College?

[Chicken123]

Our daughter is looking forward to going to college, only problem is we are 2.5 years into our chapter 13 and i am so afraid we or she will not be able to get any type of financial aid. Anyone have any ideas on where to begin looking for help?

I don't want her to miss out on her life, because of her parents missteps, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. She has been applying for scholarships but so far nothing has panned out.

[HomeNow2]

You need to get your EFC down to ZERO for starters....you can get your AGI, adjusted gross income, BELOW $50K on paper but still make way more than that....legally. This is not any different than taking the tax deductions you are already doing with W2 income! LEARN ASAP what you need to do in order to lower your EFC. I'd recommend that you Google search CPA/Attorney Sandy Botkin....even simply google search his name when he was on FOX news or whatever. (He is 1 of 8 attorneys who trains the IRS agents!) Ok, then, go to sites such as 'CollegeBoard.org', look up the school she is interested in, the % of historical giving that you need to shoot for is 80% + under the 'financial' tab.

Google this formula [COA-EFC=(Need/HGP)+(SD)]=TC.

FinAid.org and CollegeBoard.com are WONDERFUL sites. READ, read, read, read, read. The base year is important....that starts January 1st of the high school junior year and goes until December 31st of the high school senior year (second 1/2 of high school junior year, to first 1/2 of high school senior year). Oh.....turn your FASFA in January 2nd!!! HUGE nugget there! Again, this is all backed up on the sites I mentioned.....

Holler, via in-box, if you have further questions. If you use any of Sandy Botkin's, CPA, Esq. stuff use his coupon code 'SAVING' for 10% off...we learned that one at a seminar!

We got a $40K college to $7,500 a year. BEFORE merit scholarship $ !!!!!!!!!

Holler if you need more help!

[jetsfan2010]

way too many acronyms in the above post....

[Flamingo]

Is your daughter still in high school deciding where she wants to go? The best thing to do is contact her guidance counselor for names of folks in the financial aid offices of the colleges she hopes to attend and find out what you may have to do. Her high school counselor could probably also help you and has probably dealt with this numerous times. Due to your Chapter 13, your daughter may be eligible for quite a bit of financial aid, student loans, grants, etc. but you need to speak with the financial aid offices of the colleges she hopes to attend.

[Nanzee]

My son is in college and has obtained loans in his own name. Our credit had nothing to do with him - he does not even have a credit card, so he had no problem being approved. We have all ready started paying them back.

[HomeNow2]

way too many acronyms in the above post....


Sorry about that.....you need to Google search the formula and it explains it all. These ARE the legal acronyms which are used by the schools and government when you apply with the Federal Financial Aid Form. You REALLY should know what that formula is and how you can adjust portions of it.....unless you want your child to take on a ton of student loan debt which is NOT allowed to be discharged in BK. They don't give 100% in loan anymore so you really should take the time to copy & paste the formula to learn.

[COA-EFC=(Need/HGP)+(SD)]=TC

By the way, the high school counselors are not concerned with college very much....they won't help to point your children in the direction of free money. Their job is 'no child left behind' which is all about high school and the lower grades. They don't get paid to help your child spend less money.

[forcedtojoin]

HomeNow2,no one questioned that these are indeed the "LEGAL" acronyms,as you so graciously informed us.Your post is greek to most everyone here,and,we would all like help in helping our children.Of course we would all LOVE our children to to take on a TON of student debt which is NOT dischargable in in BK.I apologize for the sarcasim but your post is really WORTHLESS,and ARROGANT.I have used your method of using CAPS at the strong points,i hope you APPROVE.THANK YOU,for NOTHING.

[disconapper]

HomeNow2,no one questioned that these are indeed the "LEGAL" acronyms,as you so graciously informed us.Your post is greek to most everyone here,and,we would all like help in helping our children.Of course we would all LOVE our children to to take on a TON of student debt which is NOT dischargable in in BK.I apologize for the sarcasim but your post is really WORTHLESS,and ARROGANT.I have used your method of using CAPS at the strong points,i hope you APPROVE.THANK YOU,for NOTHING.

C'mon now...not how this forum works....everyone is trying to help one another here....

[HomeNow2]

[COA-EFC=(Need/HGP)+(SD)]=TC

This really, really does help. Too much to retype here though so simply copy and paste it into a Google search. All the terms are explained there and then you can go to many different websites to get tidbits of info which specifically pertains to you and your family. No there is not a one stop shop sort of answer since everyone's financials are different, but, we did a take the time for the research, starting with the formula, and took a $40K year school down to $7,500 a year before scholarships.

This is not a worthless post nor meant to be arrogant. It is a post which requires some research but it all starts with the formula and breaking down the components. It is not a big deal if you don't want to do that, I just put the beginning step out there for any/all who would like to start. The same is true of this site.....not a one stop solution for everyone but a wonderful beginning point for any/all who want to seek insight.

[HomeNow2]

......once you copy and paste the formula and learn what all the components are, then Google search the part your family can change.

CollegeBoard.org is another fabulous place to research along with FinAid.org. Again though, it is not a cookie-cutter type of formula....everyone has a different situation so this will take some time. Just pointing out where to look though :-)

[Flamingo]

way too many acronyms in the above post....


Sorry about that.....you need to Google search the formula and it explains it all. These ARE the legal acronyms which are used by the schools and government when you apply with the Federal Financial Aid Form. You REALLY should know what that formula is and how you can adjust portions of it.....unless you want your child to take on a ton of student loan debt which is NOT allowed to be discharged in BK. They don't give 100% in loan anymore so you really should take the time to copy & paste the formula to learn.

[COA-EFC=(Need/HGP)+(SD)]=TC

By the way, the high school counselors are not concerned with college very much....they won't help to point your children in the direction of free money. Their job is 'no child left behind' which is all about high school and the lower grades. They don't get paid to help your child spend less money.

Ours was very help to us and to my daughter and provided us with all necessary information as to what to do as to our situation and the colleges she was applying to. Also the financial aid offices at those colleges were extremely helpful. One won't know unless one asks and it many school districts work closely with area colleges to provide all sorts of information to those who ask. The high schools in our district provide financial education courses for those interested in attending college along with their parents to attend, all for free.

[espo1357]

Our daughter is looking forward to going to college, only problem is we are 2.5 years into our chapter 13 and i am so afraid we or she will not be able to get any type of financial aid. Anyone have any ideas on where to begin looking for help?

I don't want her to miss out on her life, because of her parents missteps, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. She has been applying for scholarships but so far nothing has panned out.

community college offers a. great value, b. gives the student time to figure out what they may be interested in, c. you have exposure to older students who can also serve as a mentor.

I started at a small private, and then transferred to a community for six months because the value was there. During those six months, I spent 2k for 18 credits and worked 24 hours a week...so it didn't cost me.

Afterwords, I transferred to another private, good school, and then got my advanced degree at another private (used mostly student loans, at a very low interest rate).

Bottom line is that your child needs to take care of business, and not rely on mommy and daddy for their future. The community college route is VERY smart...

Also, I would look into programs like barber, massage therapist, electrician mentors, plumbing mentors, etc.

Not sure what your child is interested in, but the idea is to spend as little as possible when you are young and trying to figure out what you want in life,

and then to specialize when you get older and more mature and know what you want. Keep the spending for school low, because the school you went to is not as important as the mentors you develop relationships with and the people you know that can help.

good luck.

[ValleYum]

RE: [COA-EFC=(NEED/HGP)+(SD)]=TC

COA references the Total Cost of Attendance for one year. This includes tuition, labs, books, room & board, travel, other expenses and fees.

The EFC references the Expected Family Contribution and is the federal formula for creating your “deductable” the cost that you are required to pay before you get any financial aid.

NEED is calculated by subtracting the EFC against the COA.

HGP is the Historical Giving Pattern, this number is reported to the Department of Education by the colleges. This is the average amount of financial aid given by a given school. Is the college generally tight fisted or generous?

SD references Student Desirability the college’s desirability toward any one particular student. Is your student highly desirable (no they don’t have to be a star athlete or have high grades or a perfect SAT score) Some colleges are more apt to handing out financial aid to attract certain types of student.

Add subtract and divide these numbers per the 'formula' to get the TC, True Cost for your student.



You can get a start on all of this by filling out your student's FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

Hope this clears things up.

[Exployer1234]

I started back to school in 2008. Honestly you have to understand what the acronyms are to fill out the forms. Now with that said the first place to start is having your daughter fill out the FASFA report. That way they can determine what she is eligible for.

Grants and scholarships do not have to be paid back. Each college has a certain amount of grants that are offered for each semester. Community college normally offers less grants, while major university offer more money for grants. The problem is major universities cost more. There are pros and cons to community colleges and major universities. Also major universities normally have the funding to get additional scholarships.

I did a transfer program with a local community college. I saved about 2K per semester, but when I got to the major university I received more grants to cover the cost of tuition. Also if your EFC is at 0 she will get the max amount for federal grants.

Also having her speak to the actual college advisors would be where I would start, because they will have all the current information that is out. You can even make an appointment to speak with the schools financial aid department.

Another thing to keep in mind is some fields of employment will reimburse you back on the student loan debt, so if she picks her field wisely and lands a job in that field her student loan debt can be covered or even dropped by 50% and dropped after 10 years.

[CaliforniaPl]

HomeNow2,no one questioned that these are indeed the "LEGAL" acronyms,as you so graciously informed us.Your post is greek to most everyone here,and,we would all like help in helping our children.Of course we would all LOVE our children to to take on a TON of student debt which is NOT dischargable in in BK.I apologize for the sarcasim but your post is really WORTHLESS,and ARROGANT.I have used your method of using CAPS at the strong points,i hope you APPROVE.THANK YOU,for NOTHING.

Wow, really??? There is actually a lot of great information in the 2nd post along with just about all instructions on what to do and how to use the information. Sounds like you want someone to hold your hand and do all the work for you.

Thanks for that post HomeNow2 - I'll have to check that out!