Getting financial aid when your parents will not fill out the fafsa

[DeborahtheJudge]

Okay, just throwing this out there.... many private schools have special sources of funding... therefore their scholarship systems work differently. My own university --some of the Catholic universities happen to be VERY sympathetic to needy, bright students and Christians--offered me a full scholarship without even looking at the fafsa.
Of course, I did qualify for this pre-existing merit scholarship. (Unfortunately, only a reduced version of it is available now! Hard times.)

Put pressure on those parents. My friend's parents were going through a divorce when we were applying for college. There was an ugly custody battle, had to call lawyers, had to bring in other adults. I know that when parents divorce, they are required by law to pay for part (half?) of the tuition. There may be some legal obligations for these parents.

 

[ericknowsChrist]

It is not that hard to pay your own way if your are motivated. To me the experience of fighting my way through school was a key part of my learning experience.

Working full time while going to school full time is a challenge, but your 20s are the time to do it. My two siblings and I (and many of my friends) all paid our own ways through college.

No grants, period.

My brother received some scholarships, when he went for his second engineering degree but with a 3.9 or 4.0 GPA on his first degree, I am not surprised.

I incurred no debt, my brother incurred minor debt, my sister incurred a lot of debt. (In my humble opinion she did not have to, but who am I to say. )