Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with financialaid

College Quandary!!

Griffinlb — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:01:41 -0800

Help a young boy make the right decision! Any and all advice for a soon-to-be-undergrad trying to secure his future! So, this is a little specific, but here's the breaks. Specific suggestions/advice are ideal, but any general comments are also greatly appreciated.

I just got accepted to Reed (in Portland) on Early Decision. I also applied to SVA (an art school in NYC) as a transfer student for Spring '09, and was recently accepted.

I love Reed and want to go there more than anywhere else, but finances are a big issue, (I would have started school at another school over a year ago had my financial aid package not shrunk dramatically). If I don't get the financial aid that I need, I was planning on attending SVA, which is (just barely) affordable.

So, here's the predicament: Accepted to Reed but waiting on financial aid package (which is a make-it-or-break-it issue). Probably wont get this info until friday. In the mean time I have to confirm with SVA whether I will be attending by tomorrow at latest in order to receive the full-housing-scholarship I was awarded. SVA can't extend this deadline, and Reed can't send my financial aid info earlier via email or anything else due to 'federal privacy legislation' or something or other.

I've been left up the creek before and I really really don't want to make a faulty decision here. If Reed is unaffordable, and I've nixed my scholarship (and potentially my admission status) with SVA by waiting too long, then I'm screwed.

So, what can I do? If you wise metafilter gurus have an answer, lay it on me. Otherwise, wild suggestions, off-topic advice, or just about anything vaguely related is welcome.

Thanks folks!

(This is all rather complicated, so if there's any important info that I left out, let me know)

How can we make our low-income year a little easier?

ORthey — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:45:13 -0800

My girlfriend and I are making very little money this year. What are some services/discounts/aid we can qualify for? This is in Berkeley, CA, USA, and we live together. The gal & I make less than $35K combined this year (pre-tax) - she is a student getting a teaching credential and works part-time as a teaching assistant (no benefits), and already has large debts from college and so is trying to take out only enough loans to pay for tuition. I have a part-time job that luckily provides full medical benefits for me, but doesn't pay a ton. The Bay Area is an expensive place and it's proven challenging to make it work.

We are lucky enough to have low rent, and neither of us needs to drive to work very often so we don't spend much on gas. We can definitely survive the year as is, but are wondering what type of financial help there is out there - so far, we have qualified for a reduced gas & electric bill (20% discount for low income). We've thought about joining the YMCA, which offers very good financial aid, but that may end up being frivolous even with the discount. I also have a free Costco card through work, which helps.

Regular expenses include cell phone, internet, car insurance, basic health care (for her), BART (the subway), food... the usual, really.

Thanks for any suggestions you might have! Oh, and this is hopefully temporary - next (academic) year she should get a full-time job, and I will hopefully start supplementing my hours with more income fairly soon.

Being an adult sucks. Can I be 18 again?

lizjohn — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:44:25 -0800

Help me/us gain perspective about working while in school, please! My husband and I have been going back and forth about what to do about school and work.

The boring background information: I worked full-time while I put myself through my first degree. My grades were good enough to graduate with honors from a state school, but they weren't stellar. I believe in accruing as little debt as possible while in school. When my husband attended college (he didn't finish) he was in a very time consuming program and only worked at his college radio station one night a week. He essentially didn't work and took out a loan to get by. We only recently paid off that loan.

Now: We are both going back to school and both have eyes on very competitive programs. My husband in struggling balancing school and work. We both have about 50 hours of school work left until we can apply to our professional programs. We have our two school days off, but the problem lies in the rest of the week. We both work in the retail world and could be scheduled anytime between 7am and 11pm. Simply to keep these jobs, we must maintain very open availability. The job market here is poor and most job moves we could make would be laterally in pay and in requiring open availability.

My argument: It's better live off your current wages and take out loans for tuition only. No point compounding loans when we can just take out as minimal as possible. Caveat, I know that once we get into professional school we will definitely take out loans. The question lies in the undergraduate and prerequisite courses.

His argument: School loans are among the cheapest/best type of loans to take. It is better to do your very best in school to get into the best programs then to just get by and get into an OK program (if you get in at all). We could power through school faster and with the "good jobs" we could get with these degrees, the loans would be easily paid off. We could scrape by living simply for years.

Further financial details: We own our car and we rent an apartment. We have some credit card debt and we are actively paying it down. My husband receives some grants for school, which cover most of his tuition. I have 5k in bonds set aside for emergency, some of which will mature soon. In 2012 we will receive the proceeds from a moderately sized annuity which we had earmarked for a down payment for a house. I have decent health insurance through my job, for which I need to maintain full time status. Neither of us could support both on one paycheck.

What to other people do? Do most adults work through college? What about when their spouse in attending school as well? How common is it to live off loans?

Sorry if this is rambly, we'd just like some outside prospective. We've been going back and forth about the loan situation for months.

If it matters, I'm going into pharmacy and he's going into law

Failed to register for Selective Service - ruined for life?

Anonymous — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:07:38 -0800

Let's say your a male and you've made a horrible mistake: you didn't sign up for Selective Service while you still had time. Is there any way to fix this? You graduated high school and left home before the age of eighteen. Neither your high school nor your parents suggested you sign up, as your relationship with both high school and your parents was somewhat tumultuous. You didn't even realize -- literally had no clue -- it was important until returning to undergrad at age thirty to finish your bachelor's degree. You never needed Selective Service information for employment or school before. If you could go back in time and register, you would, a million times over.

Here are some of the consequences for not signing up, including ineligibility for college Financial Aid, all federal jobs, many state jobs, and more.

Clearly, not signing up was a terrible mistake. However, it seems that if you can "show by a preponderance of evidence" that failure to register was not knowing and willful, you may be able to have benefits re-instated.

Do any MeFites have experience with either (a) completing an education and looking for jobs while being a non-registered male or (b) being on the other side of the table and re-instating benefits for non-registered males? It seems like being a non-registered male shuts all sorts of doors -- how did you cope? Is it best to contact the SSS directly, or go through the financial aid office at school? For financial aid officers that may have let non-registered males through, what makes a good case? Would joining the army waive these penalties, and allow things like financial aid and government jobs again?

To be clear, I'm not looking to skirt the system, just trying to get a sense of what my options are, and if I have any hope of convincing someone to let me apply for financial aid or government jobs.

In other words, is there any way this can be fixed, or do I pay for the rest of my life?

Throwaway email at anonymousmistake@gmail.com. Thanks in advance.

Ik heb... financialaidie?

zvs — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 07:43:21 -0800

NetherlandsFilter: As a Dutch citizen, am I eligible for financial aid for school in the United States? I'm a US-Dutch dual citizen, and I'm starting grad school in the US soon. I was applying for FAFSA when I realized there's probably an equivalent program in Holland.

But I can barely read Dutch, let alone Google effectively in it. Has anyone successfully done this?

I would make tea at the BBC.

lhude sing cuccu — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 19:22:36 -0800

What would be the best route to go after finishing an AS degree? Many questions about New England, and the regular England, rolled into one inside. I am starting community college in 2 weeks and, even though school hasn't even started yet, I've started to look ahead. I'm trying to figure out what I should do when I've graduated. I don't want to do anything impulsive; something fun for now but just expensive in the long run.
I live in Virginia, and I'm lucky because financial aid grants are covering me so far, but it's going to take a lot of research to keep myself out of debt when I go on to transfer.
I've started realising that the nagging feeling telling me to move out of the US isn't going away, and although going to an in-state school and just studying abroad would be the most logical option in the minds of most, of course I have to keep on until I uncover my every option.

1. I don't really want to stay in Virginia, but if it comes to paying $8,000 instead of $20,000, I will do it. I would like to find a college in New England to go to, one that has very good financial aid.
I found a place called Williams College in MA, which I just loved as soon as I saw the front page of the website, but they said they only accept about 4 out of the 110 transfer applicants they get each year. (?!) I couldn't compete with that, even if I did get a 4.0 GPA. (They also want a high school transcript, and my 1.5 GPA won't help me there. I am going to community college to start over.)
How can I find colleges in New England (DC to Maine) that have really decent need-based aid?

2. I've wanted to move to the UK for 5 going on 6 years now. I know I should study abroad first to see if I even like it, but I wonder what would really be the best option in case I did like it. If I studied abroad, I'd have to graduate at that US college, and I don't know what kind of visa I would even qualify for after graduating. I heard the best visa to get would be a student visa, and the fact that it can lead to a Tier 1 visa makes it sound even better. Should I just go for a non-study UK visit first? I could plan a trip. And take the train around.

3. More general UK questions. Is England really going "downhill" like I've heard so many times? Am I just so enchanted by the BBC that it's clouded my judgment? I'd consider moving to Wales, maybe Scotland, but I am most attached to England. What are the facts here? I haven't heard anything except for the vague..."You'll never get a job...it's all just immigrants living there now...British people are all trying to move to the US now..." Maybe it was all just said by a bunch of people who lived in and hated London. Isn't the US just as bad, or am I missing something?

4. More importantly, would I even be able to get a job? Or do they give all the jobs to EU students and I could never do anything except answer phones until I die? And what's all this about "No self-employment"? Will I be able to play my guitar in my one-man band anymore?

5. Is there any way to immigrate that is as simple as the Tier 4 Student Visa seems? Immigration, of course, is just speculative. I don't know what I'm planning to become, but I'm sure I won't make enough money to get all the points I would need to be a "highly skilled worker".

6. Would I be able to afford living in the UK? I lived in Chicago for a year just fine; sure I had financial aid and a job though. Are the grants/scholarships available to the average everyday non-handicapped/veteran/singlemom/hispanic/4.5GPA people like me?

If I could only afford to study abroad, I guess I wouldn't die, but that leads back around to question #1 again.
Or maybe...go to college in-state and transfer in? What does a BA count for there? Do I have to complete a whole BA degree in the UK to qualify for the Tier 1 Post-Study Visa?

7. Will they hate me, an American? I don't pick up a lot of enemies easily, but you never know.

Apparently, an AS degree is only equivalent to a Foundation Degree and I'd have to go for the full 3 years to get a BA. Those over-achievers.
Maybe I should call a university and ask, but it always seems like they know as much as I do at their international office, and different schools might have different rules.

I think that's it. Thanks for any and all advice you can give me. I guess I'm just trying to do the all-elusive "do what I want and not lose any money doing it". I've read other questions here about moving, but it seems like they all already had some kind of job lined up, which I am far, far away from having.

And sorry my questions are always so darn long.

Is the subsidized Stafford a better deal?

Breav — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:36:22 -0800

Should my son accept a partial subsidized Stafford Loan at 5.6% then pay the balance with a variable rate private LOC, or should he skip the Stafford if the LOC's current interest rate is 4%? You are not my financial advisor, but this is hopefully obvious to you while not at all obvious to us.

Financial Aid office offered a small portion of the upcoming semester's bill as a subsidized Stafford Loan, and another as an unsubsidized Stafford Loan. Total is about $2500 of a $11,000 bill. Our local credit union offers a variable rate line of credit for up to 100% of the cost. Currently it's at 4%. The credit union manager says that he is financing his own education with that product, and the highest it has been in the 5-6 years he has participated was 8%, when times were still pretty good. The terms of the loan are pretty similar to Stafford, with repayment deferred until six months after graduation as long as he carries at least 12 credits.

Each piece of the financial aid package must be accepted or declined separately. I originally thought my son should decline the whole thing and just deal with the LOC, but now I'm wondering if that's bad advice.

Student loans above cost of attendance?

Malad — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 21:11:34 -0800

For doctoral grad school: what does one need to do to borrow more than the school's "cost of attendance"? I know federal loans don't permit this; which private lenders do? Will private student lenders lend out despite a lack of income or assets, and despite previous student loans (though no defaults, and good credit)?

Are expensive American undergraduate educations worth it for foreign students?

Mo Nickels — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 04:44:41 -0800

Is it worth it for a foreign parent to squeeze his budget to manage very expensive undergraduate educations for his children in elite American schools? A respected colleague in Asia writes with this query. It's not so much about how to get financial aid when you are a parent of foreign student seeking an undergraduate education in the United States so much as it is a question as to whether it is worth it at all, even if you can pay.

His words are below, posted with his permission. I have stripped out identifying information. The family is not in Singapore, for what that is worth.

«I have 2 children entering university at the same time this year.

My son has won a partial scholarship to the Eastman School of Music, but even then, the amount we'd have to come up with to send him there is rather forbidding.

My daughter has been accepted into New York University to do Liberal Arts -- but without any aid, which makes it virtually impossible for us to help her realise her dream.

What resources can I apply for in the US or elsewhere to help them? We've tried ones in our country but so far without success.

Would you recommend they take up the places offered them by the 2 schools, given the constraints? Are the schools really worth the astronomical expense? (Well, I know Eastman is about second to Juilliard, and NYU is reputable, although its Arts programme is 15th in the world.)

Would it really count so much that these would be for undergraduate study? Do people look more at one's postgrad pedigree? Would it be just as well that they did their first degree elsewhere (more affordable) and seek to go higher at Eastman and NYU afterwards? (In fact, my son has also obtained a full scholarship to theYong Siew Toh Coservatory of Music in Singapore. But then, what is YST compared to Eastman?)

I'm sorry if I sound inane but this issue of my children's further education has been keeping me from sleep for quite a while.»

I got accepted into grad school. How to afford?

actionpact — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:32:12 -0800

I got a phone call telling me I got accepted to grad school. Trying to work out funding options before the package gets here and whether it's worth it (sorta complicated situation, details inside). Help? Okay, so I applied to one school-- the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. A bit atypical, but I applied for their Illustration as Visual Essay MFA, and I applied based on the program rather than just the degree, so hopefully that makes sense. I live in Arizona right now and work as a freelance illustrator; while of course I don't need the degree to do what I do, the program and all its networking and focus seem like they could really push my skills and help my career in the long run. I got a phone call yesterday telling me yes, I got accepted and I'll be receiving more details in the mail next week. Of course though, I'm impatient and want to get the ball rolling to find out any financial options I have.

Few issues:

1) While I know SVA does have some merit based fellowships, they don't have a heck of a lot of options besides loans. Everyone I've talked to has mostly loved the program but have admitted it's expensive. (For the record, it's about $30,000 for '09-10, and I believe tuition will go up a bit the next year.)
2) Unlike a lot of my friends, I went to school in-state and while I did have debts, it's around $17k versus the $80-100k they had. So for two years incurring maybe $60-65k of debt... I don't know. I hear that it's the good kind of debt though?
3) Due to my ~~laziness~~ frustrations with doing my taxes, I only submitted my FAFSA on the 6th of this month. The SAR says my EFC is $1961. (While my career has been growing, I'm still not well off yet) Which as far as I know means I have a lot of financial need. I don't know if that'll make much of an impact or what?
4) I just looked on the school website and found out that the optimal filing deadline for the FAFSA was February 1. Unfortunately, the website and catalog don't always match up so I wasn't aware and the site is not the best laid out. Which means I'm potentially screwed if there's no funding.
5) I do know one of my professors (she decided to send me an open copy for my file) wrote a glowing letter and specifically suggested if they had scholarships that they consider me for it. I don't know if professors usually do that, but it seemed really nice anyhow...
6) Since I'm self-employed I can't do tuition reimbursement or anything. I do have a part time job that offers college scholarships but it's only for undergrad.
7) There just aren't a heck of a lot of arts fellowships that I can find. But maybe I don't know where to look? I have checked out Fastweb and their brethren, but I never find much. I do know that Threadless has a scholarship, which I think I'm going to try for (SVA does match outside scholarships by 25%, so)...

So I'm wondering hivemind: what can I do in the meantime? I know next week I'll receive more details, but I'm trying to get the jump on alternate funding. Is there something I'm not thinking of?

And I'm also wondering your opinions re: the debt vs. value of going. I know it's a lot of money and while it's not going to get me one job that can justify it, the building upon my skills and the networking with a lot of industry people in New York could turn into a lot of jobs and different avenues of projects down the road. (For those who don't know, it's more of a practical vs. theory-based MFA) It seems like a good thing for me. So to me it seems worth it to invest in my future for two years (and then unless I did find some kind of steady employ there, I'd probably leave). But I can't tell if I'm nuts.

Thanks! I know this is a little more complicated than your standard grad school AskMe thread (I did read a ton of them too, so sorry if it retreads a common question), but hopefully it makes sense. I can respond to questions as needed.

I got into grad school. It is expensive. Help.

millipede — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 07:53:11 -0800

Please explain to me how financial aid for graduate school works, and thus help me navigate how I am going to pay for this. I was just accepted to U Penn's MCP program for fall 2009. Yay! (I haven't heard from other schools yet, so this isn't a U Penn-specific question, however). They told me that my financial aid package will be in the mail soon. I filled out a FAFSA a few weeks ago, and my estimated family contribution was about three times the amount of my total savings. Am I correct in assuming that (Tuition) - (EFC) = (the amount of need-based aid I can get)? If so, what do I do to pay for the rest? Do I have to wait until I know how much aid I'll be getting before I start the process of applying for, I guess, private loans? Why is my EFC so high (I didn't give it parental data, and I do save a fair amount of the not-that-much money I make)? Will my EFC change next year, since I won't have the job I currently have? Are most people able to realistically meet their EFC?

I am a complete financial aid neophyte, as I was fortunate enough to have a scholarship and parental support as an undergrad. I am so daunted and confused by this process. I imagine it will seem easier and less nonsensical once I know for sure where I'm going and how much federal aid I'll get, and I sit down with someone at a school and have it explained to me, but can anyone help me out a bit now? I feel like I've read everything the internet has to offer on this, and my head is swimming.

Getting loan check in mom's name into my bank account.

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 11:52:42 -0800

My mother was recently approved for a Parent PLUS loan to cover my tuition for this year. The check is now on its way in mom's name to my address, and I have some questions... My mother, who lives across the country from me, was recently approved for a Parent PLUS loan to cover my tuition for this year. The check for $6000 in mom's name is on its way to my address, and due to several issues, I need help figuring out how to get the check into my account. The issues:

A) There is a branch of my bank where mom lives, but not a branch of mom's bank where I live
B) Mom has a long history of inability to manage finances and bouncing checks, and is currently a month behind on all of her bills
C) Mom has a husband with a drug addiction and very few scruples with whom she shares a bank account
D) The distance between us (so that we can't go to a bank together)

As far as I can tell, there are only a few options here. One, which Mom suggested, is that I sign her name, "Pay to the order of" my name, and deposit the check into my account. But: Since this is such a large check, will the bank give me problems about depositing the check without my mom being there in person? Could I deposit it in the ATM without issue?

Another option would be to send mom the check with my signature and "For Deposit Only" with my account number on the back. I would have my mother sign it and deposit it into my bank account in person. Would writing "For Deposit Only" ensure that she couldn't put it into her own account? Would my bank give her any problems for depositing the check without me being present?

The last option that I can think of would be to send the check to mom, have her put it into her bank account, and then write me a new check from that. This is not ideal for the aforementioned reasons.

What is the best, easiest, fastest way to get this check from my mailbox into my bank account with the smallest risk of mom or her husband taking the money for themselves? Is there another way I'm not thinking of?

It should be noted that this loan will get lumped in with the rest of my loans and get paid back by me, not by my mother, and that without it, I will be unable to complete this semester at school.

How to make sure I get the best financial aid while still deciding between schools.

Anonymous — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:00:11 -0800

FinancialAidFilter: How do I decide whether to fill out the FAFSA (for law school) with or without parental info when some schools require and some don't? I applied to several schools, but there are three main contenders.
School A- I have already been accepted to this school. They require all students under 28 to include parental information on the FAFSA. I'm 24 years old, which means I am not required by the government to include parental info.
School B- I have a good chance of being accepted to this school. They don't require parental info on the FAFSA, but do require parents financial info for students under 28 on a separate form from the school.
School C- I don't have a great chance of getting in here, but if I did, it would be my absolute top choice. They don't require parental information at all for students 24 and over.

Most likely, I will end up in the situation of choosing between schools A and B. School A is weighted slightly higher than school be, but really it may come down to what aid packages I'm offered. C is the most expensive of the three schools, so on the off chance I get in there, I would need all the help I can get.

My parents combined made between $50k-$60k last year, and I made just under $30k, I have a younger sister in her 2nd year of college, and all three schools have annual costs of attendance of $60k-$70k, so hopefully that will make me fairly competitive for need-based aid. I don't receive any parental financial support, though, so I really need as much financial aid as I can get. I really don't want to be working nearly full-time in law school like I did in college to support myself. If some schools don't require their info on the FAFSA, I hate that I'm screwing myself out of better aid (like more subsidized vs. unsubsidized loans) by having to include parental info for the sake of one school. School A says that if I just want student loans, I can fill it out with just my own info, but I don't want to keep myself out of the running for their need-based grants.

I could wait until I hear back from the other two schools so I can better decide what to do, but I know that earlier is better, and finding out what need-based aid I am offered from each school will help me make the best decision.

Any advice?

What are the pros and cons of giving back unused student loan money at the end of the semester?

SuperNova — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:32:48 -0800

I'm in my first year of law school and also a first-time student loan borrower. I ended up having a decent amount of loan money left in my bank account at the end of the semester. Should I pay it back or hang on to it? All my loans are federal -- both types of Stafford and GradPLUS. The PLUS is my highest-rate (8.6% I think?), so if I were to pay the money back, it would go there.

The PLUS had a 3% origination fee that I believe I read would be waived if I paid back within 120 days of disbursement (i.e., this week). The deal is, you borrow"$X", you actually receive ($X-fee), and then you have to pay back $X. Theoretically, if you paid back the ($X-fee) before the time ran, you would be clear of the whole amount -- or at least that's my understanding. That won't happen, in my case, but I could pay back around half. The fee is not huge -- less than $300 total, so less than $200 at stake here.

Maybe more importantly, what's the story on in-school interest? Both the unsubsidized part of the Stafford and the PLUS loans charge interest while in school, and say that it will be added to the principal amount if not paid back during school. My lender's website reports a "Payoff Balance" around $500 higher than my loan amount (which, for the PLUS, is around 3.4% -- which doesn't correspond to anything that makes sense to me relative to my interest). Is that difference the interest? Should I pay it back now?

My priorities are keeping my ultimate burden as low as possible, but also not running short of money now (when I have much less of it!). Based on this semester, it looks like I should have plenty for the spring, but I might end up needing to save some for this summer if I don't have a paying job. I'm not opposed to paying as much as I can back now, but only if there is a good reason to do so.

Can anyone offer some advice on what I should do or at least on what I should consider?

(Lender is Citigroup/Student Loan Corporation, if it matters.)

Schooling Alternatives for an ADD 8th grader

not_on_display — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:32:28 -0800

Recommendations for alternative/private schools for a 13-year-old ADD child (Boston Area), plus ancillary questions. My son's 13, and in 8th grade in a very good public school system (Belmont, MA). He's brilliant--something we already know and that his teachers confirm--but even with the support his mother and I give him, along with the more-than-expected support from his school (which even goes beyond what's recommended in his IEP), he's still had trouble over the years tuning in at all during class, instilling in himself needed organizational skills, remembering to write assignments down, and so on... all the hallmarks of an ADD kid.

We have had our son try Ritalin (and other similar medications) in the past, with mixed results: his grades and concentration improved markedly, but while he appreciated that window, he really didn't like the jittery side effects, and also feared the (real) stigma of being a "ritalin kid". So while we still consider the Rit an option for the future, it's not on the table presently. Also, he is not hyperactive--energetic, ebullient, enthusiastic, yes, but not ADHD.

We've often mulled over the idea of enrolling him in a private school, so this leads me to Question 1: Do you know of any high schools in the Boston area whose curricula and philosophy fit well with ADD-types?

(As an aside, knowing myself to exhibit many ADD qualities, I found that most of the ADD-type symptoms which had been stumbling blocks for me academically vanished when I hit puberty. On the other hand, I went to an all-boys Catholic school, something which we're not considering for our son. Also, a relative attended the Landmark School in Beverly, and while that was great for his own range of learning disabilities, we don't think that a place like Landmark would be appropriate for our son. Same thing with the Sudbury-Valley-type schools; while we like the idea, and actually had him try-out Sudbury Valley for a week, we didn't think it'd work well for our son, as ADD kids usually benefit more from routines, fixed schedules, etc.)

Immediately, our second question is the financial aid one. What's the best way to go about applying to a potentially costly private institution, knowing full well that we don't have the financial resources to cover even a portion of the bill? One relative advised us (paraphrasing here) that, "Everyone pays their own way the first year, and then applies for financial aid and scholarships, which are much easier to come by once the kid is established in the school/community." Is there truth to that, and are there workarounds?

For the long-term, we also wonder which colleges out there would be ADD-friendly. For instance, I've been told that Goddard College is good for kids like ours, but also, I've been told to be wary of more unstructured schools (such as Bennington, his mom's alma mater), for the same reasons a Sudbury-Valley-style high school wouldn't appeal to us. I'm taking my son to a college fair tonight, and it'd be nice to know which tables to hit first.

So: where should we be looking so that we can get our son into an environment where he can tap the great, wild potential he has?

Thanks, hivemind!

Can I take a Stafford loan without the help of my school?

serazin — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:29:07 -0800

Can I apply for a Stafford loan without going through my school? I am enrolled in a nursing program at a very disorganized and poorly funded community college. I started August 20. Due to "the new computer system isn't working" type problems, no one's financial aid paperwork has been processed for this year. So I've received no aid and neither has anyone else. The person in charge of loans is refusing to even talk to any students until "the computer system is fixed" which could be "never" as far as I can tell. I'm a broke single mama and I'm starting to get desperate.

I want to apply for subsidized and unsubsidized federal loans. Is there any way I can do this on my own - since the financial aid department will not help me or even talk to me?

Thanks folk!

Work Hard and Hope for the Best, or Stay Safe and Lose It All?

dmaterialized — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:43:10 -0800

Am I making a huge mistake? I'm deciding whether I should take a term off from my beloved college in order to work in the "real world", scraping together money for a study abroad program (Semester at Sea). My instincts say to do it, but I'm suddenly hesitant and wonder if others might have suggestions. Here's where it stands. I planned on making tons of money this summer doing freelance work (in a job that in the past has made me quite a bit of money), but that didn't work out. Instead of having a wad of cash at the end of summer, I've basically broken even. Now I have to figure out what to do next-- and as senior year looms, things seem to be getting desperate.

I intend to go on Semester at Sea this spring (my final term)-- yes, I managed to convince the faculty to let me! SAS is literally the most important goal I have, and I desperately need to be on that boat, but I'm not sure how to make ends meet-- especially since the cheaper rooms all got snatched up and it now costs $5,000 more than it was "supposed" to.

I'm an entering senior in college, paying for the whole thing myself and have no family assistance whatsoever (thanks to a lot of financial aid, I have just enough cash to finish two terms there, but that isn't much). Semester at Sea costs $23,000 -- not including personal expenses or additional fees that might come up. Of that, roughly $12000 of my aid will transfer, and there is a $10k workstudy grant if all goes well. That pretty much means I could go-- though without a cent to spare (not even enough for things like plane tickets etc).

If I forego college for one term, it hinges on getting a full-time job (9-5) as well as supporting myself through my existing freelance work and bartending (which I haven't yet gotten a job in, but feel like I will if I give it some more time). I can stay at a friend's place for very little rent, and will have ultimate freedom (one of the things I seek most in life). I'll be running myself into the ground, but I really think I might be ready for the "real world": at least, I hope so. And at the end of it, I would be able to save up some money and have an amazing trip--potentially even able to buy a nice f/2.8 for my DSLR!

Things to consider: I would be leaving behind some people I care very much about and who I might not see again (including a long-term relationship that I'd pretty much have to give up on), I would need to graduate college a term late (and miss a whole year of watching my friends grow up), and I don't know how the job market is in NY (though I have an incredible amount of skills, I seem to have consistent trouble getting work normally). The advantage is that I would be applying for a fulltime position (with more than 4 months available to work) and I imagine there are certainly more opportunities for those than for part time/internship work. If it doesn't work, though, the whole thing is a bust.

If I stayed at college, I would be dirt-poor (just like always) and potentially miss out on being able to afford the trip (even if I got a gig bartending in the town, it wouldn't be enough to save up). Even things like visas, memory cards, or plane tickets might be more than I could handle. I have credit card bills that I would need to set money aside to pay over the 3 months I'm at sea, and I'm not sure how I could do that either. It would be so comforting, so easy, to go back-- but I'm not sure it's the right choice in the long run. I sense that I'll be changed a lot after SAS and I think being independent beforehand might be really important.

I'm pretty much at the max of my financial aid, though it's possible I might be able to take out a $5-7k loan. My credit's not great, so I'm not too sure of my chances of that.

I'm just trying to think this out-- what seems to you to be the sanest idea? Strike out and hope that a job will be waiting (I'm doing tons and tons and tons of research), or go back and be happy, finish school, and move on as best I can (my college is paradise on earth, and nothing else will ever be quite like it)? And what other options might I have for this kind of thing? Are there appropriate loans I might look into that are outside the normal structure of financial aid?

The whole thing is incredibly scary to me, but exhilarating... is it really just a question of courage, and working is obviously the right choice, or am I right to be cautious of abandoning ship in this economy?

Born in the USA

chara — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:07:26 -0800

In the United States, if a college-bound student is under the age of 24 and s/he is a legal citizen, but his/her parents are undocumented/illegal residents, how does this student fill out the FAFSA? Also, are there other outside financial resources for these students that are private and not affiliated with the federal government?

(This is a hypothetical situation; I'm asking for the sake of my own curiosity).

What is the best financial/tax situation for a family with a kid on the way?

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 06:27:17 -0800

What is the best financial/tax situation for us? Kid on way, financial aid eligibility concerns. Me: grad student for 2 more years, on a teaching assistantship (this covers tuition, fees, health insurance, and gives me a $1600/mo. stipend) and with some student loans on top (less than $10k/year). I also work in the summers, but make less than $5k. I also receive research grants sometimes ($5k-$15k). In 2008, I will only have been in the country for 2 months and will have an income of less than $5k. In 2009 and 2010 I will be be back on the normal track with $1600/mo. and some loans with perhaps 2-3 months of a travel grant of ~$6k.

Him: working person making a good salary (floating around 6 figures)

New factor: baby on the way at end of year (will be on Dad's insurance and Dad's company covers childcare)

The way that we see it, here are our financial options:

(1) Stay unmarried, he claims baby on his taxes.

(2) Stay unmarried, I claim the baby on my taxes. (But would this screw up my student loan/financial aid eligibility by making me look richer?)

(3) Marry and claim kid together. (Again, would this screw up my student loan/financial aid eligibility?)

Help me pay for nursing school

serazin — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:59:29 -0800

Scholarships for nursing students? I’m starting nursing school at a small community college. Their financial aid department bites – they have zero information about scholarships beyond the Pell Grant/Cal Grant and they won’t even talk to me about loans until August (when I’m starting school). I’ve been trying to research scholarships on my own and have found a couple, but not the dozens that I imagined when everyone told me that there was lots of help available for nursing students. I know the basics: fastweb, google, and I've looked through some askme scholarship threads, but with no help from my school financial aid department, I’m floundering a bit.

I know I’m late to apply for many awards (the program didn’t tell me I was accepted until May, a couple months after most scholarship deadlines passed) but I would love any suggestions for nursing related scholarships, grants, loan-forgiveness, etc. I’ve applied for this one: http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/nursing/scholarship/ but haven’t found others.

If it helps, I’m also an “older” student and a single parent.

Help Me Make the American Dream a Reality

mynameismandab — Sat, 03 May 2008 19:13:11 -0800

Future Lawyer-Financial Aid-Student Loan-Borrower/Cosigner-Filter: Help me help both and Myself and my Ecuadorian friend achieve the American dream--Many details and questions follow. My friend from Ecuador hopes to go to medical school to become a neurologist, but needs a $20,000 reserve in her bank account in order for her school to take on the enrollment liability and grant her an I-20.

We found that she could get a Sallie Mae loan as long as an eligible U.S. citizen would cosign for her, which I have agreed to do. She will request $50,000 for the coming year but keep only $27,000 and repay the rest, then do the same thing next year. Her total loan request will be $100,000 but will only owe $54,000 plus 5.75% interest.

I have requested contact information for her family living in Ecuador, as well as relatives of hers living in the States (all of which she has provided) and I have full faith that she will pay off the loan.

I am the first person in my family to go to college, am in my own graduate program, and will have accrued about $70,000 in Stafford loans by graduation. I also plan to attend law school in the next few years and will need loans to cover the costs. Currently the annual tuition is $32,000 at the law school I want to attend, but I will not be attending for another 2 or 3 years, so that will put law school at about $35,000 a year for 3 years, or about $105,000.

Given that the lifetime limit for Stafford loans is $138,500, I know that the remaining $68,500 of Stafford loans will not totally pay for school, but I need to keep as much of my loan funding available as possible.

So I have four questions:

1. Will my cosigning for her take away from My lifetime Stafford loan amount, or how does that work?

2. If the answer to the question above is, Yes, will her repayment of that amount release funds for me to utilize for my own education in the future? So if she pays back the full $54,000 plus interest, will that go back into the community chest for my future use and repayment?

3. Also, does anyone know if the total amount is frozen regardless of how much is repaid, or does the repayment amount provide for the possibility of borrowing in the future?

--That is, if I take out the full $138,500 but repay $20,000, could I take out that $20,000 again some time in the future and pay it back later? How does that work?

4. Once I have exhausted my lifetime Stafford loan allowance, what alternative resources will I have for financing my education--what are my chances of getting a good scholarship and for how much?

I hope this makes sense, everybody, and I appreciate any assistance you can provide. Thanks in advance.

Explaining how college works to a first generation student

Jacqueline — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:20:53 -0800

Please suggest information sources and other resources to explain how college works to a first generation potential college student. I have a friend whom I am encouraging to go to college. He was laid off a few months ago and his job search is not going well. He's concluded from his own job market research that in his industry/region he needs a bachelors degree to advance his career. I think, given that he is already unemployed and the economy is probably going to be sucky for a while, that now would be a terrific time for him to go get that degree! However, he is having a hard time believing and understanding that he is actually *able* to go to college.

My friend is from a lower class background and no one in his family has ever been to college. I am trying to help him with information and advice, but it seems that there is a lot of information I picked up through osmosis growing up that he just doesn't know because he was never exposed to it. (Examples: I used the term "undergraduate" and he asked me what kind of degree was that. He didn't know that he could get a student loan and use some of the money to help pay for living expenses as well as tuition. Etc.) I'm worried that the advice and information I have to share assumes too much prior knowledge of how the system works to be very helpful to him.

I don't think academic preparation will be an issue for him. My friend is very smart and his language skills are definitely college level. (I was initially quite surprised to find out that he'd never been to college because he speaks and writes better than many college graduates.) He graduated from high school but his high school GPA was not very high.

He's old enough (30) to be classified as an independent college student for financial aid. His credit is poor, so private loans are probably not a possibility. He is estranged from his parents so no support there. He already lives very cheaply so I don't think he'll have to make any lifestyle adjustments to live as a full-time student if he is able to get enough student aid to cover the full "cost of attendance" estimate provided by the school.

If/when he goes, he'll be going to his local community college for an associates degree and then transferring to the local state university. (He probably could complete a distance learning degree quicker, but his job market research has convinced him that for his industry/region he needs a degree through these specific local programs.) I think he's the type of person who would really benefit from and thrive in the full time college student experience, even though he's starting later in life and will be older than most of the other undergraduates.

So, my friend is smart enough, he should be able to fund it, and it would be great for him to go. I think his main obstacle now is that he just doesn't understand how the "system" works. My impression from our discussions is that his class background has (falsely) led him to believe that college is a big scary intimidating complicated foreign thing and not for people like him. I want to break down this mental roadblock and show him that college is really NOT that difficult to get into, pay for, and succeed in.

So, what are some good books or other resources I can recommend to him that explain the college "system", starting with the very basics, to a first generation, older student? Like you would explain it to a newly arrived space alien? Basic terminology and structure of the US higher education system, how admissions works, how financial aid works, what to expect and how to succeed in your classes, how to take advantage of all the student support services and extracurricular opportunities, how the job market for college graduates works, etc. Although I know all this stuff myself, I'm not confident I can explain it adequately to someone starting from zero prior knowledge.

Thanks!

How to get educational financial help as a truly independent young adult?

Tomorrowful — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 14:04:26 -0800

Help me help my friend convince college financial aid departments that her parents are not and never will be willing to provide any help for her, and get money to pay for living expenses. Posted, obviously, on behalf of a friend.

My friend "Sarah" is 23, and has a modest full-time desk job - not an income she wants to keep for much longer, but enough to pay rent, food, etc, comfortably... if only just barely. She is not making enough to make any significant savings, but neither does she have any debt. She is currently taking occasional classes at a community college, and has a 4.0 average there. She wants/needs to transfer to a four-year public school full-time soon-ish and get her degree.

The problem is that her parents are actively opposed to the idea of her getting an education. They aren't just refusing to provide help - they've refused to cosign private student loans. They've even refused to give her the information she needs to apply for financial aid. Please don't provide any responses along the lines of 'go negotiate with them' - she's tried, and they're totally unsympathetic. It's an extreme case of the classic "We didn't need college, therefore you don't" story, and they can be counted on to not lift a finger to help her, no matter how trivial that help might seem.

She also has no other relatives who could be cosigners - and yes, she's made sure of that.

What she needs is money both for tuition and living expenses, since she won't be working full-time if she's taking classes full-time. Currently her boyfriend is helping pay for her community college classes, but she doesn't want to be dependent on him - and obviously a four-year school full-time is a whole different financial matter than community college courses one at a time. So this question has two components:

First, as a 23-year-old, what can she/must she do to convince a large public university that she really truly is on her own, and will never see a dime from her parents? They seem to expect that up until 25, they're providing assistance, but she's not a minor trying to get emancipated.

Second, what kind of loan options does Sarah have to pay for living expenses, and for tuition beyond what scholarships will provide, given that she doesn't have a significant credit history (just one secured credit card) and won't be able to make enough money working part-time to pay for everything, and has no cosigner available?

College Degree with limited resources?

tev — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 10:27:36 -0800

I need to go back to school. Can anyone point me to the resources that I need to find to do so? I am desiring to pursue a degree in photography. I have college experience for sure, but I am overwhelmed by the options and the procedure. Also I don't have much money. Right out of highschool I went to college and I studied something that I didn't end up liking, had a miserable time, combined with a complete nervous breakdown, and ended up dropping out. After a year or so I went to the local community college and excelled in photography and art but eventually ended up lacking the resources to continue. The upside is that now I am in good standing with financial aid as I maintained good grades in the photo program. Now I want a degree. I have lots of debt and am trying to figure out where to start. I know that my photography is good, and I wonder if there are any programs that I can find that may offer a scholarship. But, as I said before, the problem is is that I am not sure where to start, frankly the system is feeling a little Kafkaesque to me right now. Can anyone point me in the right direction or give me the information I need about getting money for college? I've done tons of googling but it seems like the results are dubious at best. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Help me understand how to pay for my education.

Quidam — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 20:44:02 -0800

Please tell me, using layman's terms whenever possibly, everything you know about student loans. (backstory inside) Two years ago I graduated from high school, and proceeded to go to a college at a small, out-of-state school. My parents (at that point) were paying for my education. Earlier this summer, I decided to transfer to a bigger, in-state school. My parents are 100% not okay with this decision, and have effectively cut me off financially (or at least will stop paying tuition, housing, books, etc in the fall). I am more or less okay with this. I am willing to accept the financial responsibilities of this decision.

However, of course I still have to file as a dependent on the FAFSA, the problem being that my dad makes too much money for me to qualify for any kind of federal aid at all. Okay, actually, in the interest of full disclosure, I haven't filed a FAFSA (ever), because my dad has promised me all along that if I do I won't qualify for jack squat. Furthermore, because I applied so late, I'm too late to qualify for any kind of merit-based scholarships through the school (I do have a strong academic record).

So, if federal aid is out, and scholarships are out, it seems to me that my only option is to take out a private loan. The problem is, I don't know the first thing in the world about taking out a loan, because I've never had to until recently. I've looked here, here, and here in an attempt to do some research, but I'm totally lost and mildly overwhelmed as to how to proceed. How does one begin to compare banks and interest rates and know which one is the best option? How do I know how much money to take out? If I take out too little, can I take out more later? How long will the process take after I apply for a loan? What other factors should I be taking into account?

I'm just really pretty clueless about all this, and would love to not get myself in massive debt, if possible. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. :)