I’ve been admitted to Harvard, but really need financial aid. Even though my family’s income is 200K+ (i know it’s a lot), they are paying for my brother’s AND sister’s college fees. So I’m wondering, how lenient is Harvard with giving out financial aid? How much would they give to someone with an income so high?
Btw: I’ve won $20,000 in scholarship.
Did you apply for financial aid when you applied to Harvard?
Yes and received some, but definitely not enough to pay for 4 years.
You have a family income of $200,000 which will net you very little, if any, need based aid at Harvard. In addition, you have won a $20,000 scholarship which you arw required to report to Harvard…which will reduce your need also.
Sure, ask, but don’t be surprised if they say no.
You (or your parents) need to call the financial aid office and appeal. Explain the specific circumstances that make Harvard unaffordable with the aid you received, and tell them what it would take to make it affordable. No guarantees, but you are certainly allowed to ask.
When do the siblings graduate from undergrad?
Is it a 4 year scholarship X $20k/year?
How much equity is there in your parents’ house?
How much do they have in retirement savings and non-retirement savings?
On a $200,000 income, your FAFSA EFC would be well over $50,000 a year for one in college. With three in college at the same time next year (will there be three of you on college next year?), the EFC for each of you would be upwards of $20,000 a year. The school will expect you to pay your EFC.
You said you did get some aid from Harvard. How much?
And you didn’t mention your parents’ assets. With a $200k steady income they should have at least $1 million in savings which doesn’t help you get aid either. What are you planning on studying? If it’s a career with a high income Id try to strike a deal with your parents to use their assets and you’d pay them back. If not and the money has been spent then you’ll have to go with your #1 safety school instead and join the many thousands of students also unable to afford their “dream” school.
Have you considered taking on a bit of debt? Graduating from Harvard with some loans is worth it imo
Are either or both of your parents self employed or business owners?
Do you own a farm
do you parents have any other properties outside of your primary residence
How much do they have in assets.
Are they contributing a lot of money to their 401k/403B
Any or all of these will affect how much financial aid you will receive from Harvard.
Rdtsmith…we have a very similar incime and we do NOT have a million dollars in liquid savings. We have our retirement accounts, and some investments…and an emergency liquid asset account that is FAR less than $1,000,000.
If the $20,000 scholarship is an annual one…and the family has a $20,000 EFC based just on income…and the student got some need based aid…it is very possible that the student’s full need was met…as Harvard does meet full need for all.
But as Dodgersmom says…no harm in asking.
Just have a plan B in case they say NO.
Did you run the NPC to see what your aid looks like with your income and 3 in college?
If income is about $200k with 3 in college AND H didn’t give you much aid, then you have a LOT of assets OR that income is from a business.
What is the whole story?
How much did H give you?
Where is that $20k award coming from and does H know about it?
I would suspect that any professional with a 200K salary would also get some incentive bonus, share schemes, have paid off their mortgage and lined up each kid with a 529. I would bet the total EFC for the family is going to be in the 70K plus range. I wonder how much need the student got?
We can guess all day. We don’t have all of the facts. OP should talk to the financial aid office after double checking info in case there are some mistakes in what was submitted. I can come up with a dozen reasons, even more, as to why this person may not be getting financial aid.
With three students in college concurrently, it isn’t the $200K income that is leading to a lack of aid.
Must either be assets or an error on the financial aid forms.
There is often a big chasm between “how much the family wants to pay” and “how much the school will offer” though. The school may put together what they see as a generous aid package considering the family’s income, assets, and the fact that they have three in college but if the family is expecting a full ride or close to a full ride then it might not be workable for them. It may be that it’s the family that has to adjust their expectations or it may be that there is an error on the forms. According to the original poster they did receive some aid, just not enough, and that perception of what is enough to be affordable is what might be causing a headache.
Speaking as someone in this position, just because your income and assets put you in the category of not needing any aid doesn’t mean it’s realistic to spend $60K a year on college. Maybe they live in a very expensive part of the country, maybe their income is very high but not guaranteed to stay that way (e.g., a lot of the income comes from stock options or similar or the salary is based on sales commissions that have been good recently but more subject to variability in future years than a straight-up base salary) or maybe the parents have health issues that mean they might not be comfortable assuming they will be healthy enough to work until 65 or longer. Or maybe the parents just don’t see the need to fund $60K/yr when the kid has an excellent option at $35K/yr.
Noone disagrees with you @washugrad but the OP has asked how much H might be wiling to give. Without answers to the questions posted no one of us can answer.
Hello,
Sorry I haven’t replied to this post - I sort of forgot about it 
In the end, my parents and I had a very long discussion. I will be going to Georgia Tech next year studying Biology. However, here are the answers to some of the questions:
- I received an annual $5,000 need-based aid.
- My brother is in his sophomore year, and my sister is going to graduate next year.
- I did consider taking some debt, and probably will for medical school.
- No, my parents work in IT.
- I have some money in college savings ($30,000), but my parents had to take some out of it in order to pay for my brother's and sister's tuition costs, taxes, private schools, etc. My sister goes to MiamiU, and my brother goes to Cornell. They received some financial aid, but my parents are still paying about $30,000 a year for each. However, my brother and sister both work jobs, and my family has been receiving some support from relatives via stocks.
- I ran the NPC, and my aid was $27,600,
- We live in a pretty expensive part of the country (Atlanta, GA) and own a nice home. My family has also spent a lot of money on my music education, meaning violin lessons, master classes, orchestras, etc.
- The scholarship is not $20,000 a year.
- In hindsight, we probably could have found a way. I might have been able to take a lot of loans, my parents might have been able to sell our house. But I wasn't sure it was worth it, considering I would graduate in debt and that I hope to attend medical school.
Thank you for all of the responses, and I’m sorry it took me so long to get to these!