Graduate School or: How I Learned to Worry About Everything and Love Holding Music

Since I was accepted to ASU I have been working diligently to try and set myself up as best I can for my future. So far Kaiti and I have been able to avoid any debt. No school loans, no car loans; we've lived within our means. In fact, we've managed to scrounge away as much money as we possibly can while still paying for her undergraduate degree and all our living expenses. We've been fairly successful. But that is all about to change. Being a non-resident who's been smart with money is essentially like putting a big target on your back and giving your prospective grad school a gun. They think you should blow all of your savings and income in order to attend (financial responsibility is something they frown upon). Based off the last tax year Kaiti and I are expected to be able to contribute $18,000 toward grad school...Seriously? Forget that we're moving down there and both have to find new jobs. Forget that in order to establish residency we can't accept ANY help from our family. No, those aren't important factors. Besides, what's $18,000? Oh right, A LOT OF MONEY that no one except the wealthy could produce.
So I am going to have them review my financial needs once again (yay, another financial form to fill out) and pray that they decide to send a little more my way. Then Kaiti and I are going to have to take out loans (keep fingers crossed that they are subsidized) and hope that in a year I will have met the requirements to be classified as an in state resident so I can petition them to change my status. Because apparently registering to vote in Arizona, paying Arizona state taxes and making a home there doesn't qualify you for residency. You have to supply bank records to make sure that no one has been helping you in any possible way. What's that? Your parents want to make sure you don't go into debt? Too bad, unless you want to pay out of state tuition forever. It's a ridiculous system and it seems almost predatory. To top it off every time I try to call the financial aid office I am put on hold for nearly 30 minutes and honestly with the money I am going to pay in tuition you'd that think they could get more than one song to play. Then when I am finally put through to an "expert" it turns out to be an undergraduate work study that has no idea how the system works. Helpful.
Oh well. I'm jumping through all the hoops and come August 24th I'll be starting a Master's program. Who knows if we'll have the money for me to finish it...we'll see. College tuition is out of control.