Sooo my parents and I had the "talk" today regarding college tuitions...

Parent Cafe
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<p>And I was wondering if there’s any parent or knowledgeable student that could help me. I have no idea where I’ll be accepted, but just some background information: I lived in the USA all of my life except for 1 year (I moved from overseas when I was 1), and this semester my family decided to come overseas (we have family and such) cause of some issues back in America and my parents thus far really like it here. Me…not so much. However, when I applied to my schools, I did and still do technically have a permanent residence in Virginia, so I’m still considered a USA student, plus I have a passport, etc. Although my parents like the atmosphere and being closer to their overseas “home” better, it took a serious bite out of my parent’s paycheck and remaining savings. Soo while I was in happy land during my 10th/11th grade years as my parents promised that they’d be able to pay any private tutition, my world came crashing down right in my senior year and my parents are currently sorting out a lot of financial troubles …</p>

<p>So they called me downstairs and we had a talk at the table, and they gave me the general tips of studying, etc etc, but they also told me that the out of school tuition for the schools I have applied to may not be able to be accommodated, at least not right now, so they wanted me to look into some international schools with a much much cheaper tuition. </p>

<p>I’m not trying to be a brat in any way and I realize any college education is something to be pretty grateful about, but say I got into these high costing 32-40k a year schools and wanted to attend, is there anything I can do on my own to help pay for the education? My parents didn’t want to do the FAFSA forms because in the ‘move’, a lot of things are misplaced and such and they have an accountant to sort out their taxes for them anyway so they really kind of, I suppose, became afraid of the forms and told me that since I’m applying as a transfer anyway, they can probably sustain 2 or so years on their own. And plus, the fafsa only takes into account the funds from last year, which are waaayy higher than what’s happening this year, cause all of these financial problems came in late 06 and then they moved, and I guess mentioning an international source of income would probably be of no help.</p>

<p>So, if you made it this far, I apologize for this extremely long message, but is there anything I can do? Can I take out loans as an 18 year old who never had a credit account before?? Scholarships are hard to apply for and at this point in the game, I don’t think there are many left for me to consider…</p>

<p>Thanks for any advice anyone can provide.</p>

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<p>I’ll bite. This statement has me mighty confused. Where are you in school now? Your whole post makes it sound like you are a hs senior…but then I get to this sentence and the reference for only paying for 2 years more. Help me understand where you are, and if you are transferring…why?</p>

<p>Also, I would venture that without the FAFSA you cannot be considered for financial aid by any of the colleges. Also have you checked? Probably at least some of these pricey privates also require the Profile.</p>

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<p>This isn’t advice, but an opinion: I’m surprised your parents have changed the rules mid-stream. You mean you’re a senior, you’ve already applied to a bunch of schools, and now they’re telling you that not only can’t they pay, but they can’t even fill out the FAFSA? </p>

<p>Something doesn’t feel right.</p>

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<p>Okay so since I had too many credit hours during high school, I instead graduated high school early (Jan 07) and used this semester to take a full college course load so I could go ahead and get an associate degree from the local 2 yr college, and I’m taking online/distance learning courses to finish up, since I’d have to apply as a transfer anyway if I want any of the college credits to count. Sorry I didn’t clarify.</p>

<p>What is the Profile?</p>

<p>I don’t know, they told me 2 weeks ago that they didn’t want to fill out the fafsa, but today told me that they probably couldn’t afford any high class education, and remember, the fafsa would’ve been based on april of 2006 right? And these financial issues didn’t show up until November of 2006.</p>

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<p>Sarah:</p>

<p>I don’t know if being a full-time student for only one semester would qualify you as a transfer.</p>

<p>One solution would be for you to wait until you get acceptances and then take a gap year, fill out the financial forms in the fall based on this year’s figures and apply for financial aid and/or more colleges.</p>

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<p>simply put, theres something in your parents fiances that they are not telling you about and which they don’t want made public on the FAFSA.</p>

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<p>I like marite’s idea a lot. This is assuming your parents will let you go back to the states for college.</p>

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<p>o.o Well, I mean the credits add up, so for example, I have about 40 some credits just from AP/dual classes/etc from the past, and I’ll have 22 from this year, which will essentially equal 2 years of study and be enough for an associate degree, I just sort of did it faster. And transfers are qualified based on how many credits they have (at most colleges).</p>

<p>I don’t know, that could be the reason cathy, either way, since it’s pretty clear we won’t have a FAFSA, is there anything I can do on my own to pay? For example, say I got into one of these schools, can one like “postpone” payment until they graduate or maybe postpone payment until the end of the year/semester until they can find the means for paying, since I’m pretty sure no bank will be willing to give loans to a teenager? </p>

<p>Hasn’t this happened before where a student previously paying tuition from their parent’s pockets suddenly be cut off due to a misfortunate death to their parents or something? Would they really just dismiss the student mid-college because he can’t pay anymore?</p>

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<p>Students or their families must pay in advance. There is no “attend now, pay later.” If a student receives a loan, the loan is used to pay the tuition and other costs BEFORE the student is allowed to register.</p>

<p>I seriously doubt that any bank or other outfit will lend sufficient funds to an 18-year old to cover college costs.</p>

<p>In the case of students already matriculated at a college, some colleges step in and help the student and others do not. I know students who had to drop out of some colleges when the economy tanked in the late 1990s and their families went bankrupt. Some other colleges, however, allowed the students in similar situation to continue their studies. But in all cases the students were already at their respective colleges.</p>

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<p>Most colleges won’t let transfers defer a year.</p>

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<p>If your parents both die, you are considered an orphan for finaid purposes and you would be an independent student. VERY different than what you are talking about.</p>