Do students with high income parents actually pay full sticker prices for private colleges that cost 60k+?
My parents are middle class but even I didn’t have to pay full sticker price for private colleges. I did have to pay full sticker price for instate public schools but that’s only 25k.
If a college lists something like 87% received financial aid(I’m assuming there are grants and federal grants?), does that include merit and scholarships?
Yes. They pay full price. Lots of them. Or more properly parents do. I am.
Yes, yes we do. 
Some of the most selective schools only offer need based financial aid, no merit aid.
How much would one’s income have to be for them to charge you full price?
Depends on the school.
Depends on the school. At highest to get 0 aid maybe $200,000? Many schools it stops at $125,000.
Umm, yeah. I know someone who pays full freight 60K plus to have a kid at an Ivy.
Are only grants financial aid? Is merit aid financial aid too?
we will be paying full price ( over 60K/yr) ( stanford) and know a few friends who also pay full sticker price
Yes, my relative is doing so for her kids. One went to a small Catholic college, one to an LAC at over 50k per year. The 3rd is at a state school and they find it a steal by comparison. They never even filled out the FASFA.
She and her husband are, obviously, financial comfortable and assumed after doing the calculators that they would not qualify for anything, so they didn;t want the hassle of even filling out. Plus, they though that with the schools, especially the LAC, being full pay and stating so would help with admissions (she believed that to be the case even with ‘need blind’)…
The other I know paying full price has a child at Brown. They are from NYC and were use to paying around 40k for private high school for their kids. So, college cost, as she said, ‘Don’t seem too horribly high given that it includes feeding them and housing them!’. Not sure if they might get some help for 2nd child.
Yes. We got some FA at Mudd for the first two years, but are full pay for the last two (good years for my business, I am not complaining). Worth every penny.
Yep. We will pay full price. It’s not just salary but it’s also savings that count.
Agree… we socked all those day care reimbursements from our pre-tax accounts into the college funds in the early years. By far the smartest thing we ever did in planning for college. Saved a lot early and it had time to grow.
Another full pay parent here. Older parents, farther along in career, higher income level…
The most coveted schools offer only need-based FA, because they know families will fork out for it. Schools that are trying to build their reputations will often offer merit-based aid irrespective of family income, in addition to need-based aid. Examples: Northwestern, Chicago, Duke, Vandy, USC, WUSTL.
We don’t qualify for need-based aid, so my kids will only apply to schools that offer merit aid, because despite our higher income, we have graduate degrees and don’t think any undergraduate degree is worth $65k/yr.
So from my understanding merit aid is based on grades, test scores, and maybe ECs?
And grants are based on income correct?
Yes
Yes, we will be full pay barring merit scholarships. Schools without huge endowments need somebody to pay the bills.
I laugh when schools who have tried to be need blind go back to being need aware due to financial reasons. Many students, few of whom pay anything significant themselves, are outraged at the “injustice” of a school not going bankrupt. I guess they are feeling the Bern.
This is a meaningless statistic. A person could receive the $5500 Direct Loan as their only form of need based aid, and be included in that 87% who receive aid.
Keep in mind thst receiving FA is not synonymous w having full need met. A student receiving $1000 of FA is “receiving” it.