Applying for Financial Aid for son's college

[olivies]

Well, here's something interesting: According to the FAFSA our expected family contribution is $20K a year. Don't I wish?! I wouldn't need to be applying for financial aid to the state university if I could do that. But since this is what the school uses to hand out financial aid money, and he is definitely in need of it, I'm writing a letter claiming exceptional circumstances. I would think having all your disposable monthly income going to the trustee, not being able to take on any more debt (so there goes the parent loans) and college education expenses not being allowed to be listed as expenses in determining the DMI and plan payment, would qualify as exceptional circumstances. Thoughts? Experiences? I am expecting a battle with a financial aid advisor who doesn't get how these things work and that the we can't just take out a loan or another job, etc.

[dyrstr8s]

Good luck! I sincerely hope your experience with this goes better than ours.
Our chapter 13 totally screwed my youngest daughter. She can't get any need based aid because the FAFSA says my wife and I are expected to contribute $20k or so per year to her education expenses.
All she was able to get this year was enough unsubsidized loans to pay tuition. Books and room and board all have to be payed by her part time wages and whatever we can spare to send her. She got an apartment with roommates so that at least that expense is monthly instead of upfront each semester like her dorm room was.
We went around and around with the university's financial aid department. Bottom line- Bankruptcy is not a special circumstance and our daughter cannot apply for aid on her own (without our income) until she turns 24 years old.
Bankruptcy law says educational expenses for a child are not an allowed expense, financial aid policy says we have to contribute our fair share of our income to that childs education! You just can't win.

[NoMoreCards]

The same is true for my daughter. The "family contribution" amount was higher than we could afford given current circumstances. So she took the student loans and paid for tuition, but is attending a community college which keeps costs down substantially. Being as they are loans, she wanted to keep costs down anyhow.

The first couple years of most educational plans can be done in a community college setting and then transferring into University after the basics are completed. Just something to think about.

[Nanzee]

Just chiming in here. We also were supposedly able to pay for my son's tuition, which of course is a joke. My son is going to a local community college (but a well-reputable one) and he is using student loans. My parents did not give me any money for college either, so I used student loans as well. He lives here for free, so that is our contribution, just like my parents did for me. He is not having any problem getting the loans because it has nothing to do with our credit rating - I have been throwing "pre-approved credit card" applications for him out in the garbage at least twice a week. Those credit-card sharks do their best to destroy people's lives as early as possible. Yeah, he is 19, full-time college student, no job, but he is "pre-approved" lol, what a joke!

[dyrstr8s]

Just so no one gets the wrong idea here, I don't think there is anything wrong with my daughter working her way through school and getting her own student loans. I did so when I went to school also.
It's just that because she has "no need", based on our income, she is not eligible for any grants, scholarships, or subsidized loans. She's paying higher interest rates on her loans than other students who's only income is a part time job at $7 an hour.

[bkstuff]

Can kids going to a University also get loans on their own - without parents credit?

[olivies]

They can get either federal (stafford, perkins, etc.) loans or private student loans I believe. We will suggest to our son to do 2 yrs at a community college instead of taking on student loans without it being a necessity. We're encouraging him to make different financial choices than we did, and going tens of thousands into debt for a bachelor's degree probably isn't the wisest choice if he can go at it through other (albeit harder) roads.