I have submitted the dreaded FAFSA form. It’s the one you fill out for financial aid for college. I didn’t realize that it gave you an instant estimate of how much you’ll have to pony up for the year. My estimate came to all of it. L has already gotten some scholarship money from Iowa State, her school of choice, but there’s no longer any reciprocity between Minnesota and Iowa, so out-state tuition is a bitch. I’ve tried to make her aware that we don’t have much to contribute, and what she can’t come up with she’ll have to borrow, but she’s determined. She could go to a smaller school in Wisconsin for less than half the dough, but ISU is her dream school. The only way I can justify it is that she wants to be a graphic designer (I slapped her hands everytime I saw her doing artwork but it didn’t work) and they have a great program there.
I never realize Iowa State was so close, just a little over three hours straight down I35. Nor did I realize what a beautiful campus it is. It’s very compact with an excellent layout of roads and beautiful landscaping. Right there in the middle of the cornfields. Although it specializes in left brained pursuits like engineering and has a great ag school, it also is very strong in design and the visual arts. And I understand the smell of pig shit isn’t completely overpowering. Minnesotan’s have a huge chip on their shoulders about Iowa, we think we’re so much more cultured and sophisticated, but we’re not.
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Surely there are other available scholarships ? For, say, abused wanna-be-graphic designers ? (That was tre`s funny, by the way. ) Seriously, though, has she talked to anyone at the university about funding yet ? The cost of education in the states always shocks me. We pay around 3,000$ a year, and people here still believe it’s too expensive.
yeah, we got the annual “you make too much money” quote from our fasfa adventures this weekend. do those people have no clue how much college actually costs. in 2004 dollars, not 1984 dollars.
Wow, our situations, despite our having nearly a full generation between us (or hell, what’s nearly?), are almost identical. My son is attending school at Drexel on a nearly-half scholarship. The other half ain’t cheap, either. We’re borrowing to cover all of it–he, and we, that is–and damn you, you just reminded me of the FAFSA. Can’t wait.
Oh yeah, and he’s studying film. Hoo, boy.
the first time i saw a picture of HP’s son, and before i knew who it was, i asked, “who’s the stoner?” now that i see he’s a film student, it all comes clear. we won’t question how much of those student loans is going towards herbal pursuits…
um, what were we talking about? oh right, tuition. right now, the only tuition we deal with is the 8000 dollars it costs to get the girl to preschool and both the kids to summer day care. which, seriously, could put one of them through community college for a year.
I may just abandon my children, leave them to the wolves, when they hit university age. Yep.
FAFSA is awful. I hated to do it and my parents weren’t included.
Good luck, hopefully crossing state lines doesn’t increase the tution too much. As in it doesn’t grow exponentially.