Okay....I've got to rant here. A looooong rant.

I know I've talked before about how my dd got scholarship offers from all the schools she applied to. For the two instate schools it covers more than tuition. For the private schools she applied to, while generous...up to about $15-$16,000 per year, it still leaves more than we can afford. So here my hard working dd who took the hardest classes she could get and took tons of AP & Honors classes and got an exceptional SAT score, was in tears last wk because the school in Ohio she wanted to attend is too expensive, so she can't go.

Meanwhile, I just found out from one of my best friends today, that her same age dd who is one of my dd's best friends is getting TONS of money through grants because they have no savings. The dd was homeschooled, and admittedly by the mom spends hours per day playing around on the computer loading youtube videos etc. The mom was worried she wouldn't even get INTO college because her SAT score was so low.

In case you don't know the difference, scholarships are monetary awards you EARN through good grades, good test scores, and well-rounded extracurricular activities. Grants are monetary gifts just because you need the money, but not necessarily tied to any accomplishments.

Soooooo....because my dh & I don't spend like drunken sailors and have saved our money and have small amounts of money saved towards our children's college we can only get scholarships. But my friend whose dd went to Austria last year, and sent her older dd to Europe at LEAST twice (maybe three times...can't remember) and owns 3 laptops while I have none because I'm too cheap to buy one, and goes through Starbucks drive through on a regular basis, spends hundreds of dollars on family cell phone bills, etc. her dd gets MORE money than mine. Our family income is about the same per year.

They both applied to two of the same private colleges, one here locally and one Christian college in Michigan. My dd got about $13000 from the local private college in scholarships, but her dd got $21000 in grants!! So my dd can't afford to go there, but hers can.

So I called my dh on the phone and told him and we've decided we're going to take all our savings and decorate our horribly underdecorated house, and take our family to Europe for the summer and buy me a new van since mine is ancient, and buy both of my kids new cars since my dd drives a clunker, and then after we spend all our savings, our ds will be able to go to a private school in 3 years because he can get GRANTS!!! To heck with this trying to save and work hard deal. It SUCKS!!!

Let me start by saying I'm not trying to offend anyone or insult anyone here who may have gotten grants yourself, or if your children have gotten grants, it's just my own personal rant that it seems like hard work and saving doesn't pay off in the long run. And while I'm ranting about my friend and her dd because I know the specifics of her situation, I AM glad her dd is getting to go to college. She's a very nice girl. I'm just upset right now because my dd's crying over not having enough to go to the school she wants while hers has more options than mine. ARGH!!!!

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I went to a local university where i didn't qualify for any scholarships other than a $250 choir one. During my second year there, after borrowing $10,000 I decided to move. I also cleaned house for the director of financial aide. When he saw my transfer papers he asked why i was moving. I told him $$$$$$ and lack of. He said, sign here and you will get all you need. The paper I signed declared me independent of my parents and there for penniless and in need of $$. I got enough $$ to pay for the next two years of private schooling plus $$ to live off of. Ps. my parents weren't wealthy, but not poor either. They owned their own home, land, cars and had savings. That is something you might try. I think it's called declaration of emergency independentcy or something like that.

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Mabennett - Proud Mommy to a Yankee, a Tarheel, and a cheerleader

Aaagghhh!
That's horrible!
Im soooo very sorry that the school system (ahem) is somewhat corrupted in that sense. I have heard of that before and it really blows my mind!

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You must be the change you want to see in the world ~ Gandhi

Dang, I want to know how your friend pulled off all these grants! My dh is currently going to college, we're not wealthy, and he was only given one little grant for a couple of hundred dollars. That's all he's ever received during his college time. I guess some people know how to work things better than others.

Here's a thought -- instead of going on a wild spending spree, privately transfer all of your savings to one of those banks in the Cayman Islands then say "Look, we're broke!"

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When the sun came up this morning I took the time to watch it rise,
as its beauty struck the darkness from the skies.
I thought how small and unimportant all my troubles seem to be,
and how lucky another day belongs to me. ~ Jerry Reed

yep, been there done that!

When dd was going to college in 93 I had been divorced for years, and owed my own business. And because of that, she could get no grants what so ever. Because I had savings and wasn't in debt up to my eye balls.

It is like if you save money your doomed, but if I hadn't save any and an emergency came up then I would have also been in trouble!!!

Hey....I may have to look into that Cayman Islands thing

Well they just have NO...and I mean ZERO savings. They have a gazillion dollars in charge card debt. So when they figure the FAFSA, they figured their family couldn't really contribute much and ours could, so even though our family incomes are about the same per year, her dd gets more in grants than mine does in scholarships. Like I said, almost makes it seem like hard work and saving don't pay off.

Sorry if I'm sounding like a raving b$tch. It's just hard to see my dd so disappointed when she worked so hard and someone who worked less hard have an opportunity she doesn't. But my friend is a very good friend and her dd is a really nice girl, so I'm trying to not personalize it to her, and just rage about the "SYSTEM". So try to understand that while I sound b$tchy, I'm just really a sad mommy.

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She could borrow the money she needs to go to the school she wants. Not the most desirable way to go but if it gets her where she wants to be . . .

I agree that she should be filing independent of you guys. That way they only count her income and her savings. If she's 18 or over, that's what I'd be looking into.

Good luck. I hope you can find a way to get her into the college she wants.

I know people who got married at like 19 years old because then they could qualify for all sorts of aid and on-campus married housing. It sucks.

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I agree with freebiemom 100%.

Gosh...that's really a drag!