What would happen if parents were no longer the main source of income for college students? If parents stopped being the main source of income for college students to go to school, it would be much easier for college students to become independent. The government could also help by making it so that one didn’t have to depend on a parent or guardian to go to school. I believe students would also appreciate their educational goals better if they could do everything themselves. When students fill out Free Application for Federal Student Aid or the FAFSA to go to college, a student needs a signature from a parent or guardian and tax forms, and there’s been times where friends of mine don’t go to college because the parents refuse to sign such documents, even though a FAFSA is free. Also, many students don’t fill out the FAFSA in fear that they don’t qualify for anything because their parents make too much money.
How many times have you seen commercials for signing up for Upromise’s College plan, or the Gerber Baby Plan? You’re watching your favorite TV show, and this commercial tells you to start saving for your child’s education; and show the percentage rates of how much those companies help you earn money for your child’s college fund. I find that atrocious. When you are eighteen years old, the US considers you an adult. So do parents or most parents at least treat you like an adult at eighteen years old. I understand that parents love to still take care of their adult children and offer them a bright future. But why at eighteen years old is it the responsibility on the parents’ hands? When you are eighteen, you should be able to take care of yourself. You get to decide whether or not if you want to go to college. Some parents as soon as a child is born start saving for their college education. But what if your child decides not to go to college? What if they are that child star, the one who is so good that gets into Hollywood or play in the NFL? Or what if they feel they don’t need or want to go to college? You spent eighteen years of your life saving money for a child who doesn’t need or want that kind of life and you could’ve saved that money for retirement or for a bigger house. How about the fact that sometimes your child isn’t an angel, and squanders your money by failing out of school? Shouldn’t that be on their heads, not yours?
It’s not even just those things that bug me, but student loans as well. They are called student loans for a reason. Why do most private companies still rely on having parents sign those as well? On those commercials you see for Sallie Mae or Astrive, they tell you that “you may get a better rate if you apply with a cosigner”. I found myself in situations with different loan companies that you need a cosigner to even get a loan, because I don’t have any or sufficient credit history or I don’t make enough money. Then my mom had to put her Social Security number on the loan application, which then the company checks not only mine but now my mother’s credit history. Every time a credit report is run through your Social Security number, it lowers your credit score. Again parents are pulled in to put in their credit background, possibly ruining it by constantly reapplying for student loans because many times you still get denied for one reason or another. Then you are forced to try another loan company and may face the same results. With today’s economy in shambles, many older adults have their own credit history in shambles with foreclosures and bankruptcies rising on a daily basis. How can companies expect the student’s parents’ to have good enough credit history or money when they themselves have their own crisis?
The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is also a problem. The FAFSA is a form that can be filled out by anyone going to college, so that students can receive financial assistance and/or loans from the government. Not only do parents have to sign the paperwork (unless you are of age 24 and older, and then you are considered independent), but they must put their income on the form as well. Why? In most cases students that are eighteen or older either help pay for things in the household if they are still living with their parents, or pay for their own shelter and food. I think it is very unnecessary to have parents put their financial information in, especially if very little income, if any, is going to go towards college tuition or other needs. The decision should be based off solely the students’ income, if any. This is why many students or parents avoid even filling out the FAFSA, feeling that they aren’t qualified for anything or only a little bit of funding. Most students need more then they actually get in aid. Also, a parents’ income doesn’t show how much debt they’re in or any financial struggles that may alter the actual income versus output of the income. I feel that if a student is old enough to have car insurance in their own name or get credit of their own, or vote, then FAFSA should let the student be solely on the form and no one else.
I also feel that if students were more independent they would be more appreciative of their education. Here at Springfield College I don’t feel like most students here appreciate the stuff given to them by their parents, and I don’t feel the people who really need the aid get it either. My first year here my ex-roommate said that she didn’t want to be a PE major, and that she wanted to go to beauty school. That annoyed me, because she is an adult, she could’ve easily told her parents “No, I don’t want to be a PE major” and go to beauty school like she wanted to. She is one of those people that waste their parents’ money, because I know she is doing something she hates, and will never do what her parents want her to do. Another girl here who graduated last year told me she wanted to be a trophy wife, and that is why she came here. Both those students I can tell don’t care about the education, just rewards they may benefit or pleasing someone else.
Another encounter was when I was sitting waiting for class, and I listened to this girl who complained that she didn’t get enough aid and her father had to pay $20,000 to the school. While it is unfortunate for her father to have to do that, she could’ve taken the initiative to help her father or apply for the FAFSA (it sounded like she didn’t do it) or look for scholarships and grants. I also wanted to rip into her that she is fortunate to have a parent whose income can be suffice for that. I pay for college solely on my own, I don’t get the aid I need, and I am in debt as of current date $45,000, and approximately $60,000 in debt as of next year. My family has never seen even $10,000 in a bank account, never mind $20,000. I know I am not the only one who is in this same boat, yet I know people just like the girls I mentioned who get aid or have parents who are fortunate to help, but financial aid or the government aid doesn’t seem to see that I need aid when I apply for assistance, and nothing that I deserve.
These reasons and much more are reasons why FAFSA and the student aid offices need to make it easier for students to receive money. It is hard on some parents, and really hard on the students. The news always shows stories of unemployment rates and rising crime, and some of that is a result of lack of education. If the government can ensure that more students get aid, people can get off the streets and into classrooms. Parents shouldn’t have to rely on programs to pay for their child’s education and the government should stop seeking parents’ assistance. If a child is old enough to vote, they should be old enough to get assistance for college, regardless.
Gerber Baby Plan
Sallie Mae
Upromise
FAFSA
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