Extremely Difficult Financial Situation, HELP!!!

Paying for College
1

Seriously any tips are appreciated, here is the situation.

I’m currently finishing up my freshman year at a junior college in NY, I’m a marketing major, and I’ll finish with a 4.0 and PTK membership. After my sophomore year I would like to transfer to the business school at Duke, UNC, UT Austin, UVA, Vanderbilt, Emory, USC, or UCLA.

I am paying for my own school. I am able to get a union construction wage over the summer so I make good money then, but my yearly income falls below $20,000. I currently have a sister who attends a very expensive school and my parents were forced to take out large amounts in loans to be able to afford it.

My parents are selling their house this year and downsizing, partly because they nearly went broke putting my sisters through school (another sister recently graduated from Richmond and received no financial aid). When they downsize they’ll net around $300-350k, however annually their salaries combined net around $70k. I’m sure that they will be paying full freight for my sister’s school next year and paying down the loans they took out this year for it. Her annual all-in tuition is around $55k.

To be frank my parents are poor managers of money, which is why they would happily pay for me to go any one of those schools along with my sister’s tuition and throw away all of their savings and have no chance of retiring doing it. I personally would refuse the money and the school rather than have them do that. I’m not interested in taking a dime of their money because they’ve done enough and I’d like them to be able to retire and not stress about not having enough money rather than go the school that I want to go to.

All of that said I’m currently 22 years old and will turn 23 before I finish my sophomore year. I am wondering what effect finishing my 2-year degree and working for a year would have on my admissions chances for those schools. Although I am by definition of the word itself an independent right now FAFSA will not recognize me as one until I am 24. I’m not excited at the thought of putting off school for an extra year because it pushes back working with much higher earning potential a year and also likely pushes back when I can start my MBA.

Does anyone know of anything that I could do to give me any sort of chance of being able to afford one of those schools. Can a chunk of the money from the sale of the house be put in a trust that would not effect EFC on the FAFSA? (our EFC has always been way too high anyways, it was $18k this year when we had $3,500 in the bank) I’ve even thought of buying half an acre in Texas or Virginia, putting a trailer on it, living there for 12 months prior to the school year and attending a JUCO while there so that I could get in-state tuition for UT or UVA. I’m worried that I’ll end up having to choose a school like SUNY Binghamton or SUNY Albany that don’t have elite business programs and further that having to choose one of those schools may result in having to stick around the northeast for 4-5 years while I get work experience before my MBA.

Any advice is very much appreciated.

2

“Can a chunk of the money from the sale of the house be put in a trust that would not effect EFC on the FAFSA?”

Your parents can put a chunk of money into a retirement vehicle such as an IRA or an annuity.

Unless your objection is specifically to living in the NE, go to one of the SUNYs. You will need to have 3-5 years of work experience before enrolling in an MBA program no matter what part of the country you complete your undergrad degree in. However, if you have been getting increasingly responsible work experience while putting yourself through college, that experience will count toward part of the experience expected of you as an MBA candidate.

3

There is a limit on the amount the parents can put into a retirement account annually…and it is far less than several hundred thousand dollars.

In addition, any contributions to the retirement account…if they happen during the tax year for the fafsa, will be added back in.

4

I’m not a fan of living in the northeast. I’d be pretty bummed if I had to work in the area between MBA and graduation, but not bummed enough to take on a crazy amount of debt to go elsewhere though. I’m sure I’d get a good financial aid package if I waited a year and re-classified as an independent when I turned 24, I just don’t know how admissions would view that.

5

.You are not going to get a good financial package from some of these even if you are independent. UCLA which doesn’t have undergrad businesses (but does have business econ) may not give you much if any need based as a transfer. And they will not give you money to cover the OOS portion of 23k a year. Your minimum contribution there will be 33k, but 57k is more likely. I don’t , kids here always you will get much from UT-low income students often mention large contributions here. I don’t know that you will get anything from USC as a transfer, you would have to apply to see. Maybe Duke will. I’m not sure if the others are viable for transfers.You need a new list.

You are not limited to working in the NE, you can work wherever you want. You don’t have to take on ‘crazy debt’ to get a job!

If you have money to buy a land save it for school.

6

I know that I can work anywhere, but the area of the country that you go to school in is just much more likely to be the area that you end up working in.

Does anyone have any insight on what admissions at schools like those would think of taking a year off between getting my 2-year degree and enrolling at a 4-year to make some money and be able to classify as an independent. If it won’t hurt my chances of getting in a lot that is something that I will strongly consider (I’d put that question in the ask the dean section, but I can’t post there)

7

Lots of people take time off between finishing at a CC and transferring to a 4-year university - most often for just the same financial reasons as you. Don’t worry about that.

If there is a Transfer Advisor at your CC, that person can help you plan for transfer, and can tell you which SUNYs are likely to admit you for your major. Find out if there are any articulation agreements or guaranteed transfer arrangements that would apply to you. The transfer admissions offices at the SUNYs would also have useful ideas for you too.

8

You have a good record. I don’t think it will be negative to take a year off so you will be 24 and have the independent status. Except don’t apply to places that won’t/can’t give you funds like some in your list. Take a few ‘flyers’ at some of the big name meets full need colleges but also apply to the SUNY. You should go there if you don’t get in anywhere else affordable. Believe in yourself and not the name of a school and be ambitious out in the workplace.

Use your year off wisely. Don’t buy land and live in a trailer. Work for some organization where you can make a difference, for a cause you are interested in. It will only enhance your profile and hopefully energize you, take you out of yourself and give you some skills and insight into organizations.

9

first of all there are plenty of grads from SUNY Albany/Binghamton that graduate, get good jobs in NYC and NYS and go on to great graduate programs. If you work for a large corporate company, most will have good tuition aid programs that will pay for graduate school. Any “elite” MBA program; HBS, Wharton, SBS, etc, will require you to have a couple of years of work experience. Their financial aid plans for grad school are also not the same as their financial aid plans for their undergrad schools meaning that you will have to pay full freight to attend (COA is currently ~ 70k/year).

Where do you ultimately want to work after graduation?

At the end of the day, you need to make sure that you have affordable options.Keep the amount of debt low. ALso just because you will be independent for federal aid, will not make you independent for institutional aid. Most deep pocket schools will not let you be independent for their institutional aid until you are 27 or can prove 5 years of self sufficiency.

10

Moving to another state and working for a year can establish residency if you are not there to attend school (you cannot establish residency while a student, as a rule). You don’t need to buy real estate, you only need to live there. Figure one year between moving and applying, two years to matriculation. That’s 2 years to work and save money there, and you’ll be 24 then too. That is a very reasonable plan.

11

first of all there are plenty of grads from SUNY Albany/Binghamton that graduate, get good jobs in NYC and NYS and go on to great graduate programs. If you work for a large corporate company, most will have good tuition aid programs that will pay for graduate school. Any “elite” MBA program; HBS, Wharton, SBS, etc, will require you to have a couple of years of work experience. Their financial aid plans for grad school are also not the same as their financial aid plans for their undergrad schools meaning that you will have to pay full freight to attend (COA is currently ~ 70k/year).

Where do you ultimately want to work after graduation?

At the end of the day, you need to make sure that you have affordable options.Keep the amount of debt low. ALso just because you will be independent for federal aid, will not make you independent for institutional aid. Most deep pocket schools will not let you be independent for their institutional aid until you are 27 or can prove 5 years of self sufficiency."

Ultimately I would like to work in the marketing field as a marketing manager or brand manager, I’d like to work for a sports apparel like Nike, Under Armour, Addidas, etc. Do deep pocket schools include public schools that are only expensive to out of staters or are you referring more to the Duke type privates?

12

Another question that I would like to add, would demonstrating that my parents will have spent about $350,000 on college tuition excluding mine and another $250,000 on unexpected medical bills within the last four years possibly sway institutions on what aid they are willing to provide me?

13

You could always ask.

The thing I see as a problem, if you don’t take a year off so that you are 24 when you start college, is that your parents are ostensibly coming into a boatload of money. There would be a consideration of both you and your sister going to college at the same time, but other than that, I would expect you would be close to full pay at any of the four-year schools listed.

Have you thought about taking off next year, from the junior college, and working full-time in construction and then finishing up your sophomore year at the junior college? Then there would not be a gap between your junior college career and your university career.

Your family has money, you note they don’t spend it wisely. Colleges don’t care much about that. How much they spent on college is immaterial, how much they are spending (despite you paying your own way) is material.

I find students who are at least 20 years old when freshmen are at an advantage when it comes to doing well in college. In general they have worked in the real world and know that there are no “re-dos” in the real world. I also had a friend who was 26 as a junior at an Ivy League school. I think the age would be less of an issue than the gap year between junior college and university, and I’d do what is noted above.

I also think it is much better to take off between freshman and sophomore years than between sophomore and junior years, even if you were at the same college. Do not underestimate how hard it is to transition to a four-year school, and having just finished JUCO and in a few months starting at a university is better than finishing JUCO and taking a year off, in my mind.

14

I hadn’t thought of that option. Work would be tricky because in the northeast road construction is a seasonal business, when it gets cold we can’t work.

What do others think of this? It had never occurred to me, but it does sound like a pretty good idea.

15

You could work in road construction and maybe winter maintenance ( plow roads).

16

That’s true. My main concern would be taking the year off and not being able to demonstrate financial independence to a level that would satisfy institutions. Federally I know I won’t have a problem because they have laws set, but institutionally it is so subjective that I’m nervous about wasting a year.

Other than living on my own, having my own income, and paying for my own life in general is there anything I can additionally do to demonstrate independence to schools? Also would I be able to take a class or two while I work full time just to pick up a few credits and still be able to get classified as an independent when I turn 24?

17

You will automatically be independent for the FAFSA when you turn 24. You don’t even need to be living on your own or with your own income to be independent for the FAFSA at 24. So if you limit your transfer list to places that only use the FAFSA for financial aid, you will be in the clear. If any of the places on your list use additional information (either their own financial aid forms or the CSS Profile) then you need to ask each of them what they would require.

18

Ok, did not realize that. Is there a site that lists schools that only operate on FAFSA or something that would be quicker than figuring it out by contacting every school on my list?

19

The college tuition they have already paid for others will not likely be considered. That was a choice.

In terms of medical expenses…these would have to be in the tax year for the fafsa/profile that you are completing…not for years prior, and they would have to be unreimbursed medical expenses that were necessary.

20

I think that you should be looking at SUNY FIT at their majors in fashion merchandising,

https://www.fitnyc.edu/2191.asp

International Trade and Marketing for the Fashion Industry
https://www.fitnyc.edu/2492.asp

Direct and INteractive marketing
https://www.fitnyc.edu/2051.asp

Looking to do fashion marketing is a totally different animal and you will not break into this business without internship experience. Where better to get it than in the heart of one of the largest fashion markets in the country/world; NYC?

You would also be paying in-state tuition, which would definitely be an affordable option; if you end up being a low income (0 EFC) independent student, TAP Pell and your $9500 loan would pretty much cover your cost of attendance.

While you want to be independent on for FAFSA only schools, you must keep in mind that the majority of FAFSA only schools do not meet 100% demonstrated need, even at public universities.