the cheapest way to send a first child to college when you really have no money to pay for them?

Question

first child going to college and the governemnt has money for everyone else but the middle class. this upsets me and i have to work 2 jobs as does my husband to just help my child pay for college. let alone, my second child will be entering college next year and where is all the money to be found for their education. does a parent lie and say things so that the government will help like they would for someone else? I don't feel comfortable about that and feel that as a working class citizen who pays taxes should get the upper advantage for grants or financial help? Help Me?

Answer 1

Try local scholarships, where I live the owner of a bank made all students in his county that if they wanted to go to college then he would pay for it, been doing that for 7 years now

Answer 2

Don't lie about your financial situation on the FAFSA. 1 in 4 students gets selected for a process called verification where the school can request your tax returns and other financial documents to make sure the information about your income is correct. Trying to defraud the government is not the best choice as it can mean paying back all monies your children receive and up to 20 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

urbancoyote made a very valid point mentioning a community college. They are usually cheaper than a university, and is better for your student if they do not know what degree they want. The credits are usually transferable and the education is the same quality as a university.

Your children will be classified as dependent or independent. There are 7 questions they will have to answer to see if you as the parent are required to report your income information. If they can answer yes to any 1 question, they are considered independent and everything is based off of their income, not yours.

If your students are considered dependent, then the government will give them any Pell grant they qualify for and $2625 in a Stafford Loan. The rest of their tuition has to be covered by a PLUS (Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students) Loan. This is a credit based loan you have to apply for. If you are denied on the credit check, your student qualifies for $4000 in another Stafford Loan. This is the same for every student, everywhere, when it comes to the loans. Pell Grants, however, are based on your need, which is determined by the information you report on your FAFSA. The limit to this grant is $4050 for a full time student for the entire year.

I know how hard it is to come up for the money for college. There are many sites out there that help with other grants and scholarships. www.fastweb.com and www.scholarships.com are 2 very good sites that help you find scholarships. The great things about scholarships is that you can apply for them all year round.

I hope this really helps and I wish you luck on helping your children.

Answer 3

I just finished up my first year in college and I know first-hand how difficult it is to pay the high tuition. I go to a state university and I take out mostly loans. I have 2 jobs and also do house cleaning once in a while. Although I would like help from my family for tuition and other bills, I really appreciate paying for it myself because it motivates me, as well as the benefit of an A. I believe that family contribution is important; however, the student should dish out some money out of their own pocket. Has your student checked out some scolarship websites?? There are so many out there and range in prices and requirements.
Education loans are WONDERFUL! In Minnesota, they don't charge any interest while you're in school. However, 6 months after graduation, the interest rate will begin. It's better to pay before that to get your money's worth.

Answer 4

My parents had the same problem with my sis and I. Call fafsa to verify everything. But, what you have to do is, not claim your child on taxes for next yr. Your child needs to call up fafsa and let them know they are independent and will be filing on their own. Technically, if you can imagine a scenario that takes place wherein a parent virtually cuts off their child right before they start college. Fafsa will ask for income info. Ideally your child shouldn't have been claimed when you filed your taxes this yr in preparation for college but fafsa will recognize your child as an independent adult with no source of income or a very small source of income and your child will qualify for a partial allocation of the pell grant for tuition (hopefully) and a stafford loan. If all goes well in 4 yrs some company will pay off their student loans when he or she graduates. Don't stress yourself because your in a catch 22. You make too much but it's not enough to pay for your child's school.

If this doesn't work your child needs stellar scores on the ACT or SAT. Have them study for like three months and take the test. If people in 3rd world countries with no electricity can do it your kids can do it too.

Answer 5

I agree that it is not fair for the majority of the middle class - my parents struggled to put me and my brother through college too. Some thoughts -
* If you truly do not have the money, you don't have to send them to a private college - state colleges are cheaper.
* The child can apply for financial aid (student loans) through the school that they can start paying back once they graduate.
* The child should apply for as many grants and scholarships as they can find - he/she might be lucky and get some.
I wouldn't lie about your financial situation - the lies will catch up with you eventually and the child might be kicked out of school. Good luck!

Answer 6

Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs pay for college but result in military duty afterwards.

Student LOANS are generally available to the middle class and may be payable by the student not the parents.

Your local bank may have loan programs also.

The colleges themselves have scholorships. Civic associations often have scholorships. State universities are cheaper than private colleges. Canadian colleges often have lower tuition than US colleges.

Worse case scenerio, community colleges tend to be reasonable, the credits are transferable, and it is better to send a high school graduate to a two-year college than for him to get OUT of the habit of going to school after the completion of high school.

Keep looking! Keep digging! You're doing EVERYTHING ELSE right by raising children and having them finish high school in a home with two parents -- the remaining building block is a fine college education.

Answer 7

Speaking as a first born child whose mom is a teacher and dad does something, i'm really not quite sure what he does...customer service i think, i have some suggestions. DON'T put yourself into extreme debt to put your kids through school. If your eldest is in private school, have him or her look for more scholarships through third parties. As for your second child, be honest and say the money's not there for him/her to go to an expensive school, especially if they don't have good grades to get a merit scholarship. Believe me, most of us children don't want our parents going into huge debt so we can go to a "good" school.
Another suggestion, share the debt. Have your children take out loans in their own names, with you or another person acting as a cosignor. This way, the two of you don't have to work so much to pay those PLUS loans every month. My mother and I alternated years. She took out PLUS loans for years one and three, while I took out private loans for years two and four.
Also, make sure your children are filing FAFSAs every year. Since you will have another child in college, your need will or should increase.

Answer 8

have ur kid go to fastweb.com & register. There are a lot of scholarships to apply for. I'm starting my second year in the fall. Fastweb has scholorships for a lot of weird stuff. I got a 1500 award for being left handed. Also, when you fill out the fafsa for them, turn it in asap, the quicker u turn it in, the more $ you get.

Answer 9

http://www.daylon.com/scholarship/


That might help.