<p>FYI: actually neither were my niece’s just didn’t feel like explaining the whole thing…</p>
<p>It doesnt matter if her parents were married, as long as paternity is established. State law will not differentiate married v unmarried parents. I think that is right.</p>
<p>i know its right thats why I didn’t bother getting into the difference.</p>
<p>Sorry, my bad . . . however, the WSU maximum automatic merit scholarship ir 4k. Asking 3k more per year when she has 8k is a lot relative to the norm for this institution and in light of her gap is due to parental refusal to pay not actual need.</p>
<p>I was stunned to read that a parent could supposedly be forced to pay for a child’s college education after they turned 18 because several of my friends were not required to by their states, so I did some research. I find it interesting that some state Supreme Courts have ruled it is unconstitutional while others have said it is legal, including Oregon (which I was thinking might the OP’s state of residence). Apparently the US Supreme Court hasn’t ever ruled on the issue. I wonder how long it will be before they finally do.</p>
<p>TV, we have many different laws re the custody, the support and the manner that divorced v nondivorced parents live with. Children of divorce received less support for college, on average, than childre of intact families. Why should the rest of us have to subsidize parents who for no reason (kid on facebook???) want to walk away? I am willing to pay taxes to support financial aid for kids whose parents can’t pay, but divorce can result in a parent just thumbing nose for no reason.</p>
<p>K- that brings up another whole set of issues. What about the parents who are so fed up with their child’s antics (drugs etc) that they kick them out at 18, yet the gov’t says the parents are obligated to pay for college? I don’t think that is fair at all. </p>
<p>On the other hand, I don’t think it is fair that a family should kick a kid out, and stop claiming the deduction in an effort to let the kid be eligible for tons of FA. I don’t know what the answer is.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Kicking a child out and not taking a deduction does NOT make a kid eligible for FA. </p>
<p>Anyway…I still think the student needs to politely contact the Director of Scholarships, explain how she’ll be paying all costs, provide her stats, give her major, and ask for a small ($3k) increase in merit. Her stats are high enough to justify an increase. If she stresses how she’ll be doing her part (working at Starbucks to be earning $6-8k+ per year, I think that will move a Director to find a few more bucks for a high stats student. And if being Asian helps with diversity at the school, even more so.</p>
<p>And…if her mom’s credit is iffy, perhaps have mom apply for a Plus loan, get denied, and then the student can borrow $4k more.</p>
<p>Hopefully, kelsmom can chime in…when the NCP is applying for Plus loan, then how does that work since that parent isn’t on FAFSA?? Does it matter?</p>
<p>"Kicking a child out and not taking a deduction does NOT make a kid eligible for FA. "</p>
<p>I know. That was my point. It shouldn’t be allowed; the problem would be differentiating that case from legitimate cases of kids on their own.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The ability to ask for professional judgement parses out those situations. And again, even if the bio mom and bio dad ended up in court there is no guarantee that the court would award a judgement against the dad that would bridge any gaps or award the money necessary to do what the OP wants to do.</p>
<p>Mom is a loan processor - I hope she’s credit worthy.</p>
<p>Saint, I could be wrong, but I think the SM is the loan processor, not the mom.</p>
<p>My father makes about $60,000 (he’s a social worker)
My step mom makes around $50,000 (she’s a high school teacher)
And my mother makes around $47,000 (she’s a loan processor and single mother)</p>
<p>I have two younger siblings on my dads side and three younger siblings on my moms side.</p>
<p>==========</p>
<p>The mom is a a loan processor, but she’s a single mom with 3 kids younger than the OP… who knows what her credit is like. Could be great or it could have some dings.<br>
I do doubt that the mom could contribute much for college…she probably barely makes ends meet.</p>
<p>Now that we know what the big “infraction” is, it’s really doubtful that the punishment is all about Facebook since the infraction was minor and we’re dealing with a senior in HS (parents shouldn’t get too upset about little stuff because within a few months the child will be in college and have tons and tons of freedom.) The OP has only been living with her dad for a year. Having a teen move into a home can be a pain to someone whose not used to teens, their drama, etc. If the dad isn’t used to having the OP around, and isn’t used to providing much support for her, then helping pay for college may never have been in his plans. I’m curious as to how much he paid for child support while she was growing up. </p>
<p>Saint…I don’t know the source of WSU’s merit, but I do know that at a good number of public univs the source is not public money.</p>
<p>Tv4caster, OP is in Wa which also has that law on the books but it isn’t enforced. Otherwise my brother would have had to contribute to the costs his kids incurred for their education.</p>
<p>My mom’s credit is terrible. She defaulted on a huge house we used to own. Long story short.</p>
<p>Starbucks, I hope something wonderful works out for you, don’t get me wrong.
And I do agree that legally, there is certainly some merit to the idea of making clear to your father that when it comes to aid, there is FIRST parental responsibility - something about which many separated or divorced parents are in denial. I appreciate that you don’t want to sue him, but I do wonder if there’s someone he respects that could advocate for you a little, and help him understand that there is some responsibility he’s abdicating.</p>
<p>On a different note, re dungaree’s niece, I would have ruled similarly if, after reviewing assets and reasonable expectation give former lifestyle. Frankly, I don’t understand why folks don’t put the language right in their divorce or custody agreements to begin with (just convinced my own sister to do the same.) …Not that so-doing helped me much, I might add ;)</p>
<p>At any rate, the wonderful thing about undergrad is that it’s “undergrad” – meaning if you do well at WashU and distinguish yourself, you can create opportunities for yourself to receive generous fellowships for prestigious grad work at the kinds of institutions not affordable for ug. So don’t let this setback define the character of your academic path!</p>
<p>Emerald, here is a 2009 book put out by State of Washington. Chapter 9, page 23-24 indicates that tuition can be ordered. It may be that your brother didnt earn much, or maybe one particular judge was a tool. As to “enforced” in general, one case does not make general rule. <a href=“Washington State Courts - Error”>http://www.courts.wa.gov/newsinfo/content/pdf/familylawhandbook.pdf</a></p>
<p>Does anyone besides me think that the institutional aid is low, given the parents/stepparents income and all the other kids? Maybe OP is misktaken re what all the adults earn, or maybe one of the group has substantial assets???</p>
<p>My brother is an electrical engineer & he also has his retirement from the Air Force. He could affOrd to pay, he just thought it would build character if they had to do it on their own.
He had also remarried and had other children.</p>
<p>OK someone up above mentioned WashU - OP is talking about the University of Washington in Seattle and Washington State University in Pullman a 5 hr drive across the state from where she lives. Wash U does not enter into this at all. These are public universities. U of W offers very little merit aid and it is mostly disadvantaged URM based. WSU offers smallish merit aid directly tied to GPA and SAT and has some additional merit scholarship that are competitive based on a separate application. THEY DO NOT MEET NEED AND THE TOTAL COST OF ATTENDANCE IS = OR ABOUT = TO OP’s EFC. OP is doing quite well to have received a merit award 2X larger than the guaranteed award for her stats at WSU. With an income of about 100k she can expect only the basic loans and merit. This is a great offer in her case. Dad could redirect his giving from church to WSU if he wants to do good in the world.</p>