Need help planning for kids college

[smooper]

My oldest daughter will be junior this coming year. She will be the first in our immediate family to go to college and I am a bit overwhelmed

[smooper]

Sorry, I hit enter by accident! Back to my concerns: Is there a streamlined way of going about the whole college thing, kind of like a timeline of when things like grant apps. and so on... should be submitted. Shes interested in medical school also, so I'd like to get a jump on it a year ahead of time. A bit of info, our income is around 60K per year, 3 kids, only debt is a mortgage of $815. I'd just like to have an idea whats out there before getting into it! Thanx!

[sweeps]

The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) should be filled out as soon after January 1st of your daughter's senior year as possible. The earlier you fill it out, the better chance you have at grants and subsidized loans.

To increase your daughter's chances of getting scholarships, you should encourage her to get involved in some volunteering and extra-curricular activities if she isn't already. Have her check with her guidance counselors on available scholarships, and what she could start doing to prepare for them.

[Saving in So Cal]

I have read that savingforcollege.com has some useful information about financial aid, though I haven't personally surfed the site. The high school guidance counseler should have some general info as well. If you have an idea of which colleges your daughter may want to attend, their websites will have general information, timelines, and contacts for financial aid and admissions.

Have you heard about Upromise? I'm doing this for my kids (They are a lot younger). You can sign up your credit cards and store saving cards(Kroger, CVS, Ingles,etc.). When you use that particular card and buy certain products it adds money into your online account for college. It's not much but if you have to buy stuff anyways,why not save for college at the same time? The promotional code is ELM3. This code adds $3 into your account. The program is free. www.upromise.com

[b4freedom]

Originally Posted by smooper

Sorry, I hit enter by accident! Back to my concerns: Is there a streamlined way of going about the whole college thing, kind of like a timeline of when things like grant apps. and so on... should be submitted. Shes interested in medical school also, so I'd like to get a jump on it a year ahead of time. A bit of info, our income is around 60K per year, 3 kids, only debt is a mortgage of $815. I'd just like to have an idea whats out there before getting into it! Thanx!

This is as painful as doing your taxes. Maybe even more so.

Best advice, go down to a local college, maybe a community college and ask if you can talk to the financial aid advisor. Just tell a little white lie that your child would like to go there. And, after you see how much many colleges cost, he/she may just end up there.

[mariec99]

This is the tack my parents took with me and the one I have heard a lot on financial shows. Unless your retirement is fully funded, let her take out loans, find scholarships, work part time, etc. There are lots of loans for students but NONE for retirees who didn't save enough. My parents were never in the position to save for my college, but I managed to go away to very good schools -- and even earn two masters degrees.

[lrjohnson]

I would highly encourage you to involve your daughter with the planning and funding. I believe that if she feels a personal investment it will be added incentive to do better. Even if you are able/willing to fund much or all of it, she should be involved: perhaps her "job" could be researching the steps, finding financial and scholarship resources, etc. If she is very clear on the costs it will be clearer how passing a semesters classes is an investment compared to failing. Another "job" might be be for her to research costs: what's a reasonable budget for non-tuition itmes like clothes, and what percentage will she be responsible for earning?

[annscash]

I put myself through college at night while working full time.

I have a BS
I have my CPA
I have a MS

I did borrow about $10,000 which I paid back as quickly as possible.

I think parents are foolish to think that they have to pay for a child's education and children are foolish to borrow huge $$ to get an education--especially if it is not a particularly marketable degree.

You children should be working summers and part time as possible and at least 75% of their net should be saved for college.

Junior colleges and local branches of state colleges are good ways to start college. The child lives at home and the tuition and fees are reasonable. Have them use public transportation or get rides if possible. Having a car is very expensive for students.

Buy books used and resell them when the class is over.

Make use of the school's financial aid office and be certain a work-study job is part of the plan.

Students do not need expensive clothing to go to school. Buy at thrift stores and consignment shops.

Help as you can but don't borrow money to do it. Look at your budget and pare down non-essentials to have more $ for school.

Your children should be applying for any and all scholarships and grants. They should be working hard for a college education. If they are unwilling to work hard for it, then perhaps college is something for later in their life.

[sakigt]

1) Make sure she really wants to do medical school. This is an AWESOME resource I use www.studentdoctor.net. PLEASE show it to her. If someone would have shown it to me, perhaps I would be halfway through a Pharmacy degree instead of just taking the Pre-reqs for it.

2) Allow her good grades to help with the financing.

3) If she does get to Medical School, LOANS ARE OK. The burdon of the course load plus the financial aspect of it will drive her crazy. Let her pay for the loans once shes done. In the meantime, help her out by making her dinners, etc. Since she wont be able to work.

Suggest she works PT while going to school FT. It will make her much more marketable for colleges if she has healthcare experience. There are plenty of opportunities in local hospitals for phlebotomy and the like.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I agree to have your daughter do a lot of the research on this. I also caution you not to jeopardize your own retirement. On the other hand, it is actually a huge mental releif to me to know that I can contribute to securing my children's future in a way that my parents could never have done. I will help my kids as much as I can.

It seems to me that tuitions are even more out of reach now than when I was a student, and it was hard enough then.

There are so many scholarships nowadays. My oldest just graduated from a school that is below average in nationally normed tests yet dozens and dozens of scholarships were awarded to these kids. (I am so greatful to the individuals, foundations and public bureaucracies that fund these scholarships!) One of the more "interesting" scholarships mine got was one set aside for engineering aspirants from our city. Cool, huh? Two others were for specific but not currently popluar areas of engineering that he was interested in. We did not have to look for these; the schools just automatically made the link.

If your child really is medical school material, I suspect it shows already and that she will be offered scholarships for undergraduate. There were few scholarships that my child applied for separately from his admissions applications. There were many he was automatically considered for just by applying. And he was awarded plenty. Tuition was covered, it was just a matter of covering other expenses.

I suggest that you sign up for "college night" offered by different schools. Your own school may have one, other schools might, too. Some are open to all comers. The type to look for is one where there are counselors to show you the ropes, to give you some suggested timelines, record-keeping ideas, lists of good sources. Usually schools focus college nights on seniors, but you are wisw to start now.

Oh, we were surprised to find that schools that are really trying to recruit the student send fee-waived applications. And I think most schools now waive application fees if one applies online. There are also consortiums of schools where one makes a single application and it goes to multiple schools....This is some of the stuff you can learn about at college nights.

[smooper]

Thanks, it looks like there is a ton to do and research. Its just a big mountain to start climbing, both for me and her! Thank you!

[abowers]

Definitely do the FAFSA as soon as possible. See if you can apply for endowed scholarships at schools she is looking at. Look at outside scholarships around your town/online, etc. Look into what kinds of merit scholarships each of the prospective schools offers based on HS average and SAT/ACT scores.

Because you have 3 kids, you hopefully won't be expected to contribute too much. The FAFSA will determine an "EFC" or Expected Family Contribution for you. This is what the school, state, and goverment looks at to determine how "needy" you are for aid. Financial Aid doesn't always fill the gap between the EFC and the total cost to attend, especially with expensive schools (which is why it is so important to have the FAFSA in as soon as possible so that you can get optimal consideration).

A note on the EFC: the student's earnings and assets(cash, checking, savings, investments) are weighted MUCH more heavily than the parents. Something like 35% of the savings, and almost half of the income. So if you or a family member "gives" her money for college prior to filling out the FAFSA, you're better off keeping it until it's time to pay the bill. They don't touch too much of the parent's assets in determining the EFC.

[ummabdullah]

There are alot of grants for medical students with good grades. I think all of the tips given above were excellent. Obviously getting into a medical school may mean you are not able to pick the location. And I would not recommend your daughter working while she is in medical school because it does take alot out of a person.
The best option is to see how much you can give her a month.. and apply for as many grants as possible. Also being good in some sports can have a huge impact on grants as well...........
I have a friend whose father was a millionaire and the goverment paid for her school. He just claimed that he disowned her...
LOl a bit cheeky.. but it worked for her.

[mariec99]

LOl a bit cheeky.. but it worked for her.

Cheeky is not the word I would use -- try... (censored). Lot's of truly deserving kids could have received that aid and I hope their selfishness comes back to bite them. What goes around in this world does eventually come back around.

[abowers]

I agree- That is very selfish of your friend and her family. The money could have gone to more needy students. If anyone (the school, the government...) found out about that, they would be in some serious trouble.

[ummabdullah]

LOL well that girl is becoming a lawyer and getting connections in goverment. I have no doubt that she will be a politician. She was very sweet and soft spoken.. in her voice and actions.. but I am pretty sure it was hypocritical.

[mariec99]

Oh goody...if she goes into policitcs then at some point all of her financial records and tax returns will become public information....LOL. I hope she goes down in flames. LOL. I hope a reporter finds out about how she deceived the government and her school in order to pay for college on the backs on working Americans. Anyone who pulls that kind of crap -- no matter how "sweet" and "soft spoken" she pretends to be when she thinks people are looking is on an express train to H-E-double hockey sticks....LOL!

[ummabdullah]

LOL now marie knows how I feel about taxes in the uk and credits to family on low incomes.. that live the same way a family who actually works hard is..