Calling all R3v student loan gurus.

[fanboi]

this is how divorces happen ya know. Financial woes and internet arguments. every situation is different.

[rwh11385]

i didn't know i couldn't do that, (college financial aid) officer.

Close your buttchecks Dave!

be sad then, how is that scamming if I asked what to do? I asked government working people, who do the paper work and that's what they told me, so fuck off. Obviously it's allowed

You ultimately are responsible. You can't go through life blaming other people for your ignorance. Obviously you are making assumptions again and have disregard for actual facts. Maybe if you learned at some point to look up the rules on your own, you wouldn't assume that false information someone told you was absolutely correct.

http://www.fafsa.com/understanding-fafsa/fafsa-dependency

IMPORTANT:
Many students feel that they should be able to declare INDEPENDENT status because they live on their own, file their own taxes, or receive no support from their parents. Unfortunately, the Department of Education is extremely strict with regard to determining dependency status.

http://www.fastweb.com/financial-aid/articles/699-fafsa-and-the-independent-student

In the federal government’s eyes, all students are considered primarily responsible for funding their higher education. But the government also recognizes that most parents contribute financially on some level. Parents provide assistance whether they’ve been saving for years to fund their child’s degree or simply provide housing while their children study.

Durrrr, the Federal government views providing housing to their kids as the parents giving financial assistance to their dependent status students...

Being considered an independent student is not merely a matter of being responsible for your own educational expenses. You must meet certain criteria to be declared an independent student for the purposes of the FAFSA:

Be 24 years of age or older by December 31 of the award year;
Be an orphan (both parents deceased), ward of the court, in foster care or was a ward of the court when 13 years or older;
Be a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States or serving on active duty for other than training purposes;
Be a graduate or professional student;
Be a married individual;
Have legal dependents other than a spouse;
Be an emancipated minor or in legal guardianship;
Be a homeless youth;
Be a student for whom a financial aid administrator makes a documented determination of independence by reason of other unusual circumstances.

So no, simply asking for it and getting it is not the right way, not what should be allowed and regardless of if some government employee told you the wrong thing, you broke the law.

http://studentaid.ed.gov/fafsa/filling-out/dependency

Did You Know?
The dependency status criteria are determined by law. You can’t declare yourself to be an independent student.

http://www.finaid.org/fafsa/maximize.phtml

The FAFSA includes the following warning on the front:

WARNING: You must fill out this form accurately. The information that you supply can be verified by your college, your state, or by the U.S. Department of Education.
You may be asked to provide U.S. income tax returns, the worksheets in this booklet and other information. If you can't or don't provide these records to your college, you may not get Federal student aid. If you get Federal student aid based on incorrect information, you will have to pay it back; you may also have to pay fines and fees. If you purposely give false or misleading information on your application, you may be fined $20,000, sent to prison, or both.

You might not be sent to prison because clearly you are an idiot, but advising others to falsely try to claim independent status can get them in serious trouble.

[polska]

I was independent, don't think age mattered, and got plenty of money back in 2004 from the govt. that I'm now paying back, albeit at 3% fixed, through Great Lakes.
But if you're studying history or something, run like hell and default on all of it. That's what I studied.

[lambo]

So rwh, you would recommend Discover's student loans?

[rwh11385]

So rwh, you would recommend Discover's student loans?

Yeah if you need private. I've been happy with them. Nice customer service when applying and nice rate for me. Now managed by Great Lakes but that's typical - the original marketing and underwriting is what they are really for.

But shopping around is good too. http://www.finaid.org/loans/privatestudentloans.phtml Discover seemed the best to me and lived up to or beyond expectations.

[Joe G]

This has all be tremendously helpful. This week I am going to get online/on the phone and hopefully report back with some good news.

As for selling my car, it's for sale and may be sold very soon. I am considering taking my job back at the bike shop, however $9.25 and hour and only being able to put in ~20 hours a week because I'm taking 18 hours this fall really won't add up to a whole lot of money(yes I know every cent counts).

My dad is in cahoots with some college loan pros (people who's job it is to help you figure out college loans/finances) so hopefully that will prove fruitful.

That's it for meow. I just hope something works out so I can graduate this spring and get myself a big-boy job.

Thank you all again.

Joe G

[noid]

Have you considered transferring to a university in Europe where tuition is free or very low cost?

http://www.scholars4dev.com/4031/list-of-european-countries-with-tuition-freelow-tuition-universities-colleges/

[Thizzelle]

lol @ rwh. Claim independent it's not going to kill you. I got money from government to fix my car too. And my student loan is payed off at end of year so whatever. It's done with

[evandael]

lol @ rwh. Claim independent it's not going to kill you. I got money from government to fix my car too. And my student loan is payed off at end of year so whatever. It's done with

what he is ultimately trying to communicate is that you did something illegal and got away with it.. this time.

your collegiate education was not worth what the government paid you for it if you think that remaining ignorant of laws and letting others determine what is right or wrong is an acceptable and morally just approach to life.

in short, don't give advice on financial aid if you don't understand it yourself.

[Thizzelle]

what he is ultimately trying to communicate is that you did something illegal and got away with it.. this time.

your collegiate education was not worth what the government paid you for it if you think that remaining ignorant of laws and letting others determine what is right or wrong is an acceptable and morally just approach to life.

in short, don't give advice on financial aid if you don't understand it yourself.

uggggh blocked

[lambo]

uggggh blocked

What the hell is wrong with you? Do you just have some unholy vendetta against rwh or something?

[lambo]

Well I finally finished applying for a loan. I hate this feeling... Can't wait to get to debt free life.