College Financial Aid
There is a great country blue grass song made famous by Tennessee Ernie Ford called "16 Tons." It chronicles life as a coal miner in the thirties. The chorus is: You load sixteen tons what do you get Another day older and deeper in debt Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go I owe my soul to the company store.
When I was seventeen I began my descent into painful debt by starting college and continuing on to law school. I was reminded of that song and always thought that it was applicable to college with a slight lyric modification.
You load sixteen credits what do you get Another day older and deeper in debt Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go I owe my soul in student loans.
I freed my indentured soul years ago and falsely believed that I was forever free. But with college aged children comes the grim reaper of the family budget, the financial aid office. Frodo had an easier time returning that ring than parents do submitting the required information for financial aid.
The process begins with a form called FAFSA. I cannot share what that stands for as I want this to be a PG blog. It is fair to say that the process is similar to having a colonoscopy performed by an inebriated IRS agent.
The financial aid offices want to know everything imaginable about our finances in order to determine what "aid" will be provided to our ADULT children. Of course I have no ability to speak to their professors, control their curfew, direct their majors, or get their grades because they are adults. But for some reason our income, or lack thereof, is relevant to the aid our adult children get.
To properly complete the FAFSA form I must utilize my tax returns. Like those have any basis in reality. I can't comprehend the difference between a W2, W4, a 1040EZ and a 1040 Schedule ABC. That is why I have an accountant. He makes wild assumptions about my gibberish of documentation when applied to the 13,000,000 rules contained in the tax code and voila, my taxes are magically done.
With the power of the internet that tax information may be accessed. And with a couple of clicks of my mouse, my tax return is imputed into the FAFSA which then becomes FUBAR.
My favorite question on the FAFSA form was: How much are you going to contribute to your child's education? My answer was "substantially more than the lefty ivory towered profs who wear socks with Birkenstock sandals." For some reason the form didn't accept that answer, it wanted a number. Then I remembered my college calculus class where I learned about "imaginary numbers" (which are the same numbers used in the federal budget.). It wouldn't accept that either; so I settled on twenty bucks. I could tell the form wasn't pleased but I was allowed to move on.
Three hours later I was able to electronically sign the form after swearing, affirming, crossing my heart and promising to die if I was lying. Electronically signing is really easy, much easier than sign language. And I was able to do it with just one finger, bet you can guess which one.
The forms have been done for sometime and multiple times additional information has been needed. It seems to be a never ending struggle, but the end is in sight, my oldest will graduate in December. Only five more kids and sixteen more years of FAFSAs.
St. Peter don't you call me, cause I can't go, I owe my soul to the FAFSA form.
Jim is am an attorney and graduate of Gonzaga University and Marquette Law School. He lives in Spring Prairie near Burlington. He has been in private practice for 17 years. He is in the process of closing his practice due to a diagnosis of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He his married with 6 kids. Jim is a community blogger and is not a part of the Gazette staff. His opinion is not necessarily that of the Gazette staff or management.
Aug 10, 2012 at 10:46 a.m.
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http://www.forbes.com/sites/troyonink/20...
Article describes $250K earners but also highlites those that make $120K or $70K. Point is I need to send my kids to a less expensive school, and even though they may end up with 4.0's for grades it does not matter. Not their fault I have done well. Also trying to get 18 year olds as independent students is very difficult. Schools know this and want my kids because I have to pay full "sticker" price wich means tuition is inflated. Makes my point valid that if I stash my cash now in other assets and take a huge pay-cut I am better off wich is stupid. Also the parent with custody is the income they look at so it is not far fetched that people scam the system by getting a divorce. I would not want to do it and the sad thing is they way the system is set up it can be done.
Aug 10, 2012 at 8:41 a.m.
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well jvl I am not making that crap up. No I dont want to get a paper D but people do that kind of crap. Why should your kid get a low interest loan and not mine? Why is my kid being penalized because I make more money that you?
I belive every kid needs an education however the problem is there is a perception that if you go on to school you will be successful and if you dont then you are a loser. We need to be teaching kids skills they can use and I think we are now heading in that direction. Skilled trades are essential and these need to be taught along with the basics so when the kid hits the workforce they are ready, not sitting looking for a job while they have a piece of paper in their hand and a bunch of debt.
Our universities will make Millions on football TV rights and tickets and still charge $20-$40K per year or more and meanwhile still be supported by the "state". College is a big business and it is so since you "need" that piece of paper to get a decent job, or at least that what many want you to belive. The problem is many times that paper itself is worthless.
Aug 9, 2012 at 3:38 p.m.
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Excuse me, but why do you all seem to think that low income people get free educations? To the point where you want to cheat the government or get a fake divorce? Let us know how that turns out. You've obviously been scared silly with bad information. Sad.
We are low income with a son in college. He qualifies for lower interest rate loans, but nothing is free. Private schools offer scholarships from their endowments, often based on a combination of academics and need, but that is their prerogative. You'd get nowhere being broke with bad grades, I promise you that.
Aug 9, 2012 at 12:05 p.m.
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I have a soon to be 8th grader and my wife and I who have a combined income wich is targeted by the current administration as "high", we are looking at a few options before she goes off to college.
1. Get a divorce: Not sure if this actually works but I have heard stories through finacial aid offices that parents do this and qualify for student loand and other aid. Not sure how since I would think they would look at both incomes anyways.
2. Quit our jobs and take very low paying jobs.
3. If we do 2 we will have assets however move these assets into cash/gold silver etc now.
It is sad that a child has to go through 4 years of school and be in debt and the parents who have saved the money get penalized. We had a baby sitter tell us once when we asked if she was working to pay for school: "not besides a few cash jobs like this, I am better off spending my time finding the right finacial assistance programs than I am working"
That is sad. And the parents of this kid had it figured out as well. Make just under a certain amount and they would get aid. Meanwhile I am being targeted as making too much money, will have to pay more in taxes which leaves less left over to save for my childs education that I have to pay full price for without any assistance. To top it off, you are not guarenteed to get a job after school anyways (not that you should) and our society today is telling everyone that you need to go to school and if you dont, you are looked down upon. Schools know this and tuition is out of control. Student debt has skyrocketed and it will only get worse.
Quiting my current job and finding a part time job somewhere may be in my future...
Aug 8, 2012 at 9:51 p.m.
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My school's financial aid office was just about as helpful as the people at FAFSA. My adviser gave me a heads up about both.
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My main issue has been timing. I got an email from FAFSA saying corrections needed to be made (signature). I completed that and then received a letter from my school saying that my FAFSA was incomplete (dated after obtaining an electronic signature). I made more changes only to find out that the school was, in fact, referring to missing signatures.
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It is nice to know that there are other people out there sharing my pain.
Aug 8, 2012 at 7:28 p.m.
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The description "similar to having a colonoscopy performed by an inebriated IRS agent" could not be more accurate ! kenny, try calling your school's financial aid office - in our case, that was the only place we got any real help.
Aug 8, 2012 at 2:38 p.m.
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I was fortunate enough to go through my undergrad without student loans thanks to numerous summers and Christmas breaks spent working in a factory or pouring cement. However, recently I decided to apply to grad school and even though I have a full time job I have no way of digging deep enough into my pockets to afford school on my own this time. So now this is my first experience with FAFSA. It’s been two months of back-and-forth and I still don’t know if I have been awarded aid for the fall (I think I have?) and if I have; I have no idea how to get a hold of it.
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The support team at FAFSA doesn’t seem to be overly friendly either.
Aug 8, 2012 at 11:58 a.m.
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After 5 years of FAFSA for my own education, I can relate to this blog! It should be provided in print to all parents and students who have to go through the process. I got a good laugh.
Aug 8, 2012 at 11:26 a.m.
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mteg - it is ridiculous...I had a friend (years ago) who was married at 19 and then wanted to go on to school....and they STILL wanted to count her parents' income for a certain period of time even though she was married! Now that is just ridiculous. She ended up waiting a semester to get beyond the time period.
Aug 8, 2012 at 10:33 a.m.
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I fell victim to this. Even though I moved out at 18, had my own place, I was unable to apply for finacial aid as my parents made to much. In a way, I'm glad that it worked out the way it did. By working thru college and not taking out loans, I was able to avoid the pitfalls of the "free money" and overwhelming debt that many of my fellow graduates faced. In addition, I graduated already making a good income(not in my degree field, with no student loans.
Aug 8, 2012 at 7:50 a.m.
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Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The worst part of this entire process is the parents that did their due diligence and saved money for their kid's college fund get screwed. It's better to have no savings and be in debt, than to have saved any money for them. If you have savings, the FAFSA commission becomes the Soup Nazi "No Soup for You!"
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