There’s a constant issue around college of how students can’t afford tuition because their parents make too much money to qualify for financial aid, but on the flip side, they have no intention of supporting them.
This is one of the problems with tying a student’s financial aid eligibility to parental income.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid can measure how much money a household makes, but income on paper does not always reflect the money a student actually can access.
A parent can make too much for their child to qualify for significant financial aid while refusing to contribute a single cent toward that student’s education. In other cases, a parent’s failure to file their taxes can create more obstacles for a student trying to get assistance through FAFSA.
Students don’t have a say in their parents’ income. They can’t control if their parents file their taxes or not. And they definitely can’t force a parent who refuses to contribute to suddenly pay their tuition.
Yet students under the age of 24 can still shoulder the consequences for circumstances they don’t control.
Within our own newsroom, we have seen multiple examples of students struggling with financial aid because their parents make too much or simply refuse to provide financial support.
And that’s out of a group of only nine people. Imagine what circumstances students all across TCC are facing.
Now some may argue that the students need to “just get a job” and pay for their education the old-school way, but the truth is college is not the same financial commitment it was for previous generations.
With the cost of living on the rise and minimum wage staying stagnant, it’s impossible for young people to keep up, yet alone pay for higher education out of pocket.
That doesn’t mean students shouldn’t be expected to contribute toward their education when they are able. It means the financial-aid system should recognize the difference between a parent’s ability to pay and willingness to pay.
FAFSA is a great resource, but it needs to be updated and account for real issues students face every day.
To do that, FAFSA should provide a clearer, more accessible process for students to appeal their parents’ financial information when there is genuine non-support. Students should have the opportunity to explain their situation and provide documentation demonstrating that the income being attributed to them is not actually available to them.
Financial aid officials should be able to look at the students standing in front of them, not just the numbers on a tax form.
College is supposed to be an opportunity to build a future. FAFSA shouldn’t become another obstacle standing in the way when it was built to support students.
