Split thread: cost of education in the US

[ZephyrusX]

Split from:Chinese mothers are superior?

Basing financial aid on parents income can cause a lot of problems. My brother's friend that I mentioned about was very gifted in classical guitar. He went to a university for some sort of music degree, but had to drop out in the second semester due to inadequate funds. He couldn't get a larger loan because of his dad's income, but for what ever reason, the father couldn't give him any money for tuition.

I forget what age they stopped asking me to give my mother's financial information when applying for a loan. I'm pretty sure it was relatively late though. Within the last couple of years (so I would have been 23, 24).

Originally Posted by Mariana Trench

Well, and with the price of it, we've got enough to worry about. That's how the parents would be able to lord it over their adult offsprings' heads: "We'll pay for x major, but not y." Which is a big deal, because colleges take your parents' income into account in financial aid considerations (until you're...22?), whether or not they're willing to help you, or even unable for some reason besides direct income.

Just more reasons why you're right that it's an incredibly crappy thing to try to control what your progeny major in.

[Mariana Trench]

Sorry for the slight thread derail, everyone.

Originally Posted by ZephyrusX

Basing financial aid on parents income can cause a lot of problems. My brother's friend that I mentioned about was very gifted in classical guitar. He went to a university for some sort of music degree, but had to drop out in the second semester due to inadequate funds. He couldn't get a larger loan because of his dad's income, but for what ever reason, the father couldn't give him any money for tuition.

I forget what age they stopped asking me to give my mother's financial information when applying for a loan. I'm pretty sure it was relatively late though. Within the last couple of years (so I would have been 23, 24).

Yeah, personally, I'm pretty worried about paying for college and the financial aid available to me is a pretty big unknown and is going to be merit based and competitive. :/ Hearing that a Bachelor's is practically as required as high school these days isn't very encouraging either, but hey, that's how it goes.

There are a lot of reason besides income bracket that parents are unable to help their children, financially. Medical bills, debt built up during an extended unemployment, or circumstances such as a disability that require more money on a daily basis than the average person are some reasons that come to mind. I'm not sure what is the best way to structure the aid for education system but it seems like there should be ways to take more into account than just the parent's income (or some people may just have parents that refuse to pay). I dunno.

Originally Posted by Criseyde

I think it's 24 or 25 for the FAFSA, actually, even if your parents aren't claiming you as a dependent on their taxes. So, yeah -- quite a long time.

That said, I reckon my job search would be a lot easier right now if I had even a minor in computer science.

Thanks for the info. That seems like a very long time...anyone know why that is?

[Criseyde]

Originally Posted by Mariana Trench

Sorry for the slight thread derail, everyone.

Yeah, personally, I'm pretty worried about paying for college and the financial aid available to me is a pretty big unknown and is going to be merit based and competitive. :/ Hearing that a Bachelor's is practically as required as high school these days isn't very encouraging either, but hey, that's how it goes.

There are a lot of reason besides income bracket that parents are unable to help their children, financially. Medical bills, debt built up during an extended unemployment, or circumstances such as a disability that require more money on a daily basis than the average person are some reasons that come to mind. I'm not sure what is the best way to structure the aid for education system but it seems like there should be ways to take more into account than just the parent's income (or some people may just have parents that refuse to pay). I dunno.

You can take out private loans. They have high interest, though.

Also, you can report circumstances like that on the FAFSA.

Thanks for the info. That seems like a very long time...anyone know why that is?

In many cases, the school will give away quite a chunk of money. They don't want to give away more money than they need to for a student whose parents are going to help them out anyway. They want to be able to give aid to as many people as they can.

[Mariana Trench]

Originally Posted by Criseyde

You can take out private loans. They have high interest, though.

Also, you can report circumstances like that on the FAFSA.

Yeah, the private loans are what I keep hearing horror stories about.

Interesting, I didn't see an item on the form to report those, and it wasn't mentioned anywhere. Where are you supposed to report that?

In many cases, the school will give away quite a chunk of money. They don't want to give away more money than they need to for a student whose parents are going to help them out anyway. They want to be able to give aid to as many people as they can.

That makes sense.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by Mariana Trench

Yeah, personally, I'm pretty worried about paying for college and the financial aid available to me is a pretty big unknown and is going to be merit based and competitive. :/

Basically if you are set on going to college, I see two things you could do:

(1) Make sure you get the financial aid. That means you get the highest grades possible now, plus whatever else you need to demonstrate; or

(2) Just go to another country to do your college. (Since college costs so much in the US).

[Criseyde]

Originally Posted by Mariana Trench

Yeah, the private loans are what I keep hearing horror stories about.

Interesting, I didn't see an item on the form to report those, and it wasn't mentioned anywhere. Where are you supposed to report that?

I'm looking at the form right now. Re: the age where parents' income is taken into account: I could have sworn it used to be 24 (or even higher?) but it looks like the age is now 22, if it was ever higher. That's good!

Anyway, check out items 88-91f. 89 in particular: net worth of your parents' investments. That's where debts are reported.

If the parent is on disability, that gets reported. If the parent has a medical condition that's sucking up a lot of money, that's item 88: total current balance of cash, savings, and checking accounts. If the parent has low earning power because of a disability, that's items 86/87.

[Michael Chui]

Originally Posted by Mariana Trench

Yeah, the private loans are what I keep hearing horror stories about.

They're utterly real. I wasn't kidding in the other thread when I said I wanted a hundred grand to help a friend with school-sourced debt. If only she wasn't proud on top of that. Grr.

So, check the fine print. Find other people who have gotten money from the same sources under similar or same deals and see how they've fared. Take every free no-strings penny that's offered.

There's been talk of a higher education bubble, and while I'm not convinced, it's not only not implausible, but it's better to be prepared. There isn't exactly a guarantee on who gets hit by the fallout.

[ZephyrusX]

There are usually bursaries available too. Even if they are just a few hundred dollars, it is better than nothing. I ended up paying for my summer and spring courses (one course per term while working full time) out of my own pocket to cut down on my loan, but it is still ridiculously high. It makes me want to weep thinking about it; so I don't think about it.

Are there scholarships available to women who enter fields that are largely occupied by men? That is something worth checking into as well.

As a side note, it is my goal on these forums to spawn 100 split threads. I think I am at 3 right now.

[cacheborn]

Thought this was relevant.

Essays on the trap of US student debt – Boing Boing

[elucidate]

I know this thread is from july, but are there scholarships where you will be going Mariana? I'm sure you'd be eligible, and more then likely would win it. I'm not sure how things work in the states though. Here they have all sorts of aids for students, scholarships being one of them.

[Agota]

Mariana, come to Europe, education is way cheaper here!

..I'll be going to U.S., though, therefore we probably won't meet in the old continent ..

[pjhaggerty]

Perhaps you should enter an industry where a college degree is not required for admittance. One based on measurable results, not credentials. One where your credibility comes from your personal referrals and portfolio/testimonials, not a credential on a wall. If you truly don't want to pay for a college degree, such fields are open to you, and they are not necessarily low paying.