Comments on: Financial Aid Dilemma Resolved

By: Sabrina's Money Matters

Sabrina's Money Matters — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 00:29:26 +0000

Just reminds me how much I need to go back to school….shame I stopped at the sophomore level… Good Luck!

By: Kyle

Kyle — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 20:54:31 +0000

Geez…that does stink. It is amazing how hard we make it at times for someone to get an education. hang in there, it is worth it!

By: michelle

michelle — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 03:09:23 +0000

At least that’s one less worry to worry about. So peculiar, though, that your parents had to apply for a loan just so you could get an unsub loan. My school went through Direct Loans too, and only an unsub loan was what they offered me (in addition to a plus loan for the parents, which they didn’t take). About the FAFSA, it bugged me that the ‘expected financial contribution’ from the student/family was something like 30%. As if! I had to pay for rent and food! The parents weren’t going to pay for that….

It’s all behind me now, but it really upset me then. I was lucky enough, however, to have a boyfriend with a good job. And optimism that in the end, I’ll have a job to pay for it all. And also, I did my first two years at a community college which the parents DID pay for, so really, I only had 2 years at the public university to worry about.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 22:41:25 +0000

Minimum Wage and Jennifer,

I’m glad you shared your stories, because they’re perfect examples of how financial aid does not take into account the particulars of a family’s situation.

Another example is a friend of mine: his parents diligently saved to help him and his two younger sisters go to college. But when financial aid looked at his situation, they saw a boatload of money set aside for college expenses. They didn’t take into account that the money was for THREE kids, so they counted it all against him.

If you ask me, there needs to be some serious reform in the need-based financial aid system in this country.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 22:08:41 +0000

Your reasoning right here is why I do not have a college education more than I could afford to pay at the time and the reason I went into the Army first.

My parents would not release there financial information to the colleges, so I basically was barred from attending. I would probably be a zoologist right now had all happened as planned. LOL….

By: Minimum Wage

Minimum Wage — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 21:35:03 +0000

I had a National Merit Commendation, which didn’t make the cut to be a semi-finalist. I also had a New York State Regents Scholoarhsip, but those were a dime a dozen. I also had a dysfunctional family sitation where my father was providing support while I lived with relatives who claimed me as a dependent. My father couldn’t claim me because he was living underground at the time. The relatives I lived with had a lower middle class income in NYC and earned too much for me to qualify for aid.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 15:48:40 +0000

Minimum Wage,
Nearly all of my financial aid is either “need-based” or a merit scholarship - in other words, my financial aid is assessed based on how poor my family is, or how hard I worked in high school (and I have to keep my grades up to keep the scholarship). I also earn minimum wage at my on-campus job.

Also, if you’re interested in the story behind the name of the website, it can be found on the About Poorer Than You page.

By: Minimum Wage

Minimum Wage — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 14:15:08 +0000

I bet I’m poorer than you. I earn minimum wage and can’t even get financial aid.