I'm so sorry. That sucks.
I can definitely appreciate how difficult that is. I moved to a new state to attend grad school, and when I got my financial aid award letter, I almost had a heart attack. My estimated financial contribution is eleven thousand dollars?!

Because, you know, I've got ten grand just lying around. Seriously, it's sick. I don't know what I'm going to do if they don't give me a more reasonable award next semester. I took out a loan for this semester, but I'm not going to be able to keep borrowing like there's no tomorrow- I need an award that recognizes that I can only work part time while I'm in school, and that doesn't expect me to have $11k burning a hole in my wallet.

I hope that you find a way to get the money. =(

I'm also a student at a private university struggling to pay for school. The main complaint I have about financial aid in the United States is that is based on this two-parent, middle-class ideal in which both parents value the higher education of their child and are willing to do just about anything to allow them to go to (insert name of school here). Don't get me wrong, I come from that background, and it's the only reason I can afford to go to the school to which I go. But I recognize the privilege, and it doesn't make it right.

But what about students with parents who have money but simply aren't willing to spend it (or enough of it according to the school/government) on their child's education? What about students who have a reasonably well-off parent from whom they are estranged?

I am a firm believer in the ideal of need-based financial aid, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired...

I was a laurels scholar, working on a so-called "full scholarship", and working 30 hours a week at one job plus working as a peer-mentor/TA for another 20-30 hours a week.

I ended up getting so screwed by my scholarship because of class registration fees ($600.00 for a film class that I took to pad my GPA! For that kind of money you should get a part in the movie!) and these fees were not covered by my scholarship. Ugh! Next thing you know I'm in the hole like 2k.

Such bullshit.

We've destroyed the manufacturing base in this country and we make it impossible for people who don't come from money to train to do anything other than sell french fries.

roymacIII, that's terrible! And you have a point; it never seems to take into account that we can't earn much when a big chunk of our time is spent on school.

h*yaforchoice, definitely. I come from a family like that, neither middle class nor supportive. I'm lucky that I found a man worth marrying when I was 23, so that I could be legally counted as an independent student. And it is really a privilege to even be able to go to school; I have friends who have tried but just can't do it. It's so sad that so many people aren't able to jump the hurdle that higher education is in this country for reasons beyond themselves.

Logrus, how does that even happen? Was it a lab fee or something like that? I used to think that a full scholarship would solve all my problems but I've now heard too many people fearfully talking about trying to juggle all the requirements to keep their scholarship. You're so right, it is bullshit.

My biggest gripe about financial aid is that they would not consider the fact that I had three older siblings. Since my three older siblings had already finished college or were already financially independent by the time I applied, they treated me just the same as the oldest child of three. Because raising and educating three OTHER children was totally free, and my parents had just as much savings as they would have with HALF AS MANY CHILDREN. Made me crazy. Also made me crazy when one school awarded me the "President's Scholarship" which would have given me a full ride combined with financial aid they had awarded me. That is, until they told me that because I got the scholarship, they were taking away my need-based aid. I got so angry! I could not believe that a rich family, entitled to no financial aid, would have gotten a $20k per year DISCOUNT, and I was just going to get the aid they would already give me, plus $5k more.

wax_ghost:

Yeah, it creeps up on you and is such bullcrap.

1) because most people who have not had it happen hear "full ride" and at least expect all class and related fees to be part of the word "full"

2) Because if you look at this page: http://www.pdx.edu/registration/fees.html

You will see no mention of specific course fees. Which if you look at this page:

http://www.sa.pdx.edu/soc/schedule.cfm?term=200804&type=search

Can be pretty fucking high.

If you're a film studies major and take two related/required 4 credit JR level courses per term you can expect to pay $3,600.00 per year for your degree.

Here are some other departments with insane fees:

Linguistics: http://www.sa.pdx.edu/soc/schedule.cfm?term=200804&type=category

Counseling: http://www.sa.pdx.edu/soc/schedule.cfm?term=200804&type=category (see the middle area)

It's bullshit, because due diligence is virtually worthless. When you register online or in person there is no warning given at all.

oops, the links don't work.

Anyhow if you pull down linguistics or counseling, or search for "film" you can see what I'm talking about.

Wow, I wish the Americans I met while on exchange in Sweden could see these comments (assuming you are America). A few of them confidently declared that there is enough financial aid for anyone who wants to get a degree. I didn't believe them. Really, tuition is too much in all of North America. I'm in Ontario and it was frozen for a few years until last year and now it seems to be going up by $100 a year. So with fees it's about $5000 per year and then there is housing and food. Yeah, there are lots of scholarships and bursaries and student loans but would it be so hard for the government to allocate a few extra hundred or thousand for our education after high school graduation?

I really have to respectfully disagree -- I go to a pretty well-known private school, and they have delivered on their promise of need-based grants. I will have no loans when I graduate, and I do not have to maintain any minimum GPA, or work significantly outside of class. Furthermore, all course books are available in the school library, and on-campus jobs pay very well ($10-$14/hour) and are available to all students. I know many students who have been emancipated from their parents, and they have been able to get through their 4 years with relative ease, even in this worst-case scenario.

I really have to respectfully disagree -- I go to a pretty well-known private school, and they have delivered on their promise of need-based grants. I will have no loans when I graduate, and I do not have to maintain any minimum GPA, or work significantly outside of class. Furthermore, all course books are available in the school library, and on-campus jobs pay very well ($10-$14/hour) and are available to all students. I know many students who have been emancipated from their parents, and they have been able to get through their 4 years with relative ease, even in this worst-case scenario.

Well, bully for you. I'm glad your life is working out so well that you feel as though you can utterly dismiss the concerns of all the other people who have had actual problems paying for school.

I, too, have had an easy time of it...my parents have money, they're very vested in my education, and I got a merit-based scholarship.

But I don't understand how you can have the gall to say, "I disagree with you, I have no problems therefore neither do you." Open your eyes, sunshine. Even coming from my privileged background it is obvious to me that other people are not me, do not have my same experiences, might not have as easy of a time achieving their goals as I do...for reasons that have nothing to do with lack of motivation and everything to do with fewer base opportunities.

Genevieve PlusCourageuse:

".my parents have money"

1) Are they looking to adopt balding 37 year old men?

or

2) Do you happen to have a fetish for paying for college tuition for strangers you will probably never meet?

This is a topic that really upsets me. I love my college and it's fantastic in many ways, even giving pretty substantial scholarships and financial aid to students who need it. However, what they can do is NEVER ENOUGH. Sometimes it's not even their fault. I certainly understand that they cannot afford to pay everyone's way through school when their own costs go up and up every year, but that doesn't help me one bit when I can't afford to pay the ever-increasing tuition. I think that our government needs to place more value on education and make it accessible for those who need or wish to pursue it.

Lyndorr, your comment is so telling and frustratingly amusing to me. My [private liberal arts] college has a very high percentage of privileged students from wealthy backgrounds, and they say stuff like that ALL THE TIME. I get tired of hearing about how peachy fun and smiles it is for anyone who will just TRY hard enough- the American dream and all that bullshit. My fiance and I have a running joke about the study abroad program, which is notoriously populated by those students who can afford to foot the bill [funding is hard to get, most of it is out of pocket], so that study abroad students from the US said those things is just... ugh. Typical!

As an advisor/instructor at a university, all I can tell you is that your income counts against you much more than your parents income.

The way it was set up years ago is that students where supposed to go to school. Not work. While only a small percentage of your parents income is figured into being able to help you in financial aid equations, 90% of your income is supposed to go to school expenses (includes tuition, books, housing, etc). So the way it is, the more you work, the less financial aid you will get.

While is seems counterproductive to reward those who don't work versus students who do, students who work and still get financial aid are often FAR below the poverty line and have to do it just to keep their families in housing. But statistics also show students who work more than 20 hours a week in a position not related to their major are far less likely to graduate and have lower GPAs.

I've told students to get rid of what they dont need to not have to work so much so they actually get financial aid and can concentrate on schoolwork and not a job. Trade your car in that has $350 a month payments for a used one with half the payment which also helps cut insurance costs. You don't need the newest cell phone, stick with an old one and a basic plan. Don't eat out. Don't buy MP3s, new clothes (thrift stores are great), or anything that isn't an absolute survival necessity. A few years of being a student is worth it in the end.

As a non-traditional student (I am guessing you are older than 24 and if so parents income doesn't apply to fin aid) there is still other help that can help you free up funds to pay for school. If you have children look into CARE or food stamp programs (and if you work 20 hours a week you can still get food stamps w/o kids). Take any bill you have and find a way to lower it. As I said above, it sucks, but sometimes you have to cut back. You really don't need caller ID or call waiting, basic phone service ranges depending where you are from $10-15 a month. Shop around for insurance... There is almost always a bill that can be made lower. I really do know how you feel because I've been in the same position.

Also, look into (normally not through the financial aid office at a university) a payment plan. If you cut some of your bills you can take the money you would have spent and put it towards tuition. But above all... DONT GIVE UP!!!!

I'm in Canada, and it's stupid here too. I left school (Bachelor's Degree and Master's Degree) with almost $80,000 in government loans. And that was with a $24,000 scholarship on the MA. Mind you, I had a kid at the time, but still. I got absolutely *squat* for financial aid on the BA. Nothing. Nada. Zip.

LlesbianLlama, it sounds like you go to my school! ;)

sunshine, how exactly can you "disagree" with the reality of my life?

Taisa-Marie, I appreciate your ideas but here's the thing: I've already cut back as far as I can. If I don't work, who will pay my rent or buy me food? It's not like $14k buys two people new cellphones and 7 days of restaurant meals. Our extravagances come in the form of foods that I bake from scratch for us. There are NOT bills that can always be lowered when you've already lowered or gotten rid of every bill that is not a necessity. And while I know that you are trying to be helpful, you are not the first person who has preached cutting back to me and it gets really, really irritating after awhile. I have given up EVERYTHING for my education and no one seems to care. Well, except for those who are in the same place.

I'm going to completing my BS this year and I know what you mean! For almost my entire school career i worked around 30 hours a week as a baker, starting work a 3am because the schedule let me off in time for daytime classes. And that was just to pay my rent, bills, and food. I don't live an expensive lifestyle-- I ride a bike around, eat home made rice and beans every day, and live in a modest room with roommates.

I know private loans suck, but taking them out and finishing your schooling is way better than not. I don't know how much debt you're looking at going into, but I've read that the average debt for an undergrad degree after graduation is around $20,000.

That's certainly significant, but imagine that you were buying a car instead of a degree. $20,000 in payments would be reasonable for a mid- size brand new car. Of course, cars are poor investments because they virtually always steadily decrease in value.

Your degree will greatly increase your lifetime earning potential. Yes, you will have payments that would be comparable to car payments ($300.00 a month maybe?), but you'll be making more money! Don't give up! It's worth it in the long run!

1) Are they looking to adopt balding 37 year old men?

or

2) Do you happen to have a fetish for paying for college tuition for strangers you will probably never meet?

Ha. A philanthropy fetish would be a lot more helpful to the world than a nose fetish, I'll tell you that...

I didn't mean to sound condescending, just stating some stuff I commonly come across. And I do know your pain (I am finishing up grad school and my hubby and I get by on 15k each year).

Re-reading your post though, you say you've maxed out the government (I am guessing the Stafford?) loans. Between that and how little you are making, I am wondering if something else is going on because at the very least you should be getting about $3000 a year for the Pell Grant unless you've gone over 150 units (common for arts type and science type majors), and if you are a first-generation student you should qualify for the SEOG grant as well (though I am not sure how much on that one as I don't have those formulas in my head). If that is the case, one can appeal (in writing) the financial aid decision. It is a b*tch and it will win you some enemies in the financial aid office, but it is possible. You basically have to show that you needed the vast majority of those units to graduate (or that you changed majors) and that you have a clear plan showing you will graduate and when.

You can also appeal if you have had a significant change in income or had any large unexpected expenses (loss or change of job, medical, etc). Again, it is hard to do but it can be done, and the office is not going to want to tell you how to do it either. I'd look online at some other school sites that have information on how to appeal and piece it together, only submitting or asking about an appeal once you know what is right and what they as bs-ing about. When you turn it in, have it well written and have as much documentation as possible (letter from your adviser stating you need these units and have a graduation plan, copies of any large expenses, etc). Nothing is 'appealed' without having it in writing, so they can't count any arguing you've already done with them against you.

Hope this helps some. As I said, I really know how you feel and have been living it for the last 4 years (graduation this fall). I can't think of a single year in those four I didn't have one issue or another with the financial aid office at my school. They absolutely hate me at this point. :P

Genevieve PlusCourageuse:

I'll totally let you pick it if you pay my tuition.

It's a Jewish nose, which has been reconstructed surgically (non-cosmetic) after being broken one time too many. It features some teflon plates replacing cartilage, a lot of hair, and it makes a neat whistling noise sometimes.

It's also in pretty good shape because it runs a lot during the winter, but it gets fat during the summer because it's always stuffed.

Taisa-Marie, thanks for being one of the few people who will actually listen to me when I tell them I simply can't cut back anymore! I'm sorry to hear that you're in the same situation. It is so unfair.

But thank you for the information. The one thing I am really trying to avoid is having to take out any private loans, but that was the only alternative my financial aid advisor would give me. I am already over $60k in debt so even a small private loan with their astronomical interest rates seems like the worst idea ever. Part of my problem is that I only have to take 7 more credits before I graduate, so being less-than-part-time supposedly means that I can only get a very tiny amount from Pell Grants. I do get the SEOG but only $100, which seems like a sick joke, and I have maxed out Staffords. I always took a little extra to cover books, but even if I hadn't, I think I would have barely scraped through, and even then only because I started at community colleges. I even used to get a scholarship, before I had to drop down to part-time in order to work more. But my school is very expensive - over $800/credit hour this semester. So unfortunately, there was no big expense that I could use to excuse it. It's just the accumulation of five years in college. Still think I could appeal?

It's a bit of a longshot but anything is worth a try. Seven credits is more than part time but not enough to hit the 3/4 time rating (half for undergrad is 6, 3/4 is 9 and full is 12 or more).

To appeal you have to find a reason. If you have access to schedules for past semesters, look to see if one of the classes you need to graduate was not offered in this last semester. Sometimes appealing on the 'the school not offering a course that would have allowed me to graduate sooner' works. I've only seen this one work once.

If you believe you will make less money this year than last year you can also appeal on a 'change of circumstances'. You basically submit documentation to show you are making less and then they re-evaluate your financial aid based on what you think you will make for the current year instead of based on last year. As long as one doesn't plan on filing a FAFSA for next year (ie, how they would verify in the end but it isnt required), many exaggerate this 'loss of income'. You still need to figure out a way to document it though.

Another way depends if you and ManPants are married. While this is definetely a sneaky way, it is never-the-less still legal, still using the 'change of circumstance'. If he is not going to school already and you are married, have him fill out a FAFSA and have it sent to the local community college. Then have him apply at the local community college and have him sign up for some partial-semester class that is towards the end of the fall semester (starting at least october or later). It doesn't matter what it is. This will then allow you to change the 'number of people in your household' attending college number on the FAFSA to 2 from 1, effectively cutting your EFC (what the govt/school believes you can contribute towards school) in half, therby raising your aid elegibility. Not only appeal based on 'change of circumstance' but make corrections online to your FAFSA and change that 1 to a 2.

Again, hope this helps some more.

Oh! And as far as the class for ManPants goes, drop it before the refund deadline date ;)

(i dont see my last post showing up on the 'school drama' page but i do see it in your comments history on your personal page for feministing... hrm)

I've seen my fair share of being dicked over by the aid department in my school. A bunch of us got screwed over when they adjusted the credit hours from 3 to 4 for general education classes and didn't get loans straightened out for the changes. We ended up with more credits than our loans would cover so we were paying empty interest to the school mid semester until they could get it sorted out and redo our financial plans.

For students who can't get the loans to cover classes or their loans arrive late the school has been preventing them from attending class until they receive payment, but not excusing them from the hours they miss. We have an attendance policy that says if you miss ten hours you fail the course and each class they miss docks four hours off that limit so it puts a ton of pressure on them to get it resolved lest they fail an $1100 dollar course and need to pay that all over again. Luckily that never ended up happening to me, but two of my friends and team members (I'm in for game design so we do a lot of team based courses) got set back because of this this quarter alone, which doesn't just screw them over, but the entire group they're working with for the project as well. It's a shitty system and they really don't give you a whole lot of warning for anything they decide to pull.

sunshine007 commented at August 22, 2008 2:39 PM: "I really have to respectfully disagree -- I go to a pretty well-known private school, and they have delivered on their promise of need-based grants. I will have no loans when I graduate, and I do not have to maintain any minimum GPA, or work significantly outside of class. Furthermore, all course books are available in the school library, and on-campus jobs pay very well ($10-$14/hour) and are available to all students. I know many students who have been emancipated from their parents, and they have been able to get through their 4 years with relative ease, even in this worst-case scenario."

Guess what, not all private tertiary-education schools are the same, not all have the same policies, not all even have the same amount of money to award as financial aid in the first place.

wax_ghost commented at August 22, 2008 9:37 PM: "If I don't work, who will pay my rent or buy me food?"

It really totally sucks that your school's financial aid doesn't already take into account room and board as well as tuition! When I was in college I always lived on campus but I heard that my schools adjusted financial aid to help off-campus students afford their rent and food too.

Salad commented at August 22, 2008 10:15 PM: "Your degree will greatly increase your lifetime earning potential. Yes, you will have payments that would be comparable to car payments ($300.00 a month maybe?), but you'll be making more money! Don't give up! It's worth it in the long run!"

That's what I did, but I recognize that even private loans aren't available for everyone else in the first place. It's still good advice when it is applicable, though.