Why does the middle-class always get boned?

[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

 

[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).

 

[Farang]

Originally posted by: Xylitol
my parents [are] paying for a lot of the tuition

you answered your own question

 

[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.

 

[Xylitol]

Originally posted by: Farang

Originally posted by: Xylitol
my parents [are] paying for a lot of the tuition

you answered your own question

you act like i'm completely separate from my parents and shouldn't care if they're sacrificing a lot for me

 

[xSauronx]

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 can afford a good lawyer to write up an iron clad prenup

 

[HardcoreRobot]

why do people expect to get any aid at all?

 

[Farang]

Originally posted by: Xylitol

Originally posted by: Farang

Originally posted by: Xylitol
my parents [are] paying for a lot of the tuition

you answered your own question

you act like i'm completely separate from my parents and shouldn't care if they're sacrificing a lot for me

What does caring have to do with anything.. you have access to funds others do not. Financial aid is needs based because there isn't enough to go around. You don't need it as much as others because of your parents.

 

[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.

 

[thescreensavers]

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

that sucks, I just got today 75% tuition to any public college in Florida. GO FL LOTTO!

Sorry, to hear that though

 

[waffleironhead]

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

Its the Oh poor me I'm middle class whining. Are you not familiar with it. The rich get it all handed to them from their trust funds and the poor get free rides from the pell grants but its the middle class that has to pay their own way because their parents make too much to qualify for free funds, but too little to pay for the education.

 

[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.

 

[marvdmartian]

While there's some truth to that, the amount of money that gets thrown at you while attending college can also be dependent on your grades in high school, your gpa in college, your SAT/ACT scores, and how active you are in your community.

When I looked at going back to school, I was easily accepted everywhere I applied, with the 3.5 high school gpa and SAT score of 1120. When I re-took my SAT's, and scored a combined 1420, it was shocking at how much money started getting offered to me, in scholarships, grants and write-offs (offers of waiving the difference between resident and non-resident tuition fees, for instance).

Bottom line, if you're not doing everything in your power to attract the attention of people that have money available (grants, etc), then you really have no reason to whine about money, imho.

 

[mugs]

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

I don't think you know what middle class is.

 

[Ruptga]

Because the man is keeping us down.

 

[I Saw OJ]

Its not even the middle class. I made about 30k last year and didn't qualify for financial aid. You have to be below the poverty line or a minority to get financial aid.

 

[episodic]

Military?

 

[evident]

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

okay, how much do your parents make? i got the most financial aid granted to me possible when i went to college. tuition each year was 40K and $20k of it was need based grants. if your parents can afford your college, then you dont need grants =\

 

[JDawg1536]

Originally posted by: episodic
Military?

Yup. I'm gonna be getting full tuition, $1,000 a year for books, and $2,150 a month for housing. Life is about to be good.

 

[vi edit]

What are people considering "financial aid" anyway?

As far as the feds are concerned, there's only a few things you can get. Federal Student Loans that are either subsidized (don't pay interest while you are in school) or unsubsidized or Pell Grants. There's also student work study that gets you a little bit extra in your pocket.

I graduated college almost 10 years ago and I know that they have since tightened things down on the amounts available, but they usually aren't too prohibative. But they do have set amounts you can borrow a year.

Pell Grants really are pretty restrictive and available to only a handful of households.

The rest are concessions and private funds available by the school. State schools have very limited grants and scholarships available and you typically get very little taken off the top of the price.

Private schools typically have a lot more leway in their tuition rates. 10 years ago it really wasn't out of the oridnary for the effective tuition rate to be almost half what the advertised rate was. If you had decent grades and were active in high school and could provide some value to the college you would easily get a grant for $4,000, some other fluff scholarship for $2,000, Then slap on student work study and your federal loans and you were only looking at $5,000-$10,000 or out of pocket each year. With that you either paid in cash or looked for 3rd party help like private student loans or outside scholarships.

If college is too expensive then you either aren't a strong student, looking at too popular of a college, or aren't shopping around enough.

If things have been turned completely upside down in 10 years time then just completely ignore my post.

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[BoomerD]

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

It's just a different form of "welfare mentality."


I notice that a lot of the same people who complain about welfare and food stamp users think that financial aid grants are fine...

 

[ric1287]

Originally posted by: Xylitol

Originally posted by: Farang

Originally posted by: Xylitol
my parents [are] paying for a lot of the tuition

you answered your own question

you act like i'm completely separate from my parents and shouldn't care if they're sacrificing a lot for me

hahahha, what the hell does that have to do with anything?

 

[Bignate603]

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).

I got married my senior year and financial aid came out of the wazoo. It was pretty impressive.