If the family really did by as expensive a house as possible such that they do not have large assets outside of home equity, then the OP may still be eligible for significant FA at colleges that do not consider home equity as part of FA calculation. For example, if the family makes $185k and has $200k in non-home equity assets, then Harvard’s NPC returns a cost to parents of under $40k (selected 4 person family with one in college, living in CA). There is some FA in this scenario at incomes up to $220k.</p>
<p>Yes, I will be applying to Irvine, San Diego, and Davis as well, just in case I don’t get into Berkeley and UCLA. I agree that if I do get into Berkeley/UCLA, there would be no reason to pay for Michigan. However, it gets more difficult when the options are Davis or Santa Barbara vs. Michigan. </p>
<p>To answer the question about whether I might end up completely broken off from my parents, my parents have the contingency that they will continue to support me financially unless I stop attending church and school. The church thing has been a serious issue over the years (basically even if I have stacks of homework and projects and studying to do, they expect me to put church ahead of that) but at this point I’m just having to suck it up and go each week because I don’t know if they are serious about the threat to cut me off if I don’t. I’m going to turn 18 soon so I believe I’m getting to the point where they really could choose to make me leave if they wanted to. I don’t actually believe that they would ever do that to me, but it’s not worth the risk. So as of now, I do believe that they will keep their promise to pay up to the price of Berkeley. I’m still going to try to find a full-ride or two that I can have as an option just in case.</p>
<p>I hope you understand that schools like Harvard are not necessarily going to cost you $40k. Another poster explained that very well. Maybe your parents don’t know this.</p>
<p>But regardless you have some good schools to try for in your state.</p>
<p>the family really did by as expensive a house as possible such that they do not have large assets outside of home equity, then the OP may still be eligible for significant FA at colleges that do not consider home equity as part of FA calculation. For</p>
<p>Sounds like the family has a very, very high income. To buy a home at that cost, unless paid for with mostly cash) would require a huge mortgage, and a high income to qualify. </p>
<p>I also suspect that the dad may be self-employed.</p>
<p>The student doesn’t have ivy-like stats. HYPS would not be likely at all.</p>
<p>That may very well be the case. I can still recall our first college tour trip, including visits Cornell and Amherst (both handy to our vacation travels that year). That’s when we learned that the tippy top colleges were verrrrry pricey, with no merit scholarships.</p>
<p>I think your parents are being ridiculous and manipulative. The “it’s their money” argument falls flat for me since they basically dangled the carrot of super-expensive, distant schools in front of you and went to the trouble of taking you to visit them. They didn’t know how expensive they were? Really? I think they are mad that their religious indoctrination has failed and you are now thinking for yourself. If I were you I’d look at merit scholarships at schools outside the “top tier” that interest you. You can get a great education at a lot of places, and you’ll feel better using your own hard work to pay for it.</p>
Buying with mostly cash is not a rare event, like it was before the housing crisis. A Goldman Sachs report earlier this year estimated that 57% of home purchases were made in cash. It is not just low cost homes that are being purchased in cash or mostly in cash. Some reports suggest an increased percentage of cash buyers among higher cost homes.</p>
<p>Sure people who are buying expensive homes with mostly cash are likely to have very high incomes, but there are also many who do not. Without knowing more about the OP’s financial situation, we can only guess about FA qualification.</p>
This may be true for condos and lower cost homes that are frequently rented out, but I don’t think this is true among higher cost homes that we have been discussing. For example, the news story at [Jumbo</a> mortgage rush: Why the rich are buying](<a href=“http://www.cnbc.com/id/101022158]Jumbo”>http://www.cnbc.com/id/101022158) gives a different list of reasons for higher cost homes, such as historical difficulty getting low rate non-confirming loans that are large enough to cover the purchase price (according to the article, this has been changing recently). It also mentions 3/4 of homes in the $5 million+ range were made in cash. $5 million+ is not a range I associate as the vast majority of buyers being investors.</p>
<p>The only things I know about my parents’ finances are my dad’s salaries from this year and last year (which I only know because I needed it for the UC application), and the price tag on his cars and the house that we bought. Other than that, I know nothing about how much money they actually have, how they came upon that money, how much of it they physically have, etc. My dad assured me that applying for financial aid would be hopeless (as it was when my two brothers went through the process), but I suppose we can still give it a try since there seems to be some questions about whether or not I might qualify.</p>
<p>“My dad assured me that applying for financial aid would be hopeless (as it was when my two brothers went through the process)”</p>
<p>Are you going to be the only one from your family in college next year? If so, then I suggest you probably need to take your Dad as his word, as one important factor in Financial aid calculations is how many children are in college at the same time. If your parents income and assets are the same as they were when your brothers were in college, and you will be the only one in college when you start, then you need to focus on finding the safety colleges that will want you enough to pay you to go to them.</p>
<p>I hope you also realize that most PUBLIC universities have FAR less $$ for FA than the wealthiest private colleges.
So cast a wide net for Merit $$. You may have to compromise your dreams. And what ever you do, DONT fall into the trap of thinking you can afford thousands of dollars of student loans.
The reality is that college these days can cost a lot, BUT you can get a free education at a fine University if you are savvy enough to look for it.</p>
<p>Op,
You have a right to feel frustrated by your parents’ bait and switch.
I haven’t read through all of the posts.
Maybe they think that the Ivies give out merit money so they are dangling the $40K tuition in hopes that you will try to get the remaining $20K in merit money. Just tell them that these Ivies do not offer merit money, so for you it will be $60K per year and so you really need to know if they are not willing to pay that amount then you just won’t bother to apply to them all.</p>
<p>Second, if they really do have the cash that you say that they do, then if it were me, I would still just apply to the Ivies that I would want. I’m sure that they will probably just borrow the remaining $20K per year if you get accepted and once the bill starts rolling in.</p>
<p>Last, include USC on your list. They give 50% off tuition ($22K per yr) for NMSF (apply to USC by 12/1). Also, you can include other private schools that offer merit money. There are threads on cc which list merit money schools.</p>
<p>FYI, Princeton and some others may still give some financial aid at incomes up to $250K per year. You could try the financial calculator on their website.</p>
<p>Personally, I would apply to some of the Ivies but as others say, apply to other various affordable options. For those, look more at how you match with your statistics and cost to you. Don’t worry about the names. Then see what happens with acceptances and financial aid.</p>
<p>Yes, your parents have engaged in bait and switch, and IMHO it sounds as if they are being unreasonable.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, it is within their rights to do so and there is nothing you can do about it.</p>
<p>Applying for FA may NOT be useless at Ivies or similar deep-pockets schools if either or both of your brothers are still in school. It would probably be useless at most places.</p>
<p>I suggest you cast a wide net and see how it all shakes out in the spring. Try not to become fixated on any one school in the meantime.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t necessarily call it bait and switch. Lots of parents try to push a kid to stretch for the best, then re-assess when the real hs results are at-hand. Has anyone said run the NPCs for some of the generous schools? Doesn’t work well if there’s self-employment, etc. And you don’t know all your parents’ details- maybe you can get one of them to do it. Did your brothers end up at super competitive colleges? I find it interesting that there are two ahead of you- that must have given your parents some experience with both what’s required to get admitted and the costs- and could be an example for you.</p>
<p>In any event, not sure a kid should push the religious/political differences to the point of setting up daily conflict. Nor that their other financial decisions should translate to how they have to pay some higher amount, especially when the in-state schools are so good.</p>
<p>The schools you have listed are all highly ranked, but they are very different. Consequently, it is hard to recommend alternative choices. You can’t make your parents pay for anything. Some parents feel the need to be fair between siblings, and this may have gone into their thinking(pure conjecture on my part). </p>
<p>Some top schools offer almost no merit aid while fully matching financial need (Swarthmore). Others offer significant merit aid. I don’t know what you are looking for, but based on your stats, I would think you would be eligible for merit aid at U of Rochester and Lafayette College. I am sure there are others. </p>
<p>Figure out what you want in a college. You have options out there. It is your job to find them.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Never ever discuss politics and religion with the people you love. Especially, if they come from a different generation.</p></li>
<li><p>Never ever count someone else’s money.</p></li>
<li><p>Apply for all schools where you want to go.</p></li>
<li><p>If accepted, try to negotiate with your folks. Maybe you would find a way to persuade them. Maybe you would find some additional funding.</p></li>
</ol>