# I Pit Lack of Finacial Aid for my Kid's College Education! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 2, 2011, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lack-of-finacial-aid-for-my-kids-college-education/584068 "2011-06-02T07:10:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![starwarsfreek42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@starwarsfreek42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starwarsfreek42)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lack-of-finacial-aid-for-my-kids-college-education/584068/281 "2011-06-05T04:47:55Z")
_sigh_ I am not bitching about the lack of scholarships, merely pointing out that they are largely unavailable to me. I am bitching about people who bitch that they can’t get a good enough scholarship to go to whatever school they want to go to and not go into debt. Ain’t going to happen, so pick up some job applications and get in line. ETA: Since I’m not eligible I’m not up on the exact rules. This is anecdotal evidence only, and as I said, fuck you guys. Also, applied to college? I’m about to graduate from college at the end of this semester. Most financial aid offices won’t even let you apply for a loan until you’ve applied for Pell, so yes, I’ve applied, every year without fail since 2004 and been turned down. I’ve got thousands and thousands of dollars in unsubsidized Stafford loans staring me in the face this fall. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lack-of-finacial-aid-for-my-kids-college-education/584068/282 "2011-06-05T04:49:45Z")
> [@starwarsfreek42](#): > > _sigh_ > > I am not bitching about the lack of scholarships, merely pointing out that they are largely unavailable to me. I am bitching about people who bitch that they can’t get a good enough scholarship to go to whatever school they want to go to and not go into debt. Ain’t going to happen, so pick up some job applications and get in line. Look, you dribbling fucking idiot, you keep bringing race into this, so you’re getting called on it. Is the color of your skin relevant to your eligibility for a Pell Grant, or is it not? And if it isn’t, why make the comment about being able to get one if you “were about 2000 dollars a year poorer and black”? ---
**Author:** ![starwarsfreek42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@starwarsfreek42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starwarsfreek42)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lack-of-finacial-aid-for-my-kids-college-education/584068/283 "2011-06-05T04:52:31Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Look, you dribbling fucking idiot, you keep bringing race into this, so you’re getting called on it. > > Is the color of your skin relevant to your eligibility for a Pell Grant, or is it not? And if it isn’t, why make the comment about being able to get one if you “were about 2000 dollars a year poorer and black”? Anecdotal. I have no idea of the actual rules. Go look it up or something if it’s so important to you. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lack-of-finacial-aid-for-my-kids-college-education/584068/284 "2011-06-05T04:55:41Z")
> [@starwarsfreek42](#): > > Anecdotal. I have no idea of the actual rules. Go look it up or something if it’s so important to you. I think i can see why you don’t get scholarships. ---
**Author:** ![starwarsfreek42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@starwarsfreek42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starwarsfreek42)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lack-of-finacial-aid-for-my-kids-college-education/584068/285 "2011-06-05T05:04:38Z")
Blah, blah, blah, asshole. I actually said before that I wasn’t eligible for Pell because I A) Make too much money and B) have no children. Somebody else brought race into it, and I added my anecdotal experience. Race certainly does factor into some scholarships, though. A local university offers a scholarship to men from X county who graduated from X high school before 2008. They can get damn specific. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lack-of-finacial-aid-for-my-kids-college-education/584068/286 "2011-06-05T06:04:18Z")
> [@starwarsfreek42](#): > > Blah, blah, blah, asshole. I actually said before that I wasn’t eligible for Pell because I A) Make too much money and B) have no children. Somebody else brought race into it, and I added my anecdotal experience. Race certainly does factor into some scholarships, though. A local university offers a scholarship to men from X county who graduated from X high school before 2008. They can get damn specific. My daughter didn’t qualify for several scholarships that were for women of older-than-college age who are returning to school. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lack-of-finacial-aid-for-my-kids-college-education/584068/287 "2011-06-05T13:47:48Z")
> [@starwarsfreek42](#): > > Yo **curlcoat**! I’m a Lurky McLurkerson, but I’ve been around. This thread just happened to strike a chord with me today. Exciting story. I took off of work for a week because I was very sick, doctor wouldn’t let me work, and I am now even more broke than usual. > > ``` > : : : : : > > ``` > > This leaves me with eight dollars in my checking account. Eight. Dollars. Until next Friday, when I’ll have to pay the utilities and buy the other book, and I’ll be back down to about twenty bucks. Guess I’d better go get a pallet of Ramen this weekend. Thanks ever so much campus bookstore, for fucking me over on my very last semester. Also I still feel like refried shit from being sick. So for anybody who wants to complain about how much they’ve suffered because of hard times finding money for college, I say to you today, shut the fuck up. Let’s see – it’s taken you seven years to get your degree, you have absolutely no financial cushion, an unexpected illness puts you in starvation territory, and you claim the system works? This is not what I’d call “She can suck it up like the rest of us and do what she’s got to do to get by, and she’ll be fucking fine.” ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lack-of-finacial-aid-for-my-kids-college-education/584068/288 "2011-06-05T14:29:43Z")
One thing college doesn’t seem to do is teach compassion. You would think that since a person has experienced such a struggle to get an education, that they would appreciate the frustration and worry expressed in the OP. And offer genuine advice rather than a mean “GET A JOB!!” And I second **tumbledown’s** motion about bringing race into this discussion. I already mentioned an example straight from my own life (or my sister’s) that shows that simply being black does not guarantee you anything. Let alone smart and black. Don’t hate just 'cuz you were only slightly above average on everything except for math, made enough enough money to not qualify for financial aide, and didn’t get any “white people only” scholarships. That’s like showing up to work on time and expecting a raise just for that. And yes, **starwarsfreak** , you _are_ complaining and being quite obnoxious about it too. Much more so than the OP, I might add. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lack-of-finacial-aid-for-my-kids-college-education/584068/289 "2011-06-05T14:35:40Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Let’s see – it’s taken you seven years to get your degree, you have absolutely no financial cushion, an unexpected illness puts you in starvation territory, and you claim the system works? This is not what I’d call “She can suck it up like the rest of us and do what she’s got to do to get by, and she’ll be fucking fine.” It sounds like the exact opposite of what a parent would want for their child. Don’t worry about paying for college! She can just live in abject poverty until the age of thirty or thirty-five, and then everything will be great! ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lack-of-finacial-aid-for-my-kids-college-education/584068/290 "2011-06-05T15:09:26Z")
Has she considered starting with a college/tech school certificate in something like, medical transcription, or lab tech, or such? These courses run less than a year, but insure that stable income while returning to school. Choose something that meshes with a university environment and you may find they mesh together nicely. She may find herself employed at the university she wants to attend. Or, at the very least, working in an environment where people are encouraging of her goals. She may find she can earn a decent wage, while attending school, with an employer willing to accommodate class and exam schedules, etc. Or she could first train as a homecare aid, perhaps find a living arrangement where her costs are substantially reduced by living with an elderly person who needs help with shopping and housework, etc. Has she looked into any work/study set ups? School 4 months, work 4 months arrangements. I know a lot of people who made this work to their advantage. Graduated on time with very little debt. It’s not going to be easy, that’s for sure. But, it seems to me, if she’s as smart as you say, she ought be able to think creatively and come up with something that will work for her. But you’ll all have to think outside the box, that’s for sure. I wish you good luck, I know it’s not easy. (I know you came here to let off a little steam, which is cool, but you need to stay positive, and help her to do the same. ‘Oh my God, we’re screwed!’ contributes nothing, even if it’s the truth.) ---
**Author:** ![Zulema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/db5fbb/32.png) [@Zulema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zulema)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lack-of-finacial-aid-for-my-kids-college-education/584068/291 "2011-06-05T15:29:53Z")
What **elbows** said. get a tech degree in a related (or unrelated) field and then get a decent paying job to help pay for school. Sure it will take longer but she’ll be getting valuable work experience while going to school, experience that will get her hired. I have a few friends with engineer student graduates who are not getting jobs because they have no experience. When our son decided he wanted to get an engineering degree we encouraged him to go the tech school first program. Employers just aren’t willing to pay to train people anymore, they want the new employees to be somewhat ready to go right away and a regular engineering degree with no outside experience just doesn’t do it. This could be a blessing in disguise for her long term career success. Some of the best jobs right now, the ones that people are still hiring for are from 2 year degrees because these have been frowned upon for so long. She might as well take advantage of the situation. There are plenty of ways to afford a college degree without financial aid and if it’s important enough to her she’ll find a way. BTW, you know what pays crazy good around here? Dental Hygienist. Part time Dental Hygienist. Look into it, it’s a super short program and they’re making full time pay for part time work. I don’t know if it’s that way everywhere but it’s something to look into. A lot of the medical 2 year degrees are making good salaries right away. ---
**Author:** ![sugar\_and\_spice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@sugar\_and\_spice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugar_and_spice)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lack-of-finacial-aid-for-my-kids-college-education/584068/292 "2011-06-05T15:42:31Z")
> [@surrounded\_by\_literalists](#): > > She applied to 6 Universities. We couldn’t afford to pay for more applications. Application fees ranged from $95 - $35. On top of that were the fees for transcripts and test scores to be sent to those to which we applied . Now, I know that this may not seem like much to some, but it cost us more than a months worth of food. We picked two private schools, two medium cost schools and two inexpensive schools. Of the two inexpensive schools, both were in California. One was considering not accepting a freshman class at all and the other had just cut a number of programs and of the programs that were left, classes required for graduation had been reduced to classes being offered once every three years or cut all together. This left the students already enrolled totally screwed. My feeling was that this educational environment was a poor investment risk. If I’m reading this correctly – your daughter was accepted at 2 “inexpensive schools,” which I presume Cal State schools and will cost less than $20k/year, and you’ve taken those options off the take table because they are cutting programs? Are they still offering freshman physics, chemistry and calculus? Because that’s all she’s really going to be doing the first year of engineering. ISTM that going to one of these places for 1 year or 2 is perfectly reasonable option. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lack-of-finacial-aid-for-my-kids-college-education/584068/293 "2011-06-05T16:16:44Z")
> [@kimera](#): > > You can transfer from a good CC to nearly any school in the country if you are hard working enough. I was accepted to every single college I applied to and I only applied to the best. I doubt that. Let us know about those Ivies and Williams/Amherst/Swarthmore types you got into. A _few_ UC schools might be considered “the best”, but I’d really only argue that for Berkeley and maybe LA, with a huge gap before we get to Davis/SB/etc. Obviously they’re excellent if we restrict ourselves to state schools. I’m sure you can find a few examples of students transferring from CCs to top schools, especially for the larger ones and especially as we leave the top 5 or top 10, but it’s difficult. For a top liberal arts school it borders impossible. Yes, CCs are a great option for many people, but let’s not have delusions that they are without limitations. Those limitations may be irrelevant, especially for someone who couldn’t get into the best schools anyway or someone who wants to get into a top program that happens to be at a school that’s easier to get into, but they’re there. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lack-of-finacial-aid-for-my-kids-college-education/584068/294 "2011-06-05T16:30:17Z")
> [@](#): > > get a tech degree in a related (or unrelated) field and then get a decent paying job to help pay for school. Sure it will take longer but she’ll be getting valuable work experience while going to school, experience that will get her hired. In at least some universities, employees of those universities can take classes at a greatly reduced rate. Now, it will take her longer if she doesn’t take a full load…but don’t overlook the possibilities of university employment. That’s how my sister got her degree. ---
**Author:** ![surrounded\_by\_literalists](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8baadc/32.png) [@surrounded\_by\_literalists](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/surrounded_by_literalists)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lack-of-finacial-aid-for-my-kids-college-education/584068/295 "2011-06-05T17:44:05Z")
I can feel the frustration of **starwarsfreek42**. I was **starwarsfreek42** before I graduated. I worked 3 jobs during college, some on campus, some off campus. I stole toilet paper from the psychology dept because I couldn’t buy my own. I used to pretend I was Catholic so they would feed me every Friday at their spaghetti feed. I didn’t have a car. I didn’t use the heat in my apartment. I showered in the school gym. I shoplifted school supplies (not proud of this one). My daughter fully intends to work. Part of her federal financial aid package includes work study. She will max that and hopefully find another job as well. The school we picked is one of the cheapest available in that state. We don’t mind taking out loans, but we can’t obtain the amount of the loan needed because we don’t have income to qualify borrowing for that amount. I agree that community college is a GREAT idea. So much so that we had her taking classes for the last two years in the evening and summer. She has already had her introductory physics, chemisty, calculus, english, history, etc. though either AP classes or community college. Its time for her to start classes appropriate to her major. The reason we are having her go out of state is because the California UC-CSU system is too unstable to risk what little money we do have. At this moment students with time and money invested in the CS-CSU are left hanging within a year of graduation with either their program or required classes no longer available. They are scrambling to get into other schools, with overwhelmed programs that are also planning cuts. Its not a matter of quality, its a matter of availability. I work at a community college. I see the programs that have been cut. I see the students who have had their plans and goals completely blown away. Most of our students who were on the verge of transfer to a UC-CSU, got notices that either the school had cancelled their program of study, was limiting enrollment, or that their California based financial aid had dried up and wouldn’t be available. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lack-of-finacial-aid-for-my-kids-college-education/584068/296 "2011-06-05T17:47:00Z")
> [@surrounded\_by\_literalists](#): > > I can feel the frustration of **starwarsfreek42**. Do you think that your problems would be fixed if you were black? If not, then you’re quite different from **starwarsfreek42**. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lack-of-finacial-aid-for-my-kids-college-education/584068/297 "2011-06-05T17:50:04Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > In at least some universities, employees of those universities can take classes at a greatly reduced rate. Now, it will take her longer if she doesn’t take a full load…but don’t overlook the possibilities of university employment. That’s how my sister got her degree. Two friends of mine got degrees for free this way. They could take 2 classes per semester for free. One was at U. of I. Champaign-Urbana, one at Loyola U. of Chicago, both quite decent schools. They both graduated with no debt. ---
**Author:** ![starwarsfreek42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@starwarsfreek42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starwarsfreek42)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lack-of-finacial-aid-for-my-kids-college-education/584068/298 "2011-06-05T18:32:53Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Let’s see – it’s taken you seven years to get your degree, you have absolutely no financial cushion, an unexpected illness puts you in starvation territory, and you claim the system works? This is not what I’d call “She can suck it up like the rest of us and do what she’s got to do to get by, and she’ll be fucking fine.” No, an unexpected illness plus having to buy expensive textbooks out of pocket plus missing a whole week of work puts me in starvation territory. I do have groceries and gas, that was hyperbole. I’m not claiming that any system works, I’m claiming that you can get an education without scholarships and grants, without going to big expensive universities in another state, and that you don’t have to be completely miserable doing it. ---
**Author:** ![sugar\_and\_spice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@sugar\_and\_spice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugar_and_spice)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lack-of-finacial-aid-for-my-kids-college-education/584068/299 "2011-06-05T19:00:48Z")
> [@surrounded\_by\_literalists](#): > > The reason we are having her go out of state is because the California UC-CSU system is too unstable to risk what little money we do have. At this moment students with time and money invested in the CS-CSU are left hanging within a year of graduation with either their program or required classes no longer available. They are scrambling to get into other schools, with overwhelmed programs that are also planning cuts. Its not a matter of quality, its a matter of availability. Dunno if you are looking for random ideas or not, but one I can offer is that she could pick a major that has more students and less likely to be cut – mechanical or electrical in particular. Those 2 are generally the first to come and last to go in any engineering program. It doesn’t make a huge difference at the undergrad level. At least, not a $25k/year in loans difference, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![starwarsfreek42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@starwarsfreek42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starwarsfreek42)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lack-of-finacial-aid-for-my-kids-college-education/584068/300 "2011-06-05T19:17:18Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Do you think that your problems would be fixed if you were black? If not, then you’re quite different from **starwarsfreek42**. Oh yah, I really believe that if I woke up tomorrow and I was black, my loans would disappear without a trace and I’d have a free ride to any college I wanted to go to. Isn’t it obvious? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lack-of-finacial-aid-for-my-kids-college-education/584068.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lack-of-finacial-aid-for-my-kids-college-education/584068.md?page=16)