I was recently accepted into Yale REA… but I didn’t fill my CSS profile before the priority deadline so my package is coming in late.
I ran my information through Yale’s NPC and it said I had to pay around 65k year to attend. I ran the same info into other NPCs like Princeton’s and Harvard’s and it ended up being around the same price.
My question now is whether I should apply to other elite institutions so I can compare the aid packages and in the case that there is something higher than Yale’s, negotiate with their financial office for more money.
Currently, the 65k/year would be a burden on my family, despite Yale being 100% my top choice.
Assuming you filled out the NPCs accurately I would expect HYPs’ offers to be close to their NPC results. You can certainly apply to other elite schools, and they often will match each other’s FA offers…but sounds like the NPC results are all similar. Beyond that, there won’t be much of an opportunity to negotiate with them.
Note that NPC results may not be accurate if you parents are divorced, own real estate beyond a primary home, or own a business…are any of those the case for you?
What can your family afford without burden (and no parental loans)? Have you been accepted anywhere else yet? As you must be a strong student, you would receive significant merit aid at many schools (of the schools that offer merit aid).
Well…if you really want to save money, then it sounds like you needed to apply to some colleges where you would be receiving guaranteed merit awards. Did you?
If Princeton and Harvards NPCs are similar to Yale’s then that’s likely to be your price at any elite school. In order to get costs lower you need to apply to schools where you would get merit. That means looking for schools further down in the rankings. I assume you picked out some matches and safeties to apply to. Those will be your best bets for a more affordable choice.
I’ve applied to the UCs which are much more affordable and that’s about it.
Also: yes, my parents happen to own a business and they do have real estate outside of our primary home. How much does the NPC change based on these factors?
The thing is, my parents are willing to spend the 65k even despite it being a burden because they believe that Yale is worth the sticker price.
Also: yes, my parents happen to own a business and they do have real estate outside of our primary home. How much does the NPC change based on these factors?
Did the net price calculators ask if there was a family owned business…or real estate in addition to your home? If that data wasn’t requested, be very weary of those NPC results.
Remember, there are deductions allowed for businesses for tax purposes that are NOT allowed for financial aid purposes…and are added back in as income at some colleges.
There are also many colleges that will expect the second real estate to be used to pay for college costs. IOW…they don’t give need based aid so families can own second pieces of real estate.
The Yale NPC (and Harvard’s, not sure about P) asks for all real estate and business info, so double check that you entered everything accurately. The impact can be dramatic if the business is over 100 employees (and for certain other reasons). The impact of non-primary home real estate can also be dramatic, there are cases where the school expects the family to sell real estate to fund college.
there are cases where the school expects the family to sell real estate to fund college.
That is simply insane. I would hope schools like Yale won’t be asking my parents to do that… considering their MASSIVE endowments. But we’ll see.
My parent’s business does not exceed 100 employees. In fact, due to Covid, we actually made a net loss… we explained this in our CSS profile, hopefully that’ll do something.
Do you think there’s a drastic difference in financial aid across the ivy leagues? Or is there usually a small variance that won’t make applying to other schools worth the time? Thank you so much again.
Generally no, but how they handle real estate, home equity, and business income can vary.
You will get Yale’s FA offer shortly. As long as you entered the NPC info accurately (hopefully with parental input), especially in the business and real estate sections, the FA offer should be close. Hopefully you kept a record of the NPC results. Regarding the loss on the business, many schools will not allow all the deductions that allowed the business to claim a loss (not sure about HYP).
As noted, you will be getting your Yale financial aid offer at some point. I’m going to opine that it’s not likely that you will have a net cost at another elite school that is less. Yale has very generous need based aid policies.
Again I ask…did you apply to any colleges with guaranteed merit aid? That is a sure fire way to reduce costs if that is a goal.
The college may look at your parents’ having received pandemic funding - even if it’s not in the tax return, it is published on the internet, so they can find it very easily. That may balance out their having had a net loss during the pandemic, when the college looks at that.
They most definitely will take into account the equity in the real estate, and if you guys live in CA, it’s likely that there is substantial equity in the properties that are other than your primary home, not to mention very high equity in the primary home. Frankly, I’d be surprised if you get anything offered by Yale, or any of the others, were you to be accepted. Harvard is the most generous of all the schools, we have an upper middle class income based solely upon a mom n pop rental real estate business, and we got offered zilch.
So you need to assume that you might get zero fin aid from any of the schools, and that you might be paying over 80K/yr. If your parents don’t want to pay this (and who could blame them), looks as if a UC might be your best bet.
This is a lesson for you in time management - i.e. having followed through on the entire application.
If your parents are willing to fund Yale, then that’s great.
I’ll assume a student of your caliber could go to a large public school for $20K or less - outside the UCs.
It sounds like, even at $65K, your parents would be ok. The Yale COA is $84,525 and I’ll just tell you up front that college will cost more than they tell you - I estimate $3-5K. So what if Yale comes back at full pay? Can they still afford it. Or would they still want to afford it?
If not and you want to be at a private school, you’ve caused a pickle - given the calendar.
I would - depending on their ability to pay if it’s in fact full pay - probably get some RD apps in if you have time - but not at elite schools but rather schools that offer significant merit. Yes, they’d be a step down but if you want a more affordable private school education - …a Macalester, Oberlin, Kalamazoo, Occidental, etc.
Obviously you’ll get into UCs and then there will be even cheaper public schools that you can apply to later - although you will likely miss their Honors College deadlines. You’d be amazed at how many Ivy caliber kids are at state flagships.
Let’s hope Yale comes through at the level you believe - but yes, you do need to be prepared otherwise and the calendar is going to work against you.
So whatever you decide, act quickly as a just in case (that you’ll hopefully never need).
Do your parents actually have enough money to pay $65k x 4? That’s $260,000, and frankly, it might be even more because tuition tends to rise each year.
I say this because we have seen more than one student on this website who can no longer attend their college due to financial constraints. If you are happy attending a UC, that’s great and you seem to be all set. But if you want other options, please submit some other applications to colleges that might be more affordable.
As a Yale caliber student, you could submit apps to schools that might give you some fantastic merit awards. For example, one of my students was awarded a $47k annual scholarship at Sarah Lawrence College. It’s a good school with a list of famous alumni a mile long. Kenyon is excellent and offers a couple of great scholarships to tippy top students. (It also has a long list of famous alumni.) There are others.
It sounds like you have legitimate concerns about the cost of attendance. If there is a chance that your family will ultimately not be able to afford four years of tuition and board, I encourage you to apply to some additional schools.
That was not our experience, but of course YMMV. Our kids were able to cut personal expenses and travel costs to lower than what the schools said they would be. Books too. Health insurance was waived (although at many places, that isn’t included in the COA).
And our kids both worked while in college as well.
But yes…the cost of Yale is high.
All you can do is wait and see what the package is. Since it’s SCEA, it’s not a binding acceptance and you are free to apply elsewhere and compare net costs amongst your acceptances.
I include things like late night munchies, tired of the dining hall (eating out), the coffees, trips in this case to NYC, etc…spring break, greek life, etc.
Some kids can manage finances better than others - but kids want to get outside the college zone and yes, it costs…especially when you’re trying to keep up with the joneses - and many do.
And that is what students working learn to fund…and live within their means.
But we are digressing here.
This student will be receiving a financial aid package soon enough from one of the most generous need based colleges in the country. They can see if the net cost is affordable at yale. They also can look elsewhere for colleges with lower net costs.
The UCs and Cal States as an instate student seem like they would be good choices…hoping the student already applied!!
Missing deadlines…please don’t do that in the future for anything.
This is a discussion you should be having immediately with your parents. They clearly value the opportunities a school like Yale offers.
Your parents perspective, resources and priorities juxtaposed against your numerous options and or your combined family value system are all that should matter in making these decisions. Go talk to your parents now as anything else is just a distraction from a time sensitive series of decisions.
