Can't get financial aid because parents' income too high but they won't help

Paying for College
1

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>This question is actually about my neighbor:</p>

<p>She wants to go to massage school but she doesn’t have much money and she doesn’t qualify for financial aid because her parents make over 130k a year. However, they refuse to help her pay for school, so what can she do to go to school and get some sort of aid anyway? </p>

<p>She is 21 years old and has two kids (one is in the custody of her parents and one is in foster care) and she lives with her parents. She currently has a seasonal job, but it doesn’t seem very stable. She also did some time in jail, but she seems to have changed and wants to get her life on track.</p>

2

<p>You neighbor has children so she is independent for financial aid purposes. If she can find a massage program that is covered under federal and state funding, depending on her income, she can get PELL if her income is low enough, and she will be eligible for Stafford loans and whatever your state has in terms of money for school. </p>

<p>However, for those whose parents are in financial situation where they are deemed able to pay and if tney are considered dependent under financial aid standards, that’s just too bad, in term of financial aid. Such student can get up to $5500 in Stafford loans and are eligible for merit aid but are not going to get school funds allocated for need, nor will they be eligible for PELL or most state programs that take the income of the parents into account. PELL is such that the income level is very low to get the maximum of %$5500 from them anyways. </p>

<p>But your friend is definitely considered independent.</p>

3

<p>I believe that in order to be independent you must have a dependent for which you provide support. I don’t believe she qualifies.</p>

4

<p>If mom has custody of one child and the other child is in foster care, mom does not have dependents for whom she is providing supoort.</p>

5

<p>If grandparents have custody of one child and are providing the support for that child, and the other child is in foster care your friend does not have dependents for whom she provides support and will still be considered independent for financial aid purposes.</p>

6

<p>*KatMT
College Rep
*
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,360
If grandparents have custody of one child and are providing the support for that child, and the other child is in foster care your friend does not have dependents for whom she provides support and will still be considered independent for financial aid purposes.
*</p>

<p>I think Kat miswrote that last sentence</p>

<p>The student will be considered DEPENDENT because she doesn’t support or have custody of a child. </p>

<p>I’m not even sure if “massage school” qualifies for aid.</p>

7

<p>There are massage programs and schools that qualify for aid. SOmething can be worked out on the dependent status of the child, I’m sure. I know of several such situations. Sad. But they exist. The good part is the student is getting back on his/her feet and may well be able to care for self and child in a few years.</p>

8

<p>In most states, MT’s have to pass a background check. This student should make sure she will pass that…</p>

9

<p>We have a very reputable massage school in our area that participates in federal aid programs … they attend all the finaid conferences & are definitely on the up-and-up. That said, though, it is important for the friend to realize that she is dependent (not supporting the kids), and she won’t have aid at this point in time. Even if she were independent, I am not sure the aid would cover her costs. She may need to get a job doing something she doesn’t really want to do while she saves for college.</p>

10

<p>I have a number of friends and acquintances who have custody of their grandchildren for a variety of reasons, and their adult child living with them. Some are independent by virtue of age for financial aid, but some are not. If the adult is working, and it can be construed that more than half of the support of the child is coming from said adult, getting federal/state aid is possible. It seems to me that the colleges are pretty lenient about this. The official custody is not the issue here. In fact, if the child is on the tax forms as a dependent of the parent, so much the better. If there is a state school with a legitimate massage program that is covered by what available govenment aid there is,iwithin commuting distance, I think there is the possibility that she can attend and get aid. She would have to get her financial ducks in a row.</p>

11

<p>^^^</p>

<p>Perhaps the person cannot get custody of her child because of the nature of the crime?</p>

12

<p>A cheap alternative to a massage school (or beauty school) is (technical) community college. They also have massage therapist programs and can be obtained at fraction of the cost. Tell your friend to look into this option.</p>

13

<p>

</p>

<p>Would not than this person prohibited to live in the same household as a child?</p>

14

<p>Thank you so much for all the info you guys, that helped a lot! I will let her know of the options she has.</p>

<p>Also, her crime has nothing to do with her kids, she went to jail for driving a stolen vehicle.</p>

15

<p>Thanks Mom2K I did mistype… I meant that she would be DEPENDENT… not independent! Oops!</p>

16

<p>Or, if she can wait at all, she will automatically be considered for aid after she turns 24 (parents income will not be taken into account).</p>