This student won’t be getting parental assistance with tuition, but doesn’t qualify for financial aid. https://www.collegeconfidential.com/articles/my-parents-wont-pay-for-my-college-education/
The student in question didn’t say why their parents refused to pay for college, but I do know of one case (involving two sisters) where the parents had the means to contribute, but were mentally ill and involved in a cult, so the kids applied for and received legal emancipation.
They received a full ride to a top liberal arts college. Things were not easy for them (for example, they were stuck on campus for the breaks, when meals weren’t provided, and had to work grueling jobs all four years), but they graduated and are now successful adults.
If the letter writer has a situation involving abuse or incompetence, legal emancipation is possible.
The article is about upper income parents who refuse to pay and it describes what students can do to get aid. Their situation isn’t much different from low income students except they can’t apply to colleges that give need based aid because they aren’t eligible to receive it. The students in this position have to look for merit aid or commute to a local school.
MODERATOR’S NOTE: There is already a thread on this subject, so I am deleting this post and others related to it.
The links/posts in the forum woudl be helpful to be posted here.
I feel sad after reading the blog, I am still hoping that this student will be able to attend college in the near future.
Working or doing a part-time job is one of the best option to continue further education. Work experience not only fulfills the financial requirement but also add work experience in your college resume that will help the student in the college admissions.
^ except no part time job a HS students can have is going to make 20k*4 for a public university, let alone a private one. It definitely helps and is seen as a good EC, but right now costs are so high that Pell+federal loans+ part time job rarely suffices for a student who has excelled and been admitted to his/her flagship.