It is that time of year. It is crunch time for students to submit their FAFSA for the fall semester. I'm pretty sure I started receiving emails to complete my FAFSA for the 2018-19 school year back in March, but of course, I wait until the last minute to finish this wretched task. I'm pretty sure I can speak for most college students when I say, I HATE FAFSA. Don't get me wrong, FAFSA really helps some people afford college. Unfortunately, I am not, nor have I ever been one of those people.
My post-high school financial situation with my parents was pretty similar to kicking a bird out of a nest and seeing if it flies. I am very grateful for this and did not expect my parents to pay for any of my college, rent or other living expenses anymore once I turned 18. But apparently, FAFSA does! Fortunately . . . or unfortunately . . . my parents are happily married and make a decent living. According to FAFSA, this means that I am not qualified for any grants and receive the bare minimum in available loans.
This was a slap in the face my freshmen year of college. I had to take out private loans because FAFSA would not help me, and I was completely on my own because what FAFSA said my parents should be giving me, I wasn't getting. I felt like I was being punished for coming from a well-off, happy family. This was beyond frustrating because I was always a great student, loved school and put in 100% effort, but FAFSA is unwilling to support a student who has the desire to strive for greatness in education. I knew students who got all of their tuition covered for various reasons who just ended up dropping out of college or failing because they did not care about their grades because it was not their money. I understand that some families can't afford to pay for college for their kids, but just like those kids, I didn't have anyone to pay for my college either.
Who am I to tell my parents, "Hey, you have to pay for my college because FAFSA says so?" I was 18, I was an adult. My parents legally did not have to support me anymore, but according to FAFSA, they do! Even now, I am nearly 22 years old and I receive little to no financial aid. I am even a reservist in the United States Navy. A member of the military and potentially leaving my life as I know it to go defend our freedom at a moment's notice, yet I am not considered an adult in the eyes of FAFSA.
FAFSA needs to stop treating me like a child when according to the law, I am an adult. My parents are no longer responsible for me. Are other students more deserving of financial aid than me? Probably! By no means am I trying to take that away from them. I just feel that I am deserving as well. What FAFSA doesn't consider is that I have two younger siblings who both get their drivers license in two years and need vehicles, or that my sister just got married and my parents helped pay for the wedding. FAFSA can't look at my parents' income and decide that my parents are capable of paying for my college when they have no idea of what our life actually looks like.
So take this into account FAFSA, my parents' salary does not mean they are well off and capable of paying my tuition, and it certainly does not mean that they will pay for it. My parents' salary also does not define me. My parents have money, I, on the other hand, do not. I need help too, FAFSA.
