Financial aid is a scam

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Beginning in 2023, FASFA will use a “new formula for determining the “Expected Family Contribution” (EFC) — which will be renamed the “Student Aid Index” (SAI). The new FAFSA will still request information on the number of children in your household, but the SAI will no longer provide a discount for multiple children in college at the same time.”

This is a really important consideration. It occurred to me to run net price calculators that ask about siblings in college both with and without the sibling (we have 2 kids, 2 years apart so for 2 years we'll be paying for both). Oldest is at a VA state school. Youngest is a rising senior and we're working on her list, looking for schools that have potential to fit our budget, beyond our VA public options. Several schools seem like they could be close on first running the calculator. But take out the sibling and then they balloon up to full pay $70-$80k. That is definitely not in the budget!

Well, this sux. I will have 3 in college at once and another likely in grad school at the same time.

It has been delayed a bit. Hoping for further delays as I will have 2 in college in 2024, Thanks Lamar Alexander. This was his big idea saying that families chose to have kids close together and should not get a break. He added that nasty jab to the bill.

Would love more information on this delay. Any articles that explain what's going on?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Beginning in 2023, FASFA will use a “new formula for determining the “Expected Family Contribution” (EFC) — which will be renamed the “Student Aid Index” (SAI). The new FAFSA will still request information on the number of children in your household, but the SAI will no longer provide a discount for multiple children in college at the same time.”

This is a really important consideration. It occurred to me to run net price calculators that ask about siblings in college both with and without the sibling (we have 2 kids, 2 years apart so for 2 years we'll be paying for both). Oldest is at a VA state school. Youngest is a rising senior and we're working on her list, looking for schools that have potential to fit our budget, beyond our VA public options. Several schools seem like they could be close on first running the calculator. But take out the sibling and then they balloon up to full pay $70-$80k. That is definitely not in the budget!

Well, this sux. I will have 3 in college at once and another likely in grad school at the same time.

It has been delayed a bit. Hoping for further delays as I will have 2 in college in 2024, Thanks Lamar Alexander. This was his big idea saying that families chose to have kids close together and should not get a break. He added that nasty jab to the bill.

Wow, what about people with multiples? I suppose they chose to have them rather than abort them, so it was their choice? No, no fertility treatments.

You choose to have kids. I don't think people with more kids should get more financial aid than someone with fewer kids. They need to save and plan.

I don't think someone w 1-2 kids should be able to get financial aid at all, as there is no reason why they can't save and plan accordingly with such a minimal drain on their resources.

Yes, anyone who plans ahead should easily be able to sock away, at a bare minimum, at least $150K per child, including school teachers, police officers, people who unexpectedly lose their jobs, etc. They just might have to eat at Chik-fil-a a little less often - no big deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Beginning in 2023, FASFA will use a “new formula for determining the “Expected Family Contribution” (EFC) — which will be renamed the “Student Aid Index” (SAI). The new FAFSA will still request information on the number of children in your household, but the SAI will no longer provide a discount for multiple children in college at the same time.”

This is a really important consideration. It occurred to me to run net price calculators that ask about siblings in college both with and without the sibling (we have 2 kids, 2 years apart so for 2 years we'll be paying for both). Oldest is at a VA state school. Youngest is a rising senior and we're working on her list, looking for schools that have potential to fit our budget, beyond our VA public options. Several schools seem like they could be close on first running the calculator. But take out the sibling and then they balloon up to full pay $70-$80k. That is definitely not in the budget!

Well, this sux. I will have 3 in college at once and another likely in grad school at the same time.

It has been delayed a bit. Hoping for further delays as I will have 2 in college in 2024, Thanks Lamar Alexander. This was his big idea saying that families chose to have kids close together and should not get a break. He added that nasty jab to the bill.

Wow, what about people with multiples? I suppose they chose to have them rather than abort them, so it was their choice? No, no fertility treatments.

You choose to have kids. I don't think people with more kids should get more financial aid than someone with fewer kids. They need to save and plan.

I don't think someone w 1-2 kids should be able to get financial aid at all, as there is no reason why they can't save and plan accordingly with such a minimal drain on their resources.

Yes, anyone who plans ahead should easily be able to sock away, at a bare minimum, at least $150K per child, including school teachers, police officers, people who unexpectedly lose their jobs, etc. They just might have to eat at Chik-fil-a a little less often - no big deal.

It can be more challenging for many, but yes, if you choose to have kids, then you should plan to save for college. We were not rich when we had kids (UMC), but we made choices to live in a smaller first home so we could save. We didn't take fancy vacations until we had more money. Made it a priority to save when kids were young so they would have $300K when they were college age. Redirected any bonuses into retirement/college funds for first 5-7 years after each kid was born. If you start when they are born, you don't need to save as much. And we waited to have kids until we were a bit established so we could afford them.
And if you haven't saved, there is nothing wrong with CC and transferring. There are affordable ways to get a bachelor's degree. You don't have to spend $80K/year for a degree. You are not entitled to an $80K/year degree either

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Beginning in 2023, FASFA will use a “new formula for determining the “Expected Family Contribution” (EFC) — which will be renamed the “Student Aid Index” (SAI). The new FAFSA will still request information on the number of children in your household, but the SAI will no longer provide a discount for multiple children in college at the same time.”

This is a really important consideration. It occurred to me to run net price calculators that ask about siblings in college both with and without the sibling (we have 2 kids, 2 years apart so for 2 years we'll be paying for both). Oldest is at a VA state school. Youngest is a rising senior and we're working on her list, looking for schools that have potential to fit our budget, beyond our VA public options. Several schools seem like they could be close on first running the calculator. But take out the sibling and then they balloon up to full pay $70-$80k. That is definitely not in the budget!

Well, this sux. I will have 3 in college at once and another likely in grad school at the same time.

It has been delayed a bit. Hoping for further delays as I will have 2 in college in 2024, Thanks Lamar Alexander. This was his big idea saying that families chose to have kids close together and should not get a break. He added that nasty jab to the bill.

Wow, what about people with multiples? I suppose they chose to have them rather than abort them, so it was their choice? No, no fertility treatments.

You choose to have kids. I don't think people with more kids should get more financial aid than someone with fewer kids. They need to save and plan.

The kid attending and likely paying the loans didn’t choose for his/her parents to have more kids. If Alexander has a problem with this, how about adding something to cap tuition?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Beginning in 2023, FASFA will use a “new formula for determining the “Expected Family Contribution” (EFC) — which will be renamed the “Student Aid Index” (SAI). The new FAFSA will still request information on the number of children in your household, but the SAI will no longer provide a discount for multiple children in college at the same time.”

This is a really important consideration. It occurred to me to run net price calculators that ask about siblings in college both with and without the sibling (we have 2 kids, 2 years apart so for 2 years we'll be paying for both). Oldest is at a VA state school. Youngest is a rising senior and we're working on her list, looking for schools that have potential to fit our budget, beyond our VA public options. Several schools seem like they could be close on first running the calculator. But take out the sibling and then they balloon up to full pay $70-$80k. That is definitely not in the budget!

Well, this sux. I will have 3 in college at once and another likely in grad school at the same time.

It has been delayed a bit. Hoping for further delays as I will have 2 in college in 2024, Thanks Lamar Alexander. This was his big idea saying that families chose to have kids close together and should not get a break. He added that nasty jab to the bill.

Wow, what about people with multiples? I suppose they chose to have them rather than abort them, so it was their choice? No, no fertility treatments.

You choose to have kids. I don't think people with more kids should get more financial aid than someone with fewer kids. They need to save and plan.

I don't think someone w 1-2 kids should be able to get financial aid at all, as there is no reason why they can't save and plan accordingly with such a minimal drain on their resources.

Yes, anyone who plans ahead should easily be able to sock away, at a bare minimum, at least $150K per child, including school teachers, police officers, people who unexpectedly lose their jobs, etc. They just might have to eat at Chik-fil-a a little less often - no big deal.

It can be more challenging for many, but yes, if you choose to have kids, then you should plan to save for college. We were not rich when we had kids (UMC), but we made choices to live in a smaller first home so we could save. We didn't take fancy vacations until we had more money. Made it a priority to save when kids were young so they would have $300K when they were college age. Redirected any bonuses into retirement/college funds for first 5-7 years after each kid was born. If you start when they are born, you don't need to save as much. And we waited to have kids until we were a bit established so we could afford them.
And if you haven't saved, there is nothing wrong with CC and transferring. There are affordable ways to get a bachelor's degree. You don't have to spend $80K/year for a degree. You are not entitled to an $80K/year degree either

You sound very sensible and practical, and I'm glad things worked out for your kids' college funds. I'm also glad that you seem to realize that not everyone is UMC (especially by DCUM standards) and that life can throw a wicked curve ball even into the best laid plans. There are very good reasons why a family may not be able to save much and I absolutely agree that no one is entitled to an expensive degree. We all make choices and live with the consequences. It's the "I did it so everyone must be able to do it or they're less virtuous than me" mentality that annoys me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Beginning in 2023, FASFA will use a “new formula for determining the “Expected Family Contribution” (EFC) — which will be renamed the “Student Aid Index” (SAI). The new FAFSA will still request information on the number of children in your household, but the SAI will no longer provide a discount for multiple children in college at the same time.”

This is a really important consideration. It occurred to me to run net price calculators that ask about siblings in college both with and without the sibling (we have 2 kids, 2 years apart so for 2 years we'll be paying for both). Oldest is at a VA state school. Youngest is a rising senior and we're working on her list, looking for schools that have potential to fit our budget, beyond our VA public options. Several schools seem like they could be close on first running the calculator. But take out the sibling and then they balloon up to full pay $70-$80k. That is definitely not in the budget!

Well, this sux. I will have 3 in college at once and another likely in grad school at the same time.

It has been delayed a bit. Hoping for further delays as I will have 2 in college in 2024, Thanks Lamar Alexander. This was his big idea saying that families chose to have kids close together and should not get a break. He added that nasty jab to the bill.

Would love more information on this delay. Any articles that explain what's going on?

I think college affordability needs to be addressed, but I don't really see why a family with 2 kids that are between 0-4 years apart should get such significantly more than a family with 2 kids that are between 4-6 years apart. Especially when costs are such that you are saving their whole lives for this and borrowing for what you don't have so the strain on cash flow in the moment seems less important than the overall cost burden. It seems like a flaw in the financial aid system.