5 Big Financial Aid Lies

Reader Comments
Back to blog

Well, my husband and I work, and have saved for our children to go to college. We have one child in his Junior year and one getting ready to start. One child is in state, and the other is out of state. We both make pretty good money but still find our selves coming up short when it comes to college tuition. Why shouldn't everyone be afforded the opportunity to get some type of assistance paying for college? What is wrong with that? I went through 2 years of colleg on a Basic Grant, ( Now Pell Grant). When I finally had the opportunity to go back and finish my degree, I did have to fill out a FAFSA and according to the paper the only thing I was eligible for was student loans. Is that fair? Is it fair to burden children with disproportunate student loans coming out of college? Just because a couple may back 6 figures combined doesn't always mean they can afford to send their children to college without assistance, and that has nothing to do with "luxuries". I just want my children to get the best education they can without having a mountain of debt to pay off before they even begin their adult life. Hey, any immigrant or illegal alien can come to this country and get a plethera of aissistance-why can't we?

Cherry2000 of DC 3:07PM April 29, 2010

We have been saving for our three kids to go to college. But with tuition rates rising in the double digits and our savings accumulating next to no interest we are in an unwinnable race. If our kids had been of age ten years ago we could have sent them with the money we set aside. Now, with investments tanking and costs rising we are not going to be breaking even. Weird isn't it.
We weren't thinking they would need financial aid and didn't expect any. We still won't be eligible for anything except loans, but will be spending our retirement funds to send them to school. We also no longer consider the option of private schools or out of state tuition.

Jean of IL 11:55AM April 16, 2010

I don't leave in an expensive area, better known as cow town usa. Second, my son returned in 08 as a retired US Army Ranger w Delta. We co-signed for a private loan in Jan.08 for him to start college as the screwed up GI Bill didn't start till Oct. Still many problems getting paid from the government for the GI's.
Husband then gets laid off 2/16/09 by FRAUD Motor Co (Ford). House is need need of repairs of which we put off as son who is built like a rock was to help. Took out small equity amount to replace a roof and him to do the work. Convert 2 working wood stoves over to oil 2 years ago. Daughter in 12th grade applies to 16 schools in search for financial aid at good schools. Saved for college and planned on pulling loans as husband made good money. I'm fully disabled and on SSDI.Always been more of a henderance than a help to family. After doing the EFC Calculation, CSS Profile, and Falsa.......they are so out dated they remind me of the early 60's. Thank you congress "good for nothing" except elections or unless your a battilion of elite force parents coming through your door! Including DELTA.
NOw that my husband is unemployed don't know if we will be able to pull loans. However we appealed to 1 school she was accepted to and they did understand our situation after sending in documented proof of 50+ pages. We received 40,000 school alum money + pell grants + state aid. Her bill is now 11,000. Further the school ranks in the top 20. I'm convinced that the following schools were looking strickly at the kids profile (grades, rank, high scholl attended) and then if they could pay full boat : DUKE<YALE< DARTMOUTH<VANDERBILT<STANFORD<CORNELL. Personally, as an old stock analyst I can't wait to the next downward spiral!
I saw talk of these EFC's on the college confidential board of which is filled with accurate info from parents who have done their homework. For us the roof drips on, the stoves will burn and my husband who feels he is getting age disriminated against after sending out 900 resumes will continue to look. He is a college educated, white collar worker that Fraud threw out the door along with all others in their 50's and 60's and some in their 40's. SO in the fall my daughter will start college because a careful eyed FA Officer read her CSS Profile along with my letter proving my daughter had gone beyond the call of duty adopting orphanned US ARMY RANGERS. The ones who never get a letter or a package. Next war the rest of YOUR kids can step into the plate just like vietnam.
This is one family who truly served YOUR country.
Retired US ARMY RANGER MOTHER - Boston, MA
Blue Star Mother

Retired US ARMY RANGER MOTHER of MA 3:09PM April 14, 2010

The following is an excerpt from one of Kim Clark's other articles (there is a link to it in this article):
"Education Department officials say the formula is based on a government budget for a "family maintaining a lower standard of living" in 1967. That budget has been adjusted for inflation every year but not for changes in family spending patterns. Thus, there's no room in the budget for HBO, cellphones, Internet access, Nintendo Wiis, or other modern luxuries."
Read the first sentence, Kim Clark. Do you notice the phrase "lower standard of living" in there? In your mind, what part of "lower standard of living" includes HBO, cell phones, Internet access, Nintendo Wiis, and other modern luxuries." THEY ARE LUXURIES FOR A REASON!!!
I make a six-figure income and do not even have a digital cable box in my home, let alone premium channels. If you consider the above mentioned luxuries a part of a "lower standard of living" and then find it hard to meet your Expected Family Contribution because YOU didn't save enough money over the years, maybe you should do a little introspection and BLAME YOURSELF before blaming the government for YOUR inability to help pay for a college education.
Kim Clark, I'm so sick of your twisted, socialist-soaked reality. Take some personal accountability in life instead of finding ways to blame everything on everybody ELSE. Please take me off your mailing list.

Jason Bowen of TX 8:55PM April 12, 2010

#5. "Renewable" merit scholarships. This one takes the cake. Kim Clark has dropped to a new low with her disgusting support of people who show a lack of personal accountability, lack of personal fortitude, and quickness to blame others for their own failures. Kim, if I was to sell you a car, and you drove it for 50,000 miles without changing the oil, and the car breaks down, who is to blame? According to you, it would be my fault because I didn't tell you the probability of engine failure due to lack of oil changes, even though you were the one who failed to read the owner's manual and failed to properly maintain the car.
A merit scholarship is based on MERIT. Novel idea, isn't it? If a student is given a scholarship under the condition that he or she maintain a certain academic level, and that student is FULLY aware of the requirements, and that student FAILS to maintain that academic level, IT IS THAT STUDENT'S FAULT AND ONLY THAT STUDENT'S FAULT. Why in the world would a college tell a student, "Here's your scholarship, and just so you know, you have a 50% chance at failing to meet the conditions of this loan and you'll probably lose it."
If that was the case, then you'd be complaining about that, too, Kim Clark. Do you ever stop whining? The ONLY way you could complain is if the cards were stacked against the deck. If NO students were able to succeed in keeping the merit scholarship, then there might be something wrong with the system. But as long as ONE SINGLE student is able to make it, then it only shows that the students who could NOT maintain a certain academic level did not MERIT the scholarship due to their own failure and lack of dedication.
SUMMARY
I have a radical idea, Kim Clark. Instead of writing about how EVERYBODY else is out to get the poor parents and poor students, why don't you start writing about how the government and college institutions are requiring parents to put forth some sort of personal effort to acquire FREE money, and how students might actually be required to display some level of dedication to keep getting FREE money. Write about how people's lack of dedication, will power, fortitude, attention to detail, and personal accountability are really to blame for their own failures when it comes to the above topics. That would be something different from you.
Just to give you an idea of where I come from:
I'm a former US Marine who has succeeded in life without freeloading off others (like exploiting my own family for my personal gain). At one point, I used to make less than $1,000 a month, on which I had to support myself, my wife, and child. While others would get off work and go drinking or play video games, I studied and found ways to excel in my career field. I currently make a very comfortable six-figure income (only several years after leaving active duty service). I had the personal dedication, fortitude, and accountability to be upheld for my own actions, and it paid off. Maybe you should do the same.

Jason Bowen of TX 8:38PM April 12, 2010

Kim Clark, senior writer for U.S. News & World Report, used loans, scholarships, grants, fellowships, savings, earnings, and generous contributions from her family (thanks, Mom, Dad, Grandpa and Grandma!)...
The above is an excerpt from your own biography, which makes it clear as to why you would write an article like this...even you actually believe that you are ENTITLED to something for free. Have you paid back every cent given to you by your family? Doubtful. I will go line by line to show why YOU (and by that I mean you and all people like you) are the reason America is in the economic pitfall it is in now.
1. Expected Family Contribution. Are you seriously suggesting that a mother making $50,000 should NOT be expected to contribute $3,000 per year for a child's tuition to school? That mother should consider herself lucky that she isn't being required to pay the ENTIRE tuition. Government aid is exactly that: AID!!!! Who the hell do you think you are complaining that the process used to get something FOR FREE is confusing and misleading? IT'S FREE MONEY!!!! If you don't like the process, then DON'T USE IT. Pay for college yourself, you spoiled brat.
2. College Savings Plans. I can tell that you are one of those people who sign contracts and other legal documents without even reading anything yourself, only trusting what the person on the other end of the desk is telling you. Your lack of due diligence is YOUR fault. READ THE FINE PRINT. It's there for a reason. Your lack of personal accountability and quickness to blame others is disgusting.
3. Teach Grant. Wow, a program that will forgive the ENTIRETY of a student loan in exchange for teaching at certain schools and other requirements. Where do I sign up? Where else can someone get their ENTIRE college education PAID IN FULL by the taxpayers? It's a contract (in exchange for something given, you must do something)!!! If the new teachers don't want to abide by that contract, then YES, they should be held accountable for breach of that contract and be required to pay for their own tuition. There's nothing confusing or misleading about that. And any financial aid counselor who refuses to submit applications for the Teach Grant instead of simply making sure the applicants are well-informed beforehand is an idiot. Once again, READ THE FINE PRINT. IT'S A CONTRACT!!! Last time I checked, a person is legally liable for breach of contract once 18 years of age or older. It's about time people be held accountable in this society.
4. Federal PLUS loans. Are you just looking for things to argue about, because you are really digging deep for this one. You said so yourself that the federal government makes it clear that they charge 4% upfront for fees. You're just nitpicking now. This is a horrible example of a "financial aid lie" if I ever saw one. I don't even know what else to say to you about this.
I will continue #5 in my next post since I'm running out of characters.

Jason Bowen of TX 8:13PM April 12, 2010

The EFC is reasonable only if you make quite a bit more than 150K, in my experience, if you're looking at private colleges, where the tuition is over 50K. If you make 150K, like we do, you are expected to pay out 1/3 of your before tax income. In addition, we learned that many schools (like the private colleges our 2 children attend) do not use the federal EFC. They use "institutional methodology" which you can calculate on finaid.org, which usually results in "need" being even more understated.i.e, we pay more than 1/3 of our before tax income to college tuition, based solely on income and assets. No consideration is given to debt we have already incurred to pay tuition. Even then the colleges will leave a gap in funding. The FAFSA does not even ask about debt or other fixed expenses such as mortgage and real estate taxes. The system is not connected to reality for most families who need aid.

Juliet of PA 3:10PM April 12, 2010

I've got an Idea. I think people should read the terms of what they are getting into. For instance, if you are getting a "grant/loan/scholarship" you should probably want to know what it is you need to do to keep said financial assistance. Also, why should people care about the percentage of people who failed to qualify for the merit scholarships in proceeding years. I thought the point of merit scholarships were to reward those who have shown a high level of aptitude for scholarly pursuits. If you aren't smart enough to know what you need to do to keep your scholarship, you probably don't deserve to have it in the first place.

Greg of MI 12:56PM April 09, 2010

We spent more than a trillion dollars to fight in Iraq ( a totally fraudulent war useful only to Halliburton , Cheney and Blackwater.... and we bailed out banks that are now rewarding themselves with bonuses and sitting on their corpulent bottoms laughing at us. ALL STUDENT LOANS SHOULD BE FORGIVEN. LET'S HAVE A BAILOUT FOR SOME PEOPLE WHO DESRVE IT!!!!

paul of FL 12:46PM April 09, 2010

I'll agree with everything except the EFC part. The EFC is a reasonable amount that someone could be expected to pay. If your financial decisions have been reasonable, the EFC isn't hard to pay using a combination of current income and savings. If your decisions have been unreasonable (and most people's certainly are), then you shouldn't expect the rest of us to foot the bill for you. If your money goes to cars, credit card bills, and a house in an expensive area, then that's your fault--not the taxpayers' or the school's.

Greg of TN 3:34PM April 08, 2010