Aahw that sux..

If you're really 17, why oh why did they leave your college money in stocks that close to your actually going to college? Definitely a D'oh! Moment.

Well, did your parents sell the stocks? If not, then it technically isn't lost, it's just lost value. You can still get some money back on it if you wait to sell it; you haven't lost any money until you sell. Best of luck with this!

The overall market will not get back its value for years. The individual stocks depending on which ones may recover faster, but then again the odds are the same for them taking longer...

I do not trust banks I keep my money in a vault.

Banks are pretty safe, if it comes to the point where bank insurance (FDIC in U.S.) doesn't cover your deposits, than paper money is the least of our worries.

Why would parents put their kids college money in the stock market?

Much like the housing market, a massive flood of inexperienced investors putting their money into the stock market over the past decade gave people the impression that investing in the stock market was risk free; as a result, lots of people who really shouldn't have invested in the stock market did invest in the stock market and lost the money they couldn't afford to lose.

On topic ... It really sucks that you lost a large portion of your college education fund. The advice I would give you is to talk to the colleges you want to attend about their policy for transfer students and look into local schools to start school in; in most cases it is much easier to get into a school as a 3rd year student, and you can spend the first two years of college living at home, working a part time job and saving money.

Stafford and Parent Plus will get you through it... I wish I had had Parent Plus.

Thanks for the advice everyone. :D

I have no idea why my parents still had the money invested. =/ If they had taken it out a day earlier..I dunno.

Hopefully I can get this one scholarship to UMBC that'll pay my entire tuition.

Yeah that sucks. I went to an expensive college for one semester 2 years ago and I'm still paying the federal loans, ugh.

Luckily for financial aid and a cheaper college, they pay me to go to college!