4 ms·
The income of his parents makes a big difference. If they are professional class, their incomes will make it so he doesn't qualify for financial aid. If they wo
by rms 18y ago
The income of his parents makes a big difference. If they are professional class, their incomes will make it so he doesn't qualify for financial aid. If they won't cosign loans, it puts said young person in a very tough situation. In this case, the young person needs to talk to the financial aid office and establish that he is entirely supporting himself. This can be very difficult. Right now, he should make sure that his parents aren't declaring him as a dependent on their taxes.
If his parents have lower incomes, then he should apply to a lot of colleges with hope of getting a good financial aid package. Generally, when you're paying for it yourself, it's not worth going to an expensive college, but computer science is special -- the education from CMU or MIT is worth the extra money. Owing 100k in student loans is a lot more manageable for a high end professional degree. If he was majoring in sociology, he would want to go to the school with the lowest sticker price.
He should definitely go to college and almost no one should join the armed forces, certainly not as a launching pad for a career as a hacker.
Also, this bill goes into effect this July and would allow for emancipated minors to file independently for financial aid. Assuming he is already 18, it is probably too late to take advantage of this. http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/110_HR_5.html http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/110_HR_5.html
- tokenadult 18y agoIf they are professional class, their incomes will make it so he doesn't qualify for financial aid. If they won't cosign loans, it puts said young person in a very tough situation. Yes. That is the problem. The college financial aid principles in the United States http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/highered/fa/Economics-Primer-2004.pdf http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/highered/fa/Econo... make an assumption that parents are the funding source of first resort for any young person pursuing an undergraduate degree at the usual age, and young people not supported by their own parents don't have enough creditworthiness to borrow their way through an elite undergraduate college.
- ktom 18y agoI am not certain if the works in the United States, but you could divorce yourself from your parents. Then their financial standing would no longer affect you, because they would no longer be legally considered your family.
- tokenadult 18y agoIt's called being declared legally emancipated in the United States, but I think it is not easy to do.
- tokenadult 18y agoHere's an MIT statement from the director of financial aid: "For MIT, our definition of an independent student is one where there are no parents to rely upon for information (in cases of deceased parents or abuse or neglect). The bar is set pretty high, so we do not generally allow students to be considered independant." http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/finaid/financial_aid/its_february_2nd_do_you_know_w.shtml http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/finaid/financial_aid/its...