My thoughts on federal student aid.
1/29/2009 04:48:00 PM
•
EFC,
FAFSA,
federal student aid,
Tiffany
•
6
comments
Let’s talk FAFSA.
I am a 21 year old, self-supporting, full-time college student. I have no children, no husband, and I am not a veteran. My parents have five children and have adopted two of my cousins. All in all, they financially support 6 children.
The FAFSA is used by the government to determine eligibility for federal student financial aid (grants, certain loans, and work-study programs). FAFSA uses the Expected Family Contribution, EFC, calculator to decide if a student needs grants and what the family should be able to contribute financially. Family size, income, number of children in college, and assets are all used to determine their EFC. My first issue with FAFSA is that it does NOT take into consideration if a student is self-supporting, and what the parents actually contribute financially to a student.
When you file the FAFSA and they calculate the EFC, that is assuming that your parents do and will contribute financially to your education. …what if they don’t?
“Most students in the United States attending college are above the age of eighteen, which relieves their parents of any financial responsibility for them whatsoever, according to US law. This brings the question of why parents' assets are a factor at all, because of the fact that they are no more legally related to the student than is a complete stranger. Students who will not be receiving parental aid for college expenses may be able to appeal directly to their school of choice for a reevaluation of aid awards based on their personal circumstances.” www.wikipedia.com/fafsa
Don’t get me wrong, my parents are great people and want me to succeed in life, but do not have an extra $3000 to dish out every six months for me to attend WTAMU. This is one of the reasons I’m so passionate about Amarillo College. I come here, get a great education, best professors ever, at a reasonable price. However, I won’t be at AC for all four years to receive my Bachelor’s degree. I have to go to WTAMU eventually. In comparison to other universities, WTAMU is reasonable in price but still- costly.
Unfortunately, my parents didn’t start me a college fund when I was born; they were 17 years old and trying to put food on the table. When my grandparents past away, they didn’t leave money for their grandchildren to go to college; “we didn’t go college- why do they need to?” I don’t have money saved up for college and I should not have to take out loans when certain people are getting college tuition for free.
This would be my second issue. On FAFSA, in order for you to file without using your parents income you must be: 24 years old, veteran of the Armed Forces, currently on duty with the Forces, working on your Master’s or Doctorate, married, a ward of the court until 18, or have children that are dependent on you.
I think it’s great that veterans and people in the Forces get this advantage, as well as wards of the court. But… married? Children? This is what I need to be able to apply on my FAFSA and not list my parents income?
Well, IF I WOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT I WOULD HAVE HAD A CHILD AT 18 SO I CAN GO TO COLLEGE FOR FREE! Or maybe I’ll just get married so I can get a few PELL GRANTS.
As I said before, my parents were 17 when they had me and that is a very unfortunate situation but they made a mistake. I am not judging young parents or people who get married young, I am only saying that it is not fair that they get this FAFSA advantage because chose to start their family life early. I do not want children for a few years (to my parent’s relief) and I have not met anybody that I would even consider for marriage. However, if it’s going to save me $40,000 (4 years of college tuition), I might start thinking of finding a husband!
I work just as hard as young parents and I don’t receive financial assistance from my parents- but I have to “act” like I do on the FAFSA.
I have a relative that is not 24 yet, but she has 3 children and is married. She now stays at home with her children and her husband does all the working. On a personal level, I think it’s great that she is able to stay home with her children and see them grow up. Because they don’t make much money, they receive HUD housing from the government and for an estimated $300/mo they rent a 3 bedroom town house. They also receive thousands of dollars in grants each semester (which also enables her to stay at home). On a fair level: I’m mad. Her first child was an accident… BIG accident. After that, they enjoyed it and recently got married. Now, she gets cheaper rent than me and gets her entire college education paid for by the government? Does anybody see how this is not fair?
I don’t hope that young parents or young married couples get their FAFSA advantages taken away from them, I just hope that it can be for everybody. I hope FAFSA will start taking into consideration everybody’s personal circumstances.
I can’t even imagine what kind of a pain that would be for FAFSA but if they’re going to make it possible for some people, I think it should be available to all people.
Please let me know, respectfully, if I am off-base here. I can’t imagine that I’m the only person that feels this way?! Feedback—please!
In case you're curious, here is a link to the EFC Calculator: http://calculators.collegetoolkit.com/College-Calculators/resCalcEFC.aspx
I am a 21 year old, self-supporting, full-time college student. I have no children, no husband, and I am not a veteran. My parents have five children and have adopted two of my cousins. All in all, they financially support 6 children.
The FAFSA is used by the government to determine eligibility for federal student financial aid (grants, certain loans, and work-study programs). FAFSA uses the Expected Family Contribution, EFC, calculator to decide if a student needs grants and what the family should be able to contribute financially. Family size, income, number of children in college, and assets are all used to determine their EFC. My first issue with FAFSA is that it does NOT take into consideration if a student is self-supporting, and what the parents actually contribute financially to a student.
When you file the FAFSA and they calculate the EFC, that is assuming that your parents do and will contribute financially to your education. …what if they don’t?
“Most students in the United States attending college are above the age of eighteen, which relieves their parents of any financial responsibility for them whatsoever, according to US law. This brings the question of why parents' assets are a factor at all, because of the fact that they are no more legally related to the student than is a complete stranger. Students who will not be receiving parental aid for college expenses may be able to appeal directly to their school of choice for a reevaluation of aid awards based on their personal circumstances.” www.wikipedia.com/fafsa
Don’t get me wrong, my parents are great people and want me to succeed in life, but do not have an extra $3000 to dish out every six months for me to attend WTAMU. This is one of the reasons I’m so passionate about Amarillo College. I come here, get a great education, best professors ever, at a reasonable price. However, I won’t be at AC for all four years to receive my Bachelor’s degree. I have to go to WTAMU eventually. In comparison to other universities, WTAMU is reasonable in price but still- costly.
Unfortunately, my parents didn’t start me a college fund when I was born; they were 17 years old and trying to put food on the table. When my grandparents past away, they didn’t leave money for their grandchildren to go to college; “we didn’t go college- why do they need to?” I don’t have money saved up for college and I should not have to take out loans when certain people are getting college tuition for free.
This would be my second issue. On FAFSA, in order for you to file without using your parents income you must be: 24 years old, veteran of the Armed Forces, currently on duty with the Forces, working on your Master’s or Doctorate, married, a ward of the court until 18, or have children that are dependent on you.
I think it’s great that veterans and people in the Forces get this advantage, as well as wards of the court. But… married? Children? This is what I need to be able to apply on my FAFSA and not list my parents income?
Well, IF I WOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT I WOULD HAVE HAD A CHILD AT 18 SO I CAN GO TO COLLEGE FOR FREE! Or maybe I’ll just get married so I can get a few PELL GRANTS.
As I said before, my parents were 17 when they had me and that is a very unfortunate situation but they made a mistake. I am not judging young parents or people who get married young, I am only saying that it is not fair that they get this FAFSA advantage because chose to start their family life early. I do not want children for a few years (to my parent’s relief) and I have not met anybody that I would even consider for marriage. However, if it’s going to save me $40,000 (4 years of college tuition), I might start thinking of finding a husband!
I work just as hard as young parents and I don’t receive financial assistance from my parents- but I have to “act” like I do on the FAFSA.
I have a relative that is not 24 yet, but she has 3 children and is married. She now stays at home with her children and her husband does all the working. On a personal level, I think it’s great that she is able to stay home with her children and see them grow up. Because they don’t make much money, they receive HUD housing from the government and for an estimated $300/mo they rent a 3 bedroom town house. They also receive thousands of dollars in grants each semester (which also enables her to stay at home). On a fair level: I’m mad. Her first child was an accident… BIG accident. After that, they enjoyed it and recently got married. Now, she gets cheaper rent than me and gets her entire college education paid for by the government? Does anybody see how this is not fair?
I don’t hope that young parents or young married couples get their FAFSA advantages taken away from them, I just hope that it can be for everybody. I hope FAFSA will start taking into consideration everybody’s personal circumstances.
I can’t even imagine what kind of a pain that would be for FAFSA but if they’re going to make it possible for some people, I think it should be available to all people.
Please let me know, respectfully, if I am off-base here. I can’t imagine that I’m the only person that feels this way?! Feedback—please!
In case you're curious, here is a link to the EFC Calculator: http://calculators.collegetoolkit.com/College-Calculators/resCalcEFC.aspx
