Why does the middle-class always get boned?

[mchammer187]

I don't feel sorry for people that feel they need to attend a private school and then complain about the cost of a college education.

You want a good affordable education go to an in-state public school. That is a good option I'd say for 85% of people.

The only reason to go anywhere else is if they don't offer the program you are looking for.

 

[paulney]

Originally posted by: thomsbrain
College financial aid generally favors those who blow all their money on boats and BMWs. If you were foolish enough to save for college, you will get no help.

Exactly. The system penalizes your for saving money for college.
And the costs are blown out of proportion anyway - thanks to bureaucracy and all the other crap that gets tacked on, like enormous compensation packages for regents and chancellors.

It's much like healthcare. This country needs serious reforms in everything.

 

[ric1287]

Originally posted by: paulney

Originally posted by: thomsbrain
College financial aid generally favors those who blow all their money on boats and BMWs. If you were foolish enough to save for college, you will get no help.

Exactly. The system penalizes your for saving money for college.
And the costs are blown out of proportion anyway - thanks to bureaucracy and all the other crap that gets tacked on, like enormous compensation packages for regents and chancellors.

It's much like healthcare. This country needs serious reforms in everything.

no, it is calculated by how much money your parents/you make, not what you have saved.

They don't factor in anything but net income and then say that "since your household income is over 100k, you should have no problem paying 20k for school"

 

[n yusef]

The reason you're not getting needs-based financial aid is because you don't need it. Your parents are paying for your tuition. If your parents refused to do so, I would sympathize, but come on man.

If you honestly think you have it worse than those who qualified for aid, please think about the situation a little deeper.

 

[wiredspider]

Originally posted by: ric1287


no, it is calculated by how much money your parents/you make, not what you have saved.

They don't factor in anything but net income and then say that "since your household income is over 100k, you should have no problem paying 20k for school"

Savings DO play a part, I have quite a bit in savings, but my parents and I had low income (they are tightwads so I was too). We hardly qualified for any aid, but I had scholarships and later worked (with some tuition reimbursement) to pay for college. I went to the financial aid office once (our income was so low, that they wanted verification, our tax docs and such) and had them play around with my numbers. If they took out my savings (reduced by 90%), my aid went up alot.

 

[Strk]

Originally posted by: lupi
f you're parents can afford to right a check for college, either you ain't middle class or they got a discount at the local JC.

The discount from a JC only reduces the tuition. It does nothing for the fees that will usually make up a bulk of the cost at a state school.

 

[JJChicken]

Originally posted by: ADDAvenger
Because the man is keeping us down.

Amen to that brutha...wait a minute..oh snaps!

 

[yhelothar]

I don't know how you guys are filing for your financial aid but my mom makes 70K and I still got $6k in grants. Yes that's free money.

 

[Mo0o]

How much do you parents make? Seems fishy that 2x college tuition still merits no aid. Doesnt sound like middle class to me

 

[Circlenaut]

I second getting married, Tis what I did! I got a a 40k/year private school and pay NOTHING out of pocket. Granted I have federal loans, they will amount to about 20k for both the Mrs and I.

 

[evident]

Originally posted by: paulney

Originally posted by: thomsbrain
College financial aid generally favors those who blow all their money on boats and BMWs. If you were foolish enough to save for college, you will get no help.

Exactly. The system penalizes your for saving money for college.
And the costs are blown out of proportion anyway - thanks to bureaucracy and all the other crap that gets tacked on, like enormous compensation packages for regents and chancellors.

It's much like healthcare. This country needs serious reforms in everything.

not really....

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Originally posted by: lupi
f you're parents can afford to right a check for college, either you ain't middle class or they got a discount at the local JC.

Apparently, your parents couldn't afford to write a check for college.

 

[Mo0o]

Originally posted by: DisgruntledVirus

Originally posted by: lupi
f you're parents can afford to right a check for college, either you ain't middle class or they got a discount at the local JC.

Apparently, your parents couldn't afford to write a check for college.

Missed that

 

[TheVrolok]

Originally posted by: blinky8225

Originally posted by: HardcoreRobot
why do people expect to get any aid at all?

Because supposedly the mission of schools is to provide education for all, not just people with money. Anyway, the top 20 private schools claim to meet 100% of your need. These schools have made a lot of progress on this issue. In fact despite my parents making six figures, I receive $25,000+ in grants, which means no loans. My school isn't even that generous compared with say Harvard or Princeton.

In any case, I don't believe ability to pay should limit one's education, and it's refreshing to see some progress in this matter.

To be honest, that seems like a way to keep the wealthy safely secure within the upper class .. rather than a kindhearted gesture to help educate the middle (or lower) class. I got into 2 Ivy League schools and went to neither as I was denied any grants/needs based financial aid. My parents made a middle class income at the time (they've since moved to the upper class). Consequently, I didn't go to either as I simply couldn't afford it.

 

[Siddhartha]

Originally posted by: Xylitol
I'm getting no financial aid from the school that I'm going to be attending. My brother goes to a private school and is getting almost no financial aid. ugh
I am very thankful for my parents for paying for a lot of the tuition though

Money is limited. What criteria would you use to decide who should get aid?

 

[jlee]

Originally posted by: Pippy
I second getting married, Tis what I did! I got a a 40k/year private school and pay NOTHING out of pocket. Granted I have federal loans, they will amount to about 20k for both the Mrs and I.

How is that not out of pocket? You're gonna pay it eventually.

 

[Chryso]

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: waffleironhead
simple answer. Get married. it will make you financially independent to the government. Then file for divorce after graduation. This will be a win win for all involved(if you can find some girl in the same boat as you).

And then have the woman file for alimony. Pre-nups and post-nups mean nothing in this country any more so not even worth it even if you have her sign a contract to keep your money.

If he had money he wouldn't need to do this.

 

[Mo0o]

Originally posted by: TheVrolok

Originally posted by: blinky8225

Originally posted by: HardcoreRobot
why do people expect to get any aid at all?

Because supposedly the mission of schools is to provide education for all, not just people with money. Anyway, the top 20 private schools claim to meet 100% of your need. These schools have made a lot of progress on this issue. In fact despite my parents making six figures, I receive $25,000+ in grants, which means no loans. My school isn't even that generous compared with say Harvard or Princeton.

In any case, I don't believe ability to pay should limit one's education, and it's refreshing to see some progress in this matter.

To be honest, that seems like a way to keep the wealthy safely secure within the upper class .. rather than a kindhearted gesture to help educate the middle (or lower) class. I got into 2 Ivy League schools and went to neither as I was denied any grants/needs based financial aid. My parents made a middle class income at the time (they've since moved to the upper class). Consequently, I didn't go to either as I simply couldn't afford it.

You couldn't afford it or your parents wouldn't pay for it? Did they offer you perkins+stafford loans?

 

[TheVrolok]

Originally posted by: Mo0o

Originally posted by: TheVrolok

Originally posted by: blinky8225

Originally posted by: HardcoreRobot
why do people expect to get any aid at all?

Because supposedly the mission of schools is to provide education for all, not just people with money. Anyway, the top 20 private schools claim to meet 100% of your need. These schools have made a lot of progress on this issue. In fact despite my parents making six figures, I receive $25,000+ in grants, which means no loans. My school isn't even that generous compared with say Harvard or Princeton.

In any case, I don't believe ability to pay should limit one's education, and it's refreshing to see some progress in this matter.

To be honest, that seems like a way to keep the wealthy safely secure within the upper class .. rather than a kindhearted gesture to help educate the middle (or lower) class. I got into 2 Ivy League schools and went to neither as I was denied any grants/needs based financial aid. My parents made a middle class income at the time (they've since moved to the upper class). Consequently, I didn't go to either as I simply couldn't afford it.

You couldn't afford it or your parents wouldn't pay for it? Did they offer you perkins+stafford loans?

Well, I suppose we would need to define what "affording" is. I couldn't afford it plainly. However, if my parents had sold our house, and moved into something smaller (seeing as I was moving out to go to school) and perhaps sold a car (and shared one which would have been logistically impossible) then I suppose they could have paid for it and lived paycheck to paycheck without paying into savings/retirement accounts/etc. etc. So could they, by the most strict definition, have afforded it? Possibly (perhaps probably?) with a fairly drastic change in lifestyle.

From what I recall, I was offered 2k in subsidized stafford loans and another 5k or so in unsubsidized. The numbers may be a bit off, it was years ago. Regardless, I took similar amounts to pay for tuition when I went to a public school and my parents where then able to help pay the portion for which I couldn't (non-private) take loans.

 

[RadiclDreamer]

Originally posted by: HardcoreRobot
why do people expect to get any aid at all?

Same reason the government expects to get aid from the people. Its for the good of all. More educated people means you prosper as a nation.

 

[JS80]

Originally posted by: Xylitol
I'm getting no financial aid from the school that I'm going to be attending. My brother goes to a private school and is getting almost no financial aid. ugh
I am very thankful for my parents for paying for a lot of the tuition though

Be happy you won the genetics lottery by being born a Korean male.

 

[JS80]

Originally posted by: Psynaut
Warren Buffet recently said that there is something wrong with a tax system that requires his secretary and his cleaner to pay a higher tax rate than he does.

Warren Buffet is a liar. Warren Buffet pays a higher tax rate on his wages AND possibly a higher capital gains rate if his janitor had any investments.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

Originally posted by: RadiclDreamer

Originally posted by: HardcoreRobot
why do people expect to get any aid at all?

Same reason the government expects to get aid from the people. Its for the good of all. More educated people means you prosper as a nation.

Your first sentence makes no sense at all.

I agree with the second sentence, how could you not? I would also like world peace, no addictions, no pedophiles, free healthcare/food/education/money/blowjobs etc. Unfortunately, we don't live in candyland and I am not naive enough to believe in wishful thinking. When you look past the warm fuzzy bullshit and boil it down, as long as teachers still expect a salary, as long as the school administrators, coaches, janitors, and cafeteria ladies depend on a paycheck, education is going to cost money. You can hide the costs, but they don't disappear. SOMEONE is paying for all these things. It blows my mind that people can even try to justify having that person be anyone other than themself.

I am all for private scholarships. If you as individual, educational institution, or 3rd party group choose to use your OWN money to help someone through school, more power to you.

The saddest part of all of this is that all of the fantasy world dwellers that support subsidized education don't even see that this influx of 'free' money is just causing tuition prices to skyrocket. This of course, puts you right back where you started - eductation costing too much. Except, now that public funds are integrated into the education economy you cant just take them out or things will collapse. So you just pump in more and more money, ultimately squeezing out the people that don't qualify for those funds (OPs situation).

FML

 

[skim milk]

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: Xylitol
I'm getting no financial aid from the school that I'm going to be attending. My brother goes to a private school and is getting almost no financial aid. ugh
I am very thankful for my parents for paying for a lot of the tuition though

Be happy you won the genetics lottery by being born a Korean male.

can you explain what you mean by this?

I need some ego stroking

 

[Wheezer]

Because supposedly the mission of schools is to provide education for all, not just people with money. Anyway, the top 20 private schools claim to meet 100% of your need. These schools have made a lot of progress on this issue. In fact despite my parents making six figures, I receive $25,000+ in grants, which means no loans. My school isn't even that generous compared with say Harvard or Princeton.

In any case, I don't believe ability to pay should limit one's education, and it's refreshing to see some progress in this matter.

that "mission" comes at a price

-teachers
-classroom materials
-buildings
-maintenance
-electricity
-heating
-administration personnel

that is just of the top of my head...I am SURE if I think about it I can come up with many many more.

and who do you suppose is gonna pay for this?

The government?

guess where the government gets its money.

Not everyone wants or deserves higher education....if you want to go why shouldn't you have to kick in some?

up until you are 18 basic education in this country is mandatory....anything after 12th grade is a privilege....why should the many pay for the privileges of the few?