And what about this? While that might work, I wonder if someone that is lazy is wanted in the army. I remember being able to avoid basic training because I said I wrote that I was lazy, had problems with both authority and controlling my anger. :P

Damn, I must say we really are privileged here for having education payed through taxes (what your Bernie proposed) for everybody (off course limited to one study attempt on university level).

But if we are talking about goverment financial help - health insurance, benefits, school housing subsidies. Everything is in their computers so the only thing you need to bring is the last three months income statements. Everything else the government here can see. Even those three statements are just to check if your are not trying to trick them since IRS can directly see all your accounts.

Post 3, " And my daughter has the drive of a wet cardboard box, "

I took that metaphor to mean "lazy." I could have been mistaken.

I don't know about US laws, but in Estonia the child is under adult financial obligations (although it isn't checked) or whatever until they get 21. So, if I had a child and he/she was 19 and me and my partner (not married to her) would die in an accident or whatever she would get toitjakaotuspension (feederlosspension??) until she/he was 21.
Maybe that's why? A similar thing?
Same with asking for financial aid when you go to the university. When my very very young sister went to the university she wanted to get scholarship/stipend from the goverment, but she had to give away info about our parents, their income and so on. (Even though the university itself is free, living costs are another thing, and she didn't want to take a student loan; also only the brightest ones from a course get stipends/scholarship)

The reason is they are trying to determine how much "aid" you supposedly "need." I use quotations because of the strings attached and what constitutes as "need" given the current economy, job market, and supply-and-demand pricing for labor.

I will advise as a college graduate to ask your daughter, if you have not done so already, what type of profession she wants. If she only wants one that can get her money, I would recommend sending her to trade school to become a specialized welder or machinist. The only times I recommend college is if that person wants a particular career that truly requires a college degree like doctor, teacher, engineer, or commissioned military officer. I would also recommend joining the Coast Guard or a National Guard unit for the Army or Air Force for people who are in deep financial problems concerning college entry, don't mind telling white lies to recruiters, and would like work experience.

More importantly, if someone just wants an education, that person should just read encyclopedia, go to a library, or buy the same books online that get used in college. Also, avoid the SJW-ridden colleges to prevent the further corruption of youth or the possibility of your kid getting tossed out for "triggering" someone's pathetic feelings. See Trigglypuff for details as well as the idiotic policies at places like Yale.

Let her work for a period first to let her see what lies ahead in her life with a lousy job. That may help her wet cupboard drive to change her future.

I pray you don't make as much as my family. The only "aid" that we got was PLUS loans. Make too much for anything else. Too little to pay for the tuition straight out but too much for any aid AT ALL

Oh yeah, you were totally right. I must have skimmed over that post. In that case I think it's pretty good advice.

If the OP's daughter joins the military then she might become the tramp of these human trash-

http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/crime/2016/01/12/25-fort-riley-soldiers-arrested-after-police-break-up-loud-party/78700592/

She will be brainwashed with patriotic nonsense and treated like a disposable asset/cannon fodder for some stupid war that only benefits oil companies and defense corporations (Example- iraq war).


As for the OP- Asking about your personal info is totally normal. The people need to know if your daughter is from a family that is capable of financially supporting her. Rich kids dont need financial aid after all.

No need to be so butt-hurt about it and start a thread about it. You made that girl, now she is your responsibility and you should handle it.

FWIW, 30 years ago the feds used to be much looser in their definitions. A student could be independent as long as they weren't "living with" their parents. [Roughly speaking.]

There was a glut of kids who started living in the loft out in the garage, getting an apartment paid for by mom & dad, etc., so Congress tightened up the requirements significantly.

Otherwise, as others have noted, basically every 18 year old who is not independently wealthy would be receiving the maximum federal Pell grant and the U.S. would have to triple/quadruple the amount it spends on Pell annually (somewhere around...$25 Billion last year?).

That's just not going to happen.

The changing societal view has been that education is required for advancing in one's career, which is a private benefit, ergo the primary responsibility to pay for that private benefit falls on the family if they have the capability to pay.

A student becomes independent based on year of birth (not age), marital status, service in the armed forces, being orphaned, etc. If she just graduated high school (like the "average" kid) and goes off to college, then sorry, she's still viewed as the parents' dependent and their income/assets get reviewed.

Again, unless Congress is willing to significantly spike its investment in higher education, that's just not likely to change.

Honest question. How do you mesh the belief above with the obvious greater political / ideological homogeneity of the outbound graduate population?

Do you even deny the baseline fact that graduates are much less politically diverse than the broader population?
Do you rather assume the specific ideological / political matrix that is dominant with graduate populations is more rational / more correct than the diversity elsewhere?
Perhaps you have some more nuanced position, that campus life has characteristics that incentivize specific beliefs?

TL:DR, do you really believe education without indoctrination is the norm nowadays? :) And kindly note I'm not really mentioning the frequent missionary intolerance of those supposed moral leaders at being "more accepting of people who are different".

Eternal struggle of me aswell. Sucks to be in lower-middle middle-class.... :/

This, unfortunately, is sometimes true (but not always). Military service comes with many varying price tags, but for most people I know who have joined the services, it was a positive outcome.

Funny you say that. Student "aid" spending rose tremendously since the late 1980s and has resulted in higher tuition fees and reduced quality of college degrees.

Throwing money into fire would be more effective than "investing" it into higher education. They give more money to colleges and the colleges will raise fees in order to get more money. If anything, they should cut all support for these colleges, let the price drop to adjust to student limitations, and put more emphasis on trade schools.

In fact, higher education is a bunch of bullshit these days. The only decent fields are science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and the rest is practically crap people should simply learn on their own time. Also, women studies needs to end.