My wife and I are struggling to find a way to send our son to the local public university (it’s not an expensive one at all). He’s always been a good student, and has kept his nose clean and to the grindstone.
Meanwhile, at a college informational meeting, it was casually mentioned that if a highschool girl has a baby, then she is considered “independent” for purposes of the FAFSA... That means when she fills out the FAFSA, she can list her own income, rather than her parent’s income (like my son will have to do). Result? Teenage moms end up with a free ride to college. No one really believes that a teenage mom is “independent” - it’s just a freebee from Uncle Sam.
I don’t want to punish unwed mothers, but this isn’t a fair or even outcome - it’s a reward for getting knocked up early enough to give birth by Senior year. Yet another unintended consequence of our crazy government in action.
Yes, I know. We put our 3 boys thru college, it was a struggle. It seems that if you play by the rules you are penalized. We are the chumps.