Exactly. And many wealthy families can and do this and private institutions (and public) don’t need to subsidize a family’s real estate portfolio, be it a $5m primary residence or vacation or rental properties. It is completely reasonable to consider real estate in the equation.
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Do you truly know your parents finances? Most parents don’t totally share but:
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You don’t know what Yale will offer you (but the delay in applying is why you’re in the pickle now - that’s just a life lesson - knowing that deadlines matter) - no reason to sulk…just to learn.
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Going to Yale will not bring you success. @bigbluebelugawhale being a stud at school, a go getter, and hard worker will get you to where you want - whether it’s grad school (even at Yale) or a fine job.
Lots of kids work hard to get into a school - and yet there’s Ivy caliber students at most every flagship in America.
There’s no reason to write yourself off if Yale doesn’t happen - but the way you write about your parents - it sounds like it will happen. And truth is, as you don’t know the finances, you don’t know how they’re going to come back.
I don’t think Yale will negotiate with you. They have others who will take your place. Cornell might based on Yale but not the other way around.
Yes, colleges are businesses - they have revenues and expenses and budgets to balance. Schools like Yale do use their endowment on students that need it. You should be appreciative - not frustrated - and again, you have no idea where the # is going to come in. You’re making assumptions.
You have a few choices:
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Stay put - and wait on Yale and worse case go to a UCI or UCR.
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Throw in a couple merit apps at private schools in hopes of earning a Yale style experience (Rice might be a hail Mary).
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Do #1 but if you get really desperate (i.e things don’t work out), you can always apply later to schools like Arizona or Alabama or many more - although by waiting you’d lose Honors access - but they have late deadlines.
You’re probably fine with #1 and by opening the thread adding unnecessary stress to yourself. But if you have any concern, then find two or three non-elite high merit schools - use your common app and it’ll be a simple thing to do.
It’ll be ok…
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Are they willing to pay $65k per year for each of the other two? Or will paying $65k for your college at Yale mean a significantly more restricted budget for them, possibly leading to long lasting resentment in the future?
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Ivies will match other Ivies.
Cornell will also match MIT, Duke, Stanford.
It is not a negotiation; it is standard practice.
They have this policy because they all use different formulas and their stated rationale is that, for a student admitted to more than one of these schools, net cost shouldn’t be the deciding factor.
I think only Princeton or possibly Harvard might offer more aid than Yale among Ivies.
You can get a few other apps in but I’d trust your parents to know their finances. And I’d be sure to fill out the FA forms with them next to you, as some of the business questions will need someone who understands the business filings well.
Congrats on your acceptance!
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Congrats.
Concerning outside scholarships, on the off chance you get offered some need based aid look at the fine print. For the 100% meets need colleges they subtract that scholarship off their aid to you while your parent’s EFC does not change. Yale allows you to use it towards the student share of $3700.
It may not be worth your time, but it you are not getting any aid, maybe you will get lucky, but most of those scholarships were due months ago.
https://finaid.yale.edu/costs-affordability/types-aid-and-other-financial-resources
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Starting with academic year 24-25, FAFSA only schools (such as the UCs) will not reduce a family’s EFC when there are multiple siblings in college (the way they do now). But no one knows what CSS Profile schools will do with sibling college costs. It will likely vary by college, but it is possible that schools with large endowments will continue the current practice of providing more financial aid when multiple students are in college.
Will there be an overlap with you and any of your siblings re: when you are in college?
You can try to call Yale’s financial aid office to ask if they have a policy on that yet. That might help you directly compare 4-year costs between Yale and the UCs.
You can also try to appeal their initial aid package. Do your parents have any special circumstances such as supporting their own parents, or high unreimbursed medical expenses, or a child with special medical or educational needs that are expensive? Some colleges will give an “allowance” if siblings go to a private high school.
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I am not sure that the above is correct. In our experience, when appealing, ivy league schools won’t consider offers from colleges that give merit aid. However, they will be interested in whether other meets-need schools have assessed your need differently. They will not frame it as a negotiation but as an opportunity to to rectify a mistake in their initial assessment. But at the end of the day, you are in a stronger position when appealing if other schools have offered better need based aid financial aid. Still my understanding is that Yale is pretty generous so I am not sure that any other needs based school will give the original poster a significantly stronger package.
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@bigbluebelugawhale Also, given that you live in CA, which has a high minimum wage, it is worth looking into how much you can contribute to college costs by working summers and winter break. Or, if you major in CS or a similar tech-related field, if you can get high-paying summer internships after sophomore year that would help with costs.
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Yes – but as of 2021 (and possibly currently) Yale assesses home equity at 1.2 x parent income. If the parents earn, say, 150k, then 1.2 x 150k = 180k. Assets are typically assessed at 5% or so, which is 10k. So an Ivy that doesn’t include home equity will award 10k more in grants than Yale does, if all else is treated equally.
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@bigbluebelugawhale I sent you a DM. Look for the highlighted icon at the upper right of your screen near your avatar.
Apply for some local scholarships. Your school counselor should have info about those. Unfortunately these are usually not enormous dollar amounts and are usually not renewable for subsequent years. But every penny counts.
Agree with @Thumper1. Those scholarships are worth between $500, $2000, to $5000 (for “legitimate” scholarships). Usually they’re not renewable and they tend to favor lower income applicants.
The issue is not just about applying to scholarships, but winning them. You’re not the only applicant for them. There will be hundreds of thousands of students applying for the few scholarships that are out there. A number of applicant students have great stats and have been accepted to some Ivies.
These scholarships are often very competitive. They’ll be time-consuming and are not guaranteed. The “winnable ones are usually your local scholarships and your parents’ employer-sponsored scholarships. This has been our experience with our children. Those scholarships don’t make a very significant dent in what you will owe per year.
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My kids graduated from hs in Florida. Almost all the local scholarships were only good for Florida schools, even the ones from national organizations like the American Legion post or the Elks. There were a bunch from photography studios, for art work, for the children of military, but all had to be used in Florida.
Check before you put in the effort for these scholarships, even small ones.
I believe that if another sibling is going to college, my financial aid situation at Yale changes too. Also, my sister isn’t looking to apply to IVIES. She’s looking at UCs, which are affordable even with a restricted budget.
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What @ucbalumnus is saying is…per FAFSA, that division of family contribution will end in the 2024-2025 academic year while you are still in college.
No one really knows whether Profile schools will do the same, or somehow otherwise adjust their aid awarding policies. Or not.
So…if you are counting on that division in the 2024-2025 academic year, that might or might not be the case. Contact Yale and ask if this has been determined…because it would be quite the financial shocker to have your aid decrease if they don’t count siblings in college.
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I don’t think there are siblings currently in college so I don’t think OP’s aid is going to decrease. But it might not increase in future years the way they are expecting, if Yale follows the changes FAFSA rules re: not counting siblings as of academic year 24-25. Agree that a call to Yale to ask about that policy is a good idea — but Yale may not have decided that yet, either.
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When will your other siblings be in college?
Are you suggesting Yale should give you more aid to help your family keep investments they have made…just because Yale has a large endowment? That’s not how it works. Remember, many if not most kids don’t have parents who even own secondary real estate.
There has been discussion about how Yale handles equity in your primary residence…but what is the equity in the second real estate… because that could really have a large impact on need based aid awards.
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Are you referring to the top 9 percent guarantee? That used to be UC Riverside but now it’s UC Merced.
Regardless, if you applied to all but Merced and Davis you are almost guaranteed to get into at least one of them if your stats got you into Yale REA.
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You got into Yale and your parents are willing to pay: congratulations! I do not see a problem here! Enjoy Yale, and don’t look back! Thank them by getting a job there and paying for extras when it’s reasonable, and by working hard at Yale and taking advantage of all of the opportunities there.
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According to the article, it is any of the IVY schools.
Since each Ivy League school can only award financial aid based on a student’s estimated need, as opposed to merit or athletic ability, Storlazzi said that if another Ivy calculates a higher aid package for a student than Yale does, Yale will typically do its best to calculate a similar number.
Each school uses a different formula to calculate this estimated need, formulas that are “similar to one another but not the same,” according to Storlazzi. Though Yale does not know the exact formulas its peer institutions use, the financial aid office will review an admitted student’s package when the student is offered more aid by other schools. However, the review must be initiated by the student.
Ideally, Storlazzi said, Yale is eventually able to offer students a package that will enable them to attend.
“We don’t say ‘match,’” Storlazzi said. “We don’t use the m-word. But we want to see what we can do within Yale’s philosophy of needs analysis, and, frankly, we do want to see if we can come close to what the other school offered. We want students to decide on fit instead of on finance.”
When I went in with the Harvard award letter, I didn’t use the m-word. I just showed them the Harvard award and said that my son was very frugal and could they do anything to help him decide based on what he felt was the best school for him rather than on finances?
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