A Financial Aid Nightmare

J.R.Isidore
Sat, 05 Aug 2006 10:19:23 +0000

I suppose I’ll start talking again, and drop the whole ‘query’ thing.

I live in Florida. Bright Futures covers 100% of public institution tuition in Florida, and is entirely merit based. My parents pulled the FAFSA ploy as an attempt to box me into only choosing from Florida schools where it seems that I will have tuition paid for by the state. Also they’re afraid that they will get in trouble with the IRS, and no, they are not willing to put forth money of their own for my college expenses.

My ‘query’ was an attempt to see how other people in this forum would react to such a ploy (i.e. change college choices), as it seems that most are striving for major institutions with a hefty pricetag. Guess it didn’t work.

I was dead set on Swarthmore before my parents dropped the bomb, and since then I’ve attempted to put things more in perspective. The school I am considering going to in state (UF) has a scholarship program that is only available for ED applicants, 8 are selected a year, and it’s an additional $2,700 a year plus free study abroad each summer and you’re paired up with a professor of your major to do research/study with.

Thanks for all the info though (!).