Dependent student parent concerns
The parent should feel that they are able to voice their concerns regarding their child's education. The support of the parent is very important especially if the student lives with the parent.
Jessica,
Excellent point. Schools often deal with diverse populations, and the challenges faced by adult students are different from the needs of younger dependent students. It is helpful for Admissions and Financial Aid to have information about a student’s situation so that we can know how best to counsel, and so that we can anticipate how involved the student’s parents or family will be in their finances and education. Our skip tracing and communication strategies, for example, might be quite different for students living at home and older students with full-time jobs.
Kellee Gunderson
Yes! I am completely agree with you, I think the best way to understand a dependent student is thru the parent , and they are the support of everything and it is our responsibility to inform and involve their parent thru the entire process.
Ricardo,
It can also be helpful to involve parents whenever we offer budget and financial planning workshops and handouts. Some families have excellent money management skills and pass on this knowledge to their children. Unfortunately, many parents struggle with their own finances, and when their children enter college these students might not have a strong financial foundation. Educating the entire household will benefit the dependent student because the family and the borrower can plan for loan repayment together.
Kellee Gunderson
One of the challenges that I've come across is a dependent student who came in for a FA appointment along with their parents and then the student has requested to NOT share any more FA/Education information with said parents. I've had phone calls from parents of students wanting to know further information regarding their child's FA details either because they are actually somewhat funding it or for other unknown reasons and get very upset when we can't disclose any information because the student did not sign a FERPA.
I agree. Anytime you can have a parent physically present, you underline the importance of planning for the repayment of the loan. The parent is acknowledging the seriousness of the responsibility by their presence, and that has to rub off on the student.
Therese,
Also, it has the added benefit of perhaps encouraging the family to think about their own financial choices. Responsible treatment of credit card debt, parent PLUS loans, and private loans will help set a good example for the student borrower.
Kellee Gunderson
