OP will see this confirmed. Not possible that OP’s neighbor’s kid has a Harvard athletic scholarship.

https://www.gocrimson.com/information/recruiting/helpfulinfo

 

[Travelfreek]

We planned way ahead (middle school) for our 2 kids’ college costs. We drove older cars and saved for the big expense. Had we not had the money, we would have had them do 2 years at community college to save half the money. It makes no sense to borrow that much money when general ed classes are so inexpensive at comm college. We paid for our kids’ BS degrees at a state university for 5 years each. They also worked part time in summer for their spending and gas money. They got good grades and good jobs at graduation. (Nurse and CPA).

I don’t understand parents who have money not seeing this coming. A friend of mine has a freshman in college (17) who’s going to UC just 40 min from their home to the tune of 30k (including dorms). They didn’t have a penny saved so they are allowing him and them to rack up $34k a year in loans. Their son skipped a grade and got a 4.6 gpa (super bright). The parents had great incomes but apparently thought their son would get scholarships. He got only $500 in scholarships. Kinda makes me ill how they are saddling themselves with this much debt.

 

[Lakewood90712]

They still don’t: halfway down this Harvard site, OP will see this confirmed. Not possible that OP’s neighbor’s kid has a Harvard athletic scholarship.

https://www.gocrimson.com/information/recruiting/helpfulinfo

What ? You mean to tell me Badminton and Croquet cant get my Nephews into Harvard or Yale ?

 

[MI-Roger]

Yes, he submitted his own FAFSA. I told him to not include any of our assets or income in his FAFSA, only his.

Did the exclusion of parental assets result in an incomplete FAFSA?

I still bitterly remember having to submit a FAFSA for our youngest when he entered Med School at age 32. He had been employed for the 10 year period since receiving his BS degree, yet parental income and assets were still required/demanded.

 

[Golden sunsets]

To the OP; What were you thinking about your son's further education when he was a senior in high school? Were you assuming he would apply immediately and if so what or whose money were you thinking would pay for his education then? Were you assuming he would get full scholarships/loans to cover the cost?


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[joeea]

My 26yo son has gone back to state university, to pursue a bachelors degree. He has been on his own for years now, holding jobs and renting.
He has virtually no savings ... maybe $1K.

we have no funds saved for our son for college. If we decide to help him it is out of our retirement savings

We each get to make our own decisions and live with the consequences.

 

[SecondCor521]

Did the exclusion of parental assets result in an incomplete FAFSA?

I still bitterly remember having to submit a FAFSA for our youngest when he entered Med School at age 32. He had been employed for the 10 year period since receiving his BS degree, yet parental income and assets were still required/demanded.

I'm not the OP.

But since the OP's son is over 24 and pursuing a bachelor's degree, he would be considered an independent student and would not be required to provide parental assets/income on FAFSA. So long as he answered all the questions and hit the submit button, he would have a complete FAFSA.

In relation to your situation, pursuing some types of medically related graduate degrees (certainly MDs, maybe others) at any age, the student is not considered independent regardless of age for FAFSA purposes. Since FAFSA is used to distribute federal aid, the federal government gets to make the rules for how they hand it out. I don't understand why medically related graduate degrees are treated differently, and I'm not sure I agree with the rule, but the rule is definitely there.

 

[Spock]

...
Besides, this "other people's money" is abjectly false. It is money endowed to the schools for them to do with as they see fit. Once you donate money, it's not yours anymore. What a concept

Its all "other peoples money". Some gave willingly, some gave via threats of imprisonment from the tax man.


I think you better check on endowments. I've never seen one with no strings attached "schools for them to do with as they see fit".
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/endowment.asp

 

[RunningBum]

It also seems like you'd figure this out beforehand, rather than entering college and a few months later go demanding your free money that simply isn't available in full to everyone who wants it. Searching the OP's past posts, it looks like he did know all this, so I'm not sure of the point of this thread, except for...ah, never mind, everyone read the posts and knows what it is.

 

[ncbill]

Again, it appears joining the NH National Guard would pay for tuition & fees.

Though IIRC he'll have to complete basic & advanced camp before he's eligible for that benefit, so he should talk to the recruiter at UNH to find out more.

 

[Bruno]

What about a Pell grant? I dont know much about them but know a couple of people single women that have got them. It would not pay for it all but anything helps.

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/grants-scholarships/pell