Reply to What is a "donut hole family"?

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "What is a "donut hole family"?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]I find it odd on this thread that people somehow assume that state flagships are always affordable.  That certainly wasn't the case for me.  My state flagship was very expensive 20 years ago and cost of attendance is nearly $60k today.  When I applied there was no merit aid available for any student.  Financial aid cut off completely at $70k HHI, though it's probably higher today.

[url]https://www.unh.edu/global/estimate-annual-expenses[/url]

I had a SAHM with four kids and a dad who was in and out of work, while living in a high COL area.  When things were good he had a high income, when things weren't good he was unemployed and we had no income.  We were constantly on the cusp of destitution from medical bills, elder care and job losses.  But when FAFSA looked at our family we temporarily had a $150k HHI, which was much higher than our income ever had been before.  Never mind the prior two years with zero income, credit card debt, and medical bills.  There was also an expectation that my mom could work and contribute.  But she was watching my 4 yo sister and grandmother with severe dementia.  After being out of the job market for 15 years, her earnings wouldn't have covered their full time care.

My takeaway is that there is a lot that FAFSA doesn't consider.  It's just one snapshot.  It's entirely possible to live a responsible life and find yourself unable to afford college, even the in state option.  I was fortunate enough to have the grades for a full ride at a low ranked private school, but had to turn down both a T20 and state flagship.

My parents did have a high income for my first three years of college before losing their income again during my senior year (which didn't affect my aid as fin aid is backward looking).  They used those years to pay off debt from the last job loss and medical bills and to try to catch up on retirement.  They were far from living the high life and certainly couldn't cash flow $35k in COA, which is what was expected based on the FAFSA.  They also weren't in a position to take on big student loans for me, as they already had debt.  The system felt entirely unfair at the time, and probably still is for those whose income varies a lot from year to year.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics