# Fafsa is bull***** and not fair



## tonyhd71 (Jul 27, 2014)

How much money my parents make is completely out of my control. Its not fair that my financial aid is determined by something I have no control in.

Its also bull**** that fafsa tells you what your "expected family contribution" is. Who the hell is the government to tell me how much money my family will pay for college?

Its bull***** that's what it is. And the independence age is 24 wtf?? Last time I checked most people graduate when they are 21/22.. Not 24?

So at age 18 I'm legally an adult, and for the IRS I could be considered an indeoendent for tax purposes, but for fafsa I'm a dependent? A 23 year old who moved out of his parents' house could have spent the last 5 years living independently paying his/her bills, yet he/she is still is still a dependent according to fafsa.

Fafsa is stupid.


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## Darktower776 (Aug 16, 2013)

Sorry to hear that, man. I ran into the same situation when I almost started school years ago but I never fully committed to going back then. I have to say that one of the only good things about going back to school later in life was being over the age to qualify as a independent- just started going to college Jan. 2014.

Anyway try looking for any other scholarship opportunities, even those that require you to write an essay. Also look for any possible grants or extra money that you could acquire for school. There might be some available to you that you just haven't found yet.


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## Imbored21 (Jun 18, 2012)

that's some bull****. I'm glad I didn't pay for college.


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## Mrs Salvatore (Mar 27, 2014)

IIRC you don't have to be 24 to be independent, it's just that at 24 you are independent regardless of whether you actually are or not. You could move out, get a job, support yourself, and not rely on your family, and then fafsa will let you be independent and not need to put your family contribution.

You don't get to use your parents resources and the government's. It's not fair to people who actually are independent.


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## tonyhd71 (Jul 27, 2014)

Mrs Salvatore said:


> IIRC you don't have to be 24 to be independent, it's just that at 24 you are independent regardless of whether you actually are or not. You could move out, get a job, support yourself, and not rely on your family, and then fafsa will let you be independent and not need to put your family contribution.
> 
> You don't get to use your parents resources and the government's. It's not fair to people who actually are independent.


Not true. If I move out I'm still considered a dependent for fafsa purposes. The only way to be independent for fafsa under the age of 24 is by getting married, being a veteran, or pursuing grad school, or other requirements that I don't meet.


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## acstar (May 24, 2014)

Yea its stupid because large amounts of money are given to lower class, more than they need IMO. Then Middle class is basically ****ed, they get little to money to pay for college and have to come up with the finances by working even more. What about lower middle class, they're the ones that are even more ****ed., Upper class is able to manage just fine, because they have money, but even some people I knew that were higher middle class go to community college because it is cheaper.


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## tonyhd71 (Jul 27, 2014)

acstar said:


> Yea its stupid because large amounts of money are given to lower class, more than they need IMO. Then Middle class is basically ****ed, they get little to money to pay for college and have to come up with the finances by working even more. What about lower middle class, they're the ones that are even more ****ed., Upper class is able to manage just fine, because they have money, but even some people I knew that were higher middle class go to community college because it is cheaper.


Yes yes yes.

Fafsa is unfair to middle class. Poor people shouldn't get grants for college. They don't get grants to buy a car or a house, college should be no different. College is a luxury not a right.


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## Cam1 (Dec 4, 2011)

Yeah, the fact that it's based on parent income is complete bs. I live on my own and my parents are middle class, so I won't qualify for anything. School is expensive as hell in the US too. Trying to save up for school is really difficult because unless you live at home without rent it's really hard to save up enough money. Also, society has basically built up this expectation that everyone should be finished with college by 22 years old. If schools or employers see a gap they will be less likely to hire or accept you. It's a pretty ****ed up how it all works.

Either you have rich parents who pay for your schooling... 
Or you have poor parents and get grants from the government...
Or you're screwed.


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## acstar (May 24, 2014)

tonyhd71 said:


> Yes yes yes.
> 
> Fafsa is unfair to middle class. Poor people shouldn't get grants for college. They don't get grants to buy a car or a house, college should be no different. College is a luxury not a right.


thats not what im saying, yes its unfair, but only the distribution, poor people should get help, just not so much that they get huge refund checks to waste on whatever,while middle class ppl cant afford tuition.
knowledge shouldnt be a luxury, we already have enough ignorant fu.cks in the world. Educated people are necesssary, regardless of the class


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## Darktower776 (Aug 16, 2013)

acstar said:


> thats not what im saying, yes its unfair, but only the distribution, poor people should get help, just not so much that they get huge refund checks to waste on whatever,while middle class ppl cant afford tuition.
> knowledge shouldnt be a luxury, we already have enough ignorant fu.cks in the world. Educated people are necesssary, regardless of the class


Agree with what you are saying. I didn't qualify for FAFSA when I was under the age of 24 but my parents sure as hell couldn't afford to pay for college out of pocket either. The whole college system in the U.S. and how it works is so crappy sometimes.


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## tonyhd71 (Jul 27, 2014)

acstar said:


> thats not what im saying, yes its unfair, but only the distribution, poor people should get help, just not so much that they get huge refund checks to waste on whatever,while middle class ppl cant afford tuition.
> knowledge shouldnt be a luxury, we already have enough ignorant fu.cks in the world. Educated people are necesssary, regardless of the class


No they shouldn't get help. Should they get help to buy a car? What about to buy a house? Poor people shouldn't waltz through college free just because they are broke. That's bs.I guess we should give them a special card that they can use to buy everything for free too while were at it.


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## acstar (May 24, 2014)

tonyhd71 said:


> No they shouldn't get help. Should they get help to buy a car? What about to buy a house? Poor people shouldn't waltz through college free just because they are broke. That's bs.


So what you're saying is you want poor uneducated people? The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. At least with an education they can move up. And do you know what the worth for even just a bachelor's degree is today? not much. Newsflash they do get help with those other things, there are many programs to help with that stuff. If they get educated with the help they need then they will be able to progress alone in the future. Knowledge should be free here like in other countries.

So why the hell do you feel you deserve financial help? What's so ****in special about you? Just because your parents aren't completely poor, you should get help? You think its that simple, **** everybody else, things should go your way because you were born in different circumstances.


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## tonyhd71 (Jul 27, 2014)

acstar said:


> So what you're saying is you want poor uneducated people? The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. At least with an education they can move up. And do you know what the worth for even just a bachelor's degree is today? not much. Newsflash they do get help with those other things, there are many programs to help with that stuff. If they get educated with the help they need then they will be able to progress alone in the future. Knowledge should be free here like in other countries.
> 
> So why the hell do you feel you deserve financial help? What's so ****in special about you? Just because your parents aren't completely poor, you should get help? You think its that simple, **** everybody else, things should go your way because you were born in different circumstances.


It's not me only the middle class in general gets screwed. They make too much money to get grants but not enough to pay for college.

The whole financial aid system is flawed in so many ways I'm not even going to get into them. There's so many things wrong with it.


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## anti-socialsocialite (May 1, 2011)

tonyhd71 said:


> No they shouldn't get help. Should they get help to buy a car? What about to buy a house? Poor people shouldn't waltz through college free just because they are broke. That's bs.I guess we should give them a special card that they can use to buy everything for free too while were at it.


Okay, if the poorest people in this country shouldn't get help paying for college then neither should the middle class, so this entire thread is null and void if that's what you believe. That's counterproductive though. It closes off a major opportunity for people to rise up to achieve a better quality of life, assuming they pick an equitable major. Then, ideally, they can contribute to someone else's education through their taxes.

I agree that Pell Grant funds are distributed quite arbitrarily though. My family is expected to contribute none because they don't even make enough money to pay for their own food, so surely not enough to get me through college. At the same time, a good friend of mine doesn't qualify to receive any income-based grants because his mom makes six digits and saves a lot of it. At the same time, she expects her son to pay for everything himself, including rent, while acting as an indentured servant to stay there as well. She is contributing nothing to get him to college, so he just hasn't gone, not that he even has time to go to college full-time anyway since he has to work so much just to survive. Meanwhile, the entirety of my community college tuition is covered by grants, and I get a nice disbursement check every semester. It's really unfair to people in the lower-middle to middle class who have parents that won't contribute anything, despite being able to.


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## acstar (May 24, 2014)

anti-socialsocialite said:


> Okay, if the poorest people in this country shouldn't get help paying for college then neither should the middle class, so this entire thread is null and void if that's what you believe. That's counterproductive though. It closes off a major opportunity for people to rise up to achieve a better quality of life, assuming they pick an equitable major. Then, ideally, they can contribute to someone else's education through their taxes.
> 
> I agree that Pell Grant funds are distributed quite arbitrarily though. My family is expected to contribute none because they don't even make enough money to pay for their own food, so surely not enough to get me through college. At the same time, a good friend of mine doesn't qualify to receive any income-based grants because his mom makes six digits and saves a lot of it. At the same time, she expects her son to pay for everything himself, including rent, while acting as an indentured servant to stay there as well. She is contributing nothing to get him to college, so he just hasn't gone, not that he even has time to go to college full-time anyway since he has to work so much just to survive. Meanwhile, the entirety of my community college tuition is covered by grants, and I get a nice disbursement check every semester. It's really unfair to people in the lower-middle to middle class who have parents that won't contribute anything, despite being able to.


YES THANK YOU. This is It. You just word it better


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## tonyhd71 (Jul 27, 2014)

It sickens me that I have to come up with $10,000+ extra that other people get for free just because of my parents' income. That has nothing to do with me, I have no control over how much money my parents make. That's bull****.


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## Darktower776 (Aug 16, 2013)

tonyhd71 said:


> It sickens me that I have to come up with $10,000+ extra that other people get for free just because of my parents' income. That has nothing to do with me, I have no control over how much money my parents make. That's bull****.


Try community college then. That's what I'm doing. It is still expensive without grants/aid but you won't have to come up with $10,000 + to go to classes. Do you have a job?


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## tonyhd71 (Jul 27, 2014)

Darktower776 said:


> Try community college then. That's what I'm doing. It is still expensive without grants/aid but you won't have to come up with $10,000 + to go to classes. Do you have a job?


I already finished community college. Paying your way through university is futile when you make minimum wage. I would have to work overtime just to make a dent in the tuition. If I work part time then no way in hell will that be enough money.

The only thing I could do is take out private loans with insanely high interest rates just because my parents aren't poor. That's not fair, I had no say in this this is completely out of my control.


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## axisfawn (Mar 4, 2015)

tonyhd71 said:


> How much money my parents make is completely out of my control.


You know, poor kids could say that too  and with more reason, as their parents are actually less likely to contribute anything!

I'm just being snarky tho...this reminds me of my cousins, whose parents are upper-middle class. My eldest cousin is my age. FAFSA expects his parents to pay for his college, and his parents expect him to pay for college himself. He works as a waiter and goes to CC now.
Ironically, my dad (who makes about the same as his) offered me his GI bill but I didn't need it due to scholarship.
Even more ironically, the only one left in the family who can use it is my younger bro. He's also the only one who has a college fund. My mom would do it but she already got an AA with her own GI bill.

Cest la vie amirite


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## Ricebunnyx3 (Sep 1, 2010)

tonyhd71 said:


> Yes yes yes.
> 
> Fafsa is unfair to middle class. Poor people shouldn't get grants for college. They don't get grants to buy a car or a house, college should be no different. College is a luxury not a right.


Yes, poor people should get grants for college.

But like acstar said - they shouldn't get so much that they get a huge refund check.

I personally get enough to pay for everything but I don't accept it all. If I did I'd get a refund of only around 1,000 which isn't huge. But a lot of it is loans. The biggest money I get from fafsa are loans (which is why I don't accept it all).

I don't think around 1000 is a lot of money and it helps the people living in college who are poor who need that money for other expenses that come up while living on campus.

Also, college is not a luxury. That's stupid. I swear only America/Americans think that way. In other countries it is a right. And those countries always score higher than us.

You sound so bitter. But how is your bitterness changing fafsa? it's not. You sound jealous that poorer people are getting a privilege that you don't get for not being poor. That sounds stupid. So these people lived hard lives financially and probably in many other ways as well, and finally they get some money to help put these people through college - and your first reaction is wahhh wahhh wahhh I'm going to whine like a baby because I have to work to put myself through college.

Why didn't you apply for scholarships??? There are millions of scholarships out there you could qualify for. You could've paid your way that way.

And honestly you have really crappy critical thinking skills so it makes sense why you don't have a scholarship.

How are you coming college - education - to getting a car. lmao.

If you want cheaper or even free college, study abroad.

Also abut you're paying 10,000+ take out loans. Since part of fafsa are loans anyway. It's not all free money!! For a whole year half of what I'd pay is loans (again I don't accept all the loans so I pay some out of pocket)

Fafsa certainly isn't going to award money to rich/middle class kids whose parents don't want to help them pay. Do you realize how much you already have and you want more. The entitlement in this post.


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## tonyhd71 (Jul 27, 2014)

Ricebunnyx3 said:


> Yes, poor people should get grants for college.
> 
> But like acstar said - they shouldn't get so much that they get a huge refund check.
> 
> ...


I'm not rich dude my parents are middle class. Its common knowledge that the fafsa always screws over the middle class. The lower class get grants and subsidized loans, the rich pay out of pocket. What do the middle class get? A petty little unsubsidized Stafford loan? What is that like $3000 a year WITH interest?

My dad's income has nothing to do with me. I don't see a single penny of his money for college purposes and I'm hanging to this household by a thread i ts a matter of time before I get kicked out of the house.

Its bull**** that I could move out be 100% financially independent and STILL be tied down to my parents income for fafsa purposes.

Who the hell lives with their parents until age 24 anyways? Except for unusual circumstances, most people graduate college age 21/22.


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## Koloz (Nov 11, 2011)

tonyhd71 said:


> How much money my parents make is completely out of my control. Its not fair that my financial aid is determined by something I have no control in.
> 
> Its also bull**** that fafsa tells you what your "expected family contribution" is. Who the hell is the government to tell me how much money my family will pay for college?
> 
> ...


If you're SA is not severe like mine, you should join the Army National Guard. They pay full tuition.


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## tonyhd71 (Jul 27, 2014)

Koloz said:


> If you're SA is not severe like mine, you should join the Army National Guard. They pay full tuition.


Please tell me more about this. Will I have to fight in war?


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## Ricebunnyx3 (Sep 1, 2010)

tonyhd71 said:


> I'm not rich dude my parents are middle class. Its common knowledge that the fafsa always screws over the middle class. The lower class get grants and subsidized loans, the rich pay out of pocket. What do the middle class get? A petty little unsubsidized Stafford loan? What is that like $3000 a year WITH interest?
> 
> My dad's income has nothing to do with me. I don't see a single penny of his money for college purposes and I'm hanging to this household by a thread i ts a matter of time before I get kicked out of the house.
> 
> ...


Actually they get subsidized and unsubsidized.
But you clearly missed the point of everything I wrote.
Again, you feel entitled when you're not.
Good day.


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## Sacrieur (Jan 14, 2013)

Unless you're married of course.



> So at age 18 I'm legally an adult, and for the IRS I could be considered an indeoendent for tax purposes, but for fafsa I'm a dependent? A 23 year old who moved out of his parents' house could have spent the last 5 years living independently paying his/her bills, yet he/she is still is still a dependent according to fafsa.


This is me right now. I finally get full autonomy over my finances!


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## tonyhd71 (Jul 27, 2014)

Ricebunnyx3 said:


> Actually they get subsidized and unsubsidized.
> But you clearly missed the point of everything I wrote.
> Again, you feel entitled when you're not.
> Good day.


Subsidized is only for people with low income, so no I'm right. We get only unsub loans.


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