[Mick]

[quote author=fullmetal link=topic=16963.msg194615#msg194615 date=1497024320]
stupac, you did well, and you made good decisions.

However--

Mick is allowed to feel bad for his friend even if his friend's situation might be self-inflicted.  And we are allowed to feel bad for Mick for carrying the emotional burden of seeing a friend in deep financial distress.  There may be very good reasons why Mick's friend is in debt, and healthcare may figure prominently in several of those reasons.  I don't think anyone here should try to win the Suffering Olympics.

Well, sure, that's fine. I'm just saying that it's not entirely obvious that this is really a case of insane college prices.
[/quote]

To be clear...my friend is not seeking sympathy or whining about his condition.  He had a business, it did okay for years, it did well for a few years, then the business tanked.  It happens.  His complaint is that for two years, his income fell to $50k and lost all his assets (liquid and otherwise), but his daughter's university refused financial aid in the first year of his $50k income because he had assets.  They told him he needed to liquidate before they would give him financial aid.  And as I stated in a prior post, his family has about $2,700 per month after rent/medical/education payments.  And the college is about $70k a year all in, not $30k.  Remember, their total budget for food, clothing, auto repair (on their twin 135k mile vehicles), utilities and all other incidentals is $2,700, so the $6,000 per month that the college costs isn't quite in the cards.  And that doesn't even speak to retirement, which is not an option for them.

He finds it incongruous that the university brags "Our generous financial aid program allows undergraduates to graduate from xxxx debt free" when that isn't really the case.

[Mick]

[quote author=fullmetal link=topic=16963.msg194615#msg194615 date=1497024320]
stupac, you did well, and you made good decisions.

However--

Mick is allowed to feel bad for his friend even if his friend's situation might be self-inflicted.  And we are allowed to feel bad for Mick for carrying the emotional burden of seeing a friend in deep financial distress.  There may be very good reasons why Mick's friend is in debt, and healthcare may figure prominently in several of those reasons.  I don't think anyone here should try to win the Suffering Olympics.

Well, sure, that's fine. I'm just saying that it's not entirely obvious that this is really a case of insane college prices.
[/quote]

To be clear...my friend is not seeking sympathy or whining about his condition.  He had a business, it did okay for years, it did well for a few years, then the business tanked.  It happens.  His complaint is that for two years, his income fell to $50k and lost all his assets (liquid and otherwise), but his daughter's university refused financial aid in the first year of his $50k income because he had assets.  They told him he needed to liquidate before they would give him financial aid.  And as I stated in a prior post, his family has about $2,700 per month after rent/medical/education payments.  And the college is about $70k a year all in, not $30k.  Remember, their total budget for food, clothing, auto repair (on their twin 135k mile vehicles), utilities and all other incidentals is $2,700, so the $6,000 per month that the college costs isn't quite in the cards.  And that doesn't even speak to retirement, which is not an option for them.

He finds it incongruous that the university brags "Our generous financial aid program allows undergraduates to graduate from xxxx debt free" when that isn't really the case.