Hi I have a huge problem right now. My parents refuse to fill out the financial aid forms because of a few reasons (something to do with their 2014 tax returns and other stupid reasons) and they had previously gave me the impression the whole time that they would have no problem filling it out until today, when I asked them to help me fill out my CSS Profile. I realized that without handing in my fasfa forms I will have to get rid of almost all of the colleges on my list. I have applied to 2 colleges with merit scholarships but I will still have to pay 16k a year based on my package. My stats for one of my colleges qualifies me for a full ride, but it is only guaranteed for early decision applicants and I applied regular decision a month later and I won’t know until the end of March. I have worked extremely hard in high school so that I can get into a good college (2220 SAT, 3.87 uw, 750+ on all of my subject tests African American female interested in stem w/ decent ec’s nothing extraordinary) and the schools I mostly applied to have very generous aid but I can’t get any if I don’t send my forms and some are due tonight. I have no idea what I am going to do. Every time the word financial aid comes out of my mouth it always ends into a huge argument. What is even worse is my dad, probably after all of the arguing, refuses to give me his debit card so that I can see if there are any colleges open with automatic full rides that I can apply to last minute. Everyday I wait just limits my options as deadlines continue to fly by. I really don’t want to accumulate thousands of dollars of debt for undergrad since I want to go to medical school but I really don’t want to have to resort to a community college because of this issue.
See if you can find it why they can’t file. They can use 2014 tax numbers for now and update them when they file 2015 taxes, which should be soon but doesn’t have to be today.
Will they help you do the profile our are they not willing to do that either?
Why do you need a debit card to find out what colleges offer a full ride for your stats? There’s a list of such colleges here on cc.
^^^
I think she means that if she finds any full rides, her dad won’t give his debit card so she can apply.
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by. I really don't want to accumulate thousands of dollars of debt for undergrad since I want to go to medical school but I really don't want to have to resort to a community college because of this issue.
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Well, you can’t borrow much w/o your parents co-signing, which likely won’t happen. If your parents refuse to give you their info, then you can’t even borrow the $5,500 fed loan.
What have your parents said about how much they’ll pay each year for college? Even if you submitted FA paperwork, unless you’re low income, your parents would have had to pay something…FA wouldn’t have been a free ride, so did they ever run the NPCs on the websites?
It’s not a good idea for you to start at a CC because you’d lose great merit opps for when you transfer…and likely you couldn’t transfer except to attend a local state school.
If you can’t get an affordable school, then take a gap year and start over with apps for next year. Work over the summer and save money for your apps.
Are you a NMSF? What state are you in?
What is your M+CR breakdown?
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Stats: 13k a year to Honors College SEAS New Brunswick SAT: 2220 (750M/700CR/770WR) SAT IIs: 790 Bio 770 Math 2 (didn’t send anyways) GPA: 94.1 unweighted (very strong upward trend had like a 92 freshman year) Rank: Doesn’t Rank Other stats: …
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Since you want to go to med school, then you need to find a “good school” that will give you huge merit.
You mentioned that your stats would have qualified you for a free ride if you had applied early, but you applied RD. What school is that? I think a well-written letter to the right person at that school is in order.
OP- have you tried sitting down with your parents (not before you leave for school and they leave for work- but when everyone is well fed and relaxed) and asking, “what is your plan for me once I graduate from HS?”
If they think you can waitress your way through a four year college and then tutor HS kids in bio to pay for med school, then you’ll need to put together a spreadsheet which shows them that this is not possible. If they think you can get a completely free ride (tuition, room and board, books and lab fees) you can also show them that without filing FAFSA this is not possible (if you qualify for any of the full rides which might be possible for a truly indigent student- which are very, very, very unusual- even they typically require self-help i.e. parental contribution).
You can point out that the only true free ride in the US is one of the service academies- West Point, etc. But to get your undergrad fully funded AND med school fully funded by the US military means an exceptionally long commitment to serve in the military when you are done (if you even qualify- don’t know your medical history).
They may need a reality check. They may have some tax issues they are reluctant to share with you. That’s their prerogative. But you can’t get need based aid without their help at this point. They may not fully realize that without them either writing a check or filling out forms- you are not going to college.
Hold off on CC. You might be better off working for a year and then reapplying to one of the big merit schools… better financial deal in the end…
@mom2collegekids The school is Howard University my cr+m is a 1450 and I was not NMSF @blossom I am going to try to talk to them one more time during the weekend but thank you all for your input. I am also going to talk to my guidance counselor to see what I should do. I know I won’t qualify for much aid because my parents make over 120k pretax. It may seem like a lot but my parents owe a lot of money and my dad recently had to take a second job to pay off some of their debt.
I have to warn you…talking to your GC may not be helpful. You have an issue that GCs are poorly able to handle.
GCs don’t do well when the issue consists of parents with a high income (and getting higher with dad’s second job) and the parents can’t pay much. GCs only seem to understand two situations…low income students at “meet need” schools…and higher income parents who can pay the amount the schoools expect them to pay.
Any aid that you might get from a school wouldn’t be enough, and would be WORSE the following year when your dad’s income from his second job drives the overall income up.
@ucbalumnus What is the best school this student could get a free ride from with a 1450 M+CR?
(is the M+CR from one sitting? If not, what is your best single sitting)
You may need to takes gap year and apply to Howard at the beginning of the application season next year as those scholarships are disbursed on a first come first served basis. And while you may be eligible they are not guaranteed scholarships.
I would also recommend taking a gap year and reapplying over the summer to schools that would give you guaranteed merit; university of Alabama. With a student loan and a job, you could find this on your own. Also look at other schools where your stats can get you full tuition. If you work save and borrow at the student level you can pull this off with modest debt of your parents cannot or are not willing to pay
What your GC can do is contact your regional admissions person at Howard to see if you can still apply to get a scholarship. Keep in mind the school may say yes and give you an acceptance without a scholarship because you are so late in the game. I had a student last year who applied Late and got nothing (we talked about this June if her junior year and I recommended that she applied the minute the application became available in the summer)
Do you get allowance? Are you saving monies on your own. You have any monies from the holidays, birthdays etc. did you recently purchase some thing at the mall that you can do without and return for a refund? Are you a person who goes to the hair/nail salon every two weeks.
The application fee is $45. You may have to sacrifice something to pay the fee. If you have a good relationship with your counselor and explain your situation they maybe able to waive the fee for you on the common app.
I would talk with your parents about taking a gap year - perhaps working full time for a year, taking full advantage of the schools that can provide the most merit, plus it would give parents time to be prepared to perhaps help financially.
However, you still may be able to salvage getting the merit - keep plugging away in the directions that can help you get into an affordable school (that will be affordable for 4 years).
Yes, take a gap year. During that time do not take ANY classes anywhere…not even at a CC. You need to keep your “incoming freshman” status for the best merit.
Taking a gap year will also allow time for your parents to maybe get their finances in order. That said, it may take a few years for that to happen or for them to let you file FAFSA. So, a gap year to apply to big merit schools is best.
This fall, apply to Howard for their free ride. Apply the first day their app opens!
Good luck
@Brajia: can you give us an update?
But isn’t the purpose of common app fee waivers for low-income reasons only? https://appsupport.commonapp.org/link/portal/33011/33013/Article/758/Common-App-fee-waiver
Any update?