FAFSA tips with a lot of dependents

cshell2
Wed, 09 Oct 2019 17:11:17 +0000

the0ne:

Is it not realistic to make sure a kid is serious and going to work hard vs just give them a blank check and say “have fun!”? I think it’s much less realistic to send an 18 year old to a 4-year school that maybe gave them some money to then flounder and have to change directions. Mistakes at $150 a credit hour are MUCH less costly than at $900 a credit, maybe $500 with some scholarship money…especially when they can live at home and not rack up room and board for those first two years.

Most financial experts believe CC is a much better way to go for the reasons above and more.

Sometimes. Sometimes not. It depends on the degree, the scholarship potential and the 4 year school you want to finish at.

My son is applying for next year and got over 15K/year in 4 year renewable scholarships at a couple schools. They offer almost nothing to transfer students. Plus he’s majoring in engineering and two of the schools start with engineering courses right out of the gate freshman year. Due to having to follow the sequence and the pre-req requirements he would not be shaving years off going to a CC first, he would just be lightening his load at the 4 year school. There’s value in that for sure, but if he’s still going to be there for 3 or 4 years, I’d rather it be with a scholarship and all credits over 12 being free and him working harder those years.